by MG Braden
gone. She looked around to see if the skis or poles had fallen over and slid away.
Then it hit her. That rat! Rick had taken her skis. Surely he wouldn’t strand her up here, even if he
was angry. That was just stupid and dangerous. She looked in the bushes behind the cabin, to see if he’d
just tossed them aside to tick her off. Nothing.
“Well great. Now what am I supposed to do?” She went back inside the chapel to see if there was
anything that might help. Upon seeing the broken glass, water and crushed flowers she started to cry, but
then sucked it up immediately. You are better than this. Don’t let him get to you . She felt bad leaving the
place like this, but she couldn’t even find a broom. Everything was probably in the locked storage shed
she had seen behind the building. She tried that as well but since she wasn’t a lock picker that wasn’t
working either. Suppressing more tears, she sighed heavily. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to head down on
foot. If I get going now I might be able to beat the sunset.” Although she was talking to herself, it helped
her feel less anxious. The silence was slightly overpowering, so she kept muttering to herself as she
headed off down the slope.
Chapter Eleven
Daniel read the note again. “Can’t make dinner. Have to meet Rick, not sure how long. I’ll explain
later. Sorry. Cassidy.”
He knew he shouldn’t be as disappointed as he was, but he couldn’t help it. He hadn’t been able to
stop thinking about her all day. For the first time since Natasha’s death he wanted to let someone in. He
wanted to feel again. Last night after the hot tub, it was all he could do not to take her in his arms, kick
open the door and rush her to bed where he would make love to her all night long. Feeling it was too
soon, he’d settled for a chaste kiss at the door of her room. When she pulled him closer and really leaned
into the kiss it turned anything but chaste. Still, he’d known walking away was the right thing to do. He’d
thought there would be other chances. Even thought he may be ready to love again. He shook his head.
Good thing this happened now, before he really dived in. He read the note one more time.
“Daniel Robertson! What did you do to Cassidy?” Sandra startled him.
“What do you mean, what did I do? I didn’t do anything. She’s—”
“She’s checked out that’s what she’s done. Why would she do that?”
“She checked out? Wow. I mean... I had no idea. We had a great time last night, but...I just got a
note from her about meeting Rick.” He showed her the note.
“Rick? He came back? How dare he? Why would she go meet him? How is she going to explain if
she’s not here anymore?”
“I don’t know, Aunt Sandra. I guess that’s the way it goes.” Daniel shuttered his eyes against her
probing gaze. He knew Sandra would be concerned about him getting hurt.
“It’s not right, it’s...Hold on a sec, Daniel. Janice, the desk clerk, is waving at me. Please, wait here
for me, ok?”
He nodded and paced in front of the fire, then noticed he’d crumpled up Cassidy’s note, which he
still held in his hand. Throwing it into the fire, he watched it burn. He felt like he’d been burned, so why
not? Yeah, buddy, that’s a bit extreme. Her boyfriend is here and she wants to see him. What’d you
expect her to do? Daniel was angry. He couldn’t believe that jerk had come back. Or that, after the way
the guy had treated her, Cassidy still went to him when he called. Unfortunately, while it was a fact that
Rick was a jerk, he was also the jerk Cassidy had arrived with and had been in a relationship with for
years. There was no competing with history. Daniel hoped that their time together would have at least
shown her how she deserved to be treated. How I’d like to continue treating her.
“We have a problem.”
Daniel turned away from the fire and saw the agitation on Sandra’s face.
“What?”
“First of all, it was Rick who checked Cassidy out. She didn’t do it herself. I didn’t think she would
leave without saying goodbye, but...” she shook her head and continued, “Apparently he reserved the Log
Cabin Chapel for this afternoon and sent a boat load of flowers up as well.”
“Sounds very cozy for them. I guess he’s finally going to make it right with her.” He tried to make
sure his voice came out calm and even, as if he couldn’t care less, even though calm was the last thing he
felt. “Where’s the problem?”
“The problem is that Rick apparently talked our desk clerk into giving him access to the chapel
when it was supposed to be closed. The whole back run has been closed for a few days as we are trying
to do avalanche control back there. So far it isn’t stable and there have been reports of rumbling back
there this afternoon.” Sandra sighed, appearing frustrated. “To top it all off that damned closed sign keeps
falling off, so we don’t know how many skiers may be back there.”
“Didn’t the desk clerk tell Rick the run was closed?”
“Well she did, but I guess he was persuasive. I’ll be dealing with that later. Right now we need to
get someone up there to make sure they get out of there safely.”
“So send the rescue team. I’m sure they’re fine. How long does a wedding up there take anyway?”
He looked at his watch. “The happy couple is probably on their way home as we speak.”
“Who said anything about a wedding?” Sandra looked perplexed.
“Why else would he book the chapel and send up flowers? Anyway, I’m sure it’s all good.” He
paced again.
