Page 74 of Rise After Fall

“Yeah, I came to invite you and your parents to Thanksgiving dinner at Garrett’s house.”

Tobias’s eyebrows go up. “Your brother Garrett Tuttle?”

“That’d be him.”

“I’m a big fan. It’d be an honor to have dinner at his home.”

“He won’t be present. He’s doing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but his fiancée and the rest of the family will be there.”

“Thank you. Mom will love that.”

“Yes, thank you for the invitation,” Tobias says.

He looks at Zoey. “I have to be going. I’m meeting your father and Langford for a drink in the Summit Bar before our dinner reservation. I’ll see you in a bit, Zoey.”

As he walks past me, he extends his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Morris. I look forward to seeing more of you on the slopes this weekend.”

I shake his hand.

Once he is gone, Zoey relaxes.

“He’s intense,” I say.

“That’s Tobias. His presence fills a room and suffocates you.”

“I’m confused. I thought you and he were tight. Am I missing something?”

She sighs. “No. We were. He was like a father to me most of my life, and neither he nor my actual father took it very well when I walked away from competitive skiing. It just frustrates me to have to keep defending my decisions.”

“Are you sure that’s all it is?” I ask.

She smiles. “I’m sure. Thank you, truly, for inviting us to Thanksgiving with your family. It’s very generous.”

“You know Sara-Beth and Leona—the more, the merrier.”

“I, um … I have to go get changed for dinner. Mom made us a reservation for five thirty. They eat with the senior citizens,” she says.

“Will I see you later?”

“I don’t know how late I’ll be. I promised to hang out and watch a movie with them after dinner. Knowing Mom, she’ll do everything she can to keep me as long as possible. And we both have early lessons on the schedule tomorrow morning. So, maybe we should get some sleep tonight,” she says.

“Okay.”

She walks to me and wraps her arms around my waist and rests her forehead on my chest.

“You’re not exactly thrilled they popped up, unannounced, are you?” I ask as I run my hands up and down her arms.

“Nope,” she mumbles.

I press my lips to the top of her head.

“Hang in there. It’s only for a couple of days,” I say against her hair.

Zoey

“This place is so quaint,” Mom cries as I show her around the resort.

She and I plan to hit the slopes together for a few runs before my first lesson of the day.