Page 55 of Wedding Bells in Silverwood

Jonas gave her a sideways grin. “Deal.”

“See, it worked.”

“What worked?”

Viola shrugged. “Us chatting. I kept your mind off your fear of heights, right?”

He snickered. “Until now, anyway. Thanks for bringing it up.”

“Don’t worry. We’re about to get off.” She pointed to the sign that told them to raise the bar and prepare to unload.

“Hmm, I think I’m still going to need your assistance.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m here for you.”

Viola elevated the bar, and Jonas let out a shuddered breath.

“Okay, point the tips of your skis upward.” She released his hand and adjusted her position. “When our skis are touching the ground completely, lean forward. The chair will give us a little push. We don’t want it knocking us over, so straighten your body and go with it.”

Despite finding humor in how anxious he was, she was nervous for him. She gestured for him to follow her lead. In a matter of moments, she guided him off the lift and out of the way of the other dismounting skiers.

“Better?” Her smile was wide. Though she doubted he would have plummeted to his death, she was glad they’d arrived at the peak in one piece.

“Now that I’m touching the ground? Yes.” Moving his skis with exaggerated knee lifts, he shifted to face her. “Now it’s just a question of—Whoa!”

He’d turned at the wrong angle and began drifting backward down the slope. Viola’s eyes widened. She stretched her arms out in a futile attempt to catch him. It was too late. He was sliding farther and farther away.

Viola pulled her goggles over her eyes and pushed off with her poles. He wasn’t too far, but she could tell he was worried by the look on his face. She caught up to him and shifted to the side, hoping to bring her skis in front of him to stop his momentum. Instead, their runners got tangled, and they both toppled to the ground. Snow kicked up into their faces, and it took a moment before Viola could figure out if all arms and legs were intact.

“Are you all right?” he asked, reaching for her arm to help her sit up.

“Are you?”

His breath came out in spurts as he glanced around. “Yeah. I think so. Just a little embarrassed.”

After a second of assessing the situation, Viola couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore. Her lungs hurt from the frigid air she sucked in, but she couldn’t stop.

“Hey, it’s not funny,” Jonas said, but he was smiling. A few seconds later, his laughs joined hers.

“I hope nobody filmed that,” Viola said once her giggles had subsided. “That’s not exactly how I’d like to go viral.”

“Agreed.” Jonas managed to get to his feet.

He’d lost a ski but reached out to pull Viola up before hunting it down. The minute they were settled, she gazed at him.

“Are you ready to head down?” she asked.

“Is it all right if we go slow?”

“As slow as the mountain allows, sure.”

“I just have to warn you.” He shook his head. “I can’t promise I’ll be going up that lift again, so this might be our only trip down the mountain.”

“Oh, I don’t know. The ride down might be worth the trip up. You’ll see. Most of the time, the harder you work to achieve something, the more you appreciate it in the end.”

His gaze trailed over her features. His expression was so intense that Viola’s breath left her momentarily. Now, she was the one who was afraid of falling.

“That is true.” He lowered the goggles over his eyes. “Well, then. Let’s conquer this mountain.”

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