Yet, everyone’s friendliness encouraged her.

Out of the way of any skiers, CJ showed her how to put her skis on. He demonstrated how she should point her skis to form a V. “Slightly incline your knees inward so that you can dig your skis into the snow a bit. Relax your arms and hold your poles with the tips pointing outward so that you’re less tense.”

She realized then how tense she was and willed herself to relax. He could probably hear her wildly pounding heart. Hopefully, he just believed she was excited.

“Then you’ll turn, planting the tips of your poles into the snow behind you and pushing off gently.” He demonstrated. “To slow down, widen your V and zigzag down the slope. You can traverse more of the slope to the side and then turn to go down the slope, and again turn to the opposite side, digging into the slope.”

He showed her how to take off her skis and then walked her to the beginner’s ski lift for the bunny slope. She couldn’t believe how heavy the boots were or how difficult it was to walk in them. She’d thought it would be easier to just ski over to the lift, but then she watched a kid of about ten years old flying by, pushing out with his skis to get over to the lift. And another, sliding over the snow, expertly using his poles to push him along. She definitely didn’t have that skill yet.

Skiing just didn’t seem like a wolf sport. Yet she loved the outdoors and the fresh air, the smiling faces, and everyone looking like they were having so much fun. She was glad she’d come here to take a much-needed play break before opening the hotel.

By the time she reached the ski lift, Laurel was thinking that she would be good and tired tonight. She wished her sisters could be here, but she liked that she got to try skiing first.

She managed to get her skis on without any trouble, then slid them across the packed snow to reach the lift line. Talk about unwieldy! She crossed the tips of the skis twice and nearly fell. If CJ hadn’t grabbed her arm and kept her upright until she could get her skis uncrossed, she would have landed on her butt. Talk about a lifesaver! Not that she was in terrible peril, except for risking embarrassment if she fell in front of everyone.

Wearing his mirror sunglasses, his kissable mouth smiling up at the corners just a tad, CJ looked so hot and cute that she fell in love with him a little. Not as in a mating. He was so sweet to offer to teach her and didn’t seem to mind that she was a klutz. Not all men would want to bother. Most would rather show off their hotshot skiing skills than babysit a novice.

“You can teach me for a little while, then I can practice while you ski on your own.” She didn’t want him to feel obligated to stay with her all afternoon. She could just imagine how bored he would be. And she was sure that if she just practiced, she could get better without him having to watch her.

“Are you kidding? Not only am I looking forward to having fun on the slopes with you, but there’s no way that I’m leaving you alone for a second. There are way too many hungry bachelor wolves on the slopes this afternoon.”

He looked so serious, she laughed. He just smiled back.

Before she knew it, she and CJ were sitting on the ski lift, her skis swinging a bit, which seemed hazardous. She was afraid she’d fall off because there was no bar to keep a body secure.

At the end of the ride, when she had to get off the ski lift in a hurry, her heart was pounding with worry that she’d fall right in front of the lift. One of the two male teens in front of them had just fallen, and she could see herself doing the same thing. Thankfully, the teen was up and gone before she hopped off. She managed to stay on her feet, or skis, and skied a little out of the path before she slid to a stop.

“Okay, we’ll go this way. Blue trail over there is for intermediate skiers. The green signs always mean easy, and this one over here is the easiest of the six easy slopes. To get moving, just push off with your skis, one and then the other. As we ski down, remember to form your wedge.”

When they started to ski down, he reminded her, “Keep your weight mostly on the downhill ski as you go across the slope, keeping your skis parallel, and always form a wedge when you’re turning downhill. If you find yourself falling, fall toward the upper slope.”

They headed down the slope, which looked incredibly tall and steep. It probably wasn’t, but for someone who wasn’t used to this, like Laurel, it looked that way. She began to pick up a little speed, more than she was ready for, and quickly widened her wedge. That slowed her down right away, and she began to gain confidence, realizing she did have some control over her movements. This wasn’t so hard after all.

And she was having fun as she moved down the hill. Getting tired too, as she used muscles in ways she hadn’t before.

Little kids zipped past her, making her wish she’d taken up skiing a long time ago, though she and her sisters hadn’t lived in snow country for some time. And when they had, they hadn’t lived near a ski resort.

Besides, she didn’t imagine she would have had private wolf lessons anywhere else. So this was really enjoyable.

After going up the ski lift and skiing down the slope a number of times, CJ smiled at her when they reached the base. “You’re really getting the hang of it.”

All along, he’d been saying things like that. She loved how encouraging he was. She guessed she wasn’t too bad for a beginner. In the beginning, getting used to the trail was important so that she could learn its nuances and concentrate more on her form. After a couple of runs, she knew where the top of the snow had crusted over and was more slippery, where it widened and where it narrowed, where there was a tiny bump in the snow, and how long it would take her to reach the base where everyone coming down off other slopes converged and headed for the ski lifts.

“Looking good, Laurel,” someone said, skiing past them. Someone else echoed the man’s compliment.

She smiled. She hoped her sisters would take up skiing too. By next season, they could all be halfway good at it. “Do you think you’re ready to go down the next slope, or do you want to keep skiing down this one? The next one is a little steeper, still a green, really easy to navigate, and with a much longer slope so you have more time to practice turning. It’s up to you.”

He had to be bored coming down this easy slope, she thought.

After about an hour of the green slope, she was eager to try out another trail. Especially if he thought she was ready for it.

If it turned out to be too difficult, she could go back to the easiest slope. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Good show.” He looked proud of her. “You’re a celebrity, you know,” CJ said as they rode up a different lift.

“What do you mean?”

“The Wernicke brothers think that their show has so much appeal, but you have everyone watching you today.”

“Great. I’d really rather that no one noticed me falling down a hill.”

“You’re doing super. And you have to remember it’s your first time.”

“I see these little kids skiing like they’ve been doing it for years, and it makes me wish I had been.”

“They have been doing it for years. Parents put them in ski school at three years of age. Ski bunnies. By the time they’re seven or eight, they’ve already been skiing for a number of years.”

“Wow. Do you ever teach them?”

“On occasion when I’m off-duty. I’m usually up here during the duty day, if Peter needs me for deputy sheriff duties. I’ve taught the kiddies in a pinch. You’re really doing well, Laurel. Some people can’t get the hang of it right away. You’re having fun, aren’t you?”

“Loving it.” She couldn’t envision CJ teaching the little ones, but she would love to see it.

“Loving it is all that matters.”

With all his encouragement, she felt she was doing really well. She was learning how to fall and get back up, which was a lot harder than it looked. Ski poles and skis just seemed to get in the way. And when she was on a slope? She couldn’t decide if it was harder or easier than when she took a spill on level ground.