Gage sighed. And this time he met Ella’s eyes.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, with the sense of his gaze reaching in, taking ahold of the shaking inside. He’d always had that power—the crazy calm aura that seemed to suggest, given the chance, he could tame the world. Make the elements surrender, smooth out the rough edges of a mountain, and even teach the sky to call his name. Fearless. Confident.
And even as he seemed to weigh his answer, Brette’s accusation hit her. “You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”
No. Or, probably not—Ella didn’t want to take a good look to figure out the answer. But she did respect him.
Even trusted him, although he couldn’t know that, not after their history.
“Oliver and Bradley are both decent boarders,” Gage started. “I saw them yesterday when I chased them down through the trees. Oliver can handle his board, knows how to move in the trees. Good instincts. He can cut a line.”
“But . . .” Ella said and drew in her breath.
“I trained for months—a year, really—before I took that ride. And even then . . . well, it was pretty—it was intense.”
He glanced at Ty, then back to Ella. “There’s a reason I haven’t repeated it.”
Ella swallowed. “He’s in trouble, isn’t he?”
Gage lifted a shoulder, his mouth a grim line.
And she couldn’t stop herself. “Please, Gage, you have to go after him.” She didn’t even realize she’d narrowed the space between them. Had reached out, touched his arm.
She felt his muscle twitch under her hand. But she didn’t care. “You’re on a rescue team, aren’t you? That must be your chopper outside. Just go up there and find them, bring them home.”
She still had her hand on his arm, and he reached up, put his hand on hers.
For a second she thought he might wrap his fingers through hers, a tender gesture, meant to calm her, assure her.
But he drew her hand off him. Then he stepped back. “Ella—”
“Please, Gage!”
“We can’t.” The voice came from behind her, and Ella turned and saw a tall woman, her auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a blue jumpsuit and a pair of aviator sunglasses perched on the brim of her baseball cap. Pretty, with freckles and high cheekbones, she didn’t smile as she walked up holding a tablet.
“The storm gives us about a four-hour window. Just to get into the park will take an hour, maybe longer. Then, to search the mountain—that’s hours, not to mention the time to airlift them out. We simply don’t have the window. I’m sorry.”
But Ella was doing the math. “But you have time to go in, drop someone off, right?”
The woman glanced at Gage, back to Ella. Gave a slight nod. “But in order to do that, we’d need the Mercy Falls sheriff’s department to issue a formal callout. Otherwise, we don’t have the funding—”
“I’ll pay for it.” Ella turned to Gage. “Please.” This time she didn’t care if he pushed her away. “Please, go up and get them. Ollie—or Bradley—could be injured right now on the mountain. And if they’re not, then you could find them, help them get down the mountain—”
“Ella . . .” Gage started, his voice low, almost a growl.
“I know that I shouldn’t be asking you this, but Ollie is my only flesh and blood.” She took a breath, closed her eyes, swallowed her voice back into submission. Then, “He’s young. And he thinks he’s doing something that will make him famous—”
“Like his big sister,” Gage said, a little derision in his voice.
She tried not to wince. “I know I don’t deserve your help. You have every right to walk away—”
“That’s not why I can’t go up there.” Gage’s voice was tight. “Of course I’ll help you, but—”
“Only you can ski this ridge. Only you understand it, only you can get them down safely.”
She hadn’t even realized she’d put her hand on his chest, and now he put his hand on hers. This time he closed his over it. “Ella, just calm down. I haven’t skied terrain like this for three years—”
“Oh, c’mon! You’re the best freeriding snowboarder in the entire world, and we all know it!”
He drew in a breath as her voice echoed in the silence of the room.
Gage let her hand go, stepped back from her. “Even if I did go up there, with the storm coming, it’s too dangerous, especially alone.” He glanced at Ty, then back to Ella. “And you’re right. I’m the only one who can get down that mountain.” He shook his head, turned away, and reached out to roll up the map. “If they don’t show up at the bottom in a day, then we’ll assemble a rescue team and go in after the storm passes.”