Snowmen In Paradise (Book 2 Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries) (7 page)

Tj
gave her the bowl of premeasured chocolate chips. “And he could have agreed to go to the wedding simply because he was leery of making me mad after the temper tantrum he witnessed outside the mayor’s office.”

“You had a temper tantrum outside the mayor’s office?”

“Regretfully, yes. I went to the office to meet with Travis, as directed by Greg, but he didn’t show up. I was about to leave when Wallaby had the nerve to hand me a playlist of music that Travis wants the choir to perform at the opening ceremony.”

“What did you do?”

“I told you, I had a temper tantrum. It really wasn’t my finest moment.”

Jenna laughed
. “Oh, dear. And Dylan witnessed this tantrum?”

“Unfortunately
, yes.”

“You didn’t throw yourself on the ground
kicking and screaming, did you?” Jenna chuckled.

“No
. I kicked a tree and threw a snowball at a mailbox.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Jenna
said, trying to comfort her. “Travis has half the town throwing fits. Mom told me that Hank actually picked him up and tossed him into a snowbank after he became obnoxious at the Beef and Brew a few nights ago.”

“Good f
or Hank. Harriet mentioned that both Murphy and Albert at the Inn have complained about his behavior. Someone needs to do something about that guy.”

“I’m sure someone will.”

“First of all, I want to congratulate everyone on their efforts this afternoon.” Tj huddled around her downhill team in the warming hut provided for their use by Angel Mountain Ski Resort. “Beaver Creek has a slight edge over us in overall points this season, but Connor has the most individual points among the boys in the slalom and Brittany is dominating the girls in all categories. If we want to maintain our position going into regionals, we’re going to need a strong showing next weekend. Eric, you’re up first on Thursday and will need a time of at least 2:15:14 to gain position in the rankings.”

“I’m ready,” Eric
Weldy, a senior and Tj’s second-best male snowboarder, assured her. “I’ve had strong runs all week and feel like I can set a personal record, but I wish we were doing our runs in the morning rather than the afternoon.”

“
The carnival committee decided to start things off with demonstrations by the professional boarders,” Tj explained. “According to my schedule, Travis Davidson is slated to take the hill at eleven, followed by Sean Wright. Our first event is scheduled immediately after that.”

“I heard Travis was peeved the committee invited Sean t
o the event,” Connor informed the group. “Guess the two don’t get along.”

“Sean’s gaining ground in the world rankings,” Tj a
dded. “If Sean continues to post wins the way he has been lately, Travis is going to have to get used to sharing the spotlight.”

“Dude’s a
total prima donna,” Gary Paulson, a freshman and new team member, replied. “Guy’s never gonna get used to sharing the spotlight.”

“Like you know anything about Travis,” Sarah
Blakely, also a senior, defended. “The guy’s legit. He shouldn’t have to share.”

“Yeah, what would you know?”
Gary shot back.

“Travis and I have spent some time t
ogether since he’s been in town,” Sarah bragged. “He was friends with my sister when he lived here. We met up at the lodge and he asked about her, so we’ve been hanging.”

“A little too much,” boyfriend Eric muttered under his breath.

“Okay, let’s get back to the subject at hand.” Based on the fire in Eric’s eye, Tj decided it was best to steer the conversation away from Travis Davidson. One of the reasons Tj frowned on romantic relationships between team members was because when things went bad—and they inevitably did between high schoolers—the entire team suffered from the fallout. Last year, Jilli Smith had dated a senior who had since moved on to college. When the relationship imploded, Tj had been subjected to months of bickering as members of the team took sides in the dispute. While they did well in regionals, Tj suspected they would have done even better if they’d come to the competition with a united front.

Turning her attention to her second
-best female boarder, she asked, “So Jilli, how’s the knee holding up?”

“It feels good
. I’ve been wearing the brace the doctor gave me, but I feel like it interferes with my timing. I’m thinking about ditching it when we get to the competition.”

“As you
r coach, I am indisputably telling you not to ditch the brace. You may be off your personal best, but your times are good, and we wouldn’t want to risk another injury.”

“
Okay.”

Tj knew Jilli was disappointed that her knee was holding her back, but the last thing she needed to do was risk a much more serious injury. Tj had seen too many careers destroyed before they ever got started due to an overzealous rehab schedule.

“
Let’s go over our schedule for tomorrow, and then you’re all free to go home and get a good night’s sleep.”

“Aw, come on
, Coach,” Gary whined. “It’s the weekend
and
Valentine’s Day. There are a couple of parties around town. A bunch of us were planning to hang, maybe try to pick up depressed girls who find themselves dateless on the ultimate date night.”

“We’re meeting at the base of Grizzly Run at nine,” Tj reminded him
. “If you use up all your energy ‘hanging,’ you’ll be worthless tomorrow.”

“Coach is right,” Conn
or added. “We can party after we win this thing.”

“Look who’s a teacher
’s pet,” Gary teased.

“Dude, I
have a scholarship on the line. My parents don’t have the bank yours do. If I don’t get a free ride, I’m working for my dad in the grocery store.”

“I agree with Conn
or,” Brittany chimed in. “I need a free ride as badly as he does, and we need your help to get the points, so how about it?”

“Yeah, okay,” everyone muttered
.

Tj knew she’d made a good choice when she’d made Conn
or and Brittany team captains. Not only were they the strongest athletes but they had the respect of the entire team and, more often than not, were able to make headway when Tj couldn’t. She was going to miss them both when they graduated and went off to college. Being a teacher inevitably meant annual good-byes, but over the years there had been a few students who managed to worm their way into Tj’s heart just a bit more than the others.

