Free Fall

by Jill Shalvis

  Then there’d been a problem with the plumbing in the ski shop’s employee bathroom, and after that, a computer crash. Since their computer guy was a high school techno-head in town—also the baby brother of their cafeteria chef—who’d gotten himself arrested for joyriding in his aunt’s car just last week and no longer had access to a vehicle, Lily had to go get him.

  By the time all the fires were put out, it was past midnight. The bar was still hopping, but Logan wasn’t in it. Nor was he in the cafeteria or the open lodge area or the hot tub. She couldn’t blame him—it’d been hours since he’d said he’d see her.

  But disappointment flooded her. Once again, the lodge had taken over her life, keeping her from something she’d wanted. Someone she’d wanted.

  With a sigh for what might have been, and then another for her easy, carefree life of old, she dragged herself off to bed.

  6

  THE NEXT DAY DAWNED BRILLIANT, with a sky so bright and blue that Lily needed sunglasses just to look at it. She loved mornings like this, with the air lung-searingly crisp and clean. She stood on the outside deck of the cafeteria, overlooking the mountain. Unfortunately the news she was getting from her chef was seriously compromising her enjoyment of the morning.

  Carl stood there hovering while she looked over the menus for the week, his skinny arms wrapped around his skinnier body. “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I’m telling you, I always get the breads delivered like clockwork. But they swear you called them and told them no deliveries this week. Why did you do that?”

  Aunt Debbie was kicking back against the railing of the deck, looking smug at not having any responsibilities. She sipped her coffee and eyed Carl speculatively.

  “I didn’t cancel a delivery.” Lily was baffled, but also irritated. People weren’t going to be happy eating hamburgers without buns, chili without bread bowls, breakfast without toast….

  “And why the hell do we always have to have our morning meeting outside?” he grumbled, shivering.

  “Because she’s got ice in her veins,” Debbie said cheerfully.

  “Do you mind?” Lily asked. “We’re having a meeting here.”

  “Sorry.” She didn’t look it.

  Carl shivered again. Though he hated the winters, he’d been working at Bay Moon for ten years, ever since he’d graduated high school. He’d started out cleaning tables and had talked his way into cooking. Tall, dark-haired and scrawny, he’d turned out to be a god in the kitchen, a miraculous find who could whip up anything under the sun, and often did, just for fun. His genius with food made her overlook his complaints about the winter, the snow and the general misery that this season caused him.

  It boggled Lily’s mind that anyone would willingly go into a kitchen and cook and call it fun, but over and over again their guests wrote entire fan letters devoted to the talents of this one man. As for the outdoor meetings, Carl and her grandmother had always had their meetings outside, and Lily wasn’t going to break with tradition. She’d once taken pity on him and had an indoor meeting only to have him mope around for the entire shift, talking about how “some people” didn’t respect the past.

  “It’s so cold, my parts are frozen,” he complained.

  Lily’s grandma had loved him, and so did she. Every long, scrawny, grumpy inch of him. “Chefs don’t whine,” she said absently, looking over his menu.

  “They do when it’s twenty-five degrees outside. Jeez, Lil, have a heart.”

  Debbie looked amused.

  “Stand in the sun.” Lily whipped out her cell and called the distributor. Damn if they didn’t swear she’d canceled. Irate but relatively calm, she spoke to the supervisor. And got nowhere. She disconnected. “You’re going to have to get creative without bread until tomorrow.”

  Lips blue, he shrugged. “Fine. Just make sure no one screws with tomorrow’s delivery.”

  “Oh, I plan to.”

  He glanced longingly inside. “Look, I have the heater on in the kitchen, all nice and toasty-like. You come in and I’ll make you up my egg special. With the ham in it, just how you like it. No toast though. My boss, see, she screwed up my order.”

  “Stop it, I didn’t screw up anything.” But someone had, and she’d find out who, too.

  She lifted her gaze and scanned the horizon. From this strategic spot, guests could take in the rocky, craggy Sierras, dipped in white and lined with ribbons of frosted pines as far as the eye could see. For once, however, she felt too disgruntled to enjoy the great view. Who would pull such a stupid, disruptive stunt?

