Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection

by Crowne, K. C.

  Lindsay and Angela were both taking photographs for the family. They planned to put together a family keepsake album the week after the wedding.

  All guests arrived on time, so it was easy to direct them to their seats at the lodge. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful. The bride and her party were stunning dressed in extremely expensive designer gowns and jewels.

  After the ceremony, a formal lunch was served in the dining room at the resort, as planned, while the lodge was transformed into a dance floor and reception area. A DJ who had a list of the family and guest’s favorite songs was set up against a wall, and the room was perfectly decorated to match the ceremony.

  Now that the ceremony had ended, it was time for the activities to begin. Guests who wanted to ski with the bride and groom changed into ski gear after lunch. Others were escorted to the lodge for the party. Both bars at the dining room and the lodge were opened and packed. Dax, Cole, and Brad were running around like madmen trying to keep everyone happy and to making sure everything was running smoothly. I couldn’t have asked for a better family to work with.

  Hailey and I also changed into ski attire to lead a bunch of so-so skiers down the mountainside. Harley took a more experienced group up, and they would be coming down the steeper part of the mountain situated about one hundred yards from the slope we were using. We also had tubing for the kids, and several of Harley’s staff was running that activity.

  I took up one group and Hailey took the second group, but more and more people decided they wanted to try their hand at skiing. I didn’t like the fact that we only had two guides, especially since we had several children in our groups. I needed more help and another good ski guide.

  Harley was busy on the other slope, so I couldn’t ask him. Who knew when he would return? We had a big gathering waiting at the bottom of the lifts for their turn to go up. I needed to find Brad or Dax.

  I told the group I was going to find another guide for us. They seemed fine with that, but I hurried as fast as I could. I was anxious when the guests were just standing around. Neither Brad nor Dax were anywhere to be found. Only the two bartenders and a server were inside the lodge.

  Shit!

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Dax’s number, and he answered after the first ring. “Hello?”

  “Dax, I need your help. Or someone’s help. We’ve got too many skiers for just Hailey and me,” I informed him anxiously.

  “Where’s Harley?”

  “He took a group to the more advanced slope.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right up there. I can take a group,” he told me.

  “You?” I asked him surprised.

  “Umm, yeah. I grew up at a ski resort, ya know? I’m a pretty good skier, actually.”

  “Okay. You just never mentioned skiing. I didn’t know.”

  “It’s cool,” he replied. “Oakley?”

  “What?” I answered quickly.

  “Stop stressing. I can hear it in your voice. Everything is fine. I’m in the dining room helping to set up the dinner buffet and cake table. My mom can take over. Give me five and I’ll be there.”

  “Okay, thanks, Dax. I really appreciate you, you know,” I told him.

  “I know. Hang on and I’ll be right there,” he said and hung up.

  I went back outside to the group just as Hailey was bringing her group back down. I asked her to take the second group for me so I could wait for Dax. Everyone seemed happy, so I was okay. But I wouldn’t stop stressing until I had every single skier on the mountain.

  The five minutes seemed like a century. Maybe more. I maintained my big, fake smile, but I wasn’t happy until I saw Dax’s truck pull into the lot.

  He hurried out of his truck, grabbed his poles, and quickly strode toward me. He had goggles hanging around his neck and was dressed in an orange and black ski outfit, heavy gloves, a scarf, and a ski mask. Not too shabby for five minutes.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked when he reached me.

  “Take up the next group?”

  “For you, anything.” He winked.

  I introduced Dax to the skiers, and we separated the remaining group into two smaller ones. It worked out perfectly, and I took in a deep breath as Dax and his group rode the lifts up the slope. I wanted to watch Dax skiing, but as soon as his group jumped off the lifts, it was our turn to board.

  I thought about how perfect Dax was for me as we rode the lifts up. Such a manly man who was considerate and kind. Someone who would always have my back and take care of me when I needed him. Not to mention, he could ski. It just didn’t get much better than that.

