Best Man for the Wedding Planner

The groomed run was a little rougher now after a day of activity. The little bit of fresh snow had been packed down, and there were tiny icy ruts here and there. It presented no problem, but as Adele took lovely sweeping turns, she had the thought that the run was looking as tired as she felt.

A young girl in a pink jacket was up ahead, taking smaller turns and looking a little more uncertain on her skis. Adele went to move to the left to give her lots of room, but two other skiers had come up behind her and were taking the slot, making it impossible for her to move much. No matter. As long as the girl stayed consistent, Adele could slip right by and leave her behind.

She was nearly there, ready to shift her weight onto her left ski for a turn, when the girl wobbled, made a big cut and darted into Adele’s path.

Adele pivoted quickly, performing her own sharp turn, but her balance was off, and she executed another sharp turn to the right to avoid other skiers on her left. When she did, the edge of her ski caught a rut and she felt herself going down.

She hit hard, chest and face hitting the packed snow, her skis sprawled out behind her, poles dangling from her wrists by the straps.

“Delly! You okay?”

She pushed herself up on her hands, a bit dazed and winded. She then swiveled her ungainly skis around so they were at her side and she was on her right hip. “I am. Caught an edge.” She looked up into his concerned face, his skis parked right beside her. “On a green run. Embarrassing.”

“It shouldn’t be. That was some pretty impressive evasive action.” He chuckled and moved to her side so he could offer her a hand to get up.

When she was upright on her skis again, he frowned. “Del, you’re bleeding.”

“What?”

He took off his gloves and stuck them between his knees. He then reached for her sunglasses and removed them carefully. “Damn, Del. You hit your face so hard, the piece on your glasses cut your nose.”

She lifted her hand to her face, and when she withdrew it again, her mitten had blood on it. “Oh.”

“You feel okay? Dizzy or dazed or anything?”

“Not really. Just...tired. I do think it’s time to go.”

“No kidding. Let me put these in your pocket.” He tucked her glasses into her pocket and zipped it up again. “You sure you’re okay to go down the hill?”

She pushed away his hand. “Of course I am. Don’t worry, it’s just a minor flesh wound,” she joked. She bent to pick up her poles and tried to ignore the heavy feeling behind her eyes. She was going to end up with a headache. Good thing this was the last run.

They made it to the base without incident, but as Adele took off her skis, she had to admit she was feeling a bit off. She’d “had her bell rung” as her grandfather had used to say, and a look at her reflection in a window showed a streak of blood down her nose.

She went to the bathroom while Dan was returning his equipment, and wiped the blood away with a wet paper towel. The fall put a damper on an otherwise lovely day, and she was feeling a bit grumpy because of it.

When she came out again, Dan frowned. “Why don’t you let me drive back? You’re looking a little pale. You might have given your head a real bump.”

She should insist on driving, but instead she unzipped her inside pocket and handed him the keys. “Okay.”

Taking off her ski boots and putting on her regular ones was a pain, and she finally buckled her seat belt and leaned back against the headrest. “I normally wouldn’t hand ove

r my keys, you know,” she said as Dan started the engine. “But I’m tired and that tumble knocked the starch right out of me.”

He laughed at her saying and put the car in gear. “It’s no big deal, Delly. It was a fun day. You chill. I think we’re both going to sleep well tonight.”

Forget tonight. The hum of the tires sounded on the highway and Adele decided she’d close her eyes just for a moment.

CHAPTER TEN

DAN LOOKED OVER at Adele, not wanting to wake her. She’d been asleep for nearly twenty minutes and he was actually worried about her having a concussion. They were nearly to the Banff exit, and he didn’t know how to get to her house. He was going to have to wake her.

“Adele.” When she didn’t move, he said a little louder, “Delly.” He put his hand on her leg and gave it a little shake.

She came to with several blinks. “Oh,” she said softly. “We’re almost home.”

Home.

Her home, not his, but the simple statement took him back several years to when they’d traveled outside the city to visit his family or go on a day trip. She’d always been one to fall asleep in the car, and he’d awakened her several times in the way he had just now.