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it.” He takes swig of beer.
    “That sounds like a dream job to me. So how do I get it?”
    “Can you ski Tuesday? I’m free and I’ll introduce you to the director. He’ll want to ski with you for a few runs. Then I’ll take you to the top secret spots I know.” There’s a twinkle in his eye and I notice he’s flirting, just a little. None of this over-the-top stuff I have come to expect from the pretty boys. Nice.
    “I can. Where and when?”
    “Meet me at the Silverthorne chair at nine.”
    “I’ll be there. Thanks.” This could be nerve-racking. I know I was one of the better female skiers on the mountain back east, but here is a different story. This is one big pond, and I’m a small fish. Tim did say being a children’s instructor was about making sure the kids have fun, and I have that part down. I just hope my skiing is good enough.

Chapter 10

    I breathe in the crisp winter air and focus. The sky is a gorgeous shade of blue with fluffy white clouds. It’s in the high twenties and perfect weather for skiing. No fresh snow and I’m glad. I haven’t quite mastered thigh-deep powder skiing and have no desire to fall numerous times in front of the ski school director. I apply sunscreen to my face as I wait for Blaine.
    Within minutes, I see him walk toward me. Huh. Not what I expected at all. He’s dressed in beat-up-looking navy ski pants with an open, hip-length red jacket. I see a well-worn-looking purple fleece underneath. As he gets closer, I discover there’s silver duct tape on his thigh acting as a repair job. Not the fashion statement I would have guessed. He could have been plucked off a Vermont slope and dropped here. I am a little overdressed next to him. Not that I sport a rich-snow-bunny look. But I do have on white ski pants with a feminine purple and white jacket to match. My look is set off with the coral pink lipstick I wear to compliment my hair and eyes. Fortunately, my skis and boots say expert.
    Blaine asks,“Sorry, am I late?”
    “No, I’m one of those terminally early people. You have a couple more minutes before you’d be late.” I put my sunscreen in a pocket and zip it up.
    He reaches out and touches my nose. Oh my. I catch a whiff of something that says all male in a subtle way.
    “You’ve got a little sunscreen that isn’t rubbed in.”
    Right. Sunscreen. Wow, he has me a bit flustered. I recover quickly. “Shall we?”
    “You bet.” His skis hit the ground with a thunk. I hear a click as we lock into our bindings. We slide into line.
    “So, did Benjamin and Jenny make you breakfast Saturday morning?” Blaine bends over to adjust the buckles on his boot.
    “They did.” There are very few people in line, and I notice this is a four-person chair. Blaine makes no effort to pair us up with anyone.
    “Cereal and burnt toast?” We’re next to get on the chair. Yup, it’s just the two of us.
    “Yes, and it was delicious. How did you know?” We slide out to the chair ramp.
    He yells over the sound of the lift engine, “I’m the babysitter.”
    Pulling the bar down, he turns to me. “Tim and Clara don’t get much time to themselves, so I take care of the kids while they go off on winter camping jaunts to get a break.”
    “What a nice thing for you to do. I didn’t know they did that.” I lift up my left thigh and slide my poles beneath my bottom so I don’t have to hold them.
    “Yup. Two tree huggers at heart. They skin up to some remote spot, camp out, and then spend their day tellying backcountry.”
    “Tellying?”
    “Telemark skiing.”
    “Oh, free the heel, free the mind?” Telemark skiing is a hybrid of cross-country and downhill skiing. The skis have metal edges allowing one to carve a turn, but the bindings only attach the toe to the ski to enable uphill, cross-country moves.
    He leans back in the chair and chuckles. “Exactly! I like that. So, I think I’ll take you on a few warm-up runs first. We meet with the director, Matt, at