  For a quick second of my daydream while riding on the lift, I had a glimpse of a future with Dax. I could see myself getting old with him. I’d never met anyone like him before and probably would never again.

  Hailey, Dax, and I led groups on the slopes for the next several hours. It was exhausting, but luckily the groups got smaller and smaller until we only had about ten people left, eight adults and two kids.

  Normally, I could handle a group of that size on my own. I told Hailey she could take a break, then go and make sure everything was okay everywhere else since I couldn’t do it. I looked to Dax before I took the small group up.

  “You can go do something else if you need to,” I told him. I secretly hoped he would choose to stay with me. And, he did. I was so happy. Finally, we could spend a little time together, even if it was shared with ten others.

  “Come on, let’s both go. We got another hour until dinner,” Dax said.

  All twelve of us jumped on the lifts and headed once again up the mountainside. Once on top, we sent the more experienced skiers down on their own. About half the group was left to go down with us.

  The kids wanted to go down by themselves. With their parents’ permission, I told them to go ahead but to use their poles and take it slow. I didn’t want any broken bones. It looked like they were doing fine, so I sent down the remaining three adults and Dax and I followed behind.

  Dax maintained his speed perfectly to stay right by my side the entire ride down the slope. For such a large, muscular man, he was surprisingly agile. He moved with a grace that defied his size, and I found myself falling farther over the edge for him.

  We laughed and ribbed one another about which of us was the better skier as we raced down the slope. When we reached the bottom, the kids begged to go up one more time.

  “Okay, just once more. I’m starving,” their mom said, her smile sleepy.

  I was happy to have one more chance to spend some time with Dax before we had to go to dinner, even though I’d already decided I was going to sit with him to eat. We all jumped on the lifts and headed up the mountainside. I sat beside Dax, and he reached over and took my gloved hand in his own. I scooched closer so I could feel his warm body against mine. All of the other guests were in front of us, so I nabbed a quick kiss.

  Dax pressed his warm lips to mine. His tongue found mine, and we kissed the entire way up the mountainside.

  When we reached the top, I looked into his eyes and smiled at him.

  I was falling hard.

  Oakley

  One couple who was with us requested a little harder of a slope than the last time around. They weren’t advanced enough to go to the slope Harley was working, but they could move on to a more intermediate downhill experience.

  Dax offered to take them over about twenty-five yards where the snow hadn’t been trampled down yet, making it a faster slope. If they could maneuver the smoother snow, then they could move to Harley’s more advanced slope.

  “Harley’s a good instructor,” I heard Dax telling them.

  Five of the guests were a group of friends skiing together, so I sent them down our regularly used run first. I watched as they took to the hillside well and were okay to continue down on their own.

  That left me with two children, a boy about six-years-old and a cute girl who told me she was eight, plus their mom.

  “
When can we go?” asked the girl excitedly.

  “As soon as this group makes it at least halfway down,” I answered. “So we won’t run into them if they stop.”

  “Okay,” the girl agreed impatiently.

  I smiled at her response. The little girl reminded me of myself at that age. I was so eager to learn to ski.

  As I waited for the first group to get further down the slope, the air seemed to grow oddly still, and everything went eerily quiet. Birds singing in nearby pine trees were suddenly silenced. That’s odd, I thought, looking around. None of them seemed to notice the silence, but it was all I could hear.

  I looked at Dax, who was busy talking with his skiers. He didn’t seem to notice anything unusual either. I thought my ears must have popped with all of the ups and downs of the day and that it was just me. I shook my head, trying to clear my ears, but it didn’t work. Something felt off.

  Then I heard a noise, faint at first, but it was definitely there: a crackling sound.

  As I turned to try and pinpoint where the sound was coming from, a thunderous clap pierced the air. I gasped and faced the monstrous sound. A deafening rumble echoed across the landscape, and the ground started to move under our feet.

