Page 75 of Stuck on the Slopes

“Juniper mentioned he installed them not long before I got here.” I looked to Juniper, and he mouthed a thanks, likely for going along with his dad’s attempt to pivot the conversation once more. “I can’t get over the view. You’ll have to forcibly drag me out of here in the summer months.”

“You must be a wonderful swimmer being from Florida,” Veronica said.

At least that assumption was both accurate and not antisemitic.

“Yeah, I think every kid played mermaids growing up. When I was in elementary school, I used to freak out the lifeguards at the community pool by sitting at the bottom. I could hold my breath for about two and a half minutes, and my mom would be poolside, reading a dime-store romance and completely unbothered.”

Drew and Juniper laughed, but Veronica’s eyes widened. “Oh, my. Did you ever compete?”

“Oh, like on a swim team? No, no. I lifeguarded for a short stint in high school to help save for college, but that’s about it.”

Veronica looked disappointed. “Juniper here started skiing when he was three and took to a snowboard at five. He was such a little prodigy. Still is.”

Sensing the conversation drifting back in a direction Juniper would rather avoid, I tried to take the reins for his sake. “This was the first place you took him, right?”

“It was! Oh, I can’t believe it’s been about twenty-five years since we first came here.”

“It’s a beautiful place,” I said. “No wonder y’all love it so much.”

“It is. I just hope Junebug hasn’t been giving you a hard time. He’s never been one for friends.”

Juniper’s hand slid down my wrist until our fingers interlaced. I gave his hand a squeeze in response, a silent way of telling him, “Don’t worry, I won’t let go.” He squeezed back, his way of saying thanks and perhaps something else: words unspoken but felt, nonetheless.

“Well,” I said, “when you work on renovating an old resort together, you get pretty close whether you want to or not.”

His phone buzzed. Juniper grabbed it from his back left pocket with his free hand and announced that our takeout order was ready. “Rachel, want to come with me to pick the food up? We can give my parents a second to relax.”

“Happy to help.”

I hadn’t said much because I wasn’t sure how much Juniper wanted his parents to know. But in a surprising display of affection, Juniper kissed my temple. “You’re probably not used to driving in the snow yet. We’ll take my car.”

“Won’t fight you on that.”

“It’s closed today, so I doubt Edgar will mind if we use The Elk’s Head. We’ll be back soon,” Juniper said to his parents. “Come on, Squatch. Let’s go for a ride.”

The moment we got into his SUV, Juniper slumped his head against the headrest. It made his hair fall out of the half-bun on top of his head as a few strands fell around his face. Sasquatch was panting in the backseat, his boots covered with snow like my own were.

“Hey,” I said. “It’ll be okay.”

Juniper backed us out of his space, pulled the car into drive, and then reached for my hand again. While he kept his eyes on the road, he kept an iron grip on it.

“We’ve always fought,” Juniper said. He was so quiet it was almost a whisper. “Since I was old enough to talk back, we’ve always fought. If it wasn’t for my dad, I think I’d have gotten on my board and yeeted myself off the slopes. He let me more or less be a kid and do what I wanted. But my mom has had a very specific idea of how my career should look. Like one of the parents on Dance Moms or some shit.”

I didn’t say anything. Instead, I let him talk and gave his hand a squeeze.

“Everything I did in my career, I did the opposite of what she wanted. It kills her, I think, to see I’ve been successful without following her advice. Once I turned eighteen, I was put on the sexiest athlete lists. And let me tell you, when you get thrust into a career you didn’t really get to decide on and then you get sexualized for it?” His jaw clenched. “It was so fucked.”

“I’d have been an asshole, too,” I said.

“I’m glad you get it. My mom… she told me I should be grateful. That people were noticing my skill and falling in love with me, and that my handsome face made up for my shit personality.”

“You don’t have a shit personality.”

“It means a lot to me to hear you say that. Because the truth is, I have had a shit personality for a long time, but when I heard your boss trying to win you back? Something snapped. I knew I couldn’t lose you. Not just for myself, but for the lodge. You bring out the best in me, you know. I owe you a lot.”

“Well, you helped me get my head out of my ass and have a life outside of work, so consider us even.”

“I’ve been thinking of a new title for you, by the way. Once this place opens. How do Co-owner and CMO sound?”

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