Page 73 of Stuck on the Slopes

As she reached a hand out, Juniper said, “Don’t pet him.”

Juniper told me he adopted Sasquatch almost three years ago now;how long had it been since he saw his parents?

“Why not? Does he bite?”

Juniper couldn’t have sounded any more unamused as he said, “No. He’s working and doesn’t need the distraction.”

With a smile, I added, “He’s a service dog. You shouldn’t pet them while they’re at work. His name is Sasquatch.”

Juniper then said, “And her name is Rachel. Rachel, these are my parents, Veronica and Drew.”

“You must be the girl Juniper hired to help with all the maintenance work,” Veronica said. “Nice to meet you.”

With a little wave, I tried to sound as chipper as possible. “That would be me! It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Sorry again about the mix-up earlier.”

“I didn’t have time to let her know you were coming,” Juniper said. “Since I unplugged for a bit this morning, I saw your message too late. Hope you’re okay with takeout for lunch.”

Veronica opened her mouth to say something—based on the way her brows furrowed, likely in protest—but Drew beat her to it with an affirmation.

“I suppose that’s fine.” The way Veronica rose her brows suggested it was not, in fact, fine. “Rachel, is that okay with you?”

“Oh, I usually have takeout on Christmas,” I said with a dismissive wave. “No big deal for me.”

Veronica looked so taken aback, you’d have thought I told her I also like to kick kittens for Christmas. “You do?”

“It’s been a family tradition since I was a kid. That and going to the movies. I’m Jewish, so Christmas is like any other day, but my family and I took advantage of the empty theaters.”

Veronica grinned as she looked at her son like she had something profound to say. “No wonder you hired her! I bet she’s great with the bookkeeping.”

Internally, I cringed, but it wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before. As Juniper’s spine straightened, I tried to let it pass with a joke. “Quite awful with it, really. Math was never my strong suit.”

Whereas I attempted to diffuse the tension, Juniper had other ideas. “Why would she be great with the bookkeeping, hmm?”

Veronica stuttered. “What do you mean?”

“Not that I don’t think Rachel’s smart. But I’m curious why you would assume she was a bookkeeper.”

“Well, you know, I—”

But Juniper’s expression was as steely as ever. If I thought I’d ever seen him mad or grumpy before, I’d been mistaken; this was a look that could kill, probably literally if he kept it up. He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight, popping one of his knees in the process. “You what?”

Part of me wanted to place a hand on his shoulder and tell him to drop it and not to fight over me. But Juniper was the first gentile ever to speak up for me in a situation like this. Plenty of non-Jewish friends had shared infographics on their Instagram Stories in the wake of attacks on synagogues a few years ago, but their activism typically remained on nine-by-nine grids.

So instead of stopping him, I stood by his side, pushing back the urge to grab him by that long, handsome face of his and kiss him on the mouth. While I was sure he wouldn’t mind if I did right now, it didn’t quite feel like the time or place.

Veronica said, “Forget it, Juniper.”

“No.” His foot tapped expectantly. “No, I don’t think I will. Why, hmm?”

“Forgive me, Rachel.” Veronica sighed in defeat. “It was presumptuous of me to think that. You just seem like such a smart girl.”

Yeah, a Jewish one at that.

The old me would have smiled and nodded. Past Rachel wouldn’t have wanted to ruffle any feathers. But not the new Rachel. The new me posted photos of myself in sexy bunny outfits online for no reason other than the fuck with people. And if anyone would understand, it would be Juniper. If anything, he’d applaud it.

I almost didn’t recognize my own voice when I said, “While I appreciate the compliment, it does always surprise me when people say the quiet part out loud. It’s fascinating how much effort it takes for people to unlearn basic history.”

I could have sworn I saw pride flash across Juniper’s face as Veronica turned red and cleared her throat. “Right. So!” She clapped her hands together. “What exactly does Juniper have you doing?”

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