Page 28 of Hero's Prize

Ella had no idea what to say.

“Ella, let me go down and talk to Uncle Boy. Get you on the list. It’s just a mistake,” Lilah said.

Ella swallowed the lump in her throat, but it didn’t budge. Yes, it was possible that it was a mistake, but what if Colton had specifically said he didn’t want to see her? That was an option. How humiliating would it be if Lilah got down there and they told her the same thing.

“Listen, it’s fine,” Ella said. “You guys go and just keep me updated, all right?”

“No,” Becky said. “Let us get this fixed?—”

Ella leaned in to her friend so she could whisper. “Maybe Colton doesn’t want to see me. I can’t take the risk.”

Becky reached down and squeezed her hand then she turned and looked at Lilah and Bear. “Ella is going to go home.”

Lilah started to argue, but Becky held out a hand firmly. “She’s going home. Give her the keys.”

Lilah finally nodded and dug the keys out of her pocket, handing them to Ella.

“I’m sorry, El,” Bear said. “This really is probably just an error. Iknow neither Colton nor his parents would leave you off any visitation list on purpose.”

Ella forced a smile. “Colton is going to be okay. That’s all that matters. Call me if anything changes. I’ll see you guys back in Oak Creek.”

She turned and walked away before anyone could see the tears falling down her cheeks.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

Two months later

Colton stood leaning against the back wall of his team’s conference room at their home base office just outside Denver. It was getting late, but Tony had brought the team together to see the edited footage of last week’s paragliding stunt.

Colton watched himself dip and fly through the air, grinning like he didn’t have a care in the world, almost as if he were watching a stranger. But he had to admit the camera footage, and what had been done to it in editing, was exceptional. Tony, as always, had known what he was doing and what shots he wanted to get. What shots people would love.

The way everyone in the room cheered as the video ended and the lights came up in the room, Tony had once again done what he did best: make Colton look like a superstar.

“And that’s how it’s done, people.” Tony was grinning from ear to ear at the head of the conference table. Public relations and media were his show; this was his team. Colton was more than happy to let him run with everything. “You all did your job perfectly, and the results were fantastic. Good job.”

The team of eight erupted into cheers, hugging and slapping one another on the backs. Tony was right—everyone had done a great job. Another successful stunt in the books.

It wasn’t the first since the accident. Colton had done half a dozen televised stunts since the avalanche—rock-climbing, canyoning, BMX biking, kitesurfing, and, most recently, paragliding at dawn from the Makapu’u Cliffs in Hawaii.

All successful.

Hell, he’d even gone snowboarding two weeks after leaving that hospital. Nothing nearly as elaborate as the original stunt off Grand Teton, but enough to prove he wasn’t going to let a bunch of snow get the better of him.

“You just wait,” Tony announced. “This is going to get a shit-ton of views, and nobody had to almost die for us to go viral.”

Everybody cut their eyes over to Colton, and he forced a grin onto his face. “The nobody-has-to-die stunts are quickly becoming my favorite.”

Everyone laughed, and Tony dismissed them to get to work posting and preparing for the next event. He walked over to Colton.

“Sorry, boss, that joke too soon?”

Colton thumped him on the shoulder. “It’s all good.”

And it was all good. Colton hadn’t suffered any long-term damage from the avalanche. A slightly sprained wrist and a bunch of bruises, but no broken bones or concussion. Yeah, CPR from his dad had been necessary, but he hadn’t had any long-standing effects from that either.

Everything was fine. Better than fine.

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