by Wolf, Terra
It was ridiculous.
"Stop it," she hissed at herself. "You met him yesterday. Just because he makes you wet and tingly all over, doesn't mean you have to jump into bed with him right away."
The truth was, it hadn't been easy to turn him down just now. Not that Bryce had overtly made a move, but she wasn't an idiot. The change in body language had been as clear as a flare in the middle of the night. Natasha had her shortcomings, but being blind to the reactions of others was not one of them. She could read people like a pro.
She was glad that Bryce seemed to understand in the end. It would make things easier as she settled in to Moonlight Canyon and became more comfortable with her surroundings, and him. For now though, she was too shaken up to deal with whatever craziness was going on between them. The stress may not seep through the cracks in her armor for others to see, but it was there. Oh hell was it ever.
"Don't forget," she said, reminding herself aloud. "There's also the little factor of what the fuck everyone is hiding here. For all you know, you may have walked into a mafia business, lady," she said, looking at her reflection in the full-length mirror that hung on the wall.
The room itself was huge and quite spacious. There was a large closet and storage area on her right, which was split in half by the mirror. There was also a thermostat on the wall, which—after a quick glance around—she assumed was likely for the baseboard heaters. The bed was in the middle of the wall to her left, with two nightstands on either side. On the far wall from the door were a bookcase, a chair, and a low-slung six-drawer dresser.
"Look at all this space for clothes," she said in delight, some of her sadness from earlier pushed aside. It was unlike what she had expected when Thomas had said she was to move into a "lodge." The room was better equipped than some glamorous hotels. It would do perfectly until she bought a house.
Jumping onto the bed, she lay back, thinking about unpacking later.
***
With a start she sat upright. Work clothes were still on her body, all of her bags still packed.
"What time is it?" she mumbled, fumbling for her phone. Six thirty? Holy shit. It had been a little after ten thirty when she arrived the night before. She had slept for almost eight hours without meaning to! The worst part was that today was an off day. Good job brain. Waking up at an ungodly hour in the morning, on a day filled with nothing. Bravo.
"Morning sleepyhead," came the call from her door half an hour later, as she finally managed to pry herself out of bed.
"What are you talking about Bryce?" she asked. "Why are you knocking on my door so early?"
"Breakfast is almost ready," he replied before rapping on her door again.
"What? Already?"
"We eat early around here?" he said, answering her question with a question.
"What's for breakfast?" she asked, fumbling around with a pair of sweatpants that she pulled from one bag, and a big, baggy sweater she yanked from another.
Let's see Bryce find the attractiveness in this outfit, she thought, glancing at herself in the mirror. Finally, brushing her hair out of her face with her hand, she opened the door.
Bryce was standing right in the doorframe. He didn't move fast enough, and she practically rebounded off his chest. Good morning! Her muscles and reflexes sang as she shot her arms out to steady her.
"Do you always stand right in the way?" she grumped.
"If I can manage it. Do you always charge out of your room in the mornings like that?" he returned.
"You're too cheerful. Cut it out. And yes, I do walk out of my bedroom without fear of being bulldozed over by a gigantic male presence. Thank you," she said, though it was halfhearted.
"Time for food," he said, grabbing her hand and using his other to propel her toward the kitchen.
Natasha stopped dead as the sight and smell hit her harder than Bryce's rock-solid chest.
"Holy shit."
Holden was lording over a feast as he scooped food out of pans onto plates, from pots into bowls, and even pulled steaming hash browns from a tray in the oven. Her mouth would have begun drooling if she didn't slam it shut.
"You guys make this for breakfast?" she asked, blinking in surprise.
"It's not always this fancy. Holden is the best cook, but generally, yes. Why?" he asked, concerned. "Are you allergic to anything? Or a vegan?" He wrung his hands together, likely without realizing it, smiling as he fretted over her. "We can whip something up for you I'm sure."
"No, Bryce, trust me. This is more than fine. I only have one thing to say, besides thank you so much."
"What's that?" he asked, looking at the others as if they might know the answer.
"Can we eat?"
Holden laughed. Kevin wandered over from his post near the door, and they began to pile their plates high with food. She nabbed some scrambled eggs, a mini-stack of small pancakes, some bacon, a sausage link, and a portion of hash browns.
"I'm going to have to find something active to do if this is how you guys always eat," she said between bites.
"Don't worry about that. We do this for breakfast, because we're all here. But the days are busy, so we rarely get a chance to eat like this for other meals."
"I think that's a good thing," she decided.
"Me too!" Kevin chimed in, patting his gut as he put down his empty plate.
"So, I don't work today," she said as they began the cleanup, washing dishes and storing the leftovers for meals later. Natasha dug right in, wanting to do her fair share. They had cooked an amazing breakfast; it was only right that she helped clean up after it.
"Neither do I," said Bryce, as the other two dejectedly said that they did.
"Just the two of them?" she asked, not having the schedule memorized.
"Today is Monday, generally a slow day, and we're open reduced hours too. We only have one person there per shift, instead of two. Just like tomorrow. We rotate those, so that everyone gets equal time off overall."
