“How long will it take to replace the motor?” Harley asked me. “I got lessons today. I keep saying that we need a second lift. One lift for all these slopes is not a good idea. Not with as much traffic as we get up here.”
“Putting in new lifts is extremely costly,” I reminded Harley. “Anyway, this one lift has serviced all of our slopes just fine. It’s centralized. And we are never so busy that there is a long line waiting to use it.” I continued, “If the day comes and we get extra busy, then we will discuss expanding.”
“You’re the boss,” Harley responded, sarcastically.
I just gave him a look. “Come on, Harley. Be realistic.”
“I am.”
Ignoring him, I knew that I didn’t have an extra motor laying around to fix this. I would have to go into town and buy one from the local hardware store. My buddy, Alec, owned the place and stocked up on gear motors for local businesses. I just hoped that he had the right size that I needed in stock.
“I have to go into town and see Alec. Hope he’s got the right sized motor in stock,” I informed Harley. “Keep it running for now. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Okay, Harley agreed. “I’ve got lessons until about 2:30 though. Hope the motor will last until then.”
“Hope so, too,” I agreed. “See you about 2:30 then.”
“Alright. Later,” Harley said, heading off to greet a couple of guests. Mark, the ski attendant pulled up and I filled him in with the details.
“If you notice smoking, turn it off,” I warned him. “Call Brad right away and get anyone off of the lifts with the snowmobile.”
Good thing our lifts weren’t too far from the ground for most of the way up the mountainside. Realistically, you could jump off of them and be fine. We designed the lifts like this purposely to prevent any accidents from happening, being we were secluded up here a lot.
“Okay,” Mark said, nodding his head in agreement. He had a worried look on his face though.
“Nothing to worry about,” I promised him. “Just stay close to the control box here. There’s a small fire extinguisher on the inside panel if you need it. The most important thing is to flip the switch as soon as you notice smoke. Probably it won’t come to that. Just want you to be prepared.”
“Okay, no problem,” he repeated, a bit more relaxed now.
“I’ll get it fixed this afternoon,” I said, “Hopefully.”
I called Bella and let her inside of the truck. I took a moment for a quick phone call to Brad to fill him and let him know that I was going into town.
“You need anything?” I asked him.
“Na, think I’m good. Tell Alec hello for me.”
“Sure,” I replied and hung up.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sandra, the widow, pull up beside me in her red, black-topped convertible. Not being able to resist, I looked over. She gawked at me for a moment before winking and flipping her bleached blond hair behind her shoulder. I noticed dark blue eyeshadow covering her lid as she winked.
Oh. My. God.
I forced a small smile and threw my truck into reverse. I hit the gas and Bella launched forward as the truck lurched back from the parking space. I put out my arm to stop my dog from going into the windshield, head first.
“Sorry, Bella,” I said as I pulled her back into the seat. She just looked at me with her big brown eyes. So, forgiving.
***
In town, I pulled into AR Hardware. The doorbell chimed, announcing my entrance, as I walked into the building and Alec Randel came from the back room to greet me.
“Cole! What’s going on?” he greeted me, happy to see me.
“Hey, man,” I answered, extending my hand to accept his outreached one. “Same old, same old.”
“I hear ya man. What brings you into my quaint shop this morning?” he asked me, his green eyes grinning. His red, shaggy beard mostly covered up his smile. I always thought it was funny how he kept his hair on his head cut short, but let his beard and sideburns grow wild.
“I need a new motor for the lifts,” I informed him. “Ours is going kaput.”
“Oh, bummer,” he replied, wiping his hands on his torn up blue jeans. “Sorry, about your hand,” he said, glancing at the grease mark he left on my hand. “I was actually working on a buddy’s truck motor in the back. But, yeah, I think I have what you need. Come on back,” he invited me, waving me into his back workroom.
Alec ran the hardware store and worked on automobiles in his spare time. There was a garage attached to the back of the store where he did the work. In fact, he was a genius at fixing anything with a motor─ snowmobiles, quads, tractors─ you name it. If it had a motor, he could fix it.
Wiping my hands on my jeans now, I thought that I should ask him for some advice about replacing the ski lift motor. He was happy to offer it. He led me to a box that contained the parts that I needed and heaved it into my arms. Digging around the heavy motor, he pulled several parts out of the box and walked me through the replacement process.
“Any questions?” he asked me, tossing the parts back into the box. Without waiting for an answer, he walked over to his own project.
Alec was a funny dude. I listened to him talk loudly as he continued to work on the truck motor he had hanging in his garage. Even though the motor was big, Alec was even bigger, making it look small while he stood beside it.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
He smacked a wrench off a screw, trying to loosen it. His voice echoed over the clanging. He was telling me about some girl that he met at the local pub and that she was really into him, but he not so much into her.
“Girls are nothing but trouble anyway,” I informed him. That was my motto and I was sticking to it.
“I hear ya, man. She keeps calling and calling. I don’t answer or call back. Think she’d get the hint? Nope. Ring, ring, ring. There she goes calling again.”
I chucked. “That’s why I don’t get involved,” I told him.
