And this time, he hadn’t freaked out, hadn’t been pulled out broken. This time, with Ella in his arms, he’d held together.
Because accidents did happen, even when he tried to cut the right line. Or tried to follow others.
More, without the accident, he’d still be caught in the limelight, staring at poster-sized images of himself, believing his own press.
Creating a version of Gage Watson he didn’t want to be. And that was what Ella gave to him—then, and now. She saw through the veneer to the man he wanted to be.
The man he’d become when he walked through the rubble of his career to the other side.
A man who no longer chased approval.
Gage much preferred the man he’d become to the man he almost was.
About that time, Jess had walked into the room. “You gotta see this.” She reached for the remote control to the flat screen attached to the wall. Turned on the television and clicked to the right channel.
Ella’s father, standing at a podium just down the hall. Talking about the rescue.
“This is the same Gage Watson who, by the way, was responsible for the death of a snowboarder three years ago on Outlaw Mountain, in Canada.”
Gage got up, despite Jess’s words.
“Bro, sit down,” Pete added. “You’re just going to make it worse.”
That was rich coming from the guy most likely to do something rash.
But then, “I have a story to tell!”
The camera panned and there she was. Ella, her foot in a cast, dressed in a bathrobe, and looking so darned beautiful he couldn’t move.
Until her next words. “Gage Watson is not who you think!”
No, no. He hit his feet.
“Gage!”
“She’s going to do something stupid!”
Pete too had stood up and now grabbed Gage’s arm. “Dude.”
Gage rounded on him. “She has a secret—one that will exonerate me but gets her in big trouble and—”
“What you don’t know about Gage is that he’s a hero. I demanded that he take me on that mountain, and he practically begged me not to go.” Ella’s sweet voice cut in and silenced Gage. He stared at the television, his heart caught in his ribs.
“But I’m a good snowboarder, and not only did I trust him but he trusted me. He let me believe in myself to do something I would normally be terrified to do. And because of that, I discovered I am stronger than I think. Braver than I think. And that I don’t have to prove anything to anyone but myself.”
Gage couldn’t move. Pete’s hand dropped from his arm.
“But here’s the biggest part. I would have never made it down that mountain if it weren’t for Gage. He’s the best freerider in the world, and he didn’t deserve what happened to him three years ago.”
Gage left the room.
She was going to destroy everything she had worked for, and, well . . . he didn’t need exoneration. He already knew who he was. More, he’d somehow forgiven himself on that mountain too. And maybe that was the reason God sent him up there—to take a good look at himself, at the raw, brutal facts, and remind him that whatever line he cut behind him, grace always lay before him. A pristine, white, unblemished future.
And he wanted to share it with Ella.
He didn’t slow as he banged through the double doors to the hospital press room. “Ella, stop!”
He wouldn’t exactly call the room packed—just a handful of local stations on hand, but one of them represented the local Fox channel, which would surely make the national feed if Ella were to incriminate herself.
“Stop talking.”
She looked over at Gage, her eyes wide, and every camera turned his direction.
“Please, it’s done, and I don’t care about the past—just . . . please, leave it.”
“As I was saying,” she said, smiling sweetly at him, “my brother has trained for six months to ski Gage Watson’s epic run, and with Gage’s thorough explanation of each section, my brother navigated down much of the course without incident. He fell taking care of his friend, Bradley, who is recovering just down the hall, having been evacuated off the mountain by PEAK Rescue. So, as you can see, without Gage Watson, we’d all be stuck on Heaven’s Peak. He’s the best snowboarder I know, past, present, and future.”
Gage stilled, caught for a second in Ella’s smile. She hadn’t destroyed herself but had put him right back in the center of the limelight.
The cameras turned and began to flash.
But he ignored them and walked right past the media to crouch in front of Ella’s chair.
She put her hands on his shoulders. “The best man I know.”
Then, in front of the world, she leaned down and kissed him.