Baby, It's Cold Outside (20 page)

“I know some terrific stashes I can take you to. We’ll have a blast while you’re here.”

“That’ll be great.” It had been years since they’d spent much time together. It would be good to rebuild the closer relationship they’d once enjoyed.

He leaned down and grasped one side of the mono-ski. “Help me carry this back to the center.”

She took up her half of the burden and they began moving through the crowd at the base of the lift. She couldn’t stop smiling, savoring this new connection with her father. Right now she felt closer to him than she had in years.

She felt closer to Kristján too. He had broken down barriers no man had breached before. She’d thought she was being smart, protecting herself from being hurt, but he’d shown her the rewards of taking risks. She hadn’t won an Olympic medal, but love was an even bigger reward—one she was beginning to hope would be hers.

K
RISTJÁN PACED THE
Adaptive Sports Center office, which was a confusion of wheelchairs, crutches and one seeing-eye dog who waited patiently in a corner. What did Stacy mean, showing up out of the blue, then ignoring him?

Granted, she was talking to her father, but she’d scarcely looked at him, even when Ed had spilled the news about his decision to teach at the Adaptive Sports Center. Was she so disappointed that he was following in her father’s footsteps?

The door opened and he looked up as father and
daughter entered, the mono-ski supported between them. Ed moved behind the desk to answer the phone, and Stacy made her way to Kristján. “How are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m fine.” His eyes searched hers, trying hard to read her emotions. “I expected to hear from you before now.”

“I know. I…I had some things I needed to sort out.” She looked away from him, at the equipment scattered around the room. “You really want to teach here?”

“Yes.” Unable to stand the suspense any longer, he took her hand and pulled her into a small side office, and shut the door behind them. He had things he needed to say to her, but not in front of an audience. “Skiing is what I know and what I love. I know you don’t understand that, but it’s part of who I am. This is a way to still ski, but to help others and do something meaningful.”

“I understand.” She squeezed his hand, and looked at him once more, her eyes shining. “While you’ve been here, deciding what you really wanted to do with your life, I’ve been thinking about my life, as well.”

He stiffened. Was this the point where she told him they couldn’t be together? Did she think he would let her go without a fight? “What did you decide?”

“That I need to make some changes. I need to spend time on things other than work. I need to stop judging people on the basis of what they do, and look instead at who they really are. And I need to think about myself the same way.”

That told him all about her. But where did that leave
them?
“One of the things I admired about you when we first met was that you had such a strong sense of purpose,” he said. “You knew exactly what you wanted and what to do to get it, while I felt so aimless and unfocused.”

She smiled. “I guess I am like that. But you made me see that sometimes I’ve wanted the wrong things.” Her eyes filled with tears again.

He could stand it no longer, and gathered her in his arms. She didn’t resist, but leaned into him, her head on his shoulder. “Why are you crying?” he asked. “You are too hard on yourself.”

“I’m not sad, I promise.” She sniffed, and raised her head to look up at him. “I’m just so happy. Seeing you again, hearing you talk about your work—it makes me see how much I love you. How
right
being with you feels.”

The fear and pain that had squeezed his heart vanished, and he felt like shouting for joy. He settled instead for holding her closer. “I love you, Stacy,” he said. “Please don’t leave me again.”

“I won’t. I want to stay with you. And I want to spend time getting to know my father better, too. That’s why, when I was in Denver, I made arrangements to transfer here, to Crested Butte. So that I can be with both of you.”

“You’re moving here?”

She nodded. “I’ve made all the arrangements.”

“What if I can’t extend my visa and must return to Iceland?”

“Businesses there need marketing directors. Or I can freelance.” The determination that had impressed him that first day returned to her eyes. “I’m not going to worry about that now. I’ve wasted too much time already preparing for bad things that never came to pass. I want to enjoy the life I have right now. With you.”

He kissed the top of her head and hugged her tight.
“You’d follow me even to the ‘frozen wilderness’ as you called it?”

“Yes.” She snuggled closer, a refugee who had found her true home in his arms. “Wherever I am with you, I know I’ll be warm.”