A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (8 page)

“
Told ya she’d be falling
down,” Rusty whispered to Summer, keeping his eyes on me as he
continued to smile and wave.

“
Shut up, they’re coming
this way,” she hissed back at him.

Sometimes I really wished my hearing wasn’t
so sharp. I smiled and waved in return. Then we made our way over
to where they stood, with one boot on their boards, one in the
snow.

“
Hey guys, pretty smooth
huh? Are Burke and Delilah with you?” I directed my question to
Summer, too self-conscious from my fall to look Rusty in the eyes.
His expression still screamed,
I told you
so
.

“
They’re down there
somewhere. We decided to do a couple of runs with them and then
we’ll head over to lift four. Dee’s having a pretty hard time of
it,” Summer answered me but kept staring at Link.

“
Sorry... Manners...
Summer, Rusty, this is Link. Link... Summer and Rusty,” I hurried
through the introductions.

“
Hey,” they both chimed at
the same time.

“
Nice to meet you,” Link
smiled.

“
You guys go on ahead,
we’ll start in a sec,” I urged, not wanting an audience for my next
screw-up.

“
Okay, see ya,” Summer
waved goodbye and caught up to Rusty who had disappeared in a flash
the second I’d dismissed them.

As soon as they were out of sight, through
the narrow entrance, Link grasped my shoulders, “We’re going
through that entrance. Just watch your speed like I showed you.
We’re not going to do The Peaks this time, just Meadows. If you
feel like you are going way too fast then turn and head back up the
hill. That’ll bring you to a stop. Remember, I am with you,” he
squeezed my shoulders and flashed me my smile.

“
Okay, thanks for the pep
talk. I’m feeling brave. Let’s do it,” I smiled back a little more
confident now.

I dug my poles into the snow, pushed off,
and skied through the narrow entrance. I plowed my way to a stop as
soon as we came to a flat part. My face glowed in excitement. I did
it. It wasn’t so hard. It was actually a little thrilling.

“
That was pretty darn
good,” Link squeezed my arm.

“
Thanks, let’s keep
going.”

We pushed off again and this time I was
eager. The wind ripped through my hair and bellowed in my ears as I
picked up some speed. Link came up from behind me, fast. He turned
in front of me, circled around me, and then passed by me as I
steadily headed downhill.

“
Showoff,” I yelled as he
turned his head and flashed a smug grin.

When we reached the bottom, I caught sight
of the guys from school, and plowed to a stop in front of them.
Delilah was sitting down in the snow, openly displaying one of her
pouts.

“
I’ve spent more time on my
butt than on my feet. This butt is too cute to be abused this way,”
she glowered at Burke.

“
You’re absolutely right
Babe, but this was just your first run. It’ll get better. Give it
some time,” Burke gave her a wary smile, hopeful.

“
You,” she pointed at me,
“how many times did you fall?”

“
One,” I said.

“
How many runs?” She
demanded.

“
Two,” I answered timidly,
frightened by her expression.

“
Eight times, one run,” she
snapped.

I glanced over at Summer and Rusty in time
to watch them turn their heads and do a poor job of trying to cover
their smiling faces. They were truly amused by Delilah’s absolute
frustration.

“
But I’m skiing and you’re
boarding. Don’t compare the two,” I offered, hoping she would
agree.

“
Come on Dee,” Burke
reached down to help her. She accepted his hand and, still pouting,
he plucked her up out of the snow. Burke pulled her into his arms,
enveloping her tiny frame in his immense hug. I watched as her
expression changed from a disappointed pout to a contented smile as
she buried herself in Burke’s embrace. He leaned down to kiss the
top of her head and her smile widened.

“
Jeez, let’s go,” Rusty
exclaimed.

