Epilogue
Sam flew down the mountain, wind on her cheeks, bright sun glinting off the snow. Austin was ahead of her, but she was close on his heels. She’d been traveling back and forth between Seattle and Gold Mountain for almost a year now, and all the skiing she’d done last winter had stayed in her bones. Although she still got a secret thrill in her stomach whenever she stood on the lip of Diamond Bowl and looked down, it was a surge of happiness that hit her—not fear.
Okay, maybe a little bit of fear. It was still a long way down.
But she liked the rush. She didn’t think she’d ever stop being awed by this landscape—or the man she was with. She took the moguls with everything she had, bringing her whole body into each turn. Ahead of her Austin pulled up short, laughing, and she nearly bowled into him, spraying him with snow as punishment for beating her yet again.
It wasn’t really a competition. They were out here to have fun, taking in an early-morning run before the rest of the town woke up. After a sweet, lazy summer in which Austin spent most of his time in Seattle, Sam had been sure to be in the mountains so he could take advantage of the first major snowfall of the year.
“Still remember how to do this?” he asked, breathing hard.
“Please,” she scoffed. “I nearly had your ass on that run.” She smacked his butt. Instantly he pounced on her, toppling her backward into a mogul powdery with fresh snow.
“Get off!” she cried, hysterical with laughter, but he pinned her there as her skis swung in the air. Even through their layers, lying in the snow, the weight of his body against her felt like home, felt exactly where her body belonged.
“Are you ready for today?” he asked, still not getting off her.
“Of course I am.”
“It’s a big day.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“New Kane offices opening in Gold Mountain.”
“It’s not a big deal,” she reiterated. “It’s just so we can have a home base up here while the development is happening.”
“Yeah, because the boss lady spends so much time at some guy’s house in the woods. She’s not in Seattle enough to get anything done.”
“Or it’s so we can actually be part of the town and not just come in when we need something. And the boss lady spent plenty of time in Seattle, so much that she was afraid her boyfriend was going to get sick of it.”
“I’m more worried you’re going to get sick of being up here.”
Sam shifted under him so she could raise her goggles. She squinted, trying to read his expression. She’d thought they were joking, but Austin looked serious. “I’m never getting sick of you,” she said. “Don’t you know by now you’re stuck with me?”
“Do you mean that?” he asked.
“I love you.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you, too.”
“So no more nonsense about me not wanting to be at your house.”
“Well, actually.” He took a deep breath. “I was thinking that if you’re going to be spending so much time here, maybe it shouldn’t be my house anymore. Maybe it should be ours.”
He lifted off her and popped out of his skis. Then he knelt down in the snow. Sam sat up, brushing snow from her jacket. Was he saying what she thought he was?
Austin took off his gloves, the leather dark and warm. She remembered the first time he’d worn them, after she’d come back from the Hendersons’ and spent the night at his place. They’d spent so long in bed they were scrambling by the time they had to leave, rushing to their cars. When Sam saw Austin reach for the gloves by the door, she offered to take them back to the store on her way out.
But Austin said no. “It’s cold out today. I was thinking I’d take them for a test run. Leave those crappy duct-taped things at home.”
Sam came over to him and took his hands in hers. “Your gloves aren’t crappy. I know they mean something, and I wasn’t trying to take that away.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need to hold on so much to the things that hurt me. It might be time for me to try something else.”
Sam scrunched up her face, confused. “But I thought you said they reminded you of your uncle. Of good things—of someone who cared.”
“Sure. But having only one thing like that—it also keeps present in my mind how little else I had. It’s like I’m always carrying around the fact that I chose to shatter my knee instead of make the team.”
Sam pulled down his hat so it better covered his ears. “You were protecting your mother.”
“I don’t know if I was saving myself or throwing everything away.” His voice was quiet. They were on their way out—it wasn’t the time to talk. And yet, in a way, that was the beginning of things for them, the moment their relationship became real. They knew they could say what they were thinking, whether it was the right time or not.
“It’s okay to move on,” Sam said. “It doesn’t mean you have to give anything up. It’s like you said when I fell on the moguls. It means you’re learning, pushing yourself, trying something new.”
“I’ll move on if you stick around,” Austin had said.
And now he was saying it again, only it wasn’t just words anymore. He pulled a small black box from his pocket. Sam took off her helmet and dropped it in the snow. She couldn’t believe she was being proposed to in the middle of a ski trail, her hair a mess, cheeks flushed, a trickle of snow melting down her cheek.
But of course this was how she wanted it, outside on a bright blue day, her heart pounding and so full she thought she might burst.
“You’re smiling like a maniac and I haven’t even shown you what’s inside,” Austin said, and she laughed.
“As if that makes a difference to my answer.” But of course the ring was beautiful—he’d picked it out with help from Claire and Mack.
“Mack doesn’t seem like the wedding ring type,” Sam joked as she slid on the ring, glittering as brightly as the snow in the sun.
Austin laughed. “And yet she kept insisting she knew what you’d like.”
“She was right,” Sam said, and she meant it. “We need to set her up with Connor, finally get the two of them happy.”
Austin’s eyes bugged out. Sam hadn’t meant to spend the moment talking about their friends, but she couldn’t help it. Seeing Austin’s expression, she laughed. “You don’t think so?”
“You obviously haven’t seen them really go at it.” He shuddered. “It’s not pretty.”
Sam shrugged. “Sometimes the people you disagree with the most passionately are the ones you feel most passionately about.”
“In our case, we worked out our differences. The two of them? I could never see it happening.” He leaned forward and took her in his arms. “So, boss lady. What do you say? Are you going to marry me and ski with me until I’m old and decrepit and can’t walk anymore?”
Sam extended her hand, warm from her gloves. His fingers enveloped hers, and just that brush with his skin made her crave his touch, his lips, his tongue. She pulled him toward her and kissed him, tasting him slowly, savoring. Enjoying everything she had.
When she could finally pull away, she brushed her lips to his ear. Still holding him, she whispered, “You, my love, have got yourself a deal.”
They skied down and went home, fed Chloe, and sat drinking coffee at the kitchen table, talking about the future, their plans, the life they were going to build. Framed on the wall was a napkin stained with ink and two signatures, the promise that Austin would work for Kane Enterprises for a whopping $7.99. It always made Sam smile. He made Sam smile.
“Ready for practice today?” she asked as he reluctantly got up to gather his things.
“I wish I didn’t have to go, but I’ve got to meet the new team. It’s going to be different without Amelia this year.”
“You’ll have plenty of new talent,” she said. “Besides, now you can say you coached the woman who’s currently crushing it on the U.S. Ski Team.”
“That is a plus.” He grinned. “And she says she’s loving it, which makes it even better. What are you going to do? Head to the office?”
“Hell, no,” she said and laughed at his surprise. “I’ve got a million people to call. Starting with my mom.” She admired the ring again. “We’ll call your mom, too, when you get back. Okay?”
“Okay,” he agreed, and she was glad he’d taken that step. She wished her dad were here to celebrate with them, to walk her down the aisle and give her stern, fatherly advice when she wasn’t asking for it…but she knew he’d be happy with her choices, and proud of the way the new development was shaking out.
She might not have done everything right, but when she looked at Austin, his grin as he gave her one last kiss before grabbing his jacket and keys, she knew that whatever mistakes she made, she’d continue to work through. With a strong, loving man by her side.
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