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So, I did.
Admittedly, it was a bit awkward at first. It was strange having one foot pointed to the side while the other was facing forward. But on the bright side, I had made up substantial ground and had gotten the hang of it.
I kept going, following behind the man and continuing to push myself forward using my free foot.
Before I knew it, the lift came into view. Seeing it, I felt a mix of relief that I’d made it there, but I was slightly terrified that I had to get on it.
This was just one of those things that I’d noticed had changed for me over the last couple of months. I’d grown more and more hesitant about certain things, always considering the potential outcomes. The lift was one of those things I’d found to be rather intimidating.
The man came to a stop just before the entrance to the lift line. We were on a part of the mountain that didn’t have a whole lot of traffic—the result of its size and the fact the resort limited the number of tickets it sold each day—so nobody was waiting in line for the lift.
By the time I made it to him, the man said, “You made it.”
“Yeah. Yeah, thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” Jerking his head toward the lift, he asked, “Care to share a ride with me?”
There was nobody else around besides the lift attendant, and this man had been extremely compassionate and helpful. If anything, given my concerns about the lift, it probably wasn’t a bad idea to have someone like him on the same ride with me.
I must have taken too long to think about it, because he said, “I should probably introduce myself. I’m Forrest. Forrest Hickman.”
“Daisy Clark.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Daisy. So, what do you say?”
I hesitated for just a few more seconds. “Okay. Sure.”
Forrest waved his hand out in front of his body and toward the lift, urging me to proceed ahead of him. I was a bit nervous, worried I might fall or go too slow. It was such a strange feeling, not being so confident all the time, and it was something I was still trying to get used to.
I made it up to the front of the line for the lift without incident. And before I even had the chance to look up, Forrest was already there.
“We’ll go after this one,” he said, indicating the chair that was coming around past us.
I didn’t have time to respond, because almost immediately, I needed to start moving forward to make it to where we’d get ourselves loaded onto the next chair. If nothing else, I’d be grateful for the few minutes of peace I’d have on the lift.
Unfortunately, I’d only just barely made it to the stopping point for loading onto the chairlift, and by the time I turned to look back, the chair was already there. I reached for the bar on the side, but I hadn’t been prepared for it to be there so soon. I missed the seat and tried to use my free foot to steady myself, but it was no use.
Just when I thought I was going to wind up underneath the chair, Forrest clamped an arm around me and hauled me up onto the seat at the very last second.
“Are you okay?” he asked, still holding on to me.
We’d passed the loading station and were being propelled forward on the chairlift. I shook my head but said nothing.
Forrest brought his other arm to me, held it against me, and used the arm he’d caught me with to lower the safety bar in front of us. My hands flew to it.
“Daisy?” Forrest called.
I turned my head to look at him, feeling embarrassed and horrified.
Whether he knew I was silently panicking or not, I didn’t know, but with one hand still on me, Forrest brought his other hand to his goggles and lifted them up to rest against the front of his helmet. Then he lowered the ski mask down from in front of his mouth. “Breathe.”
Relaxing slightly, I took a calming breath.
Seeing his handsome, kind expression and those gorgeous blue eyes, it wasn’t difficult to feel just a bit more at ease.
“I’m beginning to think this was a bad idea,” I blurted.
“What was a bad idea?”