  Eyes wide, I looked up just in time to see the snow at the top of the mountain let loose, falling straight at us. It happened so quickly I didn’t have time to panic. Faintly, in the midst of all the noise, I heard Dax yelling and pushing his guests to the side.

  “Oakley, get over!” he was screaming and waving his free arm. “Move now!” he bellowed when he glanced over his shoulder and saw me frozen in my position.

  Dax’s voice woke me up. I shook my head and moved quickly. My first thought was of the five skiers I had already sent down the mountainside. I looked in their direction and saw they were most of the way down. They had to have heard all of the commotion, so I hoped they would move to safety.

  I didn’t have time to yell to them. I turned and looked at the children and screamed for the mom to grab her son, who was closest to her. She was staring wide-eyed at the rapidly descending rush of snow.

  “Mrs. Baker!” I shouted to get her attention. “Grab Adam!”

  She looked at me, understood, and grabbed her son. I quickly picked up Marcy, the little girl, and reached the mom in two fast sweeps to push her on her skis from behind. I dug my own skis into the snow to create some sideways momentum for all four of us. Moving in the opposite direction than Dax, I somehow shoved all four of us quickly enough to avoid the rush of tumbling snow which sped by us.

  I put Marcy down and bent over, hands on my knees. I sucked in a huge breath of relief and tried to calm myself. My guests needed me to remain calm. Mrs. Baker was silently weeping, holding on to both of her children.

  I nodded my head at her. “Great job moving out of there,” I told her. “You’re all going to be okay.”

  She nodded and hugged her kids even tighter. I didn’t blame her. I couldn’t imagine how scared she must have been for her children.

  That was a close one, I thought, looking in Dax’s direction.

  I couldn’t see Dax past the massive drift of snow that had taken over our slope. Before I’d pushed off, the last thing I’d seen was him and his two guests quickly skiing out of the way.

  Dax was strong. Stronger than me. I was closer to the center of the drift. If I made it, I was certain he’d made it. I tried not to panic. I didn’t want to upset the guests any more than they already were.

  I wasn’t sure what to do.

  During high school, I’d taken avalanche safety protocol training. But that was ten years ago, at least. Basically, we’d learned that avalanches are extremely hard to predict, especially in areas where they are uncommon. Plus, as the instructor had said, things happen quickly and the best thing that anyone can do is not to panic.

  Most of my training involved learning the signs of an avalanche risk and then what to do if I got stuck in one. I hadn’t seen any of those risk signs, obviously. Not to mention, there’d never been an avalanche at Hunter’s Mountainside Ski Resort. I’d made sure to ask Harley when we’d had our meeting about the outdoor activities. He assured me that one had never occurred in the history of the resort.

  “What should we do?” Mrs. Baker asked me.

  I looked toward the lifts. We could ride the lifts back down the slope. But they seemed too far away from my position to chance moving. I decided to stay put and wait on Dax. I didn’t want to risk the children skiing down the mountainside or to the lifts in these conditions. For now, we seemed out of danger and I thought it best to stay where we were.

  “I’m not sure about the stability of the snow at this point,” I explained to Mrs. Baker. “I think we should wait for Mr. Hunter and the other and go to the lift together as a group. I don’t think we should chance skiing down the mountainside right now.”

  Mrs. Baker nodded in agreement. I was relieved she’d calmed down, resulting in calmer children.

  But how long were we supposed to wait for Dax? He had his own guests to take care of. Maybe he couldn’t reach us. If the snow is too thick and loose, it could be too dangerous for him to try.

  I looked towards the lift. Maybe we should start toward it?

  “What about calling 911?” Marcy asked, wide-eyed.

  “That’s a good idea,” I told her, thinking of calling Brad. “Maybe one of the Hunters can come up here with a snowmobile?” I thought out loud.

  I reached into my zipper pocket for my phone and first tried Dax’s number. I wasn’t sure if he had his phone, but I needed to know he was okay.

