Uncle Plats

by Aqua Allsopp

  “Good to know. Thanks, Jim. Well, off again,” Carmen headed over to the lifts and was going up the mountain. Carmen stopped at about one p.m. for a quick bite which she had brought with her. She stopped at the top of the lift and watched the skiers go by while she munched on her energy bar. I am so happy. I really think this is where I want to stay. Hope it works out.

  Carmen could feel her body getting a little tired by the end of the last run but wanted to push herself a little. Her dad had taught her that you needed to push a smidgen above your last level to move on past your limitations. She decided one more run, then she would quit for the day. She had forgotten about Jim’s warning and the gates weren’t closed just yet, so she took Hyrup’s trail this time. She was weaving back and forth, feeling the burn in her thighs when she heard a rumble behind her. She ignored it, thinking it might be a plane passing over and kept on going. The rumble got louder, and she saw small balls of snow rolling down the hill around her on both sides. When her brain registered the warning, it was too late. She got caught in the deluge of snow roaring down the hill. Her skis lifted, and she was airborne, getting tossed head over heels in the surge of white death swirling around her. Her mind went back to what her dad had taught her about avalanches; keep breathing and make sure that one pole is up over your head if you can, because that may be the only way rescuers can find you. Panic began to set in. She knew her chances of surviving were next to none. She tried to push the panic down, and suddenly the movement stopped. There was a pocket of space left around her as the snow settled in. And she had managed to keep the pole upright. The sudden quiet was deafening. She knew she would probably die. She didn’t cry but focused instead on how her life had been, thinking about her dad, mom and her sister. The sadness almost overwhelmed her as she sat there, the snow pushing around her and the glare of the sun through the white starting to dim.

  Chapter 6

  Tristan rode the gondola up the mountain. Some of the most challenging runs were on this side of the mountain, and he knew that.

  Carmen was going up the hill as well today. He would miss her and her snarling if he went over on the side away from the Lodge.

  He reached the top and got ready to run the Bear Paw, one of his favorites. It was short, but extremely fast and steep, his kind of skiing. He glided down, snow billowing up around him. The nice thing about these slopes was there were few people on them and a guy could let himself go, just him and the mountain.

  He reached the bottom and stopped for a minute, taking in the cold air and the beautiful way the sun gleamed on the snow, how it sparkled like a thousand tiny diamonds. You’re waxing poetic dude. Where did that come from? He laughed at himself and headed over to the lift area, ready to try another run. He moved up and down the mountain like a well-oiled machine, back and forth, his skis falling into the rhythm of the hills as he soared down them like a free bird in the clouds.

  At the gondola after his last run, he heard the news. There had been a small avalanche on Hyrup’s, and an employee from The Lodge had not turned in her skis for the day. His heart lurched as he knew that Carmen was going to go up the hill today. Naw, it’s somebody else, he told himself as he waited impatiently for the bus to trolley him back home. God, I wish this thing could go faster. He knew that if he ran back, he would be in no shape to help with the search party, so he sat there, his heart beating quickly and his mind thinking of how awful it would be to die trapped in the snow.

  Finally, he got home and ran into the front entrance, where the staff were standing around, eyes full of worry and concern.

  “Oh, good, you’re here. The teams are in the dining room and are gridding out the run to begin the search. Get in there and help.” Louise grabbed Tristan’s coat. “Go get her. We’ll be praying for a safe recovery.”

  Tristan nodded and headed for the dining room. He was known to be one of the best searchers Aspen had, helping on over ten recoveries, both in the snow and in the summer.

  Carl nodded to Tristan, Blue sitting next to him. Blue was a German Shepherd, and one of the best rescue dogs in the Rockies. She had gone on so many searches. Tristan thought it was over twenty that she had assisted to safety. Blue wagged her tail as Tristan rubbed her ears.

  “What you got?” Tristan looked at Carl.

  Carl replied, “Well, the best we know from Jim is she went up to come down on Lud’s Lane, but never showed up at the bottom. Air flight reported a small avalanche down Hyrup’s but didn’t see any skiers in the fall. We’re hoping to find her fairly easily but it’s always a risk, you know.”

