“Mr. and Mrs. Hooker?” A man yelled from behind the counter. Sweaty man and his date had disappeared somewhere.

Maddie looked at me. “Did you tell them we were husband and wife, instead of brother and sister this time?”

“Nope. Just registered us as Maddie and Milo Hooker. I guess they assumed.”

We walked up, and the guy who’d helped us with our paperwork took us outside to our machine. I’d rented a two-person Ski-Doo Grand Touring model, which had great suspension and a place to store Maddie’s camera equipment. It sat one passenger in front of the other, motorcycle style, and I had Maddie get on before I saddled up.

“We’re going to go about a half hour before our first stop,” I said. “These things are loud, so it will be hard to talk. Give me a tap if you need me to stop for any reason.” I’d come here enough times to know the best trails, and I was looking forward to seeing her reaction when I got to the place I had in mind. “Are you scared?”

She flashed a huge, toothy smile. “I am!”

I chuckled. Normally people who were scared looked like they were about to shit their pants, but not Maddie. She seemed to channel fear into excitement, and it had an exhilarating influence on me. Like yesterday, for example. I’d been avoiding going skiing for four years. If it were up to me, I’d never have clicked into a binding again, but she’d inspired me to turn the bad memories into new, good ones.

I finished packing her camera equipment into the rear storage bin and tucked away the Thermos of hot chocolate she had no idea I’d bought for our ride. Then I straddled the snowmobile in front of her.

“You comfortable?” I yelled.

“I am. But where do I hold on?”

There were grips she could grab attached to the sides of her seat, but luckily, the guy who gave us the equipment overview hadn’t mentioned that fact.

“You wrap your arms around me.”

“Oh. Okay. I need to move up then.”

“Yeah, you do.”

She’d been sitting with a gap between us, which she could’ve maintained if she’d known about the handles. Instead, her thighs wrapped around mine, and I reached down and gave one a squeeze. “You good?”

“Yes. I’m comfy.”

Yeah, I couldn’t agree more—definitely more comfy this way. Too bad we were both bundled with heavy winter coats. Note to self, steering this adventure to a warmer climate to shed some of these layers might not be a bad idea.

I started the snowmobile, and Maddie tightened her grip around my waist.

She shrieked, “Eeep! I’m so nervous,” and I couldn’t stop smiling as I hit the gas.

The trek through the trails was gorgeous. Huge evergreens blanketed in thick snow outlined the perimeter of the path. On more than one occasion, Maddie yelled and pointed things out. Even though I’d ridden here a hundred times, everything seemed new today, like I was seeing it through her eyes instead of mine. We wound through the mountains until we were almost at the top, and then I slowed down.

“Hold on tighter, okay? We’re going off trail for a few minutes.”

“Okay!”

I loved that she didn’t ask if it was allowed or what we were going to see. Maddie trusted me to keep her safe, even though we’d only known each other for a few days. Once I got close to the overlook, I parked and climbed off, removing my helmet and hanging it from the handlebars.

Maddie climbed off, removed her helmet, and proceeded to rub her butt. “I think my ass is a little numb from the vibration.”

“Think how my nuts feel.”

She laughed. “I guess I should be glad you’re not rubbing them then.”

“What did you think I took you up here to show you?” I winked.

I unpacked her camera equipment from the back of the snowmobile and grabbed the Thermos of hot chocolate. “Come on. This way.”

Leading her over to a giant rock about twenty feet from the edge of the mountain, I climbed up first, then extended a hand to pull her up with me.

She turned and got her first glimpse of the winter-wonderland view down below. The landscape was truly magnificent. The forest was turned white, the sky was bright blue, and smoke hovered over a geothermal spring in the center of the valley. “Oh my God. It’s gorgeous.”

I looked at the giant smile on her face. “Yeah, it really is.”

Maddie couldn’t unpack her camera fast enough. She stood and took pictures, lost in her own world for a solid ten minutes. When she sat down and sighed, I figured it was the perfect time for a warm drink, so I poured some of the steaming cocoa into the plastic cap that doubled as a mug and passed it to her.

“Oh wow. This is just perfect,” she said.