Snowed Under (Aspen Peaks #2)

34. Madeline

I had never screamed so much in my life.

And my boyfriend was Cooper Graves, so that really said something.

Still, I stood in the snow in front of my fold-out chair, holding a bundled-up Piper in my arms as we shouted, giggled, and squealed, waiting for her brother to come down.

Cooper and Finn stood on the other side of me. They cupped their hands to their mouths, either whistling loudly or yelling, “Come on, Charlie,” or Cooper’s loud and proud “Show them how we taught you, Mini Coop!”

The crowd this year was larger than ever. There were hardly spots for us to put down our chairs, causing Cooper and Finn to claim they were VIPs and that we deserved front-row seating. I wasn’t sure if the number of tourists was due to the column or not, but I knew one thing: I owed that magazine everything.

“This is so exciting.” Olive bounced in the chair next to ours. “Much more exciting than Ms. Rachel and Sesame Street back home.”

I smiled over at her. “You’re missing him already, aren’t you?”

“So much I could die. But we are here for you and my nephew.”

My nephew. She so proudly proclaimed it without a hint of doubt.

Across the way from us sat my parents in their own chairs. We hadn’t quite gone back to normal. There were still some gray areas between us. But instead of dissecting them, pulling those unknown answers out and trying to figure out the big why of it all, I let it be. Not for their sake, but for my own. I’d told them I needed space. To figure out whether I had it in me to forgive them, to let it all slip away. Realistically, I knew it would be too hard to pretend it had never happened. But could I eventually try to snap back into place and be civil? Probably. Today just wasn’t that day.

The light turned from red to yellow to green, a horn blaring, and shouts erupting all around us, signaling their take off.

Charlie’s skis carved graceful arcs in the snow, sending up sprays of powder with each turn he made. We all stared in awe as he navigated the course with surprising control, his movements fluid with confidence. Just like his Cooper.

Parents, friends, and families of all competitors cheered and clapped around us, their voices mingling with the sound of skis slicing through the snow. “Come on, buddy!” Cooper shouted, and the encouragement rippled through the crowd. He hit a series of small jumps, catching brief moments of air before landing smoothly, his form impeccable.

My fingers were so tightly wound around Cooper’s that I was probably cutting off his circulation.

Charlie approached the final stretch, the crowd’s excitement reaching a fever pitch. With one last burst of speed, he crossed the finish line with two other boys on his tail, and the crowd erupted in applause. All five of us were jumping up and down, screaming at the top of our lungs.

“Did he win?” I asked, still kind of unsure about how this whole thing worked.

Cooper leaned down and spoke in my ear. “We don’t know. He was the first for time, but sometimes points can be added or deducted, so it’s hard to say. It’ll be close.”

What felt like an eternity later, they finally announced the winners.

“In third place: Carter Jenkins.”

My palms were sweating like Niagara falls.

“In second place: Justin Tyler.”

The crowd roared, but we stayed entirely silent. Time stopped, Cooper squeezed my hand. My heart raced, Piper gripped my shoulder. Everything felt entirely paused in this moment.

“And last, in first place, with a time of three minutes and thirty-eight seconds and a score of sixty-three out of seventy: Charlie Sage!”

The crowd erupted into cheers, but none louder than our group. All five of us jumped up and down, screaming at the top of our lungs as we watched my boy accept his ribbon and trophy.

He climbed onto the winner’s platform with this cheesing grin that felt bolder, brighter, than I’d seen in years. Our boy. Our Mini Coop.

Cooper raced past security guards and judges and volunteers, ignoring all of their arguments and you shouldn’t be back here, sirs to run straight to Charlie. He gave him a tight hug, arms wrapped around his shoulders before lifting him up as high as he could and shouting loud enough for everyone to hear. “That’s my boy. Look at my Mini Coop!”

Charlie cackled in the air as Cooper showed him off like a trophy.

After plenty of gloating, hugs, and squished cheeks from all of us, he went over to a group of friends off to the side. Cooper and Finn assured me they were kids from their classes, but still I watched in curiosity. Even more so when one tiny blond with braided pigtails wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in tight, leaving Charlie standing there with pink rushing up to his ears.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Your future niece-in-law.” Cooper smiled, and I elbowed his side.

“Stop, I just finally accepted that he’ll be ten next month. Don’t rush it.”

His arms wrapped around my waist and squeezed me. “I’ll never rush a thing with you, my Madeline.” I smiled against his lips as he spun me in a circle.

You are valuable. He left them for you. I squeezed Cooper’s hand and added one more affirmation in place. You are Madeline.