Did he even love the real her?
Uncertainty and anger pounded in her temples as she climbed off the first lift. To the left, there were blue runs that would land her back at Two Creeks so she could have it out with Parker. To the right, the lifts to The Cirque.
Squaring her shoulders, Zoey turned right.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Parker
Luke hadn’t bothered to say goodbye before leaving for Snowmass. How would he take the news? Probably not well, but that was his business.
Parker had better things in mind. He pulled his phone out and texted: I’m on my way up now, Buttercup. I feel the need to kiss you breathless.
While he waited for her to answer, he ran downstairs to put on his ski gear. “I’m leaving!”
“Where are you going?” Mom called.
“Snowmass. I’m meeting Zoey at eleven.”
Mom peeked her head into the mudroom, eyes alight. “I’m pretty sure she’s having coffee with Luke. Jen told me she’s letting him down easy, because she already has a boyfriend.”
Parker couldn’t help but smile. Boyfriend—she’d called him her boyfriend. Then again, he hadn’t told his family, waiting for Zoey to talk to Luke. Leave it to his mom to find out on her own. “Yeah, about that…sorry you didn’t hear it from me, and I’m glad you’re happy, but maybe we shouldn’t gloat when Luke is having his heart broken.”
She snorted. “I heard Luke on the phone this morning, making plans for next week with some girl he met yesterday. Being rejected might sting a little, but he’ll never settle down. Zoey deserves someone who will stick with her, thick and thin. That’s you, kiddo.”
Yeah, it was. “Thanks. We won’t be long.”
“Take my car. The weather is turning.” Mom frowned, and glanced at the window, like she had yesterday. “I don’t like how the wind sounds. Tell Luke to come home, too. I think we’re in for a serious storm.”
Parker glanced out the window. A few clouds sped across the morning sky, but nothing boiled on the horizon. Still, his mom was almost always right about this stuff, having lived in Aspen her entire life. Storms brewed up fast in the mountains this time of year. “Will do.”
He hurried down the driveway. The wind was gusting and tree branches whipped in the breeze. Mom was right—a storm was brewing. Ski Patrol might even close the lifts before he made it to the resort. For once, he didn’t mind. Not being able to hit a trail meant more time curled up by the fire with Zoey at his side.
The drive to Snowmass took longer than he liked. Snow started to fall heavily before he made it out of downtown, and people were fleeing the mountain like Snowzilla was on his way. It appeared he was the only fool trying to get in rather than get out.
The parking lot had emptied by the time he made it to the resort, already late for his meetup with Zoey. He’d texted her twice to let her know, and to meet him at the café, but she hadn’t answered. He hoped that didn’t mean she was still hashing things out with Luke.
Luke’s Jeep was in the parking lot, though, and the Millers’ Mercedes was, too. He and Zoey must still be here. This could be uncomfortable, but what the hell. He was tired of waiting. He wanted to be with her right this second, and all he could hope is that his brother would understand. If Luke didn’t…too damn bad.
He scurried through the cold to Two Creeks, pulling his cap tighter onto his head as he went. The lifts were still running, but the temperature had taken a ten-degree drop since he left the house, and the snow fell steadily. Whoever went up the hill now was either crazy, stupid, or both.
The coffee shop was only half-full. It was usually standing room only at this time of day. He spotted Luke right away, lounging at a table near the back corner of the café. His brother was glaring into space, a mug suspended halfway to his mouth. Parker sighed. Someone was in a foul mood for sure. This wasn’t going to be easy. But where was Zoey?
He slipped his phone out—no reply. Great, I’ll have to do this the hard way.
He went to Luke’s table and sat. “Hey.”
“Zoey admitted she loves you. Pretty adamant about it, too.” Luke shook his head and smiled. “You won, bro. Nice work.”
“This wasn’t about winning.” Parker propped his elbows on the table, casual, as if hearing that Zoey said she loved him didn’t want to make him dance inside. “It was about making Miller happy.”
“And I think you will.”
Parker frowned at him. “Why are you being so cool about this? I thought you’d be a little irritated, at least.”
“Oh, I’m not irritated.” Luke chuckled in a self-deprecating way. “But it will be interesting to see how she handles seeing you after I told her about the bet.”
Parker’s blood ran cold. He leaned across the table, getting in Luke’s face. “You what?”
“It only seemed fair she should know.” Luke shrugged, although Parker could tell he was pissed about losing.
“And I told you she’d walk out on us if she knew.” Parker slammed a fist down on the table. The café quieted down and people stared, but he didn’t care. “Where is she?”
Luke made a face and Parker braced himself for bad news. “She, uh, she was pretty mad at me after that, and she left.”
Parker sat up straight and cocked his head with worry. “Where did she go?”