"Sounds fair," she mused. "That still leaves me with a day off, and nothing planned. What should I do in Moonlight Canyon on a Monday?"
"In town? Not a whole lot to do on a Monday," Holden volunteered, handing the last pan to her to be dried off. "Better toward the end of the week. Trivia night in the lodge, lots of folks come for that, that's Wednesdays. On Thursdays, if you're not working the late shift, there's ice skating down at the town hall. But Mondays? Nothing."
With that, he and Kevin headed off, him to get ready, and Kevin for a nap.
"If you're game to head out of town a bit though, I can show you something fun to do. It'll be perfect today too, since it's supposed to be sunny and warm," Bryce said as they left.
"Bryce," she said warningly.
"Not like that! Actual fun. Proper fun!" he cried, trying to calm her down. "Go get ready. Wear athletic clothing. There'll be a little bit of hiking."
She looked askance at him. "You're not going to tell me yet, are you?"
He just smiled and shooed her from the kitchen as he began putting the breakfast implements back where they belonged.
What was he planning? There didn't seem much point in arguing. Wear hiking clothes? That could prove interesting, what with all her bags strewn across the floor. Which one would contain the clothes she needed?
In the end it only took three tries to find the right bag. Boots, jogging pants underneath a pair of outdoors pants, and her thicker parka, perfect for the cold winter weather. It was more than she might normally wear out and about, but Bryce had made it sound like she would be outside for much of the day, so more seemed better.
"Where are you headed, Nanook of the North?" Holden teased as he saw her outfit.
"I don't know. Bryce is taking me somewhere outside the city. That's all I know."
"Where you taking her?" Holden said as Bryce emerged in a similar state of bundled dress.
"Going up to Martin Peak. You remember what opened there?"
"Do I! Nice. Natasha, you're in for a treat
. You'll have lots of fun, trust me. You aren't scared of heights, are you?"
"It's not the heights I dislike, it's falling from them that I prefer to avoid," she said dryly, sharing a laugh with the other two. "No, I'm okay with them. Why do you ask?"
"Have you ever been ziplining?" Bryce asked.
"No. Is that where we're going? In winter? Is that okay?!" she was getting nervous now, but it was too late. She was already committed by dressing for the part.
"Come on," he said, tugging her after him.
They piled into his truck. It seemed everyone had a truck here in Moonlight Canyon. Even though she drove an SUV with winter tires, it seemed almost out of place. Probably because it couldn't hold a snowplow, she mused, snorting at the idea of her plowing snow. No thanks!
"So Bryce. You told me why you guys came through town, and why Jake stayed. But you never mentioned why the rest of you stayed? If it was just a trip, why didn't the rest of you just go home?"
He didn't respond at once. She began to repeat her question, but he interrupted her by raising a finger from the wheel, to show he had heard her at first. He never took his eyes off the road, but she could feel them boring into her anyway while he tried to gauge her trustworthiness.
"It's hard to explain," he said at last.
"Does this have to do with whatever else it is about this place that you guys aren't telling me?"
"What?" he asked, his surprise sounding genuine.
"There's something about Moonlight Canyon, or about you and your little group. Something that doesn't fit."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," he said.
Natasha wasn't having any of it. "Don't bullshit me. I'm not stupid. But you won't, or perhaps can't, talk about it. I get that, though it hurts not to be trusted. Just promise me one thing."
"What's that?" he asked, his tone very carefully neutral.
"Don't lie to me."
He winced, then swallowed hard, before risking taking his eyes off the road for a moment to make eye contact with her.
"If you don't want to hear certain things, then you shouldn't ask certain questions."
She could tell it took a lot out of him for him to even say that. It was day three, but this was progress. Identifiable progress. Bryce hadn't outright admitted she was correct, but he had implied that perhaps there was something she wasn't aware of. That was enough for her.
"Does that have to do with why you stayed?" she asked, unable to resist trying to link things together.
"For me," he said, emphasizing that this reasoning was his, not part of his group's. "For me, it partially had to do with getting away from home."
"What do you mean?" Natasha loved her parents and her hometown. It scared her silly sometimes to think about how far away from them she was now.
"I come from a family that considers themselves bluebloods. Aristocrats." He rushed onward, trying to explain. "They consider themselves slightly above their, uh, peers. So there was a lot of pressure on me. Pressure to do certain things, provide others. I wasn't interested, or if I'm honest, even ready for that kind of spotlight. When the opportunity to leave presented itself, I took it, despite their wishes."
"I see." She didn't. "Do you mind if I ask what was expected of you?"
"The usual. Marry for status, provide a firstborn male child to continue the bloodline, the usual stuff. Me, being the diehard romantic I am, wanted to marry for love." He took his eyes off the road for a moment longer than before, ensuring he made eye contact with her.
She smiled, understanding his point, but refused to comment on it more. After a second, he continued.
"When they found out I wasn't coming back right away, it put a strain on already strained relations. So it felt right to stay here, for those reasons, among others."
"Interesting. I'm sorry that it had to be such a hard decision for you. It's never easy to choose to abandon one's home and upbringing, even if it's the best choice for you personally."
"Thanks," he said. "Look," he pointed as they rounded the corner of a mountain.
