Caught by the Blizzard: A romantic winter thriller (Tellure Hollow Book 1) (2 page)

I closed my eyes and visualized the course for the billionth time.
Steep drop, immediate right turn. Tuck into the corner and push through to the straight away. Hold tight through the launch and land ready for the hard left bank.
My muscles twitched and tightened as I waited in the gate, imagining the course opening before me. The official clapped me on the shoulder and gestured for me to move forward.

“You got this, man. Blizzard!” Dave said with a nod. It always amazed me how much shit he’d give me during practice but come race day, he was nothing but support. What more could you ask for in a teammate?

I gingerly pushed forward into the gate using my poles. I pulled my goggles off the top of my helmet and let my eyes adjust to the pink hue. The specialized lenses were designed to reduce glare and improve depth perception, something I’d desperately need as I flung myself down the mountain at 72 miles per hour.

The small crowd at the top of mountain grew quiet. I tried not to think of my mom and Angela waiting at the bottom, my dad somewhere along the course with binoculars. I took long, deep breaths and tried to steady my heart. Adrenaline coursed through my system. As always, I struggled to keep in check, keep it from overpowering me.
I rule gravity. Gravity does not rule me.
I repeated it like a mantra.

Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEEEEP.

Like a trained thoroughbred, I leapt from the gate at the sound of the bell. It was a good start. I got a good push right out of the gate, my edges digging into the snow as I propelled myself forward. Within seconds, I was barreling down the hill. I tucked into the right turn, poles snug against my body. The rush of wind filled my ears even through the helmet. My sight felt heightened, hyper-aware. I maintained a stiff squat through the straight and braced myself as the ground fell away from under me. I flung my arms out for balance, knowing the difference between first and fourth place could be determined by one awkward landing.

Good! Fuck yes
, I thought as I touched down. I cornered left and felt the lines were better than any of my previous runs. I remember I smiled at that thought, something I never do in the middle of a race.

The next big turn on the course was shadowed, a large outcropping of rocks obscuring the sun. I knew instantly I’d taken the turn a little too aggressively, practically jumping onto my edges at full speed. I felt the skis judder beneath me and my world blurred. I was down before I even had time to cry out.

I remember taking a hard impact on my left hip before my head smacked against the ground with sickening force, enough to knock me out for a few moments. When I finally came to, I was on my back, wrapped awkwardly in the orange safety fence. I could hear voices in the distance calling my name, but I didn’t answer. All I could think about was how blue the sky was, such a beautiful, deep azure.

A face hovered above me. “Hey man, you with me? Oh thank god, he’s awake. Hey man, where’s it hurt?”

I tried to shake my head. I wanted to ask him to move so I could look at the sky just a little longer. He repeated his question so I finally said, “It doesn’t hurt. I’m alright.”

A quick intake of breath hissed through his teeth and he left my field of vision. As I listened to him speak into a walkie-talkie and I vaguely wondered about the panic in his voice. “We need ski patrol up here now and get the ambulance prepped.”

At some point, I blacked out completely. My next memory was waking up in the recovery room, disoriented and in the worst pain of my life.

“This is the house?” I asked as Kayla pulled the Jeep into the drive. “No way. You’re fucking with me, right?”

Kayla grinned at me with just a touch of smugness. “Told you it was nice.” Okay, maybe more than a touch. She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder with a gloved hand and smiled as if she’d designed the place.

“Um, nice? That thing is bigger than my dad’s house,” I said nodding towards the three car garage. Aren’t you gonna park?”

“I’ve gotta head back to the mountain in an hour. Besides, Noah gets funny when we park the Jeep in there next to his cars.” She rolled her eyes as we climbed out. “Anyone in the house can use the Jeep, just so you know.” The frigid air whipped right through my sweatshirt but I was too shocked by the cabin to care.

“Nice” wasn’t the word for it. Palatial. Enormous. Impressive. The cabin was nestled into the side of the steep mountain, a winding staircase leading up to the front door. The whole place seemed to be made of windows. Icicles glittered from the peaks of the snowy roof. As I stood, my mouth hanging open, a young woman in a bikini top came out on the deck and waved down at us. Her long brown hair hung down the railing as she leaned over.

“Hi! Do you need help with the luggage?”

“No, we’re good, thanks,” Kayla responded. “Be right up.”

I kept waiting for the punchline. This seriously couldn’t be the place we were staying in all season. It was only when Kayla hefted one of my bags out of the trunk and started carrying it up the stairs that it began to sink in. Kayla might take jokes too far sometimes, but she’d never resort to physical labor unless she had to. I quickly ascended the stairs behind her, shaking my head in disbelief.

As I walked through the wide doorway, I was hit with a blast of heat. With no winter clothes to speak of, I was thankful for the warmth. Even in the walk up from the car, it felt like the cold had already seeped into my bones. I dropped my suitcase and gaped at the interior, repeating my comment. “Seriously? I was expecting some little shack in the woods. Not this.”

The house was essentially one big, open room. The entryway opened into the huge kitchen which then flowed into the plush living room. From where I was standing, the place looked as long as a football field. Recessed lights glowed from between the wood beams, although with all the bright windows, they didn’t need to be on. Everything looked brand new and specifically positioned, like it’d been staged for a showroom.

“What, you didn’t believe me?” she said over her shoulder. Kayla was already wheeling my stuff down the hall to the left while I stood in awe.

“You could’ve sent me a couple photos or something,” I mumbled as I followed. I ran my fingers along the stone accent wall in amazement.

