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

by Adele Huxley

  “So, what about you?” she asked, setting her empty coffee cup down. She uncrossed and crossed her legs so she was leaning closer.

  “What about me?” I knew I could play coy for only so long. At least at this point I could pass it off as flirting.

  “Siblings? Parents?” She traced the edge of the mug with her finger, her gaze down.

  “Brother, younger, lives in California with my mom.”

  “Parents divorced?” she asked, still not looking up.

  I don’t know why I said it. Maybe a part of me was ready to start talking about it. Maybe I wanted to pull whatever it was she was hiding out. Maybe I just wanted to see her eyes again. I cleared my throat and spoke softly. “Um, no. Actually, my dad died two years ago.”

  Her eyes flicked up to mine, filled with sympathy. “I’m sorry, I know how hard that is.” It was that moment I knew her mother was gone as well. I reached for her hand, my calluses rubbing against her soft skin.

  “It’s okay. I don’t talk about it much, but it gets easier, ya know?” She squeezed my hand in response, nodding. We could see the loss reflected in each other. I found real comfort in that, connecting with someone outside my family about my dad. It was the last thing I expected to happen when I asked her to join me in the lodge.

  “Can I ask you a personal question? And you can totally say no, I don’t mind.” Her blue eyes glittered, flitting back and forth between mine.

  “Absolutely.” I’d answer anything if meant I could keep holding her hand.

  Liz nibbled the edge of her bottom lip, searching for the right way to phrase her question. “How did you get all those…I mean, shit. What kind of accident was it?”

  I studied her face as I studied myself. Was I really ready to go into all that? I enjoyed her knowing me as “Bryan,” not “The Blizzard.” I’m sure she’d Google me before long and learn everything, so should I risk the lie? Did I even have it all straight in my head—

  “Car crash,” I heard myself say. Was a half-truth still a lie?

  “Ah,” she replied, her expression changing slightly. “I could’ve sworn you were a soldier.”

  My laugh surprised her. “Seriously? I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that one before.” She dropped her hand from mine with a shrug. Was she disappointed?

  “You just reminded me of a lot of guys I knew back home, that’s all. I guess trauma is trauma, whether you get it in the desert or the side of the road.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. She’d managed to see right through me. Was I that transparent or was she that good?

  She gasped and grabbed her pocket, eyes wide. “Oh shit, that scared me! Phone’s on vibrate. Hold on.” Leaning away slightly to answer the call, “Hey. Yes I’m alive, you bitch,” she rolled her eyes at me. “Yeah? Okay, I’ll be here. I’m by the big fire in the middle. Alright.” She slipped the phone back into her pocket. “That was my friend, we’re meeting for lunch. I can’t believe how late it’s gotten,” she said staring at the clock on her phone.

  That made me smile. I was glad time had gone too quickly for her as well. “Sounds good. Except,” I paused, giving her a coy smile, “I haven’t properly thanked you for taking care of me and my truck the other day.”

  “Not a big deal, really,” she said with a wave of the hand. “Trust me, I know how booze can mess with drugs.”

  “Really. I feel like I owe you. I was thinking, if you’re up for it, I could teach you how to ski? Could even do it this afternoon, assuming you haven’t booked lessons.” I did my best to appear casual but I was dying inside. If she said no to this, I’d have to come up with some other way of getting her alone. My confidence wasn’t ready to ask anyone out to dinner.

  “That’s really nice of you, but—”

  I sighed, clapping my hands together quietly. “You’re gonna make me say it? Alright, I’ll say it.” Liz’s eyebrows furrowed, the bridge of her nose crinkling slightly. “I feel like it’s my obligation to give you lessons, if not for your safety, then for theirs,” I gestured around the lodge. “You’re a bit of a hazard.”

  “Hey!” she said, giving my shoulder a playful slap. “That fucking kid came out of nowhere.”

  “He was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit,” I replied, trying to hold back my laughter.

