Page 126 of Just Let Go

CHAPTER

30

IT WAS ALL TOO MUCH.The accident. The memories.Her.

Grady was ready to walk away until she turned around and thanked him. Looking at her then—her eyes so earnest and honest, like no one he’d ever known. He knew he didn’t deserve her, but oh, he wanted her.

In the week since Jaden’s accident, Grady had done a lot of soul-searching. He’d cashed out some stocks and caught up on Benji’s medical bills, instructing the hospital to send back the half of the payment his brother had made. It was a Band-Aid, and he knew it, but he’d take the rest as it came. He’d kept up with his training. Made an important phone call that might turn out to be fruitless—but maybe not. And he’d even reached out to Brian, and that conversation had taken a lot of courage.

Brian wasn’t convinced anything about Grady had changed, figured it was just a ploy to get back on his good side, and that was okay. Grady wouldn’t try to twist his arm—not with words, anyway. He’d let his skiing and his attitude speak for themselves.

His workouts were going well, and though he spent his evenings soaking his weary muscles, he was getting stronger, feeling better and more ready for his race than ever before.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was that he’d started praying—some version of praying, anyway. It wasn’t pretty or poetic, but it was honest, and he had to believe it was enough.

He didn’t sense a huge change, not yet anyway. But he wasn’t playing the short game here, and he wasn’t giving up.

The Winter Carnival drew a good-size crowd, considering that Harbor Pointe wasn’t a big town. He carried his mask, shocked to see there wasn’t a single face that wasn’t covered.

“You better put that on,” Ryan Brooks said, coming up beside him. “If they see you without one, I think you get sentenced to two more weeks of community service.”

Grady laughed. “Don’t act like that’s so crazy around here.” He stuck the mask on his face.

“Good to see you, man. Your big race is coming up. Feeling good?”

“Feeling ready,” Grady said, though even thinking about it kicked up the nerves in his belly. “Well, Iwill beready.”

“I’m inviting the whole town out to watch it in the clubhouse. We can’t all fly to Colorado, but we can cheer you on from here.” Ryan clapped a hand on Grady’s shoulder, and he was thankful for the mask covering his eyes. He’d never had a cheering squad, at least not one made up of people he knew.

“Thanks. That means a lot.”

A dark-headed woman came up behind Ryan and wrapped her arms around him. “You owe me a dance, Brooks.”

“Okay, but hurry up before my fiancée sees me.”

“Funny.” She swatted him on the shoulder. “Hey, Grady.”

“Hey, Lane.”

“We’ll catch up with you later,” Ryan said, letting Lane pull him onto the dance floor.

Grady watched them, something like envy rising up inside. Hedidn’t often envy other people, but Ryan and Lane had something special—it was obvious. He hoped one day he’d have something worth holding on to.

He wandered through the pavilion, captivated by the beauty of the white lights, the ice sculptures, and yes, the flowers. Quinn had cast the vision, and it had turned out perfectly.

He listened to the chatter as people marveled at her artistry. If only he could find her to congratulate her himself.

As he wound his way through the crowd, he maneuvered around the tall, circular tables evenly spaced throughout. Servers zigzagged through the maze carrying trays of champagne and horsd’oeuvres.

He stopped near one of the tall tables and turned a quick circle, hoping to spot Quinn, but in the sea of black tuxes and formal dresses, he came up empty.

“It’s quite beautiful, don’t you think?” A regal-looking woman stood at the nearest tall table, a program of the night’s events splayed in front of her with a few other papers.

He nodded. “It really is.”

“Were you involved with—” she waved her hand in the air—“allthis?”

“Sort of.”

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