Yeah, I probably wasn’t going to be sleeping much tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ben’s phone pinged and he paused to read it before getting out of the car. “Hold up, change of plans. We’re going sledding.”
“I’msorry? We’re doing what?”
Again with the assumptive “we.”
He held up his phone. “Hailey just texted me, she and Neil said the manager gave them two sleds and they’re on the hill behind the inn. She said they’re having a blast.”
I frowned. “Together?”
“I know, right? There’s something weird going on between those two. Let’s go investigate.”
As much as I didn’t want to do anything but go to my room and sulk about my trashed schedule, part of me wasn’t ready to say goodnight to Ben yet.
“But I don’t have boots,” I protested. “My shoes will get ruined.”
“Trust me. Come on.”
We grabbed our luggage from beneath the piled-up equipment and headed inside, tiptoeing through the snow piled on the walkway. Fifteen minutes later Ben had charmed the inn manager into giving us four powder-room trash bags and rubber bands to coverour shoes. We looked absolutely ridiculous, but I had to hand it to him; my shoes were totally protected.
I gave the cozy fireplace in the lobby a wistful glance, pulled my cashmere hat down over my ears, and headed back into the cold.
“There they are,” Ben said, pointing to the top of the hill.
It was the perfect sledding spot, a wide-open space between two groves of pine trees, with a gentle slope and a long runway. Somehow the moon managed to fight through the snow clouds, casting an otherworldly glow on the area. I could hear Neil’s and Hailey’s laughter echoing in the distance as they raced down the hill side by side.
“C’mon,” Ben said, grinning up at them like a kid. He grabbed my mittened hand and dragged me along behind him.
The drifts were already at my mid-calf, so that, combined with the makeshift snow boots, made for slow going. Ben didn’t let go of my hand as we made our way over to where the two of them were waiting at the bottom of the hill.
“Hey there, glad you came. It’s perfect snow for sledding,” Neil said when we reached them. “I’d say we earned this fun.”
The only thing I usually earned was rest and recovery, especially lately.
Hailey handed her sled to me, and the four of us trudged up the hill together. I pretended that the long walk up counted as part of my daily workout.
“Let’s race,” she said. “You guys against us.”
I looked down the hill, which from the top was much steeper than I’d realized. “Is it safe?”
Ben was already getting in position beside Neil, his competitive spirit engaged. “I’llkeep you safe. Get over here.”
A chill raced up my back that had nothing to do with thecold. Ben had issued an order and I felt like I had no choice but to listen.
I stared at the red plastic thing. “Should I be in the front or back?”
“My buddy Kevin was a Team USA bobsledding pilot and he told me that heaviest always rides in back, so that’s me.”
Ben dropped onto it and adjusted himself to make room for me.
I stared at him for a beat, because I was about to press myself between his legs. Not the worst place to be...
“Please don’t crash,” I said as I gingerly lowered myself onto the front of the sled.
“Never,” he murmured as he scooted from side to side to accommodate me. “I have precious cargo.”
