“He’ll be dead by then! And you’ll be back to regretting your choices all over again.”
He stilled. And with everything inside her, she wanted to yank back her words. Especially when his mouth tightened. His chest rose and fell as if he might be trying not to flinch.
“I’m sorry—”
He held up his hand to ward off her words. “Leave it, Ella.”
“No, I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. You’re not the guy everyone accused you of being—arrogant and reckless. I know you regret what happened with everything inside you.”
He rounded on her, his voice desperately low, his eyes sharp. “Of course you do. And you used it to destroy my life.”
She didn’t care who was looking. “Yeah, I did. And I regret that too, but I doubt that guy I knew can live with himself any better now if my brother dies on the mountain than he did when he chased Dylan McMahon down an avalanche to save his life.”
“Dylan died because of me,” Gage growled. “And now, your stupid brother is out there—again, because of me.”
“No, he made his own choice, just like Dylan did. But that doesn’t mean his sorry hide doesn’t need saving. Please, go after him.” She wanted to add “for me,” but that wouldn’t do her any good at all. So, “I know you’re a good guy, Gage.”
He gripped the map in his fist. “You don’t know anything of the kind.” He stalked away from her.
But she scrambled after him, ignoring Brette’s hand on her arm. “Yes, I do. The guy—the guy I fell in love with was generous and protective, and he wouldn’t let some stupid kid lose his life if he could save him.”
And that’s when Gage stopped short. Whirled around. She nearly plowed into him and put a hand out to his chest to stop herself.
He didn’t move, but the look in his eyes turned her cold.
“First—that guy, the one you met three years ago? He’s gone. Why? Because he tried to do something right, and the world, not to mention the woman I . . .” He cut his words off. “That guy was idealistic and thought he could save someone who really didn’t want saving. Because of it, my career, my entire life was eviscerated. And I learned a few things about trusting people and doing the smart thing instead of the right thing. So I don’t think you know me at all, Ella. And . . . as for falling in love with me? You have a pretty interesting definition of love.”
Her eyes filled, but she didn’t move, her jaw tight, as she fought to pull words from her aching chest. “Okay then, what about the rescuer I met last night? The guy who showed up on my doorstep hoping to stop my brother from making an epic mistake? Where is he, because I want to talk to him.”
Gage glanced behind her, probably at his friend Ty. And she could see him thinking, practically wearing that same expression as when he’d been asked why he’d taken Dylan McMahon onto a mountain that would take his life. “Because I thought I could keep him alive.”
“Yes. You probably could have if you had just stopped him.” Her words from the past nearly tripped out.
Instead, she added, “That guy could save my brother’s life, if he wanted to.”
Gage closed his eyes, almost as if in pain. Then he took a long breath and turned to his chopper pilot. “How soon can we leave?”
8
“LISTEN, GAGE. You get on the mountain, find this kid’s trail, if the wind hasn’t scraped it clean, grab these kids, and get off the mountain.” Chet King hadn’t been thrilled with the prospect of sending his only chopper up the mountain. Gage sat on a table in the lunchroom, his feet on the bench, listening to his instruction through the phone while Jess and Ty assembled his gear.
“And I don’t like you going alone. It’s dangerous. Can’t you take Pete? Or Jess?”
Gage knew the dangers, too well, having skied alone the first time. He ran a hand across his forehead. “Sorry, boss, but no one can ski the big stuff.” If Ty didn’t have a busted knee, maybe . . .
Of course, there was one other person who could keep up, but really, that was out of the question.
Gage could nearly see the old man standing in his office, probably staring at the mountain range, even see his grim expression as he sighed.
“Okay, but remember, you aren’t alone out there.”
“Yeah, I know. PEAK will track me—”
“Yes, but no, I meant God is with you.”
Gage drew in a breath.
Chet must have read his silence. “I know you have a history with God, Gage. Once upon a time, you trusted him.”
“That was before I . . .” Gage looked around, cut his voice low. “Listen, I made some bad decisions, and they backfired. Since then, God and I have agreed to stay out of each other’s way.”