  “I’d love the special, but you’ll have to send it to my office.” With a sigh, she passed back the menu with an approving nod. “I’ll be with your brother, who right now is dealing with our computers and Sara.”

  “Oy.”

  “Yeah. Make that a double.”

  “I’ll come to the kitchen for the special,” Debbie said.

  Lily followed them, scanning the busy tables as she walked through the cafeteria. She told herself she was checking to make sure everyone looked happy, but she was really looking for a dark, wavy mane of hair and matching eyes, a smile that never failed to render her stupid and a body that she could happily look at for the rest of his stay.

  But Logan White wasn’t there. Probably wasn’t a morning person, or maybe he’d already hit the slopes. She didn’t know, and it shouldn’t matter, but as she moved through the cafeteria into the rest of the lodge, she kept a vigil, finally having to admit defeat.

  The computer issue took the entire morning, hours made slightly more livable because Carl kept his word and sent her food. After that, she had a shift to cover in the ski shop because someone had called in sick. Sick. Even she knew better than that. The day after a snowfall, with fresh powder on the hills, she always lost twenty percent of her employees to the “powder flu.” She couldn’t really blame them, she’d have done the same thing.

  If she hadn’t owned the place, damn it. She wanted to be out there, too! Every time she passed a window, she slowed down, mentally pressing her nose to the glass, pathetic and yearning.

  Unfortunately the rest of the day went by without a single chance to get out. That really ate at her because in no time at all, the season would be over and she’d be forced to get her adrenaline fix in other ways, such as on her mountain bike, which, while fun, wasn’t the same.

  By evening, she still sat at her desk, staring sightlessly at the stacks of work yet to be done, always to be done, and rubbed her temples. For so much of this past year she’d worked night and day like this. It was killing her, absolutely killing her. She needed some time, needed to rejuvenate her spirit. True, she got outside a lot, and on the slopes she loved so much. But much of that time was spent with one ear cocked on the radio, patrolling or fielding calls from her sisters. No just-Lily time.

  Her sisters didn’t seem to need that.

  Yet another example of how she must be an alien baby that her parents had found on their porch one morning twenty-five years ago.

  When her stomach growled, it was a reason to wander through the cafeteria. Again, she wondered what Logan was doing. Was he wandering the unique shops and galleries in town? Out with someone he’d met today on the slopes? He’d have had no trouble meeting a woman interested in him. Hell, any woman with a pulse would be interested in him. That gorgeous face and even more magnificent body, topped with an intriguingly sharp mind and wit, not to mention the way he kissed—

  Her walkie-talkie rang out and she wished it could be Danny with an emergency on the slopes that she could go help with. Pitiful, wishing for an emergency just to get out, but since the slopes were closed for the day, the odds weren’t good.

  “I’m going to be thirty minutes late for my shift,” Matt said in a rush.

  “But your shift starts—” she glanced down at her watch “—now.”

  “I know. Sorry. Can you cover me?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She clicked off and headed toward the bar. She knew Matt was
currently working two jobs to pay for a surprise for Sara—his wife and Lily’s sister—an addition to their small log-cabin house on the hill above town. He and Sara loved the location, but the house only had one bedroom and bath, and with Sara seven and a half months pregnant and grumpy to boot, they had definitely outgrown their starter home.

  Lily’s sister had no idea why Matt had been putting in such brutal hours, but the surprise would definitely make her easier to live with, and Lily was looking forward to that phenomenon greatly.

  They had a live band in the bar tonight, playing eighties covers and rocking the house. The small crowd was mostly dressed in the winter gear she fondly referred to as “Sierra Casual,” meaning jeans and fleece—except Debbie, who was dressed to the nines. There was a comfortable air about the place she’d purposely cultivated. People felt at home here, and because they did, the bar was a steady and important source of income for the resort.

  As she took Matt’s shift serving the guests, she kept one eye on the door, watching new arrivals, hoping for only one.

  Didn’t happen.

