The Billionaire's Courageous Lover (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 3) by Elizabeth Lennox

she didn’t have any one to be excited with, but she still went right back up. 
    The runs on these two slopes were shorter, so she was able to go up several more times.  It wasn’t until later in the afternoon when disaster struck.  She was tired but still exhilarated at her success, truly enjoying the new sport, and wanting to keep going.  She loved sliding down the mountain on the snow, the sunshine overhead and she really was getting better. 
    Unfortunately, another skier, one who probably shouldn’t be on this run, wasn’t quite as competent.  Andie was making her last turn before the final stretch to the bottom and just happened to glance behind her.  A teenage boy was coming towards her, his poles up in the air as he tried to find his balance, but obviously failing since his whole body tipped precariously to one side, then the other.  He was obviously out of control…and coming right towards her. 
    She saw the look in his eyes and her stomach clenched as gravity laughed.  Perhaps she shouldn’t have been on this slope either, because a more experienced skier would know how to get out of the poor kid’s way.  But her only movement was her mouth falling open as she realized what was about to happen. 
    Mere moments later, the teen crashed right into her, and her only thought was that Knox was going to have more ammunition to try and convince her to leave Alaska.  Darn it! 
    After that, it was really just a bunch of arms, legs, poles, and skis amassed in the air and snow.  When the crash was over, Andie opened her eyes and catalogued her body parts.  Legs?  No pain.  Well, except for the burning in her thighs because of the ski boots.  Arms?  They seemed okay.  Back?  No serious issues there either!  Thank goodness.
    Carefully, she extracted her body parts and equipment from the crash site and looked at the other guy.  Instantly, she knew something was wrong. 
    “Are you okay?” she gasped, trying to sit up.  She awkwardly got her skis off just as a couple of other skiers swooshed up to them.  “You guys okay?  That was a bad one.”
    Andie knelt next to the guy, her eyes looking at the boy’s leg.  She wasn’t an expert, but she was fairly certain that legs weren’t supposed to go at that angle.  “I don’t think he’s okay,” she told the others.  “Can someone flag down one of the ski patrols?  I think this guy is seriously hurt.”
    A few moments later, the ski patrol swooped in and took over.  Andie stepped back while they loaded the poor guy onto one of their motorized snow mobiles and got him down the mountain.  They insisted on bringing her along so that she could fill out the paperwork, and even asked several of the witnesses to do the same. 
    Andie nodded, feeling horrible for the kid.  He looked to be in a lot of pain and when they reached the bottom, his parents were right there, eyes worried and anxious.  She was glad that the guy had someone there for him, someone to watch out for him. 
    Her thoughts instantly turned to Knox and dread filled her stomach.  Oh, please don’t let him be coming back from his adventure right now!  He’d see the lights, and know that something was wrong. 
     
    Knox had come down off of the mountain, an exhilarating run from the top, which left all of them laughing with an endorphin rush.  It was a hard, crazy run from the top of the mountain, but it produced a rush that was unlike anything else.  He loved skiing and the adventure of pushing himself.  The only way to reach the top of the mountain was the helicopter ride. 
    No matter how good the run though, he still would have preferred to stay with Andie. 
    As soon as he’d stored his skis and changed out of his ski boots, he went in search of her, wanting to see her and make sure she was okay.  Something in his gut was telling him that something was wrong.  But what could have gone wrong with her sitting in the lodge by the fire?  It was pretty hard to choke on