He pictured the way Kim was with AJ, hanging out with him, helping him with homework. I love kids, she’d told Daisy.
Unaware of his thoughts, she said, “How about making a fire in the living room? AJ might like that with his afternoon snack.”
The living room had a big, old-fashioned fireplace with a marble mantel and a neat stack of split wood in a box on the hearth. He busied himself laying the fire. “I know I can’t force the kid to like it here, and nothing’s going to feel right to him until he’s back with his mother. Still, I wish I could do something to make him feel more at home.”
She handed him a box of kitchen matches. “Let’s think of something fun for him to do this weekend. The weather is looking promising.”
“Promising. Like the temperature could shoot up above freezing? I could take him to the video arcade. Or to a movie.” He struck a match, touched it to the crumpled paper under the logs.
“Not that kind of fun. Kids can do that anywhere. He should do something new, something he can only do here.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “What did you have in mind?”
“Snowboarding at Saddle Mountain.”
He threw back his head and let out a belly laugh. “You crack me up, lady. You really do.”
“I’m not kidding. Boys his age love snowboarding. I love snowboarding. I bet he’d do great.”
“Fine, you take him up the mountain. I’ll just stay home by the fire.” He lit another match, then leaned down to blow on the small flame.
“No way. The whole point is for you to do something together. He’s been without you long enough. So you’re coming with us.”
The tiny flame caught and flared, licking at the dry firewood. “I’m an athlete. What if I blow out a knee? Hurt my shoulder?”
“Don’t be a baby. You’ll be fine.”
“We’re supposed to be working on my image.”
“I thought you wanted to show AJ how great it is to live here.”
“What’s great about sliding down a mountain?” He shuddered at the thought.
“We’re taking him snowboarding.”
“I’ll fall on my butt and freeze to death,” Bo grumbled. The log caught, crackling brightly.
At that moment, AJ came into the room, his backpack dragging at one shoulder, his jacket hanging open. “Cool,” he said. “That’s something I’d like to see.”
“Smart-ass,” Bo said.
Kim smacked his arm. “Watch your mouth.” She turned to AJ. “We didn’t hear you come in. How was school?” She held up her hand. “No, don’t answer that. Bo and I were talking about finding some fun things for you to do while you’re here. We’re going up to Saddle Mountain for some snowboarding. You up for that?”
Excitement flashed in his eyes, but he masked it quickly. “I guess.”
She sent Bo a smug smile. “You’re outvoted.”
Bo felt ambushed by Kim and AJ. They rushed around, borrowing gear from Noah Shepherd, who had plenty to share and no sympathy at all for Bo’s aversion to snow and cold. In Noah’s sloping yard, Bo and AJ learned the rudiments of snowboarding, which only added to Bo’s apprehension and AJ’s excitement. On Saturday, he leaped out of bed, making enough noise to rouse Bo even before the sun, and by nine in the morning, they were among the first to arrive at the ski resort.
There was something called a chairlift that scooped up the skiers and snowboarders and transported them, against all laws of physics, up the side of a frozen mountain. Bo felt as if he was being lifted up to be dropped into a volcano. Saddle Mountain, which looked so quaint and picturesque when viewed through the window, now appeared as forbidding as the frozen mountains of Middle Earth, in Lord of the Rings.
Bo turned to his two companions, who were chattering away with excitement and looking around at the scenery. They acted as though this was a kiddie ride at Disney World.
“We’re going to die,” he said. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Quit being a baby,” Kim scolded. “You’re not going to die. I won’t let you die.”
She looked crazy beautiful, even in the unfamiliar getup of a snowboarder. AJ looked pretty cool, too, in an outfit and equipment borrowed from Max Bellamy. As for Bo, he felt a deep distrust of this whole process. There was nothing natural about it. For the chairlift ride, they each had one foot fastened to a snowboard, the other dangling free. Kim promised when they reached the top, they would fasten the other boot in place, which made him even more apprehensive. But he kept his mouth shut because of the expression on AJ’s face. For the first time since his arrival in Avalon, the kid looked animated, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?” Kim said, as AJ twisted around to check out the valley below.
“Yeah, it’s like we’re flying,” he said.
“When the day is clear like this, you can see all the way across the lake. That’s the main part of town there.” She pointed out the toy village clustered at one end of a vast field of white. “That’s the square, and you can see Blanchard Park. There’s a puff of smoke coming out of the skating house. That’s where people go to warm up and rent ice skates.”
Do not promise him ice-skating. Glaring at her over the boy’s head, Bo tried to telegraph the message to her with his eyes.
“Ice-skating is really fun,” she went on, either oblivious to or willfully ignoring Bo’s glare of warning. “Your dad and I will take you skating soon, maybe tomorrow.”
“Cool,” said AJ.
“You think you’d like that?”
“I doubt he would,” Bo said.
“I’d definitely like to try,” AJ said.
“You bet,” said Kim.
“No way,” said Bo.
“Come on,” she said, “it’s really fun.”
“That’s what you said about snowboarding, and so far, I’m not having fun.”
“You haven’t even tried it,” AJ insisted.
“I’ll be glad when this is over.”
“It’s gonna be great,” AJ insisted.
Kim sent Bo a look of
