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“All right, now we’re warmed up. Let’s go back to the mat,” Mikael called out. “We’re going to do a nice long core-strengthening flow. Get ready to engage those abs.”

  Corey tried to stifle a wince at the prospect of engaging her abs any more than she already had. Could Elise provide her with enough motivation to make it through the next half hour? She didn’t know which prospect should worry her more, the fact that she needed a distraction to get through a regular workout or that she may have actually found the woman who could offer her that. Oh well, women or workouts, the solution to being out of practice was to get more practice, and as it turned out she happened to be in the right place to get plenty of both.

  Chapter 3

  “I want you to be nice today,” Paolo said, as they wound their way through the halls of the training center.

  Elise rolled her eyes.

  “Promise?”

  “Fine. I promise.”

  “Honest,” Paolo said. “She’s good at what she does. And she’s funny.”

  Elise didn’t have to ask who. Paolo had spent the last week extolling the virtues of Corey LaCroix. He could probably be the president of her fan club by this point, though he seemed even more enthralled by Holly. Come to think of it, he’d spent time hanging out with Nate as well, though you could hardly become close with only one of them. When it came to the LaCroix entourage, you rarely saw any one of them break away from the pack. They ate together, they worked out together, and they started pickup basketball games in the gym, always three on three. Hell, they apparently even had rotating poker nights in one of the common rooms. Paolo had been their most recent victim, nearly losing his shirt to the trio last night. She’d even wondered if today’s joint workout session was part of some bet he lost.

  “If you gave her a chance, you’d be impressed.”

  “I’m sure she’s a riot around a poker table, but gym time is serious business.”

  “Which is why we need some outside opinions to make sure we’re making the most of our workouts.”

  “That’s what I pay you for,” Elise said as she pushed open the door to the gym area.

  “Right, you pay me to give you the edge. You have to trust me to do my job, which includes listening to me when I tell you to work with different people.”

  Elise shrugged grudgingly. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, and thank you. Now try to smile.”

  “I said I’d be polite. I didn’t say I’d smile. Smiling is Corey’s thing.”

  “Smiling isn’t one person’s thing. Everyone should smile occasionally.”

  “I do smile occasionally, but come on, she’s like constantly grinning. I don’t trust someone who’s constantly happy. No one’s happy all the time. It’s got to be fake.”

  Paolo put a hand on her shoulder. “Elise, stop.”

  She halted her progress to give him the full attention his tone demanded.

  “Think about what you just said.”

  She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.

  “Don’t respond. Think about what you just said about happiness, because it says a lot more about you than it does about Corey.”

  Her heart thudded dully in her chest as she paused to let his point sink in. Did she believe happiness wasn’t a real option? Surely not. She’d worked hard to get back to a place where she could be content with her progress, with her accomplishment. But with her life? She couldn’t imagine ever being happy during a training session, or in a cafeteria, or bantering during hard yoga classes. She tried to summon some feeling to the contrary but found the task surprisingly hard. When was the last time she’d loved a mundane moment? Before the crash? Before Sochi? More than four years ago?

  She hung her head. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Paolo asked, wrapping an arm around her slumped shoulders.

  “I know I’ve said it before, but I mean it this time. I’ll try to give her a chance today.”

  “Give you a chance, too? To have fun, to smile, and maybe you’ll learn something useful none of the other skiers know yet.”

  She stifled an eye roll and said, “I suppose stranger things have happened.”

  “Stranger things than what?” Corey asked, coming around the corner with Nate close behind her.

  Elise and Paolo exchanged a look of “You want to field that one?” but neither one of them had to say a thing before Corey laughed. “It’s okay. I often come around the corner to find people talking about me. I have that effect on people for all sorts of reasons.”

  Paolo chuckled nervously, but Elise smiled along with Corey. She might not enjoy much about her, but she did appreciate her ability to forge on under seemingly any awkward circumstance. Then again, Elise suspected she’d had plenty of practice with that particular skill. Still, she’d promised to try to embrace whatever the snowboarder had to offer, so she extended the olive branch. “I hear you’re going to try to teach an old dog new tricks today. Thank you for taking the time to work with us.”