“I blame it on the beer,” he said, grinning.
“If that’s the case, maybe you should stop drinking the beer,” I said, laughing.
“Never!”
We both chuckled.
“So, you think I’ll be able to do this by myself?” I asked him when he was finished with his story. I had only worked on the gears, never actually replaced the motor.
“Yeah. Just do as I said,” he replied knowingly, glancing up at the monitor that showed the interior of the hardware store. The doorbell announced a customer walking through the front door. “If you need help, call me and I’ll try and talk you through it. Or, I can come up there tonight, if needed,” Alec offered.
“Thanks for the offer. I’ll probably be giving you a call later,” I said smiling.
“No problem, dude. No problem,” he said chuckling, heading back into the hardware store to greet his customer.
I waited for him to take care of the man who had come into the shop, and after a few more minutes of chitchat, I said my farewell.
“We should get together sometime for a beer,” I told him. “It’s been awhile.”
“Yes, it has,” Alec agreed. “Been so busy around here lately. I know you guys are busy, too, with all the snow,” he added.
“Yeah, we have been pretty busy. You should come up sometime for an afternoon. We can take the snowmobiles out or something,” I offered.
“That’s just what I need,” agreed Alec, nodding his head. “A nice afternoon getaway. If I don’t hear from you about this motor, I’ll give you a call maybe next week one day?”
“Sounds good, man. Looking forward to it.” And, I was. Alec and I have been friends since high school. It was always a good time, hanging out with him. And, he was someone who I could talk to. Someone who was on the same page as I was.
I paid for the motor with the resort’s credit account and told Alec that I’d talk with him soon. Bella was patiently waiting for me outside in the tru
ck. I thought that I’d stop for some lunch at the local diner before heading home, though. I had some time to kill before I could work on the ski lift at 2:30.
I drove to the diner and blasted the heat for Bella, warming up the cab, telling her that I would hurry up.
“I’ll bring you something to eat,” I promised. She licked her chops in anticipation as if she understood.
I ordered a hot roast beef sandwich with French fries, all covered in gravy. I ordered Bella a plain roast beef to go and asked the waitress to cut it up for me.
“For Bella?” she asked.
“You know it,” I answered.
She walked away smiling. Living here all of my life, the locals know me pretty well.
I glanced up at the TV, which was broadcasting the midday news. There was a report of a missing man who lived near Silverthorne. The newsperson was asking to call in if you had any information on the missing person. They suspected foul play as his house was broken in to and appeared to be ransacked.
“What a shame,” frowned the waitress as she placed a takeout container down in front of me. “Has been on the news all morning. Ya don’t hear of things happening like this in these parts. What are times coming to?” she asked, shaking her head in dismay as she listened to the reporter describe the missing man.
“The outside world is catching up with us, it seems,” I answered, handing her a twenty and a five. “Keep it.”
“Thanks, Cole. You stop back in now soon, ya hear me? Don’t be a stranger like the rest of your family. How are the twins doing anyway? And the little girl? What’s her name?”
“Abby. Everyone’s doing fine. Thanks for asking.”
“Good to hear. Tell Angela I said hello and to stop down sometime and bring the lil one with her,” she replied as she headed back behind the counter.
“Will do. Will do.”
Back outside, I opened the white takeout container and let Bella go at it. She gulped it down in several bites and looked up for more.
“You don’t think that’s enough?” I asked, rubbing behind her pitched ears. She wagged her tail in reply. “Guess not,” I said, smiling.
Looking at my watch, I was relieved to see that it was almost two o’clock. It was time to get back to work on the lift.
***
I pulled into the ski lift lot half expecting to see the widow Sandra there. Thank goodness, she was not. Sighing a breath of relief, Bella and I got out of the truck. I retrieved the heavy box from the back of my truck and lugged it over to the control box. Letting it drop, I looked around for Harley or Mark.
The lifts were not running, and I hoped that there hadn’t been any incidents while I was gone. Harley’s SUV was still in the lot, so I figured that he was inside the lodge. I headed in to let him know that I had arrived.
“Any incidents to report?” I asked him when I saw him sitting at the bar talking with Michelle, the new bartender and equipment assistant at the lodge.
“Nah, we just finished up about twenty minutes ago. Lift was running so slow. I was just waiting for it to stop entirely at any minute,” he informed me.
“I got the motor and parts that I need. Going to go and work on it now.”
“Need any help?” Harley offered.
“No, I should be fine. It’s a tight space. I’ll call you if I need you,” I answered.
“Okay. Good luck,” he said, turning back to his conversation with Michelle.
When I walked back outside, I saw big snowflakes falling. The kind that sticks. What is this? They weren’t calling for any snow today last time I had checked the weather. Not that that meant anything in the mountains. Shit, I had better get a move on. If we get snow, we get skiers, and my workload would double.
I returned to my truck and got out my tool belt. Wrapping it around my waist, I went back to the control box and began working on pulling out the rundown motor. As I was working, the snow fell faster.
“How’s it going?”
I jumped and hit my head off the top of the metal control box.