By the time the county plow service had finished clearing the roads, walls of snow almost six feet in height lined the narrow mountain road connecting Maggie’s Hideaway, on the west bank of Paradise Lake, to the town of Serenity to the north. As Tj turned onto the private road leading up to the resort, she slowed to navigate the icy conditions. Making a slight right-hand turn toward the lodge, she swerved to avoid a pair of coyotes that had run in front of her and then disappeared behind the embankment. She slowed as she made her way through the village, which consisted of a general store, an ice-cream shop, a bike and ski rental shop, and a single-pump gas station. If you included the marina and horse stable, Maggie’s Hideaway was the largest resort on Paradise Lake.

Tj loved Maggie’s Hideaway
. She’d gone off to college, like most of her friends, but unlike many of them, she’d returned to Paradise Lake, where she intended to live out her life, hopefully with her prince charming, who had yet to make himself known. Although Tj loved her job at the high school, she knew in her heart that one day she’d fulfill her destiny and take over the reins of the resort, the way her dad had taken over from her grandfather. But her dad was young and healthy, affording her plenty of time to do what she loved best: coaching and mentoring Paradise Lake’s youth.

Parking her
4Runner near the back service entrance, she pulled on her fuzzy blue mittens and stepped out into the clear night air. There was nothing quite as beautiful as the night sky after a storm. Billions of stars twinkled brightly as the moon shone down on the glassy lake beyond the lodge. Her grandfather had first purchased the land where the resort now sat more than fifty years earlier. He’d never been one for the hustle and bustle of the big city, so after his dad died, he’d taken the money he’d inherited and bought the biggest piece of property he could afford. That first summer at the lake, he’d met Tj’s Grandma Maggie. The pair had gotten married and built the resort where Tj was born and raised.

Accessing the lodge through the back door
, she passed through the administration office and entered the reception area. The building, designed by her grandfather more than forty years ago, was fashioned from logs cut and milled on the property. The main room of the lodge featured a river-rock fireplace reaching more than two stories in height. The mantel, which her grandfather had carved by hand, housed tin oil lamps that flickered in time to the flames from the real wood fire burning below. While the main lounge was open to the second floor, the office space at the back of the building was covered by cozy rooms with a mountain decor overlooking the lake beyond.

Tj poured herself a cup of coffee before scanning the arri
val log, which someone had left lying on the shiny wood counter. Twelve guests had checked in, with six more still due to arrive. Most of the guests were friends or family of Abe and Andy Farmer or Maude and Millie Morrison, brothers who were marrying sisters they’d met while vacationing at the resort the previous fall.

It was well past six
, and most of the arrivals had either retired to their rooms or the Lakeside Bar and Grill for dinner or a cocktail. In all, six of their guests remained in the cozy seating area. There were four men sitting at a table near the large bay window that overlooked the lake. All were dressed casually in ski attire, and unless she was mistaken, the youngest of the group was none other than world-class snowboarder Sean Wright.

On the opposite side of the room, a
man sat on one of the overstuffed sofas that were strategically arranged around the huge fireplace. To his left, a tall woman dressed entirely in black peered out of a window overlooking the front drive. She appeared to be alone, and based on her position at the front of the room, Tj assumed she was waiting for someone to arrive.

“Is that Sean Wright?”
Tj asked the resort’s customer service manager, Leiani Pope, who had returned from upstairs just as Tj reached for the computer to confirm her suspicion.

“Yeah
, he checked in this afternoon.”

“Wow
, he’s even more of a babe than he appears in pictures.” Tj couldn’t help but admire the tall man with dark hair, blue eyes, and a huge smile.

“H
e seems really nice too. Not at all like the other one.”

Tj knew Leiani was referring to Travis
. “Isn’t that Roger Long sitting with Sean?”

“Yeah
. I guess he’s Sean’s new coach.”

Tj knew Roger Long had been the longtime coach of top
-ranked snowboarder Walter Tovar before he’d unexpectedly retired the previous summer. Tj supposed Sean must have hooked up with Roger at some point after that. Sean was considered to be the second-ranked snowboarder now that Walter had retired and Travis had moved up. Chances were, Sean’s association with the famous coach was making Travis more than a little nervous.

“So why are Sean
and his coach here in Serenity?”

“I talked to Coach Long
for a few minutes when they checked in,” Leiani informed Tj. “He mentioned that Sean hoped to use the carnival as a platform to gain recognition among the larger international sponsors. Based on the conversation we had, I’m guessing the other two men are representatives from International Ski Corporation. I overheard them talking, and it seems like they’re considering sponsoring Sean for the upcoming season.”

Tj thought about Travis and the sponsorship he was working to gain
. She supposed that obtaining big-dollar deals was a competitive game that created a motivation above and beyond the drive to win strictly for the sake of personal glory. Tj knew that for many athletes, the wealth they accumulated as professional athletes had a lot more to do with the symbols on their shirts than the prize money from the competitions they won.

“And the ski bunny on steroids
?” The woman Tj referred to was short and thin with
huge
blond hair and an
enormous
chest, which she’d encased in a tight red sweater atop body-hugging black leggings. To top things off, she had on enough makeup to appear clownish and was entertaining herself by reading Kierkegaard.

“Sh
e’s not a guest,” Leiani said. “I can ask her to leave if you want, but she isn’t making any trouble.”

“No,
she’s fine. I really should get going, although I’d hoped to catch Maude and Millie when they checked in.”

“It looks like you’re in luck
. The limo we sent to pick them up in Reno just pulled into the lot.”