My phone buzzed as I headed to the newest run for an afternoon of losing myself in the beauty of the mountains.

"What's up, Dad?"

"Where are you?" His voice was pinched, and I figured I had an ass chewing on the way. No doubt Chloe's father had called and given my old man a piece of his mind, much like he'd done me.

"I'm around. What do you want?" I couldn't force fake happiness.

"Finn. Come over to the house and let's talk."

"I don't want to talk, Dad. I worked my ass off for you today. I'm going to take my board up in the mountains and try to pretend like everything is okay." I sighed, and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Everything is okay." My father growled, and I could tell he was holding back his angst. "Look. I want to tell you about what happened with Jonathan. It's a story you need to know, and after I'm done, if you want me to fix it for you and Chloe...I will."

"I appreciate that, Dad, but honestly I'm good. Chloe's a great girl, but she's far too much woman for a simple man like me. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Like you said...I should have listened to you and kept my dick in my pants."

"Finn. Stop it. Get your ass over here." He was losing his grip, and I was done upsetting him.

"I'll stop by later. Love you, pops." I dropped the call, and parked the old truck by the road, not wanting to get a ticket seeing that the slopes were closed. They never would let patrons on the mountain after a hard snow without packing it. I'd been skiing my whole life. It was no big deal. I'd just have to be ready to shift at a moments notice if the ground felt too unstable beneath me.

My phone buzzed, and I turned it to silent and dropped it in my back pocket. After working to get myself layered up with clothes, I started the long trek up the side of the mountain. It took me a damn hour just to get to the top. I'd never appreciated a ski lift so much in all my life.

I checked my phone to see messages from my father, Brian, Parker and my girl. I chuckled and dropped it back in my pocket, not willing to feed their emotions. They were overreacting. I was spending a couple of hours by myself, remembering why I wasn't all the things Chloe's Dad said I was. Somewhere along the afternoon I'd started to convince myself that he was right.

Chloe was far too good for me, and I would tell her that, but letting her go just didn't honestly seem like something I could do. If she shoved me away, I'd go without a fight, but I wasn't going to shove back. I couldn't. I let everything go and focused on the mountain ahead of me. I prayed like hell it would be a long ride down. I didn't know if I had the stamina to walk back up the hill after the long morning I'd had.

My phone buzzed again and I pulled it out, growling loudly.

"What?" I growled into the phone, knowing it was Brian and he would forgive me later.

"Dude. Your Dad's pretty upset. He just called and said that he's coming to find you."

"I'm fucking snowboarding. I'm a grown-ass man, Brian. What's the big deal?"

"Um, there was a blizzard last night, and you of all people know that makes the mountains dangerous. Go home and stop being a dick. He's worried."

"You and I have been on these mountains our whole lives." I ground my teeth together. "When's the best time to ski."

"Now, but that's beside the point."

"No, it isn't. Tell me why now is the best time to ski?"

"Because the mountains are empty. Finn. I'm not playing your games right now. If your Dad is worried, then respect him, like I know you do, and get your ugly ass home."

"My ass is not ugly. Ask any girl within a five mile radius." I had to lighten the conversation. I couldn't handle much more strife.

"Finn. Go home, dude. We'll go out tomorrow and take a mountain down together."

I sighed, and resigned myself to giving into them. Everyone had their panties in a wad, and once again it was my turn to bend and comfort them. "Fine. I'm already up here and there's one fucking way down."

"Good. Enjoy it and get home. Text me if you're free later, and we'll grab a beer."

"Yeah, fuck you," I mumbled, and pulled my glasses down.

"I'm not your type, remember."

"Right. You're entirely too hairy." I smiled, not wanting to cause any stress on anyone, just wanting a moment to myself.

"Hey."

"What?" I bit my tongue.

"Whatever that mean old fucker said to you today...let it go."

"Does everyone know about this?"

"Small town, Finn." Brian laughed. "I'm hanging up. Be careful and call me later."

"Later." I pulled the phone from my face, and honestly considered lobbing it halfway across the mountain just to get a moment of peace. My Dad's problems were his problems, and I was twenty-seven. I didn't need him fixing mine.

I let my thoughts go and bent my knees, turning sharply and shoving off. The wind hit me in the face, and I took shallow breaths, turning and twisting my body as I'd been doing all my life.

Chloe's Dad's voice lifted inside my head, and I couldn't seem to shake his words.

"You stay the fuck away from my little girl. She deserves better than you could ever give her. Do you hear me? You're a piece of shit who will rot in this town, boning any available woman and dreaming about a life that will never - ever - ever be yours. Do yourself a favor and don't bring down Chloe to your level. You'll hate yourself for it later. Ask your father about that."

Was my mother like Chloe once? Was she wealthy and filled with plans? Had my father fallen in love with her and changed everything? Did it matter? She was happy.

I could remember so many happy moments with my folks. Wealth didn't matter, and building legacies didn't mean shit if there wasn't someone there to enjoy them with, someone to pass them on to.

My Dad was right about one thing... I did need to know the story. It wasn't just about him and Jonathan, but I was pretty sure it involved my mom too.

Had she been with Jonathan, and then my Dad stole her?

I lost my footing for a minute, but righted myself.

"Keep your head in the game," I grumbled, and over-corrected my next turn. There was no time to fix the error, and I covered my face and tried to relax as I flew forward, knowing it was about to get bad.

The world flew by, colors mixing and faded as I tumbled over myself over and over again. I hit something hard on the way down, and lost my vision for a minute.

I lay there for what felt like forever, trying to remember where I was, or what I needed to do to get up. It was so damn cold, and the sky was darkening. I fumbled with my phone in my pocket as dizziness rolled over me.

Pressing my Dad's number, I put the phone on my chest and closed my eyes, waiting to hear his voice.

"Finn? What's up, son? You on your way over?"

I could hear him, but I couldn't seem to respond. Fear rushed through me, and I groaned, wanting so damn bad to tell him where I was and what I was up to, but words wouldn't form.

"Finn? Stop dicking around, boy. You're scaring me." His tone sharpened and his anger seemed to burn through the phone.

Tears burned my gaze, and I let out a painful breath. My mind was blurry and even breathing was hard. I had to have punctured a lung and hit my head on something. Why else couldn't I get a word out?

"Goddammit son!" I could hear him yelling at Milly to get the truck and call 9-1-1. I let myself fade out as he continued to yell at me to stay awake and think good thoughts.