“Harley! Damn you! Why did you sneak up on me like that?” I yelled at him, not trying to hide my annoyance.
“How could you not have heard me?” he asked. “I just crunched through all of this ice,” he replied, motioning at the ground and his approaching footprints.
I was shocked to see that there were at least two inches of icy snow packed on the ground. Shit! I thought again. While I had my head in the metal box, the snow was falling fast.
Just then, Bella perked up and looked toward the woods beyond the lot and lodge building. She let out a low growl.
“Bella!” I called. That wasn’t like her at all. I figured it was a guest, but when I looked up, there was nobody there.
“What’s gotten into her?” Harley asked, just as surprised as I was. He too was scanning the empty lot and tree line beyond it.
“Don’t know,” I responded. “Maybe someone on the lodge trail?” I suggested.
Beyond the lot, besides for the trail that I had salted yesterday, there was nothing but forest for miles.
“I didn’t see anyone else up here. When I closed the lifts, everyone left for the day. I told Michelle to close up early too. No point keeping the lodge opened with a broken-down lift,” he said.
“Yeah,” I agreed, turning back to the motor. I was almost done. On top of the dense, falling snow, it was going to get dark soon.
Bella began to bark now and I heard Harley tell her to stop. She obeyed but kept whining as if something was bothering her. I had no clue what it was, and truthfully, did not have the time to worry about it.
Michelle came out of the lodge and called out a goodbye. I waved from my position inside the control box and Harley went over to speak with her at her car. Bella was still whimpering at the trees.
All I wanted to do was to get the motor installed and running. There would be tons of complaints if the lift wasn’t running tomorrow morning, not to mention, a broken lift would put a further dent in the bottom line. I finally thought that I had it and pulled myself out from the box.
Harley was standing behind me again. “Is it fixed?” he asked.
“I hope so,” I replied, pushing the green button and pulling on the lever. To my surprise, the ski lift lurched into action.
“Yes!” Harley exclaimed and raised his hand for a high-five. “You’ve done it again, my brother; saved the day.”
“I don’t know about all of that but thank goodness this is fixed,” I replied, smacking his hand. “And, I learned how to change out a motor today,” I added, pleased with myself.
The sun was going down behind the tree line and the snow was falling fast. I was relieved to be done with this task. I put the outer grate back on the control box and pushed it into place.
Good to go. I said my farewells to Harley and called for Bella. She was still gazing at the tree line. I took another gander, but still didn’t’ see a thing. Probably an animal, I thought.
“Let’s go,” I called to her again. “I need to get out of these wet clothes.”
The wind was picking up and my damp clothes were giving me the chills. I wanted a beer, a hot shower, and a hot dinner. In exactly that order.
Bella reluctantly turned from her scrutiny of the tree line and walked toward the truck. When I opened the door for her, she turned back once again to look at the forest. She let out a soft whine and turned to look at me.
“What?” I asked her. “What’s out there? I don’t see a thing. Get in please,” I asked her, trying not to be annoyed at my loyal companion.
Bella jumped into the passenger seat and I threw my tool belt into the back seat. I went around and got into the driver’s side. As I was pulling out of the lot, I turned to look one more time at the trees. At first glance, I thought that I saw a slight movement. Looking closer, I realized that it was probably just the wind blowing through the trees.
I drove out of the lot and headed home.
4
Lindsay
I opened my eyes and saw black. A stab of pain perforated through my skull and I immediately closed my eyes again, cringing against it. After a moment the sharp pain subsided leaving a consistent throbbing in my temples. I moved my hand up to my forehead and felt a warm wetness. Blood.
What? I racked my brain to understand what was going on. I knew that I was in a sitting position, slumped over something. I slowly moved my head up and opened my eyes again.
At first, I saw the blackness again. Am I blind? No, there’s light. I fought the darkness and my vision slowly returned. I tried to focus. A steering wheel. I’m in a car.
I sat up and leaned back against the seat. The SUV that I was in was smashed up against a tree. The front windshield was shattered, and shards of glass were all over my lap and in my hair.
I started to panic. I frantically wiped the glass from my lap and shook out my hair. Then, I remembered the blood on my forehead. I grabbed the rearview mirror and moved it so that I could see myself. A laceration traveled from my hairline down to my eyebrow. It might need stitches but at least the bleeding had stopped.
Then, I noticed the swollen yellow and blue marks surrounding the laceration. The wound was tender under my fingertips. My head throbbed but at least I was alive.
I took deep breaths to calm my breathing. I looked around and tried to see where I was. That’s when I realized that I couldn’t remember anything. Obviously, I had been in a car accident. But I had no idea what had happened or why I was there.
The SUV did not look familiar to me. My surroundings were not familiar either. I tried to stretch my head around my seat to see if there was anyone nearby. Maybe another car? How did this accident happen? I could see that I was down an embankment and a road was above me. I must have run off the road. No other car was in sight.
I needed to call for help. I looked over to the passenger seat, but it was empty. I reached over to the glove compartment, but it too was empty. Where’s my stuff? My mind went blank. What stuff?
Beauty and the beard Page 4
