Suddenly, the lift came to a halt. Holly and the man hung suspended in midair for a moment, rocking gently. They hung at least fifty feet from the ground, suspended over firs and pines.
“Someone must have fallen off the lift trying to get on,” Holly said, trying to peer up the mountain to see the top. They appeared to be in the middle of the ride.
“I did see some private lessons getting on before us,” the man agreed. It was common for the lifts to stop whenever people fell getting on or off the lifts, and the newbies in lessons were usually the culprits. It took practice to ride a ski lift.
They both sat there for a moment, waiting for the lift to start back up again. Stops and starts were common, but they were usually short.
This one lasted longer than usual. The sun disappeared behind a bank of clouds, casting the world into gray shadows.
“Think they’ll bring us hot chocolate if they can’t get it started again?” Holly asked.
He chuckled and took off his sunglasses. The warmth of his brown eyes made the loss of sun bearable. “I hope so. Maybe a good book, too.”
“Nonfiction or fiction?”
He turned and faced her. “On vacation? Fiction. Before bed, non-fiction.”
“Why non-fiction before bed?”
“I like the fiction books too much. I won’t sleep. I have to know what the next chapter is. Does the dragon devour the town? Do the aliens win? How does the pauper become a prince? What about you?” the man asked. “Fiction or non-fiction?”
“Fiction. I am a sucker for a good romance. And Dr. Seuss, of course, but that’s more on a professional level.”
The man laughed, the rich sound echoing off the snowy mountain tops. Holly found her heart speeding up and she was glad to be stuck on this chairlift with him. At this point, she didn’t really care if they stayed up here forever.
The lift stayed still. Holly scraped her skis together, brushing off the little snow that rested on them.
“What are you reading right now?” Holly asked. “Anything good?”
“I’m between books at the moment. Have any recommendations?”
“Other than Dr. Seuss?” Holly grinned at him.
The man chuckled again, flashing her that great smile. “I can always have more rhymes in my life.”
“There’s so many good ones,” Holly said thoughtfully. “At my dad’s bookstore, I’m always scoping out new books.”
“I hope you get a family discount,” the man replied.
“If I did, he’d go broke.” She smiled, but inside she felt her chest tighten. Her dad’s bookstore wasn’t doing so well. Another casualty of everyone leaving town. Even without her discount, he really was going broke.
Unfortunately, it was then that the chairlift started to move. Their time was up. The man put his glasses back down, covering his eyes.
“No mountain-side hot chocolate for us,” Holly teased him, hoping to make him laugh again.
“Maybe next time. You can give me your book recommendations then.”
The lift sped up and the wind blew cold on Holly’s face. She tucked her chin into her Christmas bunny scarf. The top of the mountain loomed into view along with the end of the lift. Part of her was
sad because she’d enjoyed the company, but another part was excited. It was time to ski.
“Have a good run, Snow-bunny,” the man said as the lift came to the end. At her confused look, he pointed to her scarf.
She chuckled and together they both stood and exited the chair. He went to the left, she went to the right. She was sad to see him go. It had been wonderful to talk about books with him. Plus, it totally counted as flirting. Aliyah would be proud of her.
She took a deep breath of mountain air. She was determined to have fun, just like Aliyah recommended. She would use this ski day and party to take her mind off things at home. It would be just the break she needed.
With a deep breath and a grin hidden by her scarf, Holly started down the mountain.