Page 24 of Because of Blake
“Hour and a half.”
“Fine,” Sydney huffs.
I wrap my arm around her and squeeze. “Thanks. Now, let’s get suited up!”
At the park, Dylan and I take turns going down the hill, and it only takes a few attempts to get Sydney to go down, too. Even though I’m freezing my ass off, our laughter warms my insides. For a moment, I forget my kids are almost teens and I’m reminded of sledding when they were young.
Charlie was a daredevil sledder. He’d do all kinds of crazy stuff and scare the daylights out of me doing it. If I wasn’t so afraid my tears would freeze to my face, I’d let myself cry, but I don’t want icicles hanging off my chin, so I choke back the tears and focus on my happy kids.
“Mom! Your turn!” Dylan squeals, handing me the rope to the sled.
“I think I’m done, guys.”
“No, do one more, Mom!” Dylan pleads.
“Yeah, Mom. This was your idea, anyway,” Sydney says as she folds her arms.
My daughter will unravel me completely one day, which might be today.I take the sled from Dylan and line it up in one of our tracks. If I’m going to do this again, I’m going for an easy, pre-made trail. I drop into the plastic seat and count down for Dylan to give me a push. As I get to “one,” Sydney also grabs on and helps Dylan propel me down the hill.
I hold my breath.
This is way too fast, and I’m way too old for insane stunts like this. As I’m going through the multitude of outcomes, I see Blake walking Oscar through the park. It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve spoken. Between all the breaks from school and the crappy weather, I haven’t had a chance to see him.
My staring only lasts a second before I reach the bottom of the hill, hitting a huge pile of packed down snow and flying into the air. The sled goes one way and I go another, rolling across the frozen tundra like a giant, screaming snowball.
I finally stop, my face buried in the snow, and I laugh. I’m laughing so hard, I don’t notice two strong hands grip my arms to roll me over. As I settle onto my back, I’m put eye to eye with Blake’s gorgeous, bearded face, but whereas I’m laughing, he’s not.
Trying to stifle my laughter, I press my lips together and watch the worry melt from his face. He lets out a light chuckle and shakes his head. “You’re nuts, Maggie Hansen.” Rising to his knee, he lifts me by the elbow to sit up. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a move.”
“I bet you never thought I’d be into extreme sports, huh?”
With a tilt of his head and that adorable warm smile, he says, “Color me amazed.” He holds my gaze for longer than a standard moment, and I’m no longer freezing. His gloved hand reaches over and brushes snow from my face, his finger lingering on my cheek.
This effect Blake has on me is terrifying, in a way. Right now, my heart is going to burst from my chest with a million butterflies carrying it away. I’m so warm, but not in a lying-on-the-beach-in-Mexico sort of way. I’m warm on the inside. It’s radiating from my core, and I wish I could say it was adrenaline from my awesome sledding jump, but deep down, I know the warmth comes from Blake’s attention.
My children choose that moment to arrive. “Mom! Are you okay?” Sydney asks as she drops to her knees at my side.
“I’m fine, sweetheart. It was actually fun.”
“That was like the stuff Dad used to do!” Dylan yells, the excitement in him palpable.
I swallow and turn back to Blake. “Thanks for rushing to my aid, but I think I’m good.”
“Well, in that case, let me have a turn.” Blake hands me Oscar’s leash, and jogs across the snow to retrieve the sled before heading up the hill. Once at the top, he waves to us and settles into the plastic seat. He pushes himself off, flying down what looks like the same path I took. My suspicions are confirmed when he hits the bump and sails into the air, though he manages to keep his butt in the sled. It hits the ground, bouncing around, and gracefully slides to a stop.
Dylan claps and jumps up and down as he cheers for Blake, much in the way he used to cheer for Charlie. It’s heartwarming, but sad at the same time, and I’m reminded of why I can’t get involved with Blake. No matter how fun he is, or how cute he looks in his winter hat, or even how a touch from his gloved finger burns on my skin, he’ll never be Charlie.
I stand up, brushing the snow from my pants and clearing my throat before Blake and I exchange the sled for Oscar. “Good run, Blake. I give you an eight out of ten.”
He gapes at me. “Only an eight? Even though I stayed in the sled the whole time?”
“This is extreme sledding, remember? Only bodily endangerment experiences get perfect scores.” I turn to my children. “It’s time to go home. I need some hot chocolate and ibuprofen after all this action.”
The kids groan, a surprising response from Sydney, but they give in as I’m sure they’re freezing, too. They say their goodbyes to Blake and head off.
I turn to say goodbye, but I’m stopped by Blake’s intense gaze on me. The longing in his eyes was there when he asked me to dinner, and it’s there now. My nerves cling to each other, on the verge of breaking if he even mutters the word “date.”
His mouth opens, but closes right away. “Guess I’ll see you later, Maggie.” The depth of his voice as he says my name gives me all the chills, but not in a bad way.