“Are we near a ski resort?”
“Near enough.”
She bites her bottom lip. I can tell what she wants. The temptation is too close for her not to consider it.
I lead her to my bedroom on the second floor. “You can shower in that bathroom. There’s a robe on the back of the door you can use.”
She opens her mouth but hesitates.
“You want to hit the slopes, don’t you?” I ask for her.
Her eyes become luminescent. I don’t think that word has ever really crossed my mind before.
“Go shower,” I tell her.
After she closes the door of the bathroom behind her, I find Andy, who arrived earlier today, and tell him I want lift tickets, ski wear for both Casey and myself, and some regular clothes for Casey.
“Casey?” Andy echoes, clearly surprised. “You’re taking her skiing?”
“Snowboarding, and why not?” I return, even though I realize it’s crazy to take my kidnappee out in public. But she doesn’t know she’s actually my captive.
“Wouldn’t ‘why’ be the better question?” Andy challenges.
“Because I said so.”
I know what Andy is getting at, but I don’t want to think too hard about the implications of one little trip to the slopes with Casey.
When she’s done with the shower, we have an early dinner in the dining room overlooking the forest of pine and fir trees and the Sierra mountains in the background.
“I was thinking I should check my phone,” she tells me as she digs into her lobster bisque.
I feign ignorance. “You brought a phone?”
“It was in my purse.”
“I’ll check with my guys, but I didn’t notice a purse.”
“I forgot I was supposed to check in with a friend.”
“Well, if we don’t find your phone, you can always use mine.”
That satisfies her.
“Where’d all your friends go?” she asks.
“Doing their own thing.”
“Are they skiing?”
I know for a fact they aren’t, but I shrug.
“What’s the nearest resort?”
“Given that it’s late in the day, our options for night skiing are Boreal or Palisades Tahoe,” I reply.
She does a double-take before lighting up the way I expected, the way I hoped, she would. Her jaw drops. “Are you series? Are we…? Shit! Of course I don’t have my gear and ski clothes.”
“It’s being arranged.”