  “She”? Tristan got a lump in his throat. He knew who Carl was talking about.

  “Yeah, guess she just started here from what Louise told me. Name’s Carmen Reiner. Have you met her yet?”

  Tristan sighed, trying to keep his emotions under control. It was so much more difficult if you knew the person you were looking for. But, even if you didn’t it was hard. “Yeah, I’ve talked to her once or twice. Nice lady. Damn. We better get out there. Only about an hour left of daylight and you and I know how hard it is to go search at night.”

  Carl nodded. “You heard the man. Let’s get this done.” He pointed to Tristan. “You’re with us.” Tristan just nodded and grabbed his skis.

  It was getting dark and the wind was beginning to pick up making it more difficult to see where they were going. The search teams knew their job and spread out to their grids to search. The folks were carrying shovels, brooms and other supplies to assist the woman when they found her. Tristan sent up a small prayer. He really wasn’t a religious guy, but it never hurt to cover all your bases.

  Carl had given them the bottom of the avalanche, as that was common for someone trapped to be most likely found there. They set Blue loose and she began sniffing. They treaded as lightly as they could across the snow to keep from packing it down. Tristan thought he saw a piece of black metal poking out and called Blue over to sniff. She sniffed back and forth and then began to dig frantically at the snow, the men following suit with their shovels. As they worked the tip of a pole began to show, then the pole itself was uncovered. Tristan threw aside the shovel and began digging with his hands. Carl called to the team closest to them to come help and soon an arm and then a hand emerged. The searchers began the delicate operation of digging around the body, to prevent any tools from causing more injury. Several searchers backed off as they were packing the snow, making it hard to move. Soon, the coat was uncovered, and Carmen’s face was peeking out. Tristan carefully wiped the snow away and placed his ear over her nose. “She’s breathing!” he yelled.

  That put everyone into a flurry of activity. Someone placed oxygen on her face, and her body was uncovered. She opened her eyes as they were working.

  “Damn, I knew better,” she croaked, her voice weak.

  “Just keep that mouth shut and let us work.” Tristan grinned broadly and kissed her wet forehead. “You’re gonna be okay, you hear me?”

  Carmen nodded weakly.

  In another ten minutes the crew had her completely uncovered. Tristan lifted her in his arms and the group began shouting and cheering, happy that they had completed another save. Blue danced and barked at Tristan’s feet, acknowledging her part in the operation.

  “Let’s get you home and warm you up.” Tristan kissed her forehead again. Carmen thought that was a nice gesture as she began to feel drowsy again. She smiled to herself, glad to be alive and willing to let the bozo kiss her if he needed to. She’d set him straight later. She was too tired to mess with him just then. Once she was bundled in the sled, the group hurried her to her cabin. Bobbi met them there and guided Tristan to take her to the bathroom, where they could get her in the tepid water Bobbi had readied and warm her up. Tristan helped undress her. Bobbi let him as she was small and not as strong. It would be hard for her to move Carmen around. They got her in the tub and Carmen woke up again. Her eyes half closed, she muttered something about why Tristan was in her bathroom while she was taking a
bath, but then just reveled in the warmth and safety of her tub. She warmed up enough that they got her out of the tub and into some flannel pajamas and to her bed. In the meantime, Louise had brought over an electric blanket and Gus had started a roaring fire in her stove. The house was getting toasty by the time Tristan tucked her in. Carmen immediately fell asleep.

  Tristan pulled over the chair and sat next to her bed.

  “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on her. If I need anything I’ll let you know.”

  Louise hid a smile behind her hands as she ran them over her face. “Well, that’s fine. I would have stayed, but you can do it just as well as I can. There’s coffee in the pot and I’ll send over some stew if there any left for her to eat when she wakes up.” Tristan raised his eyebrows. And some for you, you big baby.” Everyone laughed. Tristan just grinned.