  Liz sighed, tilting her head as she smiled at me. I wasn’t sure what was holding her back, most people would jump at the offer of free lessons. “I kind of wanted to teach myself. I think I’ll be a natural.”

  “Nope.” The quickness of my reply earned another slap, harder this time. “I’m not saying you can’t learn, jeez!”

  “Fine, fine. I accept. Do you think we could do it today, though? I already have all my stuff rented and I’m not going through that whole process again. You have no idea how long it took to get these things on,” she said waggling her boot at me.

  “Oh shit,” I exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you were still locked in.” I crouched down in front of her and loosened the buckles and straps, pulling the boot tongue open. “Is that better?” I asked, looking up at her.

  She exhaled in relief. “So much better. I didn’t realize you could do that! I thought I was going to lose circulation.”

  It took me a moment to realize I had a hand on her calf, the warmth of her leg radiating through her pants. I kept my gaze firm, willing at least a piece of The Blizzard to the surface. “Let me put my number in your phone. Give me a call when you’re done with lunch and we’ll meet up.”

  Liz swallowed and reached into her pocket. I stood as smoothly as I could, trying to hide the grimace as my knee locked up. Rather than type my number in her contacts list, I dialed myself. That way I’d at least have her number if she bailed on me. Even though I’d been pretty lucky so far, I wasn’t sure how long fate was going to keep throwing us together.

  “There.” Our fingers brushed as I handed the phone back, sending a little zing through my arm. “I really need to get going, but I’ll hopefully see you in an hour or two, okay?”

  “Yeah, cool,” she nodded. “See you later.”

  I left before I completely ruined whatever charm I’d managed to lay on her. She actually seemed flustered when I touched her! Now, I just had an hour to kill while I nervously awaited her call.

  After leaving Liz, I’d grabbed a sandwich and found a quiet place to obsessively check the time on my phone for the next hour. When she called, it took every ounce of strength to remain cool. A half hour into the lesson and I knew there was no point fighting it. I was crushing on this girl big time. Everything she did was either cute or sexy or hilarious, sometimes an amazing combination of all three. Even though she was focused on learning how to ski, I was getting some great vibes from her. I didn’t feel like it was too much of a risk to try a few moves out, rusty or not.

  There are appropriate ways of teaching someone how to ski and then there are, well…techniques that, while perfectly valid, offer more opportunities for contact. Do you have to press your groin against someone’s ass in order to teach them how to swing a golf club? Absolutely not. Do you have to pin a girl against the table from behind when teaching her how to shoot pool? Of course not, but in the right circumstances, it makes it a hell of a lot more fun.

  “You’re gonna laugh at this one,” I said as we slid off the magic carpet. She shuffled along behind me, struggling to move forward on the flat surface.

  “Okay,” she replied dubiously. I’d noticed she bit her lower lip a lot when she was concentrating. I couldn’t stop looking at her mouth, wanting nothing more than to feel her swollen lips against mine.

  “This’ll help you feel what it’s like to turn all the way down the mountain, okay? With my help, you’re going to start stringing turns together.”

  “I’m missing the punchline. This sounds scary, not funny.”

  “Because,” I said as I sidestepped behind her, “we’re going to go down together, like this.” I put my skis on either side of hers, the length of my legs making it possible to press ag
ainst the outside of her boots. Placing my hands on her waist, I demonstrated how I was going to guide us down. Again, not the only way I could teach her how to turn -- but definitely the most fun.

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Did I give you permission to do that?”

  “When you agreed to take lessons from me.”

  “You’re messing with me, right?”

  I felt a blush rise in my cheeks but stuck with it. “Nope, this’ll provide the muscle memory you need to get over your fear of turns.”

  “And what’s that digging into my ass?” she said, wiggling her backside against my groin. I nearly moaned with the contact, my cock stirring to life, but I thought fast.

  “Oh, that? Just the handle of my pole.” Thankfully, it was half true. I waved the pole to the side, satisfied I’d managed to keep the upper hand on that one. Now that I had a growing bulge in my pants, I’d have to keep the contact to a minimum. “Are you ready?”

