A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1)(78)

His arms close around me. He kisses me for real.

And then we really are like the playground rhyme—kissing in a tree.





We ski several hours together all over the mountain. And every time we get onto a ski lift, we plan something new.

“I need to ask Weston and Crew to move home,” Reed declares as we float over pine trees.

“Will they say yes?”

He laughs. “Not easily. But I can start the conversation. Both of them will eventually need a change. And if we’re really going to grow this place, we need heli skiing and a halfpipe, right?”

“That’s true,” I concede. “But there are other pilots and other riders.”

“I want them,” he says. “Both of them. But here’s an easier question. Where do you want to live? If you and I could live anywhere in Penny Ridge? Where’s the dream house.”

“Hmm. I assume we’ll be in my apartment for a while, at least. Unless you need your own space. I hear room twenty-five is still vacant.”

He snorts. “Who’s a funny girl? How about this—I’ll have Sheila watch for any mountain condos that go up for sale. I assume you like your commute. But there’s always Penny Ridge, if you’d rather live in town. Someday there might even be a ski lift you could ride from town to work.”

“I love that idea, but I think a mountain condo makes sense if the price isn’t too high.”

“My place in Palo Alto has appreciated. When I sell, we can put the cash into a new place. We could even build something if we could get a permit for one more mountainside dwelling unit. It could work.”

“Something will pan out,” I agree, my heart thumping with excitement. “And my place is fine for now. Although we’ll eventually want more space, right?”

“I hope so,” he says quietly. His eyes find mine. “Do you think someday you’d be ready to try again for a baby? Not soon. But eventually?”

The vulnerability in his brown eyes tells me exactly what he means. “Yes,” I say softly. “I would like to try again. Eventually.”

He pulls me a little closer on the lift. “You are everything I ever wanted in my life, Ava. If it never happens for us, that will be okay, too.” He takes a shaky breath. “You are so loved.”

My eyes fill with tears, and the white snow and blue sky smear together like a watercolor painting.

It’s not the view I’m used to. But it’s still beautiful.





CHAPTER 36




SEPTEMBER, NINE MONTHS LATER





AVA It’s a crisp fall day in downtown Penny Ridge when Reed asks me, “Is it time?”

“It’s time. Knock ’em dead, honey.” I give him a playful shove toward the podium where he’s about to preside over a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Before he takes a step, he leans in with twinkling brown eyes and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. “I’m looking forward to riding the new chairlift with you to the top after this. Don’t go anywhere.”

“You got it.”

I get a peck on the mouth, but he still seems hesitant to walk away. Tucker Block gestures to him, and he reluctantly drops my hand. The two of them approach the podium to polite applause.

We’re standing in front of a brand-new ski lift. As Reed had intended, it’s ready in time for the new ski season. It will carry skiers and snowboarders up what used to be the unskiable back side of Madigan Mountain.

The community plaza and band shell are still under construction, and the new condos won’t be ready until next year. It took Reed and Tucker many long months to get the expansion off the ground.

Ultimately, we’ll get fifty new condo units at the mountain’s base to go along with all that new terrain. The project was carefully planned to fit well within the town’s historic low-rise vibe. The condos will be contemporary treasures, and the sunken parking garage will have a green rooftop featuring a four-season cafe.

It’s really happening. We’re celebrating their first big milestone. And since it’s September, and the aspens are turning a perfect shade of gold, Reed and Tucker have invited the town of Penny Ridge for a preseason ride up the mountain just for fun.

My hotshot boyfriend approaches the microphone. He’s wearing a cabled sweater that makes him look like a Ralph Lauren model on a crisp fall day, and more than one woman in the crowd gets a dreamy look in her eye as he taps the mic. “Good afternoon! It’s my pleasure to welcome you to the ribbon cutting on the Town Quad Express.”

There’s more applause. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle, because I’m fun like that.

Our gazes lock, and he gives me a private smile before continuing. “Last year I made the move to come back to Colorado, and I couldn’t be happier. Building this project in the town where I grew up is really a dream come true. The only bummer about the whole thing is that this lift—” He indicates the new chair. “—didn’t exist when I was younger. I would have liked to be one of the few kids who could ski to school in the morning.”

The crowd laughs as if he’s joking. But I know he’s not.

“I’m totally doing that,” Callie’s daughter says from the front row of the crowd.

“No, you’re not,” Callie murmurs even as she kneels to take a photo of Reed at the podium.