Page 27 of Mountain Trial

Luc

Suddenly, he found himself surrounded by people. Loud voices congratulated him for what many considered the first backflip performed on a sit ski.

That was actually incorrect, and Luc was quick to point that out. The first backflip performed by a paraplegic, very similar to the one he’d just done, had been achieved years earlier, at Canada’s Powder Mountain.

I’m standing―or rather sitting―on the shoulders of giants.

A man shoved a microphone in Luc’s face.

“How do you feel, Fournier?”

“I’m happy. It was a good jump.”

The owner of the microphone laughed. Luc smiled and waved, to avoid revealing more about how he really felt.

Tired.

Relieved.

Shaking with adrenaline.

Coach made his way to the front of the line, carrying his wheelchair. Luc eyed it gratefully.

Ignoring the crowd around him, his muscles still shaking with excess adrenaline, he transferred from his sit ski to his wheelchair. His body didn’t cope with adrenaline as well as it used to.

Maybe it’s the injury.

Or my age. I’m not twenty years old anymore.

Despite the fact that this wasn’t the first-ever backflip, Luc was pleased with himself. He’d managed what he’d set out to do. And he’d done it while compensating for the twenty pounds of metal around his lower body, which changed his balance completely.

He smiled and waved at the crowd once again, then pushed off.

That was when he saw Kat.

Their gazes crossed for an instant. She must have read something in his eyes, for she started half-jogging towards him, her official-looking uniform helping her clear a path to him.

He was glad she didn’t wait for him to make his way towards her.

“That was impressive,” she said, then blushed. “The word is inadequate. That was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Luc smiled, feeling inordinately pleased with the compliment, but she surprised him by speaking again.

“I hated every second of it. Every moment you were in the air, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.” Her dark blue eyes looked vulnerable, as if she wasn’t used to sharing her feelings like that.

Luc frowned. He placed his hand on hers. The contact―glove against glove― was light, but it felt real.

“Kat … I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I was going to do. I’ve practiced this multiple times before. It was very safe.”

Her forehead smoothed out.

“It was an incredible jump. I knew you were good, but―”

“So, does that mean you’ll have dinner with me?” he interrupted.

Kat laughed, and this time the laughter reached her eyes.

“Give me your number. I’ll send you the name of the restaurant. See you there at seven.”