“You’re not thinking of backing out, are you?” Then she realized he might not physically feel up to it. “Are you feeling bad or—”
“No, it’s nothing like that. You’ve been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours. I don’t feel like adding to that by breaking my neck.”
Ellie reached over, gave this thigh a squeeze. “I appreciate your thinking of me, but if you want to race, you should race. I felt better about the whole thing after watching you run the course with Nate a few times.”
Okay, she’d barely been able to breathe each time, but she’d felt better afterward. Jesse was such a natural athlete that he’d made it look easy. Yes, she would feel relieved if he withdrew from the race, but it had to be his decision. Asking Jesse to stop participating in dangerous mountain sports would be like asking Dan to give up flying. She hadn’t had the heart to take the sky away from Dan, and she couldn’t take this away from Jesse, even if it scared the hell out of her.
“I’ll call him when we get to your place and see what’s up.”
Ellie found her car in her driveway, her handbag and cell phone on the front seat, courtesy of Megs. A stack of newspapers sat on her front steps—copies of the Scarlet Gazette with a banner headline that read “Hometown hero” and a photo of Jesse handing Daisy to Ellie. She showed them to Jesse, then brought them inside and set them on the coffee table. She would read the article later when she could face it all again.
“Did nothing else happen in the world yesterday?” Jesse grumbled.
“Not in my world.” Ellie made black bean quesadillas with corn for lunch, while Jesse stepped outside with her mother’s cell phone to call Nate.
When he came back in, he seemed lighter, excited, and she knew he’d made his decision. “God, that smells good.”
“I made enough for you, too, if you’re hungry.”
“Nate says he’s good to go if I am.” Jesse watched her, as if trying to gauge her reaction. “The Wests are all coming into town to watch.”
She tried not to let her worry show. “I’d love to see them again. If the kids are up from their nap and Daisy is doing well, we’ll join you all.”
*
Jesse took a quick nap, curling up with Ellie after the kids were asleep. He felt refreshed when his watch beeped an hour later. Careful not to wake Ellie, he got up, checked on the kids, then went out the back and hiked up the mountain to his cabin. He changed into ski pants, grabbed his gear, and was on his way.
Parking downtown was almost impossible, and traffic was bumper to bumper, pedestrians filling the crosswalks, standing on the roundabout where Bear was preaching, and darting across the roads wherever they felt like it. Jesse decided to park his Jeep at The Cave and walk the couple of blocks to the starting area, where Nate would be waiting with Buckwheat.
Sasha ran out when he stepped out of his vehicle and gave him a hug. “God, I just love you so much right now. I’m so glad you were able to save that little girl.”
He didn’t know what to say. “Thanks.”
Belcourt stepped outside, too, walked over to him, and also gave him a hug, slapping him on the back. “It’s good to see you safe and sound, brother. You were a warrior yesterday.”
Again, Jesse was at a loss for words. “I did what anyone would have done.”
“Really?” Belcourt raised a dark brow. “I didn’t see anyone else go in that water. You doing the skijoring race?”
Happy that the subject had changed, Jesse told Sasha and Belcourt how he’d done some practice runs earlier in the week. “I’m hoping to get through it without making a fool of myself or breaking something.”
Sasha jumped up, planted a kiss on his cheek. “You’re going to rock it. I’ll be cheering you on. See you there!”
Jesse made his way to the starting area, people he knew waving as he passed—Frank from the gas station, Rose, Jenny Miller, the guy with the big beard who ran the marijuana dispensary on First Street.
Bear, now hale and hearty again, called out to him from the center of the roundabout. “Whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved an entire world!”
Shit.
Bear, too?
Jesse made his way along the busy sidewalk to the west end of the street where dozens of horses stood with their riders, waiting for the race to start. He found Nate and Buckwheat standing beside a trailer with “Cimarron Ranch” painted on the side.
Nate gave him a brother handshake and a clap on the shoulder. “Good to see you. I didn’t get a chance to tell you how damned grateful I am for what you did yesterday. Dan’s little girl wouldn’t be alive today if not for you.”
For some reason, it wasn’t as awkward to hear this coming from Nate, perhaps because he’d known Dan, or perhaps because they’d already talked about some pretty serious shit. “It was one of the scariest damned moments of my life.”
“I bet it was.”