Page 161 of The Route to You

“Cleared?” Callum asked with a frown. “Or cleared with restrictions?”

Dammit, Callum. He might understand this better than anyone, given his professional sporting background. “Uh . . . with restrictions.” He hated how that sounded, even to his own ears.

Sloan released a slow exhale, looking down.

“Anyway,” Kyle pressed on. “Blue Ridge has given me a bunch of spectator passes, and I went ahead and booked a short-term rental for us to all go and stay if you’re interested in coming out to watch the race—thought it could be fun for everyone. Jackson Hole is great that time of year.”

Crickets.

“That’s about four months from now?” Dad said, his expression the most unreadable. “Can you really risk something like that with your shoulder?”

“I think I’ll be good to go by then.”

“Have you . . .” Elle asked in a low voice. “Have you fully thought this through?”

Mom had paled and taken a seat at the table, pulling Charlotte onto her lap like a shield.

Sloan still hadn’t looked at him and that was worrisome.

Fuck. She’s angry.

“I-I’ve been working on this for several weeks.”

“So, you’ve known about it for weeks?” Sloan asked.

Oh God. Not what he was trying to point out.

Even Quinn didn’t seem to have his back on this one. “Seems a bit risky, mate,” he said with a grimace. He looked down at Elle. “I’m not even sure if we can go. Tara’s just started kindergarten. She’ll be in school in January.”

“I mean, we could pull her out for a few days, but it’s a matter of whether it’s a smart idea.” She gave Kyle a harder look. “Sometimes that’s more important than whether something can be done.”

“Elle . . .” Liddy warned softly, setting a hand on her arm.

“I’m not going to snap or anything,” Elle said with a sigh, glancing at her sister. “But Kyle shouldn’t be reckless. To be honest, I don’t know that much about the race, but it sounds fun. Maybe not even the most dangerous thing he’s done. But he’s coming off an injury.”

“I have thought about it⁠—”

“It says on the website it’s a lot of vertical and climbing, along with alpine skiing,” Callum said, his phone in hand. He frowned. “Can you even do that with your shoulder?”

Sloan looked up then. Her eyes locked with Kyle’s, her eyes dark and unreadable—but turbulent.

“I should be fine. Dean’s a phenomenal climber and skier. He’s going to figure out a time to come out in the fall so we can train together.”

Elle pinched the bridge of her nose. “I love Dean, but he’s the definition of someone who leaps before he looks.”

This was going worse than he’d hoped. Or maybe he’d been too optimistic. “Anyway, I’d love for you all to join me if you can swing it.”

“I’m not sure how doable a trip is with work, since it’s right after the holidays,” Liddy said carefully. “But send the details, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Aunt Liddy, look at this!” Tara interrupted once again, hopping at Quinn’s feet. “Daddy, show her the twisty thing. I can climb too.”

Quinn obliged, taking both of Tara’s hands as she climbed up his legs with her own, then flipped over.

As Liddy and Callum clapped, Kyle’s shoulders sank. Thank God for Tara defusing tension.

The awkward silence hadn’t dissipated, though. “Should we eat?” Mom asked, taking the plate of hamburger patties from Kyle. She gave him a worried glance but said nothing. “We don’t want all of Sloan’s amazing food to get cold.”

Pasta and potato salad, Mom. It’s already cold. Kyle didn’t say anything, though.