  Corey and Nate couldn’t keep their eyebrows from shooting up in unison at the pleasant greeting, but neither one of them seemed to harbor any resentment for her previously cool demeanor.

  “Yeah,” Nate said, “we’re going to run through our usual mid-overland routine. Muscle building, polymetrics, core.”

  “Sounds about right. Shall we get started?”

  “Are you warm?” Corey asked. “I already did my cardio for the morning.”

  “Yeah, I swam.”

  “Nice.” Corey gave her a nod of approval. “I was on the bike today.”

  “Low-impact endurance training,” she noted, as much to herself as to the others. “I know it well.”

  “She’s spent plenty of her rehab time pedaling various machines,” Paolo added.

  “Exactly,” Nate said. “We need them to build endurance and leg strength, but neither one of them needs to be jarring their knees at this stage of the season.”

  Corey shot him a glare that mirrored what Elise felt at being reminded she wasn’t as young or fit as she used to be.

  Paolo didn’t have any problem with the assessment though. “We’re to the point where we need to build back the explosive leg power, glutes, hamstrings. She was known for making great starts.”

  “I’ve got the perfect setup,” Nate said. “Ready to go?”

  She and Corey both nodded, but Paolo hesitated. “Aren’t we going to wait for Holly?”

  This time she and Corey got to exchange the amused expressions. She liked the way Corey’s hazel eyes widened playfully as the grin lifted her cheeks.

  “Not one for subtlety, is he?” Elise asked.

  Corey shrugged. “Maybe that’s why we’ve hit it off.”

  Her smile widened. “Now that you mention it . . .”

  “Holly’s got a meeting with some sponsors this morning,” Nate finally explained. “Not that Corey could care less about sponsors, but I stay out of the business end . . . and the sister end.”

  Paolo seemed mildly disappointed, but he didn’t argue with the conclusion, leaving Elise to ponder the LaCroix team dynamics as they made their way between weight machines and past various sporting apparatus. Everyone seemed to know their roles but her. Not that she needed to know, but she did feel a little twitch of curiosity. As an only child with hands-off parents, she’d never given any consideration to working with a family member. Then again, Paolo had been more like family than any of her blood relatives over the last few years. Had she missed out by not forming stronger relationships with other members of her team?

  “Okay, Corey, tie up,” Nate said, as they stopped in front of a contraption Elise had never seen before. The equipment consisted of several metal bars and levers. Some were stacked with weights. Others appeared tethered to a thick, leather, back-support style belt.

  Corey didn’t seem confused by the arrangement at all, though. She stepped quickly into the open circle of the belt and hoisted it up to her waist before snugging it into place. On
ce she got everything secured, Elise could see how the belt connected to the weighted arms via a series of straps. When she stood up fully, the straps lifted the weights. When she crouched down again, they lowered.

  “Perfect,” Paolo muttered, circling the whole ensemble and rubbing the dark stubble on his chin. “Knee-centric without any sudden jarring contact.”

  Elise saw the potential, too. Corey was essentially using the same muscles Elise would need to punch through an explosive start and doing so without the impact that exercises like box jumps inflicted. “You engage the hamstrings and the glutes like you do with leg presses, but you’re upright instead of recumbent.”

  Corey glanced over her shoulder with her ever-present smile. “It transfers the weight pressure to your core. The leg presses waste all those little stabilizers, plus we don’t go down a mountain on our asses . . . hopefully, right?”

  She had a point. Not brilliant, but her comment spoke to a little more consideration than Elise would’ve expected. “How high up does it trigger?”