  No biggie, she told herself. She’d been disappointed before, many times. At least tonight she wore jeans and a sweater and wasn’t cold, wet and hungry. Unfortunately her knee was killing her, and so was her neck, both compliments of the other day’s crash. Her shoulders hurt, too, and she thought maybe she’d make a hot-tub stop later before heading off to bed.

  “Lily.”

  She turned from the margaritas she was mixing and faced Sara. Unlike Gwyneth, Sara did not resent Lily for inheriting the whole family pie. And unlike Gwyneth, she actually liked peace in the family, meaning she was often the one running back and forth soothing the feathers that Lily and Gwyneth ruffled without even trying. But she’d given up most of the family meddling and soothing to do her own, with Matt.

  Matt was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who enjoyed people, meaning he was perfectly suited for bartending at Bay Moon. That the hapless cutie had snagged the beautiful but high-maintenance Sara still had heads shaking in bafflement all around town, but fact was fact, and he really did love her. More shocking, she loved him back, ridiculously. He always put a smile on her face and softened her edges, which made Matt an absolute hero in Lily’s eyes.

  “I need to talk to you,” Sara said. “It’s bad.”

  Oh, boy. Lily racked her brain and could think of nothing she’d done that would be considered a problem, but Sara’s mind worked in mysterious ways. Still, Lily absolutely did not want to do this in the bar—whatever this might be—and tried to direct Sara outside. They made it as far as the double swinging saloon doors.

  “I can’t believe you’re covering for Matt again.” Sara didn’t look mad, which was a huge relief for Lily, but the misery in her sister’s eyes made the relief short-lived.

  “It was a last-minute thing,” Lily said, having promised Matt she wouldn’t give away the surprise.

  Sara nodded, rubbing the ever-increasing bump beneath her sweater. “I think he’s lying to me.”

  “Why don’t you sit down and take a load off. I’ll make you a hot chocolate.”

  “I don’t want to sit down. Did you hear me? I think my husband is lying to me.”

  “I just think for the sake of this—” Lily pointed to the baby “—you should sit down.”

  “It’s not a this.” Sara’s eyes filled. “It’s a b-b-baby, and maybe he doesn’t want it anymore. Maybe it’s me and how fat I’ve become!”

  “No, it’s not—”

  “Then what’s keeping him lately? Where the hell is he? Oh, my God.” She clapped her hands over her mouth. “He’s changed his mind about me. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  Matt had warned her that Sara’s mood swings were bordering on manic, and Lily glanced at the door, wondering how long he’d be. “He probably just got held up on the road. Listen, Sara, I really have to serve—”

  “It’s because I’m cranky, right?”

  “Uh…”

  “Well, you’d be cranky too if you’d gained enough weight that your scale groaned when you got on it. If it could talk, it’d say, ‘One at a time, please!’”

  “Sara—”

  “What if you knew that in six weeks you had to pass a basketball out your vagina? Huh? Wouldn’t you feel entitled to a few emotional breakdowns?”

  Lily scrunched up her eyes but, nope, no good, the image of a basketball coming out of a vagina stuck.

  “Do I look that fat?” Sara asked miserably.

  Trick question. Lily knew the rules: never answer the trick questions. Matt had taught her that one himself.

  “If he’s cheating on me, I’m going to castrate him.” Sara looked serious. “Slowly. That’ll make us even.”

  Lily looked over Sara’s shoulder at Matt, who’d just come down the hallway and had gone very still and a bit pale. Behind him, Logan came along, looking tall, dark and yummy, and for a moment Lily lost her concentration because her body did a happy-hormone dance.

  “You know where he is,” Sara said to Lily, oblivious. “I can tell when you’re lying. Remember that July Fourth when you blew up my toilet with the illegal fireworks you bought from a buddy? You said God was telling me to stop spending so much time in the bathroom, but I knew it was you.”

  “That was never proven.”

  “Where is he, Lily?”