  “Wait,” she stiffened as I started to push us forward. “Why haven’t I seen anyone else doing this out here?”

  “It’s a special technique of mine.”

  She snorted. “Yeah? Were you doing this special technique with orange jumpsuit kid?”

  “He already knew how to turn.” She huffed in response, still not convinced. “Don’t you trust me?” I prodded. Our eyes connected, my breath coming out in short clouds. Every time I looked at her, it was like I was seeing her for the first time.

  “Jury’s still out on that one,” she said with a squint.

  “Ouch, alright. Fair enough,” I said stepping back. “The deal was that I’ll teach you how to ski. I’ll just go find you another instructor you can trust.”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake, get back here,” she said, grabbing my hand. I slid back into place with a little too much excitement. Whether she felt exactly how excited I was, she didn’t say, but it was obvious. I took a deep breath and although she was looking downhill, I could tell by her profile she was smiling.

  “Okay, we’ll take it slowly. I’ll do most of the work and I promise I won’t let you fall.”

  The crowds on the slope were thinning. On big powder days, people liked to get in early to grab the virgin snow. By now, they were tired, hungry, and depressed about having to go to work tomorrow. Only so many sick days in a year.

  I led us down the bunny slope with wide, looping turns. We criss-crossed the trail on a nearly horizontal path, taking it slow and easy. Every time I initiated the turn, Liz released a tiny squeal as we picked up speed.

  “That’s the hardest part about turns,” I said in her ear. “You have to get comfortable with giving yourself over to gravity. It’ll pull you downhill but you start to trust that you’re able to break away whenever you want.”

  Even through the gloves and layers, I could feel the tense muscles of her hips working. I mentally stripped the layers away, imagining her on top of me, my hands on her naked hips as she writhed and twisted—

  “You okay back there, instructor?” she asked, pressing her ass into my cock. “You gotta watch where that pole’s poking.”

  Still flustered from the intense image of her, I had no witty response. I opted to stay as professional as I could, under the circumstances. “We’re approaching the end, so we’ll take one final turn and then wedge our skis like I showed you, remember?”

  We executed the turn perfectly, our bodies moving in sync. I pushed the tips of my skis together, forcing hers in turn. The wedge shape was the common way beginners learned to slow and stop. Unfortunately, the position lit waves of fiery pain up my knee and hip. I was coated with a thin sheet of sweat within seconds, gritting my teeth to keep from crying out. As we slowed, I allowed her to drift away and come to a stop on her own.

  Liz threw her arms up in the air, poles dangling from her wrists, and cheered. “I did it! I actually did it.” I glided alongside her, planting my poles in the snow so I’d stop without having to use my sore leg.

  “Yes you did,” I grinned at her. I was about to suggest we call it a day when she spoke up.

  “Do you think I can go down that one over there?” I followed her finger to the West Slope. Still a beginner’s level, it was twice as long and a bit steeper. The bright flood lights flickered on, bathing the white snow in an orange hue.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “You’ve done really well today, I thought maybe we—”

  “I’m sure.” She set her jaw and stared at me intently. “I don’t want my first day to just be on the bunny slope. Please?”

  “You’ll have to do it yourself. I can’t follow behind like we just did.” I loved how into it she was but I wasn’t sure she was ready to advance to the next slope.

  She nodded eagerly. “That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

  A few minutes later, we were sharing a chair to the top of the West Slope. I pulled the safety bar down and showed her how to balance her skis on the metal below. She rocked back in the seat, eyes locked on the cable above our heads.

  “Damnit, why do these things have to be so high up?” she muttered to herself. Liz took a few deep breaths, her cheeks puffing out as she slowly exhaled. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

  “Don’t say that. You’re kicking ass.” A memory of my dad popped into my mind. Rather than pushing it away like I always did, I embraced it. Pointing to the run we were about to go down, I continued, “Take a look at the trail. Imagine yourself standing on top of it, about to go down.”

  Liz dropped her gaze to me, fear and doubt evident in her eyes. “I can’t, I really can’t. This was so stupid.”

  “Just look,” I said firmly. I carried on as she slowly turned away from me. “Imagine yourself standing at the top, like a little figure up there,” I pointed. “Picture yourself going down the run. Map the path you’d take with your eyes, the broad turns you’d take—”

  “The place where I face plant and slide all the way down.”

  “Stop, I’m serious. Positive visualization is a powerful thing. My dad taught me when I was little, just like this.” Liz fell quiet. There was no way she could’ve known how rare it was for me to talk about him, but I was glad she was there to listen. “It’s almost like you’re holding a figurine of yourself, like this!” We watched as a snowboarder came flying over the edge, obviously continuing his run from the top of the mountain judging by his speed. I leaned over her and pinched my fingers together, the perspective making it look like I was guiding him down the mountain by hand.

  Liz tensed as the chair rocked with my movement, grabbing my bicep. “Sorry,” she said with embarrassment.

  “Don’t be.” My chest swelled when I realized she wasn’t going to remove her hand. “So, in your mind, you’re flying down the run but at the same time, you’re sitting here trying to imagine what it’d feel like. What muscles would you use, how you’d shift and lean, stuff like that. I don’t expect you to know how to do that yet, but you’ll get there.”

  She smiled at me warmly, giving my arm a little squeeze. “Your dad taught you that?”

  The memory still felt raw but for some reason, it didn’t sting so badly when she was with me. I nodded tightly. “Actually, it was on that lift over there, before they turned it into the gondolas. It was my first trip to the top and he told me the same thing.”

  A comfortable silence fell between us. The snow and mountains always brought me peace, exactly what I’d been looking for when I packed up and left for Tellure Hollow. I wasn’t expecting to find someone I could feel just as peaceful with, especially so quickly. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. There was something about her, about the two of us, that matched on a cellular level.

  “What?” she giggled a little self-consciously.

  “We’re at the top,” I replied, tilting my head towards the fast approaching end. Her grip on my arm strengthened as I lifted the safety bar. “It’s simple. Keep your tips pointed up and scoot your ass to the edge of the seat. When the snow rises to meet you, just stand up.”<
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  I thought she was going to chew her bottom lip off completely. “Okay. Can I still hold onto you?”

  “Absolutely.” Oh yeah, I had it bad for this girl. This was trouble.

  I gave the liftie a quick nod to let him know I had a beginner with me. The last thing I wanted was Liz getting whacked on the back of the head by the chair or something stupid. Firmly, I repeated the same instructions, the exit gently rising to meet our skis. I stood quickly, nearly yanking her to her feet, and let the momentum of the hill carry us down.

  “Shit, shit, shit, shit,” she cried, clutching at my arm. I had to hold her up but we both made it to the bottom without falling.

  “See? Not hard at all,” I said, patting her hand with mine.

  “Piece of cake.” I chuckled as she rolled her eyes and exhaled dramatically.

  The snow on this side of the mountain was a little choppier. The sun softened it during the day and now as the temperature dropped, the carved snow was turning to icy granules. It wasn’t anything I’d think twice about, but for a beginner, it was night and day compared to powder. I pushed forward to the crest of the hill and looked back to watch Liz shamble over. She released a string of obscenities as she drew close.

  “That is so steep. I can’t do that, I can’t,” she insisted.

  “You absolutely can. Just keep your skis in a wedge and you won’t go fast at all. I’m going to go down a little bit ahead of you. I want you to concentrate on following my tracks.” She looked terrified, her eyes practically pleading me for another way down. I rubbed her back and leaned close, the smell of her sweat and shampoo flooding my senses. “You’ve got this, Liz. Trust me.”

  Staring down the hill, she nodded, convincing herself of that truth. When our eyes met, I thought for a second she might kiss me. Maybe she would’ve if she hadn’t been afraid I was leading her to her death.