  Quickly, I realized that I had zero service. “Shit!”

  “What?”

  Realizing I’d sworn in front of the children, I cringed. “I don’t have any service,” I informed them, frowning. I looked at Mrs. Baker. “Do you have a cell phone?”

  “Yes,” she replied, digging it out of her pocket. “No service either,” she said, holding the phone up in the air.

  I sighed and looked at the lifts again. We’d been up there for a while, and I hadn't heard any more crackling or swooshing sounds of moving snow. It might be worth it to try to get to the lifts. It was time for me to make an executive decision.

  Just as I was about to move my group, I heard a voice faintly calling my name. I looked behind me. Dax! He was a sight for sore eyes, and relief flooded through them. As soon as I saw him, everything seemed to be alright again.

  “Oakley,” Dax yelled as he maneuvered the loose, rough snow. He was heading our way slowly but steadily. When he reached us, breathing heavily, I could see the look of concern in his eyes. I wanted to throw myself into his arms but refrained from doing so because of the guests.

  “Oakley, Mrs. Baker, I’m glad you guys are okay,” he said, looking from me to the family.

  “We’re glad to see you too,” Adam said. He had a huge grin on his face as if Dax was Superman coming to save the day. That made me smile, too.

  “We’re okay,” I told Dax. “What happened to your guests?”

  “That side of the mountain didn’t get covered with snow. I was able to take them halfway down and then work my way back up to get to you,” he answered.

  Dax’s concern for me was refreshing.

  “I knew you would come and save us,” I acknowledged, blushing.

  The thought of him risking himself to come back up for me made my insides warm. In that minute, I told myself I’d been a damn fool to push this man away, and that if he gave me the chance, I’d hold onto him as long as I could.

  But now wasn’t the time for romantic declarations. We had to get ourselves and these guests safely off the mountain.

  “What now?” I asked, getting serious again.

  Dax looked around us. “We can't go back the way I came with the kids. It’s too risky.”

  “The lifts?” I asked.

  “That might be our best bet,” Dax agreed, looking at the lifts, which were about twenty-five yards from us. “Let’s go
,” he said, “slow and steady.”

  A loud whooshing sound rang out and I froze. “What was that?” I asked, looking at the snow under my feet.

  “Stop!” Dax shouted.

  We all froze in our tracks. There was an even louder noise and I knew we were in trouble. The ice was shifting under the snow we were standing on.

  I looked at Dax. His eyes were wide as he watched the ground move underneath us.

  “Dax?” I asked, trying not to panic.

  Dax

  I couldn’t believe what was happening. In the thirty-two years I’d lived on the mountain, nothing like it had ever occurred. Not only did we have a loose snowdrift evolve into an avalanche, now the ice under the snow was cracking and shifting as well. Right under our feet.

  Even though we’d never had an avalanche on the mountain, we’d had to take training to get insured and to get our business license from the state. You could never have enough safety certifications in a business like this. I tried to calmly yet quickly remember my training.

  If we didn’t move, the ice would break under our feet, resulting in an even bigger catastrophe. The ice tumbling down the mountainside would be more deadly than the loose snow of the last avalanche. The ice would kill us.

  “Move slowly. Step lightly,” I whispered. I didn’t yell or panic. I didn’t want to scare anyone. But we needed to move away from this cracking ice. “Toward the lifts. Start skiing,” I calmly told the group.

  As we were slowly moving, there was another sound directly in front of us on the downward side. I’d never heard a sound like that one, a huge slab of ice under the ground scoured over another slab of ice. The grinding of the two slabs was like metal grinding over metal. It was ear-piercing.

  I could see a fissure beginning to form, and the loose snow was being pulled into the ever-widening crack the sliding ice slabs were creating.

  Fuck.

  The ice under our feet began to shift toward the fissure. I felt it rumbling as it slowly moved.

  “The ground is moving!” Adam shrieked.