When they arrived at JR’s Snow Patrol, there was a short wait to rent the snow machines. It was a crisp, gorgeous day, so she wasn’t too surprised that other folks wanted to take advantage of the weather. After renting helmets and the snow machines, they headed over to the area where the snow machines were located.
“If you’ve ever ridden an ATV, this is pretty similar,” Sophia explained. “As long as you understand the basic mechanics.”
“Yep. ATVs are big in Arizona. We grew up riding them as teens,” Caleb said. “Those were some great adventures.”
“Well, you’re going to love this. I promise,” Sophia told him.
Sophia gave Caleb a detailed overview, explaining the mechanics and how to accelerate and brake. He picked everything up quickly, seemingly at ease with the snow machine. When they started off on the trail, Sophia advised Caleb to go in front of her so she could watch him until hefound his groove. As they set off, she reminded him to watch his speed and let her know if he wanted to take a break. The trail was easily marked with colored dots based on the difficulty level. They were starting off on the beginners’ trail, then planning to switch to intermediate. Sophia figured the difficult trail could be attempted on another day. There was no point in pushing it. After a while they switched over to the intermediate trail, with Caleb having increased his speed. He was doing fantastic. A real pro, even though it was his first time.
All of a sudden Caleb’s snow machine abruptly accelerated rather than braking as they reached a fork in the trail. Caleb let out a yell, and the snow machine lurched forward. Seconds later the machine crashed into a bush, sending Caleb flying into the air. He landed with a thud in the snow. Sophia hit the brake and jumped off her machine, running to Caleb’s side. He was lying on his stomach, appearing very still.
“Caleb!” she shouted, shaking him. “Are you all right?”
She wasn’t breathing properly until he let out a groan and turned on his side. Signs of life. She had been imagining the worst.
“Oh, wow. That was a complete face-plant,” he said, lifting his snow-covered face up from the ground. He looked like the abominable snowman, covered in the fluffy white stuff.
“Does anything hurt?” she asked, grabbing ahold of his elbow. “Let me help you get up.”
“I might need a kiss to make it better,” he said, pointing to his lips. Feeling relieved, Sophia kneeled down and swept a kiss against his frosty lips. Caleb placed his hands on her arms and pulled her down so that she was next to him in the snow. Despite the cold temps, their kiss warmed her up,making Sophia forget all about the cold. As the kiss soared and deepened, she felt a fluttering sensation in her chest. This man made her feel more alive and present than she had ever felt in her life other than the day Lily was born.
“Do you need help getting up?” she asked, still worried about any potential injury.
“I’m fine, just took me by surprise,” he said, standing up under his own steam. He looked over at the snow machine resting against the bush. “I hope it’s okay. JR might not be too happy with me if I wrecked one of his machines.”
“It looks fine to me,” Sophia said, giving it the once-over.
“Then let’s get back to it,” Caleb said, grinning. “I’ll let you lead for the rest of the trail.”
“Are you sure you’re okay to continue? You might have a few bumps and bruises tomorrow.”
“Are you kidding me?” he scoffed. “I’m a Stone brother. Bumps and bruises come with the territory.” He laughed as he jumped back on the snow machine. He tested it out by slowly reversing, then putting on a little speed.
“In that case we can finish the trail then loop back to our starting point. Sound good?”
Caleb gave her a thumbs-up, and she took off with him following at a safe distance. He had rebounded quickly from the incident with his snow machine. Once they reached the end of the trail and headed back to JR’s shop, they both pulled over to turn in their snow machines.
“That may have been the coolest thing I’ve done since coming back to Alaska,” Caleb raved. “Thanks for the invite. I can’t wait to tell Xavier and Landon all about it.”
“You’re welcome. There’s nothing quite like it if you ask me,” Sophia said. “The view. The feel of the cold air against one’s cheek. The feeling of flying through the air.”
“Literally,” Caleb said with a deadpan expression beforebursting into laughter. She chuckled along with him, enjoying the fact that he could laugh at his snow machine mishap.
She pulled out a thermos from her bag and lifted it in the air. “Snack time. Hot cocoa coming right up!”
Caleb rubbed his hands together. “Oh, I’ll definitely have some of that to warm my insides.”
“I’m really sorry about your fall off the snow machine. You were such a good sport about it,” Sophia said. Caleb could so easily have gotten hurt. Wearing a helmet and being in great shape had really helped him.
“No worries. The only thing hurt was my pride.” He chuckled, showcasing pretty white teeth. “I’m not a fan of embarrassing myself in front of someone I’m dating.” He playfully hid his face with his hand while holding his hot cocoa in the other.
Dating?It was nice hearing him confirm what they were doing. In past relationships she had “dated” men who had their own lingo for what was going on between them. Hanging out. Hooking up. Passing time together. Netflix and chilling. Now that she had Lily, she couldn’t afford to be so cavalier. Although she was gun-shy about romance, the truth was that she wanted to be in a committed, loving relationship. She had worked very hard to ignore this reality, but just seeing other couples like True and Xavier find their happily-ever-after cemented the fact that she wanted her own.
“I could get used to this!” Caleb said, looking around the wooded area. “This must be the most pristine air I’ve ever breathed in.”
Sophia nodded. “It’s as close to perfect as it gets. You and your brothers must have loved living here as kids. There was always so much to do. Skating. Skiing. Sledding. Hiking.”
A wistful expression passed over his face. “We loved living in Moose Falls. It all ended rather abruptly with thedivorce and all. We moved to Arizona, which is the very opposite of Alaska.” A sigh slipped past his lips. “I missed the snow and the cold and wearing sweaters.”