  Matt shot Lily his puppy-dog look and silently begged her not to tell where he’d been. She took one last peek at Logan and then forced her gaze off him before she did something stupid. Like drool. Instead, she rubbed her aching neck. “I don’t know. But he doesn’t think you’re fat and he wants the baby. He’s crazy about you.”

  That much was the utter, baffling truth at least. In her life, there’d been a lot of dissent. Her parents had traveled a lot for their jobs, and when they had been in the same house for any amount of time, they’d fought. Her grandparents had never greeted a day without a bicker.

  As a result, she and her sisters had developed relationships based on their own bickering hierarchy, with Lily at the bottom, of course. But then Matt had come into Sara’s life and Lily had witnessed a deeper bond than she’d ever imagined could exist. Matt would do anything for Sara, anything. “You know he loves you. He’s such a sap.”

  Matt lifted an eyebrow. Sap?

  Revenge made her smile. “You’ve got him wrapped around your little pinkie. You know it.”

  Sara sniffed. “You only think that because you’re relationship challenged. You don’t understand.”

  Hard to dispute the truth. Relationships, like love, gave her the hives. But she wouldn’t mind a few days of mutual lust. With the man who was standing next to Matt, watching her every move with that quiet intensity that made her want to dive at him.

  Sara sighed and held the big lump of her belly, looking pale.

  “Let’s sit down,” Lily tried again. “I’ll rub your back.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going into labor. I’m not ever going into labor. I’m going to be pregnant forever.”

  “Whatever you say,” Lily soothed, trying to pull Sara toward a table. “You still need to sit down. Matt’ll be here any second, so—” She’d been about to suggest Sara wipe away the mascara dripping down her cheeks or comb her ratty hair, but Matt came forward and wrapped his arms around his wife.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, and hugged her unresponsive form. He went to kiss her mouth but she gave him a cheek. “Sorry I’m late.”

  Sara stared at him. “Does your new girlfriend wear perfume that smells like a cedar chest?”

  “Uh…”

  “Because you smell like a cedar chest, Matt.”

  “Yeah, that’s my fault,” Lily said quickly.

  “Really? How is that?” Sara asked.

  Yes, Lily, how was that? “Well…” Her mind raced around the fact that Matt’s second job was at the lumber mill. “He picked up some supplies for me.” Brilliant, she thought. A good excuse and more revenge at the same time. “F
or that new cabinet and shelves I need in my office.” She smiled sweetly at Matt, who was looking a little strained. “I can’t wait to see what you’re going to build me.”

  “I can’t believe you’re selfish enough to demand new shelves now, when I need him,” Sara said, shocked.

  “That’s me, selfish queen bee.”

  Matt opened his mouth but Sara melted against him. “Oh, Matt.” Her eyes were suspiciously shiny. “Really? You’re sweet enough to build my sister some shelves?”

  “Uh…yes. Yes, I am.”

  “Oh, honey.” Sara threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I’m losing my mind.”

  Lily had to give Matt kudos for not pointing out that yes, Sara was losing her mind. Instead, he just held her tight and said, “I love you” and then laughed when Sara dragged him out of the bar, murmuring something about her out-of-control hormones.

  “Hey!” Lily called after them. “Hey, you come back here, you’re on duty!”

  Matt glanced back at her. “Give me a few more minutes?”

  “Damn it.”

  Logan pushed away from where he’d been holding up the wall and came toward her. “I hope he appreciates you.”

  “Oh, he will. The whole time he’s building me new shelves.”

  He took her hand, stroked a thumb over her knuckles, and everything within her tightened.

  He looked her over, from her favorite pair of faded jeans to her forest-green cashmere hoodie sweater and matching beanie that she’d stuffed her wild, out-of-control hair into. She’d dressed at the crack of dawn in a hurry, more for comfort than style, but watching him take her in, seeing his eyes heat, suddenly she felt feminine. Even pretty.

  Then a slow sexy smile curved his lips and her body, already alert, quivered. “I thought about you today.”

  “Did you?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  And just like that, she didn’t feel so sore and tired anymore.

  He tugged her just a little closer, blocking her view of the bar with his broad shoulders. “How was your day?”