Sleigh Bells in the Snow (O'Neil Brothers 1)

“I won’t drop you, but if you could stop digging your nails into my arm that would be good.” He spoke through his teeth. “If it’s not your stilettos, it’s your nails.”

She looked at him and saw his eyes darken.

“No,” he said thickly. “Not here. I need to concentrate or we’ll end up at the bottom of the mountain.”

“I thought that was the objective.”

“Yeah, but in your case it’s best if it takes longer than twenty seconds.” He eased away from her, but still held her steady.

“How old were you when you first skied down this run. Tell me honestly.”

“Three.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I was a late starter. Tyler was two. I still remember my father yelling at him ‘Turn, turn’ and Tyler whizzing straight down like an arrow from a bow, yelling back, ‘Why?” He just didn’t see the point of turning when he could go straight down.”

Kayla laughed. “Is that true?”

“Yeah, it’s true. Along with a million other stories that would make your hair stand on end.”

“No wonder Jess thinks he?

?s a hero. It must be cool having him as a dad.” But coolest of all was having a dad who loved his daughter as deeply as Tyler clearly loved Jess.

She thought back to the way Tyler had handled the situation the night before.

Once they’d received confirmation from the lift attendant—a lift attendant who had been too overawed to challenge the daughter of a medal-winning downhill skier—Tyler had sent everyone home except Brenna, who had stayed at the base of the lift in case Jess had started the run before Tyler could reach her.

Jackson lifted his hand and brushed snow off her shoulder. “It was good of you to help us.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You made us all see it from Jess’s point of view.” His voice was rough. “You were right that she was worried he wouldn’t want her here. It didn’t take him long to put her right on that score.”

Kayla felt something squeeze her chest.

This time, it had just been a misunderstanding. A lack of communication.

“Looks like it’s going to be a happy Christmas in the O’Neil household.”

“Seems that way.” He didn’t release her. “So how come you know so much about the feelings of teenagers, Kayla? How old were you when your parents divorced?”

“Thirteen.”

“That must have been tough.”

She’d never talked about it with anyone. “It was hard at the time, but I guess it made me stronger. More independent. Life events shape us, don’t they?” Except in her case she’d ended up misshapen.

She stood still, feeling the cold biting into her cheeks and the solid power of his body between her and the fall of the mountain. “Should I give up? I’m not sure I have an aptitude for skiing.”

“The thing about skiing is that, even if you don’t progress much past beginner status, you’re still out in the fresh air, looking at those mountains and getting some exercise with it.”

“So you’re not big on the gym then?”

“I’ll use the gym when I have to, usually for weights. I spot Tyler a couple of times a week. He does the same for me. But as for cardio—” he shrugged “—I’ve never been one for running without a purpose. Why would I when I have this on my doorstep? There are plenty of other ways to get the heart pumping.” The glitter in his eyes made her heart pound, and she turned her head and focused on the mountains.

“I admit it’s beautiful. I even admit that for thirty whole seconds back there when I was upright, skiing felt like fun. But the rest of the time I’m face-planting in the snow and that doesn’t feel so good.”