My second shuffle to the chair lift went
much smoother. I glanced down below and wondered what a fall from
such a height would do to a person. If someone were to lean just a
little too far forward they would plummet to the ground. I secretly
smiled at the thought of jumping down, landing all twisted and
injured, then walking into school on Monday as if nothing had
happened. The shock value alone, to witness the confused horror
plastered on the faces of the students and faculty was tempting.
But I knew I could never pull such a stunt. Even though it wouldn’t
permanently hurt me, it would still hurt – and not just me
physically, but everyone else emotionally. I pushed the thought out
of my mind and watched all the empty seats pass by, making their
way down to the waiting skiers. We passed an enclosed capsule with
a man inside. He was scanning the slopes below.

“
What’s that?” I asked
Link.

“
A gondola,” he answered,
surprised by the question.

“
Okay I guess I knew that.
I meant to ask, what is it doing on the lift?”

“
It transports non-skiers,
people meeting others at the restaurant down there, hikers in the
summer, whatever,” he looked at me. “Have you been on any of the
gondolas yet?”

“
No.”

“
How is that possible?
You’ve been in town for almost two months,” he was clearly shocked
by my admission.

“
So take me,” I challenged
him.

“
Oh I will,” he
smirked.

We got off the lift and I stayed upright.
Yay! During the next two runs I only fell one more time. My skis
crossed again, this time halfway down Meadows. One ski came off,
poles went flying, and snow invaded my gloves as I attempted to
break my fall. I got up, brushed myself off, and with considerable
help from Link, was soon on my way down again. At the end of that
second run, Summer suggested lunch. We all agreed. At this point in
the day food was necessary, skiing was strenuous work.

It felt marvelous to unbuckle the ski boots
and more freely move my ankles. Sadly, the heel-toe shuffle was
still necessary as we made our way into the restaurant at the base
of Meadows. I shuffled in line between Link and Summer. She pushed
her elbow into my side and when I glanced at her she was sporting a
cheesy grin. She wanted info. I mouthed, “Later,” at her and turned
to the guy behind the counter to order a bread bowl filled with
beef stew. The aroma of the warm stew made my body realize how
ravenous I really was. My stomach grumbled, loudly, and Link looked
at me.

“
Hungry?” he
asked.

“
Famished,” I
answered.

We all sat down at one of the empty tables
and I examined our little group. Delilah and Burke were leaning in
toward each other. She was giggling at something he had just said.
Rusty had one hand on Summer’s leg as he stuffed fries in his mouth
with the other. Link sat next to me, silently eating. I wondered if
he felt strange, sitting at this table with a bunch of teenagers.
Why was he here? Why did I want him here so badly?

After lunch, Delilah proclaimed she was
finished boarding for the day. Burke accepted defeat, and said he
would take her home. Summer and Rusty said they were going over to
lift four. They were tired of Meadows and wanted something faster
and more challenging. Link and I said we were going to stay. I
waved goodbye to everyone. Summer mouthed, “Call me,” as she
left.

I sighed, happy to be alone with Link again.
We spent the next few hours improving on my new skill. I loved
skiing with him. He was an ideal teacher and with his patient
instructions, I felt myself getting better with each run. My stops
were a little cleaner and my turns a little smoother by the end of
the day. Exhaustion started to take over just as the lifts were
about to close. We took our skis off, loosened our boots, and made
our way to the parking garage.

When we reached his vehicle I completely
de-geared, which seemed to go a lot faster than the gearing up did.
My feet were in heaven as I removed my armored boots and slipped
them into my soft sheepskin ones. I wiggled my toes, “Wow! That
feels amazing,” I said as I stretched my arms behind my head,
lengthening myself in the passenger seat.

Link smiled at me as he entered the vehicle,
“Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked.

“
Very much,” I yawned as a
day’s worth of hard exercise caught up with my now still body.
“Thank you, you were the perfect teacher,” I smiled in
return.

“
I’ve got powers,” he
teased.

“
Awesome powers,” I
agreed.

“
I’m glad you liked it.
Does that mean you’ll ski with me again?” he asked, uncertainty
present in his voice.

