Warming Daddy Up Novel – Lacey POV “Let’s head back, babe. I need to finish up some work later.” Mom’s voice sliced through the freezing mountain air at Shadow Ridge Resort. I stopped at the very top of the slope, my skis planted in the fresh powder, and pushed my glasses higher on my nose because the icy wind kept making them slide. “But Mom, the fun is just starting!” I said, my voice coming out smaller than I wanted. “And you promised this entire weekend was mine for my eighteenth birthday.
Just this once.” She sighed. “I know, I’m so incredibly sorry, but this is important.” Important. The word landed like another gust of wind, knocking the air out of me. What about me? I thought. Aren’t I important? The words slipped out before I could take them back. “Where do I fit in? Am I less important than your emails?” But Mom didn’t even flinch. She just looked at me with that tired expression that said she’d heard this before. “Stop acting like a child.
You’re supposed to be eighteen today…” Before she could finish, my stepdad Silas stepped in, smooth and steady like he always did. “Actually, I think she’s right.” He placed his gloved hand on Mom’s shoulder, gentle but firm enough that she paused. “Get your work sorted. We’re fine here. We’ll head out in ten minutes.” Mom’s mouth opened, then closed when she caught the frown on my face. She rolled her eyes, but I saw the fight leave her shoulders. “Fine. Ten minutes. Got it?” My face brightened instantly.
“Okay.” She leaned in and kissed Silas warmly, the kind of kiss that made me look away fast because it felt too private. Then she pulled back and whispered something in his ear: “I’ll need more of this to warm me up later.” Silas laughed softly and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I’ll make sure of it.” I stared at my skis, pretending to adjust my goggles so they wouldn’t catch me watching. Mom pushed off then, gliding down the slope toward the lodge, her red jacket getting smaller and smaller until the swirling snow swallowed her completely.
The wind was picking up, and the flakes were coming thicker now, like the mountain was trying to warn us. “You okay?” Silas asked. I turned to him, my heart doing that stupid little skip it always did when he looked at me like that, like I actually mattered. “Yeah.” I swallowed, then added quickly, “Anyway, thanks for the save. She was set on leaving until you intervened.” He gave me that small, crooked smile. “My pleasure. Gotta keep the newest adult in town happy, right?” I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me.
It felt good, real. Silas was… God, he was just good. Better than any of the guys Mom had brought around since Dad passed four years ago. At first I’d hated the idea of her remarrying, hated the thought of anyone taking Dad’s place. But Silas proved himself so fast. He listened when I talked. He remembered the little things, like how I took my coffee or that I hated thunderstorms. He stood up for me even when Mom was too busy to notice I was hurting.
Calling him a father figure still felt strange in my head sometimes, but in moments like this it almost fit. “Ready?” he asked, tilting his head toward the slope. “Race you,” I shot back, already grinning. He chuckled darkly. “You think you stand a chance against me?” “Watch me.” I pushed off before he’d even finished laughing. My skis sliced through the fresh powder with a satisfying hiss. The world blurred into white and blue, just me and the mountain and the thrill racing through my veins. I heard him coming up fast behind me, his laugh carrying on the wind. “Hey, that’s cheating!” he called. “You’re just too slow!” I yelled back, laughing so hard my chest hurt. We flew down the slope side by side for what felt like forever, and for those few minutes everything was perfect.
Then the wind shifted suddenly, sharp and mean, snow blowing sideways instead of down. It stung my cheeks and made it hard to see. But it wasn’t scary yet. Not really. We kept pushing, carving smooth turns through the pow