Unless I was not able to move. Oh, no! Was I paralyzed? What had happened to me?
But I quickly dispelled this crazy notion as I rolled over and tried to stand to my feet. I was alive. I was not paralyzed. And yes, I was in a bit of pain. Mostly on my lower ankle, but I was able to put weight on it. I most likely twisted it a little, or maybe a slight sprain. No biggie. I would be alright.
Where was Mason? Had he seen me fall? Or was he already down at the end of the slope and just didn’t know what happened yet?
“Hey! Are you ok?” A voice came from behind me. It was a man’s voice. I did not recognize it though.
I turned cautiously. Lately every new stranger I met was someone who seemed to want me dead. However, when I saw the handsome stranger approaching me with an easygoing manner, my guard lowered slightly.
“Are you ok?” He asked again.
“Um, yeah. I think so.” I said.
“Wow, you took quite the tumble there,” he said.
“I guess so,” I admitted, a little embarrassed.
“I’m Bernie,” he said. “Bernie Robertson.”
“Oh, hi. I’m Libby. Libby Norris.”
CHAPTER 27
Mason
“Thanks so much!” I said as Bernie handed me another beer.
“No problem,” Bernie said. “I hate drinking alone.”
I nodded as I popped the top off the can. Of course, we were hardly drinking alone since Libby and Bernie’s wife, Sheila were both nursing beers. Then again, Bernie and I were on our third each. Toby was playing in the background with some of his toy trucks he’d brought along. Libby was being responsible, so I didn’t feel too guilty about that third beer.
“These hotdogs are fantastic,” I said. “What is your secret?”
Bernie laughed. “Well, lather a layer of barbecue sauce on them before I pop them on the grill. After that it’s just slathering them in the chili sauce, ketchup, and mustard. That is the key to a perfectly grilled wiener.”
“You should have your own barbecue YouTube channel. You would make a killing on it,” I said.
“I’ve thought about it,” he said. “But for the moment I’m just seeing what new adventure I should undertake. After I sold my half in the hardware store franchise I started, I’ve mostly just been using the time to decide what I want to do with the next chapter of my life.”
“Taking some time off? Nothing wrong with that,” Libby said. “I wish I could afford to do the same.”
“Yeah, that makes things easier,” Bernie added. “But I’m getting a bit bored at this juncture of things. I’ve been away from work for about six weeks and I think I’ve done all the relaxation I can handle. Hell, I’m even getting a bit tired of travelling at this point.”
“How much travelling do you do?” I asked.
Sheila thought before answering. “Well, we went to Europe first and did all of the wonderful places there. We saw Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, and then we finished up in London. Then we went to Alaska for a bit and took a cruise there. And now we are just kind of looking for somewhere else to go.”
“After that,” Bernie said. “And it is back to business. Right now I’m kicking over a few ventures that are dying to get me to invest in them. I know either one would be a wise investment and financially that’s fine. I’m probably going to go with both, but I want something to do as well, a real passion project to sink my teeth into. I don’t just want to sink money into something and then sit back and watch. That just isn’t my style.”
“I hear that,” I said. I hadn’t been too forthcoming yet about what I really did for a living. We still didn’t really know these two and with trying to keep a low profile for Libby, it didn’t seem wise to put ourselves out there too much.
Even if I did want to thank Bernie and Sheila for helping Libby after her fall.
By the time I realized she was not right beside me I’d already rounded a corner and headed across the end of the run. When I got back to her she was being helped along by a stranger who had stopped to help her. Luckily, she just had a bruised ankle and would be fine. Apparently, Libby’s ski had hit a large rock or a piece of tree limb sticking up from the ground and covered by the snow. She’d lost her ski and flipped over herself.
And I hadn’t even seen it happen. She claimed that she was right beside me, but it must have happened right before she was in my line of sight or my peripheral vision, because I saw nothing and I heard nothing. It kind of scared me to think what might have happened and how much worse it would have been if I couldn’t find her in the snow.