“No one has seen them leave. Their hired car is still waiting on them—I checked. I’m not saying
they are still up there, I don’t know. But, we need to make sure everyone is safe. The rescue team is
already dealing with some crazy snowboarders who thought it would be fun to run some jumps in another
closed and unstable area. As a result, there was a small accident. They are being brought down now.”
Sandra reached out to him and stopped his pacing with a hand on his shoulder. “Daniel, you work on the
rescue team part-time. You know this mountain. You know what Cassidy and Rick look like. Please, can
you go?”
He knew that the safety of the skiers and visitors to this resort was the most important thing. His
feelings aside he knew that he had to do the right thing. “I’ll go.”
Her eyes gaze flashed warmly at him. “You’re a good boy.”
He rolled his eyes. “Man. I’m a man now,” he said. As he walked away, under his breath, “...and
I’m not always so good.”
* * *
Cassidy grew colder. Her face was becoming wind chapped and she was tired. She tugged at her
foot one more time. With mounting frustration because she didn’t have a clue what to do any more, she
swore softly. Her foot would not come loose and the harder she tried the more it hurt.
After she’d left the chapel she found it was hard going because the snow wasn’t hard packed. This
run wasn’t used as often since the groomers didn’t come down the back run. According to the brochure
this allowed for those who wanted a more natural skiing experience. More natural experience my ass.
Looking back, she could still see the roof of the chapel so she knew she hadn’t gone very far. “Argh,” she
yelled out at the world.
With every step she’d t
aken her boot had sunk in to at least a foot of powder, sometimes more,
sometimes less. She’d decided to walk closer to the tree line thinking she might be able to find a long
branch or two to use as poles to poke ahead as she stepped to help her make her footing. Unfortunately,
shortly after she neared the tree line her step had sunk her knee deep, jerking her entire body forward at an
angle that caused her to twist and land oddly against a tree. The right half of her body was against the tree
with her right leg stuck about half a foot back. Her left foot was flipped over the top of the right and
planted another foot from that. She felt like she was playing a bad game of twister and tried to maneuver
herself upright. She’d been able to free her left foot, but her right boot seemed to be caught on something
under the snow. This is ridiculous. She shivered.
It was colder along the tree line, where the sun didn’t penetrate the tall stand of trees. As she looked
toward the run she could tell that the sun was dipping ever lower. It would soon be dark back here where
there were no lights marking the area. Ever more frustrated, she tried to push off of the tree to get closer to
where her foot was stuck. Maybe she could dig herself out. She succeeded only in burying the foot deeper.
The movement caused a greater shot of pain to run up her leg. Not wanting to make it worse, she stopped
struggling. Why didn’t she just stand Rick up? She could be getting ready for dinner with Daniel now.
Sweet, wonderful Daniel, who would never dream of abandoning her without skis at the top of a
mountain. The tears she had held back the whole time she dealt with Rick, and again at the top of the run,
now came out in a flood of hiccups and sobs.
The sobs tapered away quickly to some self-pitying sniffs as she watched the sky go darker. Every
once in a while she would tug on her leg to see if it would become magically unstuck. Each time the pain
would shoot up her leg and remind her why she shouldn’t do that. She could no longer feel her toes and
her fingers and face were going numb as well. She was dressed for spring skiing, not for long contact with
the snow. Therefore the cold was penetrating right through her suit. She knew she had to figure out a way
to get out of here or she might freeze to death. Racking her brain, she tried to recall anything about cold
weather or snow survival, but little came to mind.
A loud bang startled her. She looked around in panic when the bang was followed by a rumbling
noise. What the heck is that? The noise petered out and she relaxed. When she heard another bang with a
rumbling noise she became aware that it had actually been happening most of the time she’d been stuck
here. She’d been so busy worrying about everything else she hadn’t figured it out. They’re doing
avalanche control—it’s no big deal—they only do that on closed areas. I’m sure it’s not close to here,
even though it sounds like it. The rumbling carried on longer this time and it definitely sounded closer.
That’s it, I have to dig myself out of here. I cannot sit here all night and worry about all the sounds
I’m hearing. Though her fingers were stiff and cold Cassidy desperately dug around her foot. She had to
see if she could move the snow enough to find out what her boot was stuck on.
“I found her. I’ll let you know when we’re on our way down.”
The voice sounded like Daniel’s. It was so close, yet she couldn’t see him in the fading light. She
heard him ski in closer before she finally saw him. She’d never been so glad to see anyone and tried to
launch herself at him, as much as she could with her foot stuck. “Oh Daniel. Thank God. Thank you.”
Daniel pulled back and said, “What are you doing? Do you have an affinity for risking yourselves
and others?”
