Ridge
“Are you okay?”
Camila groaned as she lifted her head. Her weight was entirely on me. I held her tightly, hugging her around the waist while my heart hammered. I’d become no stranger to Camila’s wild antics, but the worrying never ceased.
“Say something, please, Camila.”
Her eyelids opened, revealing her haunting green eyes. The flecks of gold shimmered in the reflection of the white ice. “You caught me.” She sounded dazed, then she pulled in a deep breath and smiled. “Of course you caught me.”
The way she’d been speeding around the rink with young kids and less advanced skaters near her might have been the most reckless thing I’d ever seen her do. Her fearlessness had always intrigued me, but the stunt she’d just pulled had quickly turned my concern into fury.
“I don’t know what you’re smiling about. You could have hurt someone. You could have been hurt.”
Panic lit her expression, and the regret registered quickly. “Oh no. I didn’t mean to go that fast. I just—” She slammed her eyes closed and shook her head. “I was being stupid.”
I slid my arms from around her waist almost reluctantly, which was ridiculous. “Are you okay to stand?”
Disappointment flickered in her expression before she nodded and pushed against my chest. “I think so.”
She stood slowly as Josie skated to her side and helped to steady her. Then I scrambled to my feet and turned to Lucy with my apologies.
“I’m sorry to cut our skate session short. Want to pick it up again next week?”
I wondered if Lucy’s concerned expression was more for me or her missed lesson, but she nodded. “Of course. Next week is fine.” Then she hobbled toward the edge of the rink.
I should have helped her exit the ice, but I was too afraid to leave Camila.
Camila’s eyes widened as they followed Lucy’s exit. She turned to me, looking confused. “You were giving skate lessons? You weren’t on a date?”
I could practically hear the clicking of the gears in my brain as I realized what had just happened. As if Camila realized she’d said too much, her face turned bright red. Josie just stood there, looking between us.
“Um,” Josie said finally. “I thought I saw Emilio heading toward the G. I think I’m going to join him and catch up with the others. Call me later?”
Camila nodded and watched her friend skate away.
“You thought I was on a date.”
Her gaze slid back to mine. “I did.”
“And you were jealous?”
Her cheeks reddened. “I can’t believe you just asked me that,” she hissed before looking around us. “That’s not even an option.”
Though that wasn’t what I’d asked, I didn’t correct her. I already knew enough. We were in dangerous territory I wasn’t sure how to skirt around. How long has she felt this way?
Pushing my newly forming questions away, I focused on the matter at hand. “Is there somewhere I can walk you to?”
She cringed. “You don’t have to do that.”
Huh? “Do what?”
“You don’t have to treat me like a little girl who has a crush on her neighbor. You don’t have to protect my feelings.”
Is that what I was trying to do? I cared about her more than I should, and I wasn’t going to leave her standing in the middle of the ice, crush or not.
“I’m just offering to take you wherever you want to go. Or you can continue skating.”
She made a face and pulled up her hand. “To be honest, my wrist is a little sore. I might have sprained it or something.”
Sighing, I placed a hand on her back and nudged her forward. “C’mon. I can at least help you find your friends.”
Camila didn’t move. “Are you headed home now? Maybe you could drop me off at the end of my drive.”
I opened my mouth to tell her what we both already knew. Even if I was headed home, I couldn’t be the one to drop her off at hers. I couldn’t be seen anywhere near Patrick Bell’s property, unless I wanted to make things worse for Harold’s farm. The man frustrated me to no end, but he was still my father. And working for him for the little time that I had had showed me how much he loved that damn field.
“I’ll get you down into Telluride, then you’ll need to go with your friends.”
She stared back at me, challenge brimming in her eyes, but for some reason, she gave up the fight and nodded. “All right, then.”
We traded our skates in and grabbed the next available gondola car to take us back down into town. Not until we were sitting across from each other on the bench seats did I take a good look at her. A pang hit my chest as I registered what she was wearing—distressed dark jeans with plaid fabric inside the torn parts, tall black boots that gave her a little bit of height for once, and a long cream sweater that did nothing to hide the curves she’d grown into.
My bratty, rebellious neighbor was no longer a little girl, but she was still all sorts of wrong for me, her age being the largest factor in the new dilemma.
“So,” I said, attempting to move us into safer territory. “If you weren’t here tonight, where would you be?”
She snorted, reminding me of the Camila I’d gotten to know well over the past year and a half. “I’d probably still be serving food and drinks to my papa and his hunting buddies. They have these poker nights once a month, and I’ve been playing server for years.”
“Does your father still hunt with them?”
Camila’s face twisted in disapproval. “No, thank god. That’s all in his past. Mama made him stop years ago, but I don’t know about the other guys.” Then she frowned. “I don’t think they still do.”
“It isn’t a terrible thing if they do,” I assured her, earning me a smile. “To this day, hunting is the way of life for a lot of my fellow Tribe members.”
“But you’re not a hunter. You can’t even hold a gun properly.”
We both chuckled.
“That’s because I was raised by my mother. She was more into basket weaving and berry picking.”
Camila seemed to be taking that in while she stared out the window to her right. We were passing by a large plot of spruce trees. The snow packed on top of them sparkled like diamonds against the artificial lighting.
“You didn’t answer my question earlier. Since when did you become a skating instructor?”
I smiled, knowing what a strange sight that must have been. “I learned my lesson last year on the farm. The ranch house is too small for Harold and me to hang around in all day. Working here gives me something to do, and they pay me. It’s nice to make a salary for once.”
Camila’s face blanched at my confession. Money wasn’t something I talked about. It had never been my driving force in life, and it felt so personal. But if I was going to confess that to anyone, it would be her.
“Harold doesn’t pay you? But you’re working twelve-to-sixteen-hour days sometimes.”
I laughed. “Yeah, well, the old man is giving me a place to stay and food to eat. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s my life.”
“My papa pays me minimum wage when I work the vineyard.”