  “Everything below my pecs. Here, come around and watch,” Corey said, grabbing her gray T-shirt by the back of her neck and pulling it off with one rough motion. Underneath she wore only a navy blue sport bra. Elise blinked a few times. Seeing women working out in sport bras or even bikini tops wasn’t exceptionally rare, but she hadn’t expected Corey to be quite so open with her body. Then again, why wouldn’t she feel comfortable displaying a body like hers? Her stomach was flat and firm, the subtle C-curve of obliques etched along her side even while she crouched with the weights in neutral position.

  Elise adjusted her position on autopilot, either because she was too stunned not to obey the command, or because she actually wanted a better view for her own personal reasons.

  “Watch this time when I push up,” Corey said, straightening her legs quickly enough to pop a few inches off the ground before the weights exerted their resistance. Still, Corey locked herself into position, body trembling slightly as she held the pose. “I feel it in my obliques, my transverse abdominis, my rectus abdominis, the total package. Can you see everything contract?”

  She nodded, unable to speak as she did, indeed, see every muscle of Corey’s abs tighten. Obviously she knew all the terms Corey used when describing them, but somehow seeing such a perfect, real-life model rendered the technical terms unnecessary. Elise could’ve traced lines with her fingers like a textbook diagram if the idea wasn’t completely inappropriate. But damn, she worked as hard as any skier, and she’d never had abs like those. Not before the accident, not at the last Olympics, not even when she’d been a teenager. Abs like those existed only on body builders and in action films.

  “Let go, Core,” Nate finally said, and Corey obeyed, letting her legs go slack as the weights clattered to the floor.

  “Fantastico!” Paolo applauded.

  “She’s not supposed to hold it,” Nate grumbled protectively. “It’s polymetrics. If you use this method, you need to focus on speed and blowing up out of the low stance. Quick up, quick down.”

  “Did you hear him, Elise?”

  “Huh?” She tore her gaze away from Corey’s abs and found everyone watching her expectantly with varying degrees of confusion and amusement. She felt her face flush. “I’m sorry. I was thinking through the benefits of this method.”

  Paolo did a sorry job of hiding his silly grin, but Nate and Corey didn’t seem to notice her lapse in concentration.

  “Your turn, then.” Corey unbuttoned the belt and let it drop to the floor.

  Elise almost winced at the sound, or maybe at the prospect of Corey disrobing any further in front of her. “No, actually, I’d rather see your full circuit before I start anything.”

  “Sure, but a lot of it’s pretty standard from here. We do weight training to build mass.”

  Elise nodded. “Heavier equals faster.”

  “As long as it’s heavy from muscle, not heavy from fried chicken,” Nate cut in.

  Corey elbowed him in the ribs. “You don’t know that for sure. I think we need to see more of the research replicated before we rule out the chicken diet. The pizza diet showed great potential as well in clinical trials.”

  “Your eating pizza for sixty days in a row doesn’t amount to a clinical trial.”

  “And yet, I won four of five races in that time period.” Corey turned back to Elise. “I also had a personal best at Squaw Valley on pure pizza.”

  “You’re joking, right?” Elise asked.

  “I wish she were,” Nate said. “She takes coaching better than almost anyone. Nutritional advice, not so much.”

  “I can’t even . . . sixty days in a row? What’s wrong with—” She cut the criticism off, but just barely. “That’s a unique process for an athlete.”

  “I’m a unique athlete.” Corey laughed. “Hey, that reminds me; we also do some cool gate training and balance board training. Do you need either of those?”

  “Skiers use different starting gates than snowboarders,” Paolo said, “but I’d love to see the balance workout.”

  Elise sighed, thankful for the redirect, but not fully over the pizza diet concept. One second Corey showed off an incredible physique and talked about her transverse abdominis training, and then she bragged about eating like a pothead. And yet, still winning apparently. She didn’t know how many snowboarders entered a boardercross event, but she didn’t delude herself into thinking competition wasn’t steep at the professional level of anything. Then again, if one could win four out of five races on only cheese and pepperoni, something didn’t add up. Corey at least sparked her interest enough to make her want to find the missing variable. “Yes, let’s see the balance technique.”