  The crew left Carmen in Tristan’s capable hands. Louise smiled to herself as she thought how protective he was of the young woman. I wonder…yeah, he’s in deep, he just doesn’t know it yet. She had Hank fix up some food for the two and went to the house to let Bud know about the search and rescue. He had been pouting because he couldn’t go out with his “damn broken ankle.” Louise smiled as she thought of how Bud liked to keep his hands in the town’s business and got jealous if something was going on that he wasn’t a part of.

  Chapter 7

  Carmen woke up later that night. She saw Tristan sitting in the chair, head back, legs stretched out in front of him. He was snoring softly. At least he doesn’t snore too loud. Like I would care, right? Although he was good to see after being in that snow. I’m not sure I would have made it much longer. I could feel myself slipping away. She lay there for a minute and felt herself sliding back to sleep. She turned over and drifted off.

  Tristan had heard her move in the bed but acted like he was asleep too, so she would go back to sleep herself. He had seen how tired people got after that type of trauma and he knew she seeded the rest. He stretched and got up to get a cup of coffee after he heard her soft gentle breathing and knew she had gone back to sleep. He rumbled around in the small fridge and heated up some stew. He appreciated Hank’s efforts and chowed down, not realizing how hungry he was.

  As he sat on the little love set, he thought about how scared he had felt knowing she was stuck under the snow. Those feelings just jumping out, a torrent of emotions, threatening to make him useless to the operation. The relief he felt when he saw her face was the same. He thought for a moment. Was he falling for the Ice Queen?

  The next morning shined bright and clear, no evidence of the drama that had transpired the night before. Carmen stretched lazily then her eyes popped open as she recalled what had transpired. She sat up looking for Tristan sitting in the chair, but he wasn’t there. She padded out to the front room, but he wasn’t there either. A note was taped to the front of her TV. “Gone to work. Louise says you’re to ‘keep your butt in bed and rest today. Work will still be there in the morning.’ I’d do as she said. She can be real hard on you if you don’t listen. Just saying. See you later.”

  Carmen didn’t want to admit that she was disappointed that Tristan wasn’t there. She wanted to thank him properly for helping to find her. Then she remembered vaguely how he was in her bathroom and…Naw, he wouldn’t do that, right? She remembered Bobbi was there as well, so she thought she’d better get the true story. She knew she wasn’t with it last night and didn’t want to cause waves where there was no need to.

  After getting dressed, Carmen was tired again, but plowed through the weariness to cross over to the Lodge and get some food. Hank was alone in the kitchen.

  “Well, you don’t look too bad for almost dying. Guess I better feed you though, so you can get to work. Hank chuckled at his own joke as he set aside some breakfast for Carmen. It was twice as much as she could eat, but she took it anyway, so she wouldn’t hurt his feelings. She realized that these people cared about her and wasn’t sure how to handle that. Her parents did teach her how to be polite, so she would go that route for now. She found a seat in the employee break room and started to eat. The food disappeared a lot faster than she usually ate. Guess almost dying does that to a girl.

  After breakfast she wandered over to the office to see if Louise was in. She was and the two sat for a few minutes, so Louise could fill Carmen in on what had happened the day before. Carmen told her part, then Louise filled in the blanks.

  “We were so worried. Don’t you ever do that to me again, you hear? I about had a heart attack.” Louise wagged her index finger at the young woman. “And so did Bud, and he hasn’t even met you yet. Which reminds me…you need to go introduce yourself. I’ll come by your cabin as you will be going home now to rest. See you about one p.m. and you had better look rested or I’ll know. We’ll go see the old grump together.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Carmen stood up. “I’m going home now. See you then.”

  Carmen stopped by the rental desk and said hello to Gus, then zipped through the dining room for a quick hug from Bobbi. She got home and plopped down on the couch, quite glad to be home. She was more tired than she realized. Pulling the afghan over her, she fell asleep.

  Someone was knocking on the door. Carmen was startled awake by the sound, thinking that her ex had found her again. She realized it was Louise as she looked through the curtain and got up to answer.