“What? No. I’m stuck. My foot is stuck. I’ve been trying forever to get it out.” Cassidy puzzled at
the tone she heard in Daniel’s voice. He sounded distant and cold. Then she heard the rumbling again and,
this time, it wasn’t her imagination that it was closer. He reached down through the snow and unbuckled
her boot, yanking her foot out despite her cries of pain.
“Are you nuts? My ankle could be broken!”
“Better a broken ankle than being buried alive in an avalanche.” Daniel’s walkie-talkie squawked
to life and he stopped to listen to the message. She watched him look around, up the hill and back down.
She wasn’t sure what he was looking for. How can he even see in this light? There were no lights back
here to reflect off the snow and it wasn’t late enough for the moon to be up. He squinted up the hill once
again and then spoke into the walkie-talkie. “We’ll have to take cover in the chapel. She’s injured and we
won’t make it down. I’m not sure anywhere else is stable. Keep looking for Rick.” He looked at her.
“You’ll have to get on the rescue board. We have to get to the chapel. Without a boot, and with that ankle,
you won’t make it on foot.”
“But...” She protested, and then heard the rumbling again.
“Get on the board, Cassidy. Now!” He lifted her up and strapped her on.
She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She was mortified that he had lifted her and was now trying
to haul her across and up a ski slope. How was he going to get back to the chapel? It was uphill and,
although it wasn’t that far, she was certainly no light weight. She could hear him grunt with effort as he
side stepped up while pulling her behind him. This was ridiculous. Surely they could get to the bottom
much more quickly than this? She tried to peer around Daniel and was surprised to see the chapel only ten
feet away. It amazed her that he was that strong.
“If you would stop moving this would be easier,” he grunted. A few small waves of snow went by
them, then trickled to a stop. Daniel dropped the board, unstrapped her, hoisted her over his shoulder and
all but ran the last few feet into the chapel, kicking the door shut behind him. “Get under the table.”
Cassidy didn’t argue. She did what she was told. The chapel shook before she heard the noise. The
sound of cracking and rumbling became urgent. Cassidy knew that the avalanche was upon them. Choked
with fear, she felt it hit the chapel, heard glass break, the entire building shaken to its core. It felt as if it
would come loose from the side of the mountain. The noise was so intense that it sounded like she was
trapped inside her own private wave at the ocean. The wall of sound flooded her senses, distracting her.
She could feel Daniel tucked in beside her, his arm around her as if to protect her. As the rumbling
continued, she tried to think happy, positive thoughts. She felt warmth for Daniel fill her heart. Once again
he had saved her. Comparing him to Rick would be like comparing apples and oranges. She wondered if
they were even the same species.
Chapter Twelve
The noise stopped. It was eerily silent. The building stopped shuddering, although it was still
creaking, which worried her. Daniel crept out from under the table. “Just stay here. I want to check and
see if we’re stable.”
While she knew she should stay put, her eyes narrowed and she contemplated arguing with him just
for the heck of it. He was being pretty demanding and rude. She’d definitely had enough of that for one
day.
“Well… there’s broken glass and flowers everywhere, as well as snow that
came through the
windows, but for the most part I think the inside is secure so you can come out,” Daniel said, reaching
down to help her.
Ignoring his outstretched hand, Cassidy crawled out from under the table as best she could with her
wounded ankle. She hobbled over to one of the chairs, turned it back upright and sat down.
Daniel continued to walk around the chapel. “Our problem is that we are surrounded by snow and I
don’t have anything in here to dig us out. On the plus side, I told the rescue team we were coming here so
I’m sure they will arrive as soon as they can to get us out.”
Putting her head in her hands, she was immediately overcome by cold and hunger, which warred
with the pulse of pain beating from her ankle. She wearily looked around the room. It sure looked
different than it had only a few hours ago. The snow had left a path of destruction, which overshadowed
the damage already done by Rick. The fire had died, the candles knocked all over the place. The warmth
had completely left the room in more ways than one. Daniel was still talking to her in strange, clipped
tones. He seemed very impersonal, as if she was a stranger.
“I’m going to get a fire lit. We have to keep warm. The fire will help melt the snow and, hopefully,
dry it out in here but there’s only so much firewood inside. I don’t know how long it will last.” Daniel
pulled some matches out of his ski pack, which had been wrapped around his waist. Shivering, she
watched him as he placed logs and kindling into the fireplace and set it alight—she hoped it would warm
up soon.
“Let’s get a look at your foot. I have my smaller first-aid kit with me, but I think there is a tensor
bandage in there.” He peeled back her sock, pressing gently on her ankle and foot in various spots. “As
far as I can tell, it is just sprained. The cold is helping to keep the swelling down a bit which is good for
now. I’m going to wrap it, but I don’t want to put the sock back on until it dries off. I’ll put it near the fire,
which is where you need to be too. Do you need me to carry you or can you make it?”
Cassidy almost stayed silent. She wasn’t sure she’d been able to say one word since he’d rescued
