Chapter 23

twenty-three

PAUL

Later that day, I looked up at the clear blue sky and wondered what on earth I was doing. After breakfast, Liam had shown us the sports equipment in his friend's garage. When Amy saw the sled she was hooked. It didn't matter what I said, she was determined to throw herself down the side of the mountain with nothing but a piece of red-painted wood between her and the frozen ground.

But Amy wasn't the only person risking her life for an adrenaline rush. Liam had convinced me that I needed to stretch my comfort zone, too. So here I was, sitting behind Amy, praying we'd make it down the mountain alive.

"Remember to hold on tight to the sled," Liam said.

"We will." Amy grinned at me. "This will be fun, Uncle Paul."

I looked at where we were going. I wasn't sure if the word ‘fun' described how I felt. Terrified suited my mood better.

I wrapped my arms around Amy and looked at Liam. "This is safe, isn't it?"

Liam pulled his woolly hat over his ears. "As safe as it gets when you're zooming down the mountain at fifty miles an hour."

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"I was joking."

Liam's grin didn't make me feel any better. "It's not funny," I muttered.

"Uncle Paul doesn't like going fast," Amy said. "He got seasick when we went on the teacup ride at Disneyland."

Liam held onto the back of the sled. "You won't have to worry about spinning in circles today. We're going straight down. Are you ready?"

"We're ready!" Amy yelled.

"Here we go. One…"

I made sure Amy's hands were wrapped firmly around the rope that would steer us down the slippery slope.

"Two…"

I bit my bottom lip and prayed we made it to the bottom in one piece.

"Three!" Liam pushed the sled down the mountain. As soon as we'd gathered enough speed, he threw himself behind me, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist.

Amy let out a high-pitched squeal as we careened down the icy slope.

I closed my eyes and dropped my chin to my chest. This had to be the craziest thing I'd done in years, maybe decades. Maybe my entire life.

Frozen air rushed past my face. I was so cold I felt like a frozen popsicle.

"Hold on tight," Liam yelled. "There's a bump ahead of us."

My eyes flew open. "You never told me about a bump," I yelled.

"It's a little bump."

I was sure he was laughing at me, but I was too terrified to turn around and check. So I held Amy even tighter and started praying.

Within seconds, we were airborne. Just as my stomach lurched toward my throat, we bounced back onto the icy slope.

Amy was laughing so hard I was convinced we'd both fall off the sled.

"We'll start slowing down soon," Liam yelled in my ear.

I didn't dare reply. I needed to make sure Amy didn't steer us into the pine trees on our left.

The slope leveled out, but we kept moving. When we finally came to a standstill, I breathed a sigh of relief. My face might be numb and my nerves strung tight, but we'd made it.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Liam's voice was as calm and controlled as ever.

"It was awesome," Amy yelled. "Can we do it again?"

I rolled off the sled. I'd never been happier to see solid ground in my life. "Once is enough for me."

"Can I go with Liam? He's really good at looking after me and he won't do anything too scary."

Liam picked up the rope at the front of the sled. "I don't mind taking Amy down the hill again."

Amy was so excited that I didn't have the heart to say no. "Okay. I'll wait for you here."

"Did you hear that, Liam? We can go sledding again."

"That's great. There's only one problem."

"There is?"

Liam pointed to the top of the hill. "We need to climb back up there."

Amy grinned. "I can do it. Girls can do anything. "

"I know they can." He held out his hand. "Let's go, birthday girl. We've got a mountain to conquer."

With one hand wrapped around Amy's and the other pulling the sled, Liam made his way up the slippery slope.

My heart pounded. I'd only known him for eight days, but it could have been years. He was becoming part of our family, someone who would always want the best for us. Someone who'd gotten under my skin and was heading straight to my heart.