FINALLY! This is happening folks! So so so soooo sorry it took so long. I was completely stumped on what I wanted to do with this story. I've been going through and editing it to post on AO3, so reading it over again I was able to get my head back in the story. Thank you all for being so patient!
We drove for a few days before stopping at our next week long break from the van. Owen began to pick up a pattern. Maisie and I were happiest when we were in some sort of stable structure. I continued my rule of absolutely no intimacy until there was a thicker wall between us and Maisie.
It was almost an entire day after we left the cabin in Florida, before Maisie spoke to Owen without a hint of an attitude.
Soon the green grass and sandy beaches turned into snow. "What are we going to do in the snow?" Maisie wondered as she stared out the window behind the couch.
"We're almost there." Owen informed her.
I sat back in my seat and nibbled on my nail. I hated the snow. It's cold and wet… and cold.
We drove for a few more hours until Owen turned down a narrow side street. "Whoa." both Maisie and I gasped at the same time. She slid off the couch and came to the front, climbing onto my lap.
"What is this?" She wondered, leaning forward to get a better look out the front windshield.
"It's a ski resort." I whispered and slowly turned my head to look at Owen.
His smirk made me smile. "We're staying in there… or…" I was almost too afraid to ask.
He pointed towards the lodge.
Maisie burst into cheers on my lap and I leaned over to kiss Owen. "Thank you."
"Told you this would be better than the cabin by the beach."
I shrugged. "I miss the warmth."
"Our suite has a fireplace."
I flashed him a crooked smile and raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening…"
"We're here for a week. I saw how much Maisie was enjoying the snow at your sister's house and thought maybe some ski and snowboarding lessons would be fun for her."
"What's that?" Maisie wondered, turning on my lap to face her father.
Owen pulled into a parking spot and pointed towards the large ski slope behind the resort. "That."
"That's a big hill." She whispered.
"It's a mountain." Owen chuckled.
"I haven't snowboarded since I was a teenager." I pointed out. Not sure I trusted my abilities anymore.
"It's like riding a bike." Owen shrugged.
Maisie turned to look at me as we got out of the van. She took my hand, "Aunt Karen showed me pictures of you guys on a big board. Not those two small ones." She pointed to a couple walking into the resort with their skis.
"That's because we used to snowboard. Your grandparent's were the skiers."
"Oh. Can I snowboard, too?"
Owen answered her before I could. "You're going to try both."
"Oh!" Maisie jumped around excitedly. "What about you, Daddy?"
He nodded. "I like both."
Though I was freezing, I was looking forward to this little adventure Owen set up. This was going to be something new we would experience together. In all the years we've been together I have never seen Owen in the snow or on skies. This was going to be a lot more fun than I thought.
We checked in and Owen rushed towards our suite. "I saw this online, so I hope the pictures are just as nice as the real thing." He took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Oh, wow!" Maisie rushed into the large living room. The suite was set up like our own little log cabin. A fireplace, just like Owen promised was against the far wall. It was already lit and warming the room. The two bedrooms were on opposite sides on the living room which I was even more grateful for. The living room also opened up to the kitchen, a small breakfast bar separating the two.
"Ok," I sighed heavily and leaned into Owen's side, wrapping my arms around his waist. "this is better than the cabin."
"Can I get that in writing?"
I shook my head. "Nope."
"Can I set up my snow globes in my room?" Maisie asked excitedly as she rushed from her bedroom.
Owen nodded, but I could see the sadness in his eyes. She was more happy outside of the van. "I'll walk out with you and get some of the bags." He took her hand and they walked out of the suite, leaving me alone.
I wondered the large space that would be ours for the next seven days. Being on the road for almost a month since we left my sister's felt more like a year. Making my way over to the large sliding glass doors, I opened it and stepped out onto our private patio. The sounds of shrieks and laughter coming from the families on the slopes made me smile. My eyes fell on a family of three. A mother and father with their young son. I watched the father as he attempted to try and teach the small boy to stand on his own with his skis. The mother excitedly cheered her son on and snapped pictures of every move their son made.
I then spotted two young kids around Maisie's age going down the other side of the mountain in a tube. They screamed and held onto each other as they sped down the hill. I let my eyes wonder across other families and couples and found myself wondering if any of them have ever visited Jurassic World before.
The door opened and I spun around to help Owen and Maisie with the bags. "What do you ladies want to do first?"
I took my bag from Owen and he followed me into the master bedroom. "Well, we need to get snow gear. I don't think bathing suites would be a good fit in the snow."
"There's a shop in the lobby." Owen pointed out. He pulled the brochure out of his back pocket and skimmed over it. "There's also free coffee and hot chocolate in the lobby."
"Bet Maisie would like some hot chocolate." I remembered she mentioned Karen gave her some the way we used to have it as kids.
Owen nodded and folded up the brochure before walking out of the bedroom to call for Maisie.
Once each of us had the proper snow gear the three of us grabbed some hot chocolate to drink on our way back to the suite.
"Can we go outside?" Maisie asked Owen and I. We were unpacking some of our bags when Maisie walked into the bedroom fully dressed in her snowsuit.
Owen chuckled. "Well you're already ready to go."
She nodded excitedly. "I was watching some kids snow tubing. Can we do it?"
"I thought you'd never ask!" Owen quickly dropped the toiletry bag on the bed and hurried to pull on his snow pants.
I followed his motion and met the two by the door. Owen and Maisie raced outside ahead of me. With the sun setting, the cold was getting to some guests who were out most of the day. Besides another family, we had the tube trail all to our selves.
Once Maisie got more comfortable with the speed, she needed to go faster. "Want to race?" I asked her while we waited for Owen to make his way back up the hill.
"Yes!" She cheered. She placed her tube on the ground and sat on it.
I shook my head and pulled her off of it. She tilted her head, confused. "Running start." I smiled.
"Oh!" She gasped and followed my stance. We held the handles, keeping the tubes against the front of our bodies.
"The Grady women up against each other? This isn't going to end well." Owen laughed when he caught up to us.
"Ready?" I asked Maisie, ignoring Owen laughing behind us.
"Ready!" She replied.
"Ready, set… go!" Owen yelled and before I could start running his arm wound around my waist. "Go Maisie, go!" Owen yelled as she ran a few steps and threw herself onto her tube.
"Owen!" I struggled to get out of his grasp.
"Bout time you let someone else win." He let me go and I spun around and shoved him hard. He tripped over his tube and we both tumbled to the ground.
"You cheat." I informed him.
He rolled so his body was half on top of me and kissed me. "Hear that?" He asked and tilted his head towards where Maisie's giggles were coming from.
I smiled and wrapped my arm around his waist to keep him against me. "Best sound in the world."
He nodded and our lips met in a slow kiss, tasting the warmth of the other.
"Hey!" Owen and I yelled at the same time when a snowball hit Owen's shoulder, spraying snow in our faces.
Maisie appeared over us, her laughter echoing off the mountain. "Come on!" She pulled my arm from Owen's waist and tugged until I got to my feet.
"For real this time." I told Owen and he sighed, but agreed.
This time when he yelled go, Maisie and I both ran and plopped down on our tubes. Reaching the bottom of the hill at the same time we agreed it was a tie.
With the sun gone, I noticed Maisie shivering more and more. Owen noticed, too and we handed in our tubes and went to the lobby for another round of Hot chocolate before dinner.