“No one in particular, but she thinks I should have a sex life.”
Definitely Christy.
She was always flirting with Tyler.
Brenna wasn’t good at flirting. And anyway, how did you flirt with someone you’d known all your life? Tyler had seen her soaked to the skin and exhausted after a day in the mountains. He’d dragged her out of ditches and picked her up when she’d wiped out on her skis. He knew everything about her. They had no secrets. She could imagine his reaction if she’d fluttered her eyelashes or made a sexual comment. He’d either laugh or run for the hills.
The reason they were able to be friends was because he didn’t think of her like that.
Women came and went from his life, but their friendship was constant.
And Brenna realized the reason the past year had been so blissful, the reason she’d been able to enjoy his company and his friendship, was because he’d been focusing on Jess. For once in his life he’d mastered his short attention span and put aside his urge to sample the charms of every female who crossed his path. The only woman who’d had his attention was his daughter. He’d put his own needs on hold.
Knowing what he was like, how physical and sexual he was, Brenna had often wondered if he was seeing someone discreetly, but she’d never asked. Instead she’d made the most of her time with him and occasionally, when they’d been out on the mountain guiding or teaching, it had almost felt like being kids again.
Their friendship was stronger than ever.
Was that about to change?
If Jess was actively encouraging him to date then no doubt it would.
And Brenna knew it would take Tyler O’Neil less than thirty seconds in the company of a woman to resurrect his sex life.
How was she going to feel about that?
TRYING TO DELETE the image of Brenna with her snow-soaked sweater plastered to her breasts from his memory, Tyler strolled up the snowy path to the main house.
In no hurry to face the overwhelming reality of family night, he paused and breathed in the freezing air, watching the forest transform before his eyes. Snow layered on snow until all traces of green vanished and the trees were draped in a mantle of white. As a child it had been his favorite sight. He’d kneel in his bedroom window and watch the first of the flakes fall, hoping it would continue until the snow was up to his waist. The first winter snowfall had been the cause of great excitement in the O’Neil household.
The mountains had been his playground; the adrenaline rush of downhill skiing his drug of choice.
Now he greeted snow with mixed feelings.
It was good for business, and he knew how badly Snow Crystal needed that.
He was enjoying the silence when his phone rang.
Irritated by the disturbance, he dragged it out of his pocket intending to switch the ringer off and then saw the name.
Burying his emotions deep, he lifted the phone to his ear. “Chas? How’s it going?”
He didn’t ask where his friend was. He didn’t have to. Chas was one of the finest ski techs in the racing world. The fact that Tyler was no longer racing meant that Chas was available for another member of the U.S. Ski Team, which meant right now he had to be in Val Gardena, Italy, on the World Cup circuit.
If it hadn’t been for the accident, Tyler would have been there, too.
They would have been discussing strategy, the course, the snow conditions, in an effort to come up with the perfect plan. Chas’s job had been to use his skill and experience to make Tyler the fastest skier down the mountain. Over the years they’d shared beers, hotel rooms, victory and defeat. Chas had been more than just another member of the machine behind the ski team. He’d been Tyler’s wingman and close friend.
Along with his brother Sean, Chas had been the first person he’d seen after his accident.
Tyler tightened his hand on the phone and stared blindly at the trees and mountains.
“How was today?”
“Didn’t you watch?”
“Things are busy around here.” He didn’t say that he hadn’t watched skiing since his accident. Instead he listened while Chas outlined the U.S. triumph in the giant slalom.
“He clinched his fourth World Cup GS title.”
“That’s great. Buy him a beer from me.”
“Why don’t you come out? The team would love to see you.”
And sit in the bar or the stands watching others do what he used to do himself?
It would be like twisting a knife in a raw wound.
The season stretched ahead. There would be a short break over Christmas before it all started again in Bormio, Italy, and then on to Wengen, Switzerland, and Kitzbuhel and the notorious Lauberhorn. Beaver Creek, Lake Louise, another day, another country, another mountain, another race. That had been his life.
Until the race that had ended it all.
“I’m not going to be able to make it. We’re busy here.”
“Great! From what you told me, this time last year busy didn’t exist so I’m pleased to hear things are going well. Has Jackson tied you to the resort? What are you doing?”
Coaching the high school ski team.
Trying not to think about my old life.
Tyler looked up at the sky. Snow was still falling steadily, big fat flakes that rested on his shoulders and dampened his hair.
“I’m helping Brenna run the outdoor program.”
“Right. Well, that sounds—” there was a pause “—that sounds great.”
They both knew that what he really meant was that sounds like a pile of crap.
Tyler agreed.
Not that he didn’t love Snow Crystal, but they both knew he’d rather be racing.
He realized now how much he’d taken it for granted. He’d treated it as a right rather than a gift.
He half listened while Chas updated him on the individuals and their performances on the slopes, made the right noises and a vague commitment to watch the next race if he had the opportunity, then hung up feeling worse than he had before.
The conversation had left him keenly aware of what he’d lost.
It didn’t help that the one person who would have understood, his father, had been dead for almost two and
