“Above the office, just a few blocks away.” Grey withdrew a small bag of lollipops from his pocket and offered her one. When she declined, he grabbed one for himself and shoved the rest back in his coat.
She straightened her spine. “Backtrax is more than a few blocks. Pretty far for this stage of your recovery, especially with the pits in the sidewalks and roads.”
“Are you worried about me?” His good knee brushed against her thigh when he twisted toward her to toss the branch in the opposite direction. She kept her leg still, maintaining contact. Apparently her body didn’t care about her brain’s warnings.
“More like I’m worried all my hard work will end up down the drain.”
“Nah. I’m tough.”
She believed that about him. Saw, had seen, the evidence. Well-developed calf and thigh muscles. A strong core and sinewy arms and shoulders. A sculpted body earned through years of healthy, active living and sports, not from protein powders and calculated weight training.
“You’d have to be in your profession.” She’d skied the backcountry with her brother from time to time, but they’d never pushed too hard. Would it be fun or frightening to ski with Grey? “Do you like Sterling Canyon?”
“So far, so good. The skiing’s pretty sweet, and the town is beautiful.” Grey gestured around with his arm. Then he looked right into her eyes. “Just like one of its residents.”
Avery caught herself blinking again, like flippin’ Bambi. Meanwhile, he remained completely comfortable and confident, as if it were no big deal at all to tell her he thought she was pretty. His grin widened at her silence.
Flustered, Avery deflected. “Is that so different from your hometown?”
“Not much. I grew up in Truckee, outside of Lake Tahoe, but I left a couple of years after high school and traveled around, working at different resorts. Colorado, Utah, Alaska.” Grey tilted his head. “Guess that makes me a vagabond, huh?”
“Or just very well traveled, unlike me.” Funny how the notion Sterling Canyon might be just another pit stop for Grey came as a letdown instead of a relief. “So then, will your time here be short-lived, too?”
“Depends.” He flashed a smile, the one that should come with a “hazardous to your health” sign.
“On what?” Curiously, she’d stopped breathing for a second.
He grinned again, like he’d noticed her anticipation, but then his expression grew serious and he glanced away. “On what happens with Backtrax.”
More accurately, with his case against Andy—a topic they couldn’t discuss.
Grey’s livelihood and Andy’s freedom both hung in the balance, with her family’s finances caught in between. The heaviness of heart that had driven her to the park returned.
“But I hope I’ll be around a long time,” he finally said, breaking the gloomy silence.
“Do you ever miss your home?”
Before Grey looked away, she saw the light in his eyes dim a bit. “Home is where the heart is, right?”
“In other words, butt out?” She grinned despite feeling a little deflated.
He closed one eye and tapped his index finger against the side of his nose. She dropped the line of inquiry, although curiosity about his past tickled her psyche.
“Why aren’t you skiing on your day off?” Grey’s casual tone couldn’t conceal his obvious desire to change the subject. “The mountain closes soon.”
Now it was her turn to obfuscate. She turned her face away for a second and then looked straight ahead. “I usually ski with my brother. But even if he were healed, having fun isn’t a priority right now.” Her jaw clenched at another reminder of her brother’s dismal future. “Funny how life moves on, when all I want is to turn back time.”
She gripped the edges of the bench and glanced at her shoes. Like every other time she imagined Andy going to jail, she got teary. His looming fate made her feel selfish for worrying about her house. She hid her tears behind the wall of hair shielding her face. Heat raced to her cheeks as she considered what Grey must think of her odd behavior.
But then his warm hand covered hers in comfort, and her heart skidded to a halt.
“You’re thinking about the criminal charges?” he asked.
She nodded, lungs tightening. “We’re all so afraid about what might happen to him while he’s behind bars.”
“If only I would’ve stopped by your table and talked to you that night, everything would’ve been better for all of us.” Although she heard sincere regret in his voice, she couldn’t look up at him.
Shaman barked in the distance, having found something of interest near a bush. Without uttering another word, Grey threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand.