“Um…I was wondering if I could request a specific instructor?”
“Sure. Who would you like?”
“Stephen Stone.”
“Stephen?” There was a pause. “He’s one of our newest instructors. May I ask how you heard of him?”
Nadine felt like doing a happy dance. He was there. Finally something was going right. “I’m from New York, too. I know his fath—family.”
“Okay. Stephen it will be. Rent your equipment, then come to our office in the main lodge. You can pay with cash or credit card and we have a release for you to sign, as well.”
Nadine hung up the phone, then went to the lounge to see if she could snag take-out coffees and muffins for the road. Patrick arrived just as the food was delivered.
“Breakfast? Thank you.” He accepted one of the coffees and a blueberry-bran muffin. “Are you ready to leave? We’re checked out and our bags are loaded on the bus.”
She’d found his son. She was so happy she didn’t even need her morning coffee to smile. “Yup. I’m all set.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “You’re in a very good mood all of a sudden.”
She almost told him about her phone call, then decided against it. Better to meet the young man, make sure she had the right person, and then tell Patrick the good news. Hopefully there would be no more mistakes.
HALF AN HOUR LATER, THEY DROVE into the avalanche zone where they’d been stopped the previous night. Snowplows had scraped the highway clear, but the evidence of what had happened was all too evident. The avalanche had cleared a hundred-foot swath down the face of the mountain, leaving behind a rubble of fallen trees and trampled snow.
Nadine felt a lump in her throat, as Patrick quickly sped through, and she didn’t feel completely safe again until the town of Golden came into view.
They had to drive through the town to reach the resort. Golden itself wasn’t especially impressive and Nadine began to wonder if Kicking Horse Resort would live up to its reputation.
But when they finally approached the expansive development, she wasn’t disappointed.
“This part of the country is full of hidden gems,” Patrick said. “I grabbed a bunch of pamphlets from the lobby this morning. Do you know there are lots of heli-and cat-ski operations around here?”
“Chairlifts are exciting enough for me.”
While Patrick checked them in at the lodge, Nadine bought herself a half-day ski pass. When she returned, Patrick handed her a key. “You’re on the second floor,” he said. “I’m on the third.”
She wondered if he’d purposefully arranged for them to be so far apart, but he didn’t elaborate.
“The mountain is calling,” he told her, “but I’m going to lock myself in my room until I get my writing done.”
“I’ll give you a call if—if I have anything to report.”
Nadine was almost light-headed with excitement as she changed into her ski clothes, rented equipment, then went to the Day Lodge to pay for her lesson and fill out the required paperwork. She was told to meet her instructor by the Pioneer Chair.
“He’ll be wearing a jacket like mine and he’ll be watching out for you,” the lady with the Aussie accent told her. “Good luck and have fun! We had about six inches of powder yesterday, so conditions are fabulous.”
As soon as Nadine stepped outside, the intensity of the sunlight hit her, and she had to pull on her goggles. Her skis were propped up on a rack near the door, and she settled them on the snow, then snapped her boots into the bindings. Using her poles to propel herself forward on the level surface, she followed the signs to the Pioneer Chair.
It didn’t take her long to spot her instructor. Patrick’s son was tall and thin, like him, but not yet with his father’s developed upper body. His helmet covered his head and goggles obscured his eyes, but he had the freckled face of a redhead.
“Nadine?” he asked as she approached.
“Yes.”
“Good to meet you. We’ve got a great day, let’s make the most of it. Why don’t we start with you showing me what you can do? Would you like to start with a beginner run?”
Despite the lure of a beautiful day and all the fresh powder, Nadine couldn’t care less about skiing. She lifted her goggles and squinted at the boy.
“Actually, I didn’t book your time because I wanted a lesson. I just wanted a chance to talk to you.”
“What?” He stiffened, his friendly voice suddenly wary.
“I’m a private investigator from New York City. I was hired by your father to find you.”
“What?” Pushing against his poles, he slid backward a few feet.
“I know this must come as a shock, but after your mother passed away—”
“Stop.” The young man held out one of his hands. “Don’t say any more. I think you have the wrong guy.”
No. It wasn’t possible. “You’re Stephen Stone, right?”
The kid just stared at her. Or she assumed he was staring. His darn goggles blocked out more than just UV rays.
“I called the resort this morning and asked for a private lesson with you. Your father—”
“Would you cut it out with that, already? I’m telling you, I’m not the right guy. Stephen Stone, he started working here, but he didn’t like it. He left last night. The girl at the desk didn’t know that when you spoke to her. But she asked me to fill in for him.”
Nadine could not believe this. “Are you sure?”
“I’m a friend of his. My name’s Zach. So, yeah. I’m sure.”
“Where did Stephen go?” Oh, please, not back to New York. She’d been so sure that today she would find Patrick’s son for him.
“He had another job offer in Lake Louise. He decided to give that a try.”
“When did he leave Kicking Horse?”
“Last night, after dinner.”
“There was an avalanche around seven. The highway was closed.”
“Well, maybe he left earlier than that, because I know he made it through. He called me last night to let me know that everything was cool.”
Nadine couldn’t believe it. She and Patrick might very well have crossed paths with Stephen last night at some point on the highway.
“So.” Zach slid his skis back and forth. “You want to go ahead with your lesson now?”
“I don’t think so. Thanks, Zach. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”
Wearily, Nadine returned to the Day Lodge. The thought of backtracking to Lake Louise was almost more than she could bear. Another hour and a half drive, with no guarantee of results when they finally arrived. With her luck, Stephen would have changed his mind again, and moved on to God-knows-where.
More words of wisdom from Nathan and Lindsay came back to her then. “You’ve got to be so damned persistent in this job.”
Boy, were they right. There was only one thing she felt glad about as she tromped back to return her equipment.
At least she hadn’t raised Patrick’s hopes by telling him she’d found his son.
CHAPTER NINE
NADINE OFFERED TO DRIVE to Lake Louise, so Patrick could continue working on his book. He’d been startled when she’d told him the change in plans, but once he’d understood that the trail was now leading somewhere new, he’d reacted quickly, packing up his notes and computer and lugging their bags back to the car.
The money they’d spent on the hotel room, her ski pass, lesson and rentals…all wasted. They were quickly working their way through that five thousand dollar advance, and what did she have to show for it?
So far, exactly nothing.
“I’m sorry about this,” she said, noticing him staring vacantly out the window, his computer open but untouched on his lap.
“It’s not your fault. You’re just doing your job.”
“But you haven’t had much time to concentrate on your writing.”
“Finding Stephen is more important. If you’re thinking that I regret coming with you, don’t. If I’d stayed in New
York, I wouldn’t have been able to write at all.”
If he hadn’t come on the trip, then last night wouldn’t have happened, either. Nadine wondered if he’d thought of that. Then realized, no, of course he hadn’t. His son was the only thing on his mind right now. And that was as it should be. Stephen was the important thing. She hoped they were nearing the end of their search.
And yet she was beginning to feel as though she was on a wild-goose chase. That they would arrive at Lake Louise only to discover that Stephen had taken off again.
How long could they keep following the young man? At what point would Patrick decide to call off the search and fly them back to the city?
But she had to be successful. If she failed in this, she would never forgive herself.
Suddenly Patrick began typing. He started tentatively, then the words came faster. He didn’t even seem to notice when they drove past the site of the avalanche. With her stomach clenched, Nadine upped her speed as much as she dared, and gave a sigh of relief when they finally left the avalanche zone behind.
She would never again underestimate the power of snow.
Or the danger of lying.
She’d called them “fibs” in the beginning, but now she saw how she had deluded herself into making the worst decision of her life. Not just professionally, but personally, too.
She liked Patrick in a way she’d never liked any man before. He was dynamic, exciting…sexy. He could have been the one.
But once they got back to New York, she would never see him again. When he found out she’d taken on his case under false pretenses, he’d be furious. Especially if she failed to find his son.
If only she’d directed him to Nathan or Lindsay, as she should have done. Then she might have met him for the first time that night at the Rain forest Charity Gala. He would have spotted her in the crowd, walked over and introduced himself, and they would have fallen in love.
But even that daydream was too much to hope for, she suspected. He might have been attracted to her, but that would fade once he discovered who she was—who her family was.
She’d only known him a short while, but it was long enough to suspect that he had little use for families like hers. Families with inherited wealth, who wore designer clothing and attended charity balls, and wrote big checks rather than risk getting dirty hands.
The ironic thing was, she felt the same way. All her life she’d known she didn’t fit into the world where she’d been born. She wanted to make a difference. To do valuable work and contribute in a positive way.
So far, she hadn’t been too successful.
Please let Stephen Stone be at the Lake Louise ski hill.
Please.
AFTER AN HOUR AND A HALF on the road, Nadine came to the signs for Lake Louise. The town and hotels were to her right, the ski hill to the left. Nadine took the overpass to the ski hill and, ignoring the large parking lots on the side of the road, drove straight to the unloading zone in front of the Day Lodge.
“Let me run in and ask some questions before we go to town and book a room for the night.”
Patrick closed his laptop. “I’m coming with you.”
She wanted to argue, but there seemed little point. If the news was disappointing, at least this way she wouldn’t have to be the one to tell him.
After a pit stop in the washrooms, they located the administrative offices. As soon as Nadine mentioned her name, the middle-aged woman at the desk—a woman named Shannon with curly blond hair—snapped her fingers.
“Did you say Nadine Kimble? I have a message for you.” She snatched a pink slip from a pile. “Stephen Stone would like you to meet him today after the lifts close, around four-thirty in the upstairs lounge.”
“YOU DID IT, NADINE. YOU FOUND him.”
They’d returned to the car, neither one saying a word, as if they were afraid the bubble would burst.
Now Nadine fought an urge to wrap her arms around Patrick. He looked so happy and excited, and it tugged on her heart in the biggest way.
In that moment, she didn’t care about proving her skills to Lindsay and the others. All she wanted was to see him reunited with the son he’d never known.
“We’ve got to do something to kill the next few hours. I know I’ll never be able to write. How about we hit the slopes?”
She glanced at her watch. “By the time we rent equipment we’ll be lucky to get an hour and a half on the slopes. It isn’t worth it.”
“What else are we going to do?”
There was a moment’s silence as their eyes met. She could tell he was thinking about last night. About making love.
He put a hand on her waist and looked more deeply into her eyes. “Two hours would pass all too quickly if we were in bed together.”
She swallowed. Yes, they would. But she was supposed to have professional standards. And at this point she knew she wanted to be more than a diversion to keep him from thinking about meeting his son.
“Maybe the skiing is a good idea, after all.”
THE RUNS AT LAKE LOUISE were gloriously long and Nadine was glad Patrick had talked her into trying them out. She didn’t think his technique was any better than hers, but he was much stronger and totally fearless, flying off ledges and taking jumps that she was too cautious to try.
At three-thirty they were on the quad chair, going up for their last run. The hill was very quiet and they had the chair to themselves. Aside from the humming of the motorized lift, the silence was absolute.
On their other rides up the mountain, Patrick had been talkative, sharing his excitement at the conditions and comparing the terrain here to other places he had seen.
Now, though, he seemed lost in thought, and she didn’t need to wonder what about.
“Would you prefer to meet Stephen on your own?” she asked.
The suggestion seemed to surprise him. Then he considered it. “Maybe after a while you could leave us to get acquainted. If Stephen seems willing. I’m still expecting a lot of anger.”
“His friend Zach must have called him and told him we were on our way. At least he’s had a few hours to get used to the idea that he’s about to meet his father.”
She’d kind of ambushed Zach at Kicking Horse earlier today, Nadine realized. In some respects she was glad that he hadn’t turned out to be Stephen after all.
“I keep trying to put myself in his shoes,” Patrick said. “I’m hoping he’ll be more curious than upset, but you never know. Especially when he’s only recently lost his mother. He’s still got to be pretty shaken up by that.”
And here they were, dropping another emotional bombshell on the boy. But it couldn’t be helped. It was his mother, after all, who had set up the chain of events. Patrick was only reacting as any responsible man would do.
The light was already getting flat as they made their last run of the day, making it difficult to read the terrain. Nadine followed Patrick cautiously as he skied right up to the rental shop, where they returned their equipment and retrieved their regular footwear.
A few dozen people were already sitting at the tables by the windows when they walked into the lounge at exactly four-thirty. Nadine was scrutinizing their faces when Patrick grasped her arm.
“That must be him.”
He nodded toward the vacant tables at the back of the lounge. There, almost hidden in the shadows was a solitary young man. His helmet, with goggles attached, was on the table next to a glass of beer.
He looked approachable, but nervous. As for his hair, it was red, all right. He’d exaggerated the color with some sort of dye and had ended up with a shade that was almost magenta.
“What has he done with his hair?” Patrick muttered.
“At least he doesn’t have a lot of facial piercings,” she said to console him. “The hair will grow out.”
They moved forward together. Nadine knew this would be a moment that Patrick would remember for the rest of his life. She thought regretfully about her camera, which was stowed
in the trunk of her rental car.
But there were a few bridges to cross before it would be appropriate to start snapping photos.
This was her job, she remembered. She’d better step forward and make introductions.
She approached the boy first, drawing his gaze from Patrick. “Stephen Stone?”
He stood, smiled slightly, then the nervous look returned. “Hi. You’re the private investigator?”
“I am. Nadine Kimble. And this is Patrick O’Neil. Your mother had a letter mailed to him about six weeks ago. He was in Alaska and didn’t read it until last week. But he came as soon as we could find you.”
She didn’t need to say more. Zach would have told him that she’d been hired by his father. She watched as the two men shook hands cautiously.
“Sit down,” Patrick said. “I want to tell you the whole story—or at least as much as I know about the story. And I want to give you a letter your mother wrote for you.”
PATRICK PULLED THE ENVELOPE out of a zippered pocket in his jacket. Before leaving New York, he’d placed it in a plastic bag for protection. He slid it across the table to Stephen.
How surreal this is, he thought. The setting—a lounge on a ski hill—hardly seemed an appropriate place for a boy to meet his father for the first time in his life.
Though, given the love of skiing that they shared, maybe it was as fitting a place as possible.
Stephen still looked nervous. He touched the plastic bag but made no effort to remove the envelope.
“You say m-my mother wrote this?”
“It was included with the letter that she wrote to me. You see, Stephen, until I read that letter I had no idea that your mother was pregnant when we broke up. I had absolutely no idea you even existed.”
“No idea? None at all? How is that possible? You did get M-Mom pregnant, right?”
“We used birth control. Obviously not as carefully as we should have. But it never occurred to me that it hadn’t been effective.” Hell, that hadn’t come out right. He didn’t want to make the boy feel like his existence was just a mistake.
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