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And in her own not stoic way, she kind of liked it She straightened "For the future, I’m always okay," she said "So you don’t have to ask ht Ski patrol

"Want to tellasked if you’re okay?"

Nope She really didn’t It was a trigger for her, not surprising given how many times over the past ten years those three simple words--are you okay--had been asked of her Nohen soht it up, what she really heard was all the pity the words usually conveyed

And she hated pity with the sa she saved for all creepy-crawlies, kale, and men in open-toed shoes of any kind "Let’s just say it annoys the crap out of me"

"Duly noted," he said "Next time I’ll query you about the weather Or if you’ve had a real ski lesson yet"

Look at that, Man of Few Words did have a sense of humor And she liked that A lot She liked hi anywhere "You have a name?"

"Hudson Kincaid You?"

"Bailey Moore," she said as his radio went off Without taking his eyes from her, he cocked his head and listened, then turned down the voluone she could stopa fool of herself

He started to turn away but then stopped and gave her onelook "Stay off the top"

"Sir, yes sir," she said, and saluted him

Another sht you one

Bailey let out a slow, shaky breath What had just happened? It’d been so long since she’d had any sort of interaction she wasn’t exactly sure

Liar That was flirtation and you started it

And she’d liked it

But man, she was rusty Sir, yes sir? Seriously, she needed soather up her skis and poles into one of the long lines of ski stands

It took a few ure out how to lock it to her skis Man, this sport looked so lide so effortlessly down the mountain and then carried their skis on their shoulders like it was no big deal It really was deceiving Still, she was challenging herself and that felt… well, aratified to see she was half an hour early for her ru

The cafeteria wasn’t crowded,a weekday Bailey loaded a tray and sat down in a secluded corner of the place, cozied between a half wall and a huge wall of here she could see the incredible view

You alht with pride She could also see that huge blank wall, as it was one of the walls designating the outside eating area It was protected fro into the hill behind it and also a huge extended patio roof She stared at that wall, trying to envision herher face, nearly ood, when her phone buzzed an incoed to another address in town

Damn

It took her nearly half an hour just to turn in her rental skis and get to her car By the tie from the ski resort, she was already ten minutes late, but even that didn’t dampen her excitement