  Corey and Nate once again seemed surprised by the comment, but Paolo spoke first. “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” she said almost defensively. “I haven’t been on the snow for over a year. I spent six months basically on my backside. If I’m going to be competitive in a few months, I can’t only do the same exercises my competitors do during overland season. I have to do more. I have to do better. I have to try everything, or I don’t get another chance for four years.” Panic rose in her voice, and she tried to tamp it down as she added, “Or maybe never.”

  They all stared at her, wide-eyed.

  “All right,” Corey finally said. “Saddle up, sister.”

  She practically jogged through the weight room with Elise striding purposefully behind her and the men straggling.

  “Check this,” Corey said, swinging open the door to a smaller room with a few monitors and a low black box in the center of the floor. There were a couple of balance training aids in one corner, but otherwise the space was sparse. “Grab a balance ball. I’ll show you the hardest stabilizing exercise I do. It’s wicked.”

  “Wicked,” Elise repeated in her best impression of Corey’s laid-back inflection, which earned her a warning look from Paolo. “Right, well, I’ve worked with Bosu balls during my rehab.”

  “Yeah?” Corey’s grin once again turned mischievous. “Let’s see what you got. You know, for bench-setting purposes.”

  Bench setting, her ass. She heard the challenge there, and she liked it. She hadn’t had nearly enough direct competition lately. She grabbed the Bosu, half exercise ball and half balance board, and flipped the flat surface to rest against the linoleum floor with the blue rounded side facing up. She stepped steadily onto the rubberized surface. Her glutes engaged immediately; then she tucked into a squat with her elbows pinned tight against her side as if she were holding ski poles. She pedaled her heels slightly, getting a solid seat, then rose up to a chair position. Closing her eyes and quieting her mind, she found her center and felt her core temperature drop instead of rise. The sounds of weights dropping and heavy treadmill footfalls faded, replaced by the low whistle of a mountain wind. She took deep cleansing breaths through her nose as the course appeared before her. Sinking into her weight, she leaned her right shoulder toward the turn and lif
ted her left leg off the ball in a perfectly executed skater squat. She hovered, balanced at a forty-five-degree angle on one foot and a curved surface, her body weight perfectly united with gravity. She could almost feel the metal edge of her ski slice through the snow.

  Corey’s low whistle sounded an alarm clock on her pleasant dream. “Damn, that’s graceful.”

  “Yeah,” Nate agreed. “You got nothing serene in your bag, buddy.”

  With her concentration broken, Elise rose as steadily as she could and hopped off the ball, her only comfort coming from the fact that the slight lateral impact didn’t cause her knee any noticeable pain. Her shoulders, on the other hand, knotted from frustration once again. She wanted to be on the slopes so bad, the need made her chest hurt. Instead she was getting whistled at by some snowboarder who couldn’t decide whether or not she wanted to be an Olympian or a competitive eater.

  “What you’re doing there is working, right?” Corey asked, then plowed on before she could even register the question. “It’s super pretty.”

  “Super pretty?”

  “The ballet. It’s nice, but if I did the quiet eyes-closed-one-leg thing, I’d get killed.”

  “Maybe you should re-evaluate your life choices.”

  “Maybe.” Corey refused to bite back. “But then again, maybe you should, too.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m not the trainer. You got two of them right here, but going out on a limb, I’ll bet things are going to be a little rougher for you this season. You’re going to be working muscles you haven’t had to use in a long time. Things won’t feel as smooth. You’ll have to fight harder against the little tweaks and twinges.”

  “I’m plenty familiar with fighting, thank you.”

  “Hear her out,” Paolo suggested, once again settling into fan boy mode.

  “I’m just saying you can’t expect things not to be a little tippy out there, especially in the early races.”

  She didn’t even try to fight the eye roll now. “A little tippy? Is that your clinical definition?”

  “I said I’m not a trainer, but you said you wanted a leg up, something new, something a level higher than what the rest of the pack is doing. I can start with the same premise you’re using in your exercises and crank it up to eleven.”