  “See, I told you that you needed to rest. Good. I’ll take you over to the house and fix you some lunch. Bud will be glad to meet you. Grab your coat and we’ll head out.”

  Carmen got her coat and the women crossed the lot to the owner’s home behind the cabins tucked in some trees. The house was a large log cabin with a wrap around porch. Smoke curled up into the air from a large stone chimney. A big picture window sported a huge stain glass scene of deer standing in the pines.

  As soon as they got in the front door, a gravelly voice hollered from the other room. The sound of crutches clunked across the oak flooring.

  “That you, Louise?” A bald head peeked around the corner with a big smile plastered on a chubby face.

  “Who else would it be, old man? Come into the kitchen and I’ll fix us some lunch.” Louise tugged on Carmen’s arm and lead her to the right into a huge kitchen with a long plank table that could seat a dozen in the middle of a wrap-around counter with modern appliances and another large window over the sink area.

  Carmen turned to the continued sound of crutches as Bud entered the kitchen. “You must be Carmen. Glad to meet you. Sorry for your accident yesterday. The mountain does not discriminate when it comes to life and death. And people don’t realize how fickle he is about that. I’m Bud, your nicer boss.” He held out his hand as Louise snorted about him being nicer. Carmen noted that he had a firm handshake. She liked him already. Bud motioned for her to sit as he did so himself.

  “So, where do you hail from originally?” Bud asked.

  “Here and there. Grew up in New York state and got wandering fever in my mid-twenties. Landed here. Not much more to tell.” Carmen tried to sound nonchalant but wasn’t sure if she pulled it off. Bud just watched her as she talked, nodding when she finished.

  “Gotcha. I was a rambling man myself until I came to Aspen and met the love of my life. Now, she’ll tell you that I am mean and cantankerous but it’s not true. Sweet as a lamb, that’s me.”

  Louise chortled as she set some roast beef and cheese on the table.

  “Don’t let him fool you. It took me many years to settle him down and make a decent man of him. He’d still be running all over the world without a penny to his name if he had his way.” She patted him on the back.

  Carmen could see that they loved each other very much. She felt a bit sad as she realized she never would have that kind of love in her life. She smiled as Bud looked closely at her, sizing up her situation by his intuition and not what she had told him. He could see trouble, and sadness, and yearning in those marvelous purple eyes. He would like to see less of all those things. S
ince he was known as quite a matchmaker in those parts, his mind was already whirling with eligible men who might fit the bill. He’d have to think about it a while, then start his machinations. Very few had escaped his grasp once he set his mind to a match. Louise looked at him through skeptical eyes as she knew what was going through his mind. They finished lunch and Carmen felt tired again, so she begged off and left for her cabin.

  On the way across the open lot, she saw Tristan coming her way. She steeled herself for his approach and tried to put a friendly smile on her face.

  “There you are. I knocked on your door a while ago, but no one answered.”

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “Louise and Bud invited me to lunch. He’s quite a character and I suspect a little devious. He and Louise have a great relationship. They’re fun to listen too. So many stories.”

  “Yep, they’re quite a couple, but good people. Give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. How are you feeling? Kind of tired?”

  Carmen just nodded.

  “I figured. The stress of being out like that puts a real strain on the body. Glad we didn’t have to put you in the hospital for frostbite or worse. You were pretty cold by the time we found you. I’ll have to introduce you to Blue sometime. She’s the one who found you first.”

  Carmen frowned slightly. “Blue? That’s a strange name.”

  Tristan laughed. “You think…oh, she’s dog, not a person. German Shepherd, actually. My best friend Carl’s dog. She’s trained for search and rescue. Quite a tracker and a sweet dog.”

  Carmen squinted her eyes with embarrassment. “Sorry. I couldn’t figure out why someone would be called Blue. My mistake. I’ve seen rescue dogs in action. They are amazing. If you see her before I do, thank her for me. I owe her a big bone or something.”

  “She’d like that. I’ll let her know. You look tired. I’ll walk you over to your cabin.”