“
Does that mean you’d
really want to spend another day babysitting me on the slopes?
Wouldn’t you rather ski at your own level? I’m holding you back,” I
worried.

“
I can ski the harder stuff
on my days off, during the week, when you are in school. I’m
getting a kick out of watching you,” he grinned.

“
Well I’m glad to be the
source of your amusement,” I sulked, suddenly worried about being
laughed at.

“
That’s not what I meant,”
he corrected me. “The way your face lights up when you’re getting
it... I just love to watch it,” he paused, thinking, then
continued, “Honestly, I just like being with you. I’ve been alone
the last couple of years. It’s not a good feeling. But when I am
with you it feels right, familiar, comforting... Hell, I don’t know
how to explain it,” he trailed off lost for words.

“
I want to be around you
too,” I admitted as I placed my hand on top of his, “and honestly,
it scares me a little. I usually keep myself rather guarded around
everyone, except my aunt and uncle. But when you are with me, my
guard slips away without my being aware. I am more myself with you
than I’ve been with anyone I’ve ever met, in any city I’ve ever
lived, in a really, really long time,” I searched his face, his
eyes, for a sign that he questioned my statement. I understood that
it probably sounded a bit strange coming from the mouth of a
supposed seventeen year old. But Link held his gaze steady and
nodded his head in agreement.

We skied together all day Sunday as well. We
were more at ease with each other now. Laughing, teasing, talking,
but again staying away from any conversation too serious. We just
wanted to enjoy ourselves. I was more confident on my skis now. It
helped to know that Link was always close by, to lend a hand if I
fell. My sunny happy day was overshadowed by a nagging cloud of
doubt. How much longer could I keep pretending to be someone I was
not, to this man that I was inexplicably drawn to?

chapter six

PRESENTATION

“
You never called me this
weekend,” Summer winked at me. It was our last class, on Monday
afternoon, and I had been avoiding her all day.

“
Yeah dish,” Delilah chimed
in, “What’s with the older hottie? Summer told me he’s twenty-two,
works at the hardware store, and moved here to ski.”

“
That’s about all of it.
What do you need me for?” I said.

“
Oh no you don’t... Where
did you meet him? Why are your aunt and uncle letting you hang out
with him? My mom would freak,” Summer pressed for more
answers.

“
I met him on a hike,” that
sounded good without admitting to the embarrassing falling part,
“We are just friends so Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jason are cool with
it. Anyway I’m almost eighteen so that’s not such a huge difference
in our ages,” I defended myself.

“
Friends, I’m sure,”
smirked Delilah.

“
I like him, he likes me,
there’s no kissing involved so – sounds like a friendship to me.
Discussion’s over, Mrs. Beech is looking this way,” I said,
thankful for the excuse to end our little “chat” and avoid any
further questions.

“
I have, in this box, slips
of paper labeled with different important events in the history of
the United States. For example, The Great Depression,” Mrs. Beech
read from the slip she had just pulled out of the box. “What can
you tell me about that event?” she asked, in a monotone
voice.

Sara Evans raised her hand
with that smug,
I know everything,
smile ever present on her face. Mrs. Beech
immediately called on her. “The Great Depression started with The
Stock Market Crash of Nineteen Twenty-Nine, years of economic
strife followed,” Sara answered, clearly pleased with
herself.

“
Correct. So Sara, I’m
going to give this slip to you. You’re assignment will be to write
a three to four page summary of that major event in U.S. History.
You will present your paper to the class next week.

“
As will all of you,” she
addressed the class. “These presentations will help you study for
the final exam that you will be taking before Christmas Break. Each
of you will present a different event, in the history of the United
States, which was covered in class this past semester. Everyone up
here to draw,” she said.

We all got up from our seats and went to the
front of the class, where she stood. One by one, each student drew
a slip of paper from the shoe box she was holding. Then we all
returned to our desks.