Her laugh echoed down the hall. “But then it wouldn’t have been such a good surprise. Here, this is your room. It’s the biggest but it’s also the coldest ‘cause it’s on the corner.”

It could’ve been a freezer for all I cared. It was beautiful. The king size bed faced a large fireplace with a stone mantle. I walked towards the bank of sliding doors that opened directly onto the deck. My view was a thick forest of snow-covered pine trees, like something out of a real estate catalog.

“Open the door to your left,” Kayla said with a grin. She pulled her long, dark hair back into a ponytail.

The door swung open and revealed my en suite bathroom. There was a huge vanity, two sinks, and a rainfall shower, but that’s not what I noticed first. “It’s all windows!” I exclaimed. “How am I supposed to shower in here?”

“The windows steam up pretty quickly and it’s not like there’s anyone out there waiting for a show. Like that’d bother you, anyway.”

I sighed. “You know I don’t do that stuff anymore.”

“You like?”

“Kay, I
love
! I’m utterly speechless. To go from Ashville to this…”

Kayla sat on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress beside her. “Which is what I wanted to talk to you about.”

I groaned, turning to take in the amazing space that was mine, all mine. “Can we not do this right now, please? I just got here.” I knew this conversation was coming but I’d hoped she’d at least let me unpack first. I chewed the inside of my cheek but made no move to sit beside her.

“Babe, come on, it’s
me
.”

We’d met freshman year. We’d been placed on the same floor in the dorm and both had roommates from hell. It’d been an instant friendship and after tearfully begging the RA, we managed to switch and move in together. We’d been inseparable ever since. She was the only person in the world who knew what my life was really like, mostly because she’d pulled me into the lifestyle.

I shrugged and tried to sound blasé. “I’m just taking a little time to myself, figure out what I’m really doing with myself.”

Kayla frowned. “Okay…now try the non-bullshit version you didn’t tell your dad. Don’t get me wrong. I’m super glad you came out here, but what about school? The semester isn’t even over yet. I didn’t expect you until after Christmas. Did you skip finals to come out here?” I glanced at her and had to look away, the concern on her face threatening to make me cry.

I scoffed. I crossed my arms and started pacing around the room. I couldn’t lie to Kayla as easily as I could to everyone else. We shared the same skills and with them came the ability to see right through any lies or manipulations.

“You know I had nothing but gut courses. I turned in my papers weeks ago.” Even I didn’t believe it. The truth was, I’d stopped going to class a couple weeks after the semester started. I was definitely going to fail anyway, so how could a couple final exams help? Not to mention, I’d played the “dead grandmother” card three times already. Someone was bound to figure that out eventually. Truth was, I had to get out of North Carolina, and fast.

“What did your dad say when you told him?” Kayla knew I was a daddy’s girl at heart. Hell, the reason I’d gotten into so much trouble was because I wanted to make things right between us.

“I just told him I was burning out at UNC, which isn’t a complete lie. Told him I wanted to gain a little life experience and then start next fall with a clear head.” My heart ached at the idea of my dad all alone in that small house on base. It felt so far away.

“And see? That’s not a lie either. I promise, you’ll get some wicked life experiences here.” Kayla got up and squeezed me tightly around the waist, picking me up a couple inches off the floor. She might’ve been a few inches shorter but she had crazy, hidden strength. “I’ve missed my Lizzy!”

I begged her to put me down which she did, only when I started laughing. I had been in Colorado for less than an hour and I was already feeling better than I had in months.
I totally made the right decision
, I thought as I hugged her back. “Alright, show me the rest of this place before you go. Who was the girl?”

“That was Morgan, and Spencer is another roommate, but I think he’s out on the slopes right now,” she said as she led me back to the hallway.

I arched an eyebrow and chuckled. “On the slopes, eh? Already using the lingo?”

“I have to look and act the part, don’t I? Anyway, it’s not that much different than surfing. I was exactly what they were looking for,” she said with a twirl.

“A first generation Korean girl from California that comes to the Rockies via North Carolina. Makes total sense. How did you get picked from so many potential candidates?”

“They’re progressive,” she laughed.

She gave me a quick tour of the rest of the house, finishing up on the huge wraparound deck. There was a built-in stone grill and a six-person hot tub. I still couldn’t believe this was the place I was staying for the winter. I felt like I was in some kind of dream.

As we stood at the railing of the deck, I heard a strange sound off to my right and turned to look just in time to see someone whizzing past on their skis. I looked at Kayla quizzically.

“Door to lift. All these cabins share an exclusive slope so you don’t have to drive to the resort. Just slap on your board and head down. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Super useful for someone who can’t ski.”

“You’ll learn quickly. And if you look way down there,” she said pointing down the slope towards a small grove of pine trees, “you can see the pond where we all go ice skating. Well,” she laughed, “there’s more drinking than skating, to be honest.”

The biting cold finally won out over admiring the beauty, so we headed inside to the kitchen. Kayla grabbed a couple bottles of water out of the huge stainless steel fridge and handed one to me. “What are you doing for money, then?” she asked, looking sideways. “You have some saved from the club, right? Miss Stripper who doesn’t take her clothes off?” she giggled.

I took a sip of the water and shrugged. “I’ll be alright.” She knew I’d made good money dancing but didn’t exactly know my account balance.
$289,420, but who’s counting?
I thought. The amount made me happy, but the way I’d gone about earning it didn’t. Dancing at a nightclub netted about a tenth of the total. The rest came directly from the…arrangement…I’d made with Rick. Kayla didn’t seem impressed by my silence. She crossed her arms and pouted a little. I knew that expression all too well and it spelled trouble.