He frowned. Steph Pierce would do everything she could to prevent their business from taking off. He knew that. She’d said as much when they’d spoken on the phone.
Jack had called her back in early September and introduced himself, suggesting his newly formed running club and her Basin County club plan training runs together, maybe even a weekend event where everyone could get to know each other. He thought it made sense.
Steph thought otherwise and told him so without mincing words.
He took a seat in the lobby while Liam handled the preliminary paperwork, but his mind stayed with Steph. When he first spotted the out-of-control car, he assumed she’d seen it too. Her running partner clearly had.
Steph hadn’t.
Even now, the thought sent a cold ripple through him. He hadn’t been sure he’d reach her in time. He still wasn’t sure how he had. It was nothing short of a miracle.
At the time, he had no idea who was about to get mowed down. When he realized it was her, his heart rate ratcheted up several notches.
He’d researched the Basin County Running Club, knew their dedication and how they ran every Wednesday, rain or shine. He knew she’d helped organize several fundraiser events and had built a reputation as a solid competitor in ultramarathons and endurance races.
He’d even looked her up on various race sign-up pages to see what races she’d completed and what she had planned—not in a creepy way, of course. Just to learn exactly who she was.
And what he knew was that she was amazing. Absolutely nothing short of amazing, having completed dozens of marathons and ultramarathons.
That’s when he learned about a race Steph was scheduled to compete in the following March: The Frozen Divide 100.
Liam had mentioned the race to him previously, suggesting their new business might want to look into a winter race as part of its overall plan.
Knowing Steph was doing The Frozen Divide made him want to sign up for it too. Registration wasn’t as easy as he expected; he was nearly rejected by the organizers for lack of experience. Apparently, being an almost-Olympian did little to convince them he could survive fifty-five hours of below-freezing temperatures in several feet of snow on the Continental Divide.
But Jack persisted, and with the help of his former biathlon coach and proof of a grueling winter expedition afew years back, they allowed him to enter the race, reminding him more than once of the two-hundred-dollar mandatory drop fee if he failed partway through.
He appreciated their caution but figured if Steph could do it, he could too.
Jack thought back to how she looked up at him from the sidewalk, with snow on her jacket and her sunglasses knocked sideways. She was cute. Beyond cute.
Appreciative, too—until she realized who he was. Then she said thank you and, in the same breath, made it clear nothing had changed.
He understood. She was territorial, seeing his new running club and endurance race as a slight against her. He’d never meant to step on what she had built. That wasn’t how he approached anything. But he also wasn’t naive enough to think intentions could settle disputes, and he hadn’t moved to Basin County expecting a welcome mat.
Still.
He’d pulled her out of the path of a car, and she’d given him a clean, polite dismissal and run away. Literally, she’d run away.
He almost smiled at that.
“They’re ready for us,” Liam said, appearing beside him.
Jack stood and straightened his jacket.
The meeting was straightforward, the kind of thing that should have his full attention and mostly did, because he was good at that, at being present for work even when something else was running quietly in the background.
They went through the account restructuring, reviewed the projections Liam had put together, and talked through the timeline for the spring expansion. Liam asked the rightquestions. Jack answered the ones directed at him and let Liam lead, which was what they had planned since he was the money behind this operation. Jack brought a name and a face and little else.
Forty minutes later, they were back on the sidewalk.
The morning had shifted while they were inside. The sun was still bright and mostly useless against the cold, but the foot traffic had thinned. Jack stood for a moment and looked up the block toward the intersection.
The snowbank the sedan had bounced off of was still there. He wondered if anyone had bothered to track down the driver. Had Steph reported the incident?
“You’re thinking about her,” Liam said. It wasn’t a question.
Jack looked at him.
