“I’ll follow you wherever you go,” he says, and I blush all the way to my toes.
I wonder if that’s actually true. I’d be more likely to believe him if I didn’t know he was San Francisco’s most eligible bachelor.
Chapter 4
Clay
Today is one of the best days of skiing I’ve had in a long time. Anna is easy to get along with, and she’s a great skier. She’s confident as fuck, and it’s the real deal—not some act. It’s impressive as shit.
“Last run,” I say, looking at the sky. The snow and wind have picked up. The light is flat, and it may soon become too dangerous to ski. That kind of light makes it difficult to see the bumps and grooves in the snow. Too many injuries happen in these conditions. Plus, this is more skiing than I had expected to do.
“Sounds good,” Anna agrees. “At the base of the Nevada Express lift, there’s a great après-ski at the Sky Lodge. We can go for hot chocolate or hot toddies.”
“You lead the way.”
“You must be an ass man,” she teases.
I am an ass man—and a breast man—but I’m not very good at skiing backward. I smile. “You’ve got me. Now lead the way so I can watch.”
She giggles, and it makes my heart race. What is it with her? I could spend my life listening to that sound.
Wait.What? What confirmed bachelor—or hell, any man—spends a few hours with a woman and starts thinking about spending his life with her? Jeez. I shake my head in dismay. I love women, but once the chase is over, I’m done. I’m very comfortable being alone, so there’s no need to keep women around for long. Maybe I just need a recording of her laugh.
Anna takes off for the trees and looks back at me. “I hope you can keep up.”
Holy shit, she was holding back! She moves around a scrub of trees, and my skis take a beating as I follow, but I’m not about to lose sight of her. Low-hanging tree limbs whip my face, and my pant leg snags on a rock. I shrug it all off. Today is worth a new pair of skis. I chase her around trees, over rocks, and through powder that hasn’t been touched all day. Fantastic.
She bursts onto the actual trail and glides down the mountain, seemingly with no effort at all. She’s flying. There isn’t anyone here, and it’s majestic. The silence is amazing.
We get to the base of the Nevada Express, and the lift has stopped. I don’t see the guy who was here earlier running it. A snowboarder whizzes by.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
Anna looks around. “Oh crap. They’ve closed already. Because it’s so early in the season, I guess the Sky Lodge may not be open yet. I can’t tell from here.”
I shrug. “Oh well. If not, we can just ski back down to the base and do our après-ski at the main lodge. Then we can grab the shuttle back to the hotel.”
She nods, and we make our way over to the top of California Express. We pause for a moment at the top of the run before we start down, toward the Sonora trail.
I’m just settling in when I feel the snow trembling beneath my feet. It’s an odd sensation, and my mind immediately goes to earthquake, though that seems silly. Then I hear a low rumble and look back at the mountain behind us. What looks like a cloud of snow is rising—and racing toward us. I look over at Anna, and her eyes have gone wide. She sees it too, and it is very much an avalanche. We need to get out of its way.
Despite how fast we can ski, we can’t outrun physics, so there isn’t much choice but to find shelter. Fortunately, we’re approaching the Sky Lodge. It’s a large building, and though it was built ages ago, right now, it’s the best we can do. I just hope it’s open.
My heart pounds as I veer to the side, pulling Anna off the trail and around behind the building. We pop out of our skis, climb the metal stairs, and crowd into the alcove at the back entrance.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She nods. “Is this going to work?”
I have no idea if this building can stop the snow, but it’s the only shelter around. Through the trees, the snow continues its rush forward. I hear glass breaking, and the rumble grows louder as my mind races. The force of debris, broken trees, and snow could knock the lodge off its base when it hits… Some snow is already coming over the rooftop three floors up. Trees and big rocks start falling all around us.
I turn toward the back entrance and rattle the doors. They’re locked.Fuck!I take a deep breath and try to think clearly.Break a window.
With my elbow, I try hitting the pane of glass. It hurts like a motherfucker, and the plexiglass doesn’t buckle, shatter, or even move. That’s not a way in. The snow is accumulating—over our knees now even under the alcove. We don’t have any extra time. With all my strength, I use my ski to hit the door latch repeatedly until the lock breaks off and allows me to push open the door to the basement of the lodge. Anna rushes in behind me, and I turn to shove the door shut as the roof of the alcove collapses.
When the door is closed, Anna sighs, releasing a breath she seems to have been holding. I don’t know what we would have done if we couldn’t get in.
“Did you see the snowboarder who came down past us?” she asks.