Natasha swallowed hard as her eyes translated what she was seeing into identifiable objects.
The mountainside ahead of her was cleared of trees. She could see several ski lifts going up the sides, but it was the middle that was what held her attention.
There were huge poles, shaped like a T, but with a second arm through the middle as well. If the upright was a person, it had four arms, two at the top and two halfway up. They went from the very highest part of the clearing, until they curved around and out of sight into some trees.
"You expect me to go down that?" she said slowly.
"Absolutely! It's a blast, trust me. You'll have so much fun with it."
"Something tells me that in actuality I'm going to be screaming bloody murder as I hold on for dear life. On the platform."
Bryce laughed. It was a loud, belly-shaking laugh that proved contagious. Her belly shook as well, helping to ease her worries about the upcoming escapade.
"I can't believe you talked me into this so easily," she muttered as they closed the doors behind them, heading for the building to buy their passes. There weren't too many people, which meant they would likely get to go more than once.
"I thought this place would be packed," she said.
"It is, from Thursday through until Sunday. Mondays are usually quite dead though."
Natasha didn't say a word during the entire walk up to the lift that would take them to the top, nor while the attendant fastened her harness. She was too focused on calming her beating heart so that it didn't explode.
"See you at the bottom!"
"What?" she cried, turning to face Bryce, who had yelled out the words. He was already flying off the platform, facedown, his arms and legs spread out to stabilize him.
She wanted to scream as he gathered speed, flying down the track. At one point he tucked his arms and legs in, going for the streamlined approach, and his speed accelerated some more. Then, with one last echoing cry of joy, he flew around a bend and disappeared between the trees as the line dropped out of her vision.
"Terrifying," she said quietly, though not quite low enough that the attendant couldn't hear.
"You'll be fine. Trust me," she said reassuringly, giving one last tug on the harness to ensure it was secured. "Try to get over your fear, and make sure you look out and enjoy the view. It's incredible, especially now that it's all snow-covered. You may be scared, but you'll regret it more if you don't look the first time."
Natasha stared at her. The sincerity in the woman's voice was helping calm her down and ease her jittering nerves.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Now, have fun!"
She turned, faced the edged of the platform, and before she could hesitate, stepped off into nothingness.
The line went taut and she began to move. A scream ripped from her lips, but after a few seconds, she realized that the line was holding and wasn't going to rip, sending her to a violent death way below.
Forcing her eyes open, she let her eyes rove over the landscape below. Due to the speeds and the glare of sunlight, she was wearing a skier's facemask instead of just goggles, but it allowed her a full field of vision.
She gasped. It was beautiful. Sunlight glittered from frosted branches of the plethora of evergreens that filled the valley she was descending into. Gentle giants, they swayed slowly with the wind, bending ever so slightly.
To her right, skiers cut hard on one of the "black" runs, the most difficult there were. Showers of snow erupted from their skis as they took hard turns, crouching low to gather more speed. On the left, snowboarders rose from jumps, spinning effortlessly in the air. As she sped along, she went around the corner, heading to a more heavily wooded area as the line dropped below tree height. Below the canopy, she had a beautiful view of the forest.
The feeling of flying through the air thrilled her now, eclipsing any terror she may have had. Natasha stretched her arms out, enjoyin
g the sensation of being able to defy gravity. A flash to her right drew her attention. There, far back in the woods where the sun had a harder time reaching, a black shape flashed, moving away from her at high speed.
She blinked and it was gone, with only a remnant of it stored in her brain. It had been right there! How did something disappear so easily? It must have gone behind a tree, avoiding her eyes, until she sped onward past the point.
The end of the line snapped her back into focus with an abrupt jolt to her system.
"Bryce?" she said, unsure about the situation. She couldn't see who was grabbing her harness.
"I'm over here, Boss," he said, his voice not betraying any emotion besides the thrill of the ride.
"Get over here," she said, dragging him down the stairs after she was freed from the line. "Thank you," she said over her shoulder to the attendant, not wanting to be rude.
"What? What is it? Are you okay?" he asked, trying to understand her actions.
"There is something out there," she whispered, trying not to let her voice waver at all.
"Where?"
She took a deep breath, and then told him what she had seen.
Chapter Six
Bryce
"So, you saw a humanlike form, practically flying through the trees, faster than anyone can move?"
"It was humanlike, definitely. I didn't see a face though, so I don't know if it was a man or a woman. But yes, it seemed to move from tree to tree in the blink of an eye. But it sensed me, saw me, I don't know! But after it did, it disappeared."
"Okay, okay," he said, pulling her into a hug. Natasha was getting excited and nervous, starting to ramble. He needed to keep her calm.
Hell, he needed to keep himself calm.
In truth Bryce had no idea what it was. But he knew how it moved from tree to tree. By digging its hand into the trunk. Just like the markings outside The Silver Bullet.
"Can we go again?" she asked suddenly.
"Are you sure?" The idea of exposing themselves to this thing wasn't appealing to him. But he had to be calm, pretending as if nothing had happened.
"Yes. Maybe I can spot it again, or maybe you can, now that we know to look for it," Natasha said, proud of her plan.