Luke spread his hands. “How am I supposed to know.”
“Surely you saw which direction she went. Her car is still here. Where. Is. Zoey?”
“She said she was going out, that’s all.”
Oh, Jesus. The car was still here…oh, God, she didn’t. “Did she take her board when she left?”
“Probably.” Luke shrugged. “I wasn’t exactly watching.”
Parker leapt to his feet. “You complete ass. There’s a storm coming in, and she went up alone. You just had to tell her about the bet to make yourself feel better, didn’t you? And now she’s up on the mountain without us.”
He went outside, his heart lurching unevenly at the thought of her out there. Please let her board still be here. Please let her board still be here. But the rack was empty. Snow swirled, and the wind howled between the buildings. Overhead, dark clouds hung low over the mountain. Zoey was out there, alone, in this.
Luke burst outside behind him. “Where do you think she went?”
“Where do you think?” Parker grabbed Luke’s collar and slammed him against the wall of the café, glad to have an outlet for his fear. “She’s up on The Cirque. What better place is there when you’re completely pissed and need a good run?”
“If that’s where you think she is, that’s where she is,” Luke said quietly. “You know her best.”
He let Luke go and ran to the Land Rover. His cheeks were already going numb. He had to find her, make sure she was okay. How much longer would the lifts run? He pulled his board and survival backpack out of the back. If she took a fall up there, all alone, it might be hours before Ski Patrol made the rescue attempt. In this weather, waiting hours would be too long.
He ran to the lifts flat-out, and footsteps padded through the snow after him. Luke caught up and hopped onto the Two Creeks lift with him. “We’ll find her.”
“We wouldn’t have to if it wasn’t for you!” Parker turned his back on Luke. “If anything happens to Zoey, I’m going to beat you unconscious.”
“And I’d deserve it,” Luke muttered behind him.
Chapter Thirty
Zoey
Zoey skated off the Sheer Bliss lift and made her way over to the surface lift that ran up to The Cirque. Clouds rolled in from behind the mountain, erasing her view of the higher peaks, even though pockets of sun still reached the trail. The wind whipped her hair around her face. When had it gotten so cold?
The lift guide waved her forward. There wasn’t another soul up here. “Little lady, the wind’s up some, so this trail isn’t the best unless you’re an advanced rider. You might want to take the scenic route back down, on Rocky Mountain High.”r />
Rocky Mountain High was the blue course leading down from the top of the mountain. It gave less advanced skiers the chance to come up high, without the daredevil ride back down. She’d taken it before, when she was first learning how to snowboard.
She was just about done with guys thinking they could decide her future. Who did he think he was? Was he this condescending to any of the guys who came up here? “Thanks, but I’m good. I’ve ridden Cirque lots of times.”
The man shrugged. “Be careful, then.”
Zoey gritted her teeth at his fatherly tone. He was only in his mid-twenties, max. “Will do.”
The surface lift pulled her up to the Cirque gate. This was it. She was really doing this. Her stomach fluttered as she peeked over the edge. She could do this. She could.
Zoey held her arms up to the sky, taking a deep breath of frigid air. She was done letting other people’s opinions dictate who she was supposed to be. She wasn’t a Barbie doll, or a girl who needed a guy to tell her what she wants. She had two arms, two legs, and a mind of her own.
God, it felt good to realize that.
Zoey threw her head back and yelled, “I’m unstoppable!”
Then she laughed, because it could be true, if she wanted it to be. To hell with Luke. To hell with hiding her real self at school. To hell with people who didn’t think she had a brain in her head. She was free, goddamnit, and it was time she started living like it.
She strapped in her boot. The back binding was a little loose, but it would hold. No excuses—she was doing this. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer to the Snowboarding Gods, then tipped over the edge.
The overcast skies made the path dim, but she let her board show her the way. It pulled her along, a lonely bird taking flight. The snow squeaked under her and she took a hard cut, squealing at the power of owning the entire trail. She could move however she wanted to. Wherever she wanted to. Goodbye frustration. Goodbye doubt. Today she’d be Zoey, snowboarding queen.
She let out another wild yell, laughing when snowflakes filled her mouth. Tree branches swayed in the wind, visible even as she zipped by. The world was so beautiful. So beautiful.
A hard cut here, a swift turn there, zooming between the trees, then off the trail, just because she could. She flew over moguls, laughing when she caught air. Once, she even made a quick grab. She’d have to show Parker that later—if she decided to speak to him again. Whether or not that happened depended on why he’d agreed to Luke’s stupid bet.
Snowflakes gusted out of her way as she flung herself down the steep hill about halfway down the course. Her board felt like an extension of her body, a perfect fit, and her hair streamed out behind her as she flew. Was this how Parker felt when he hit a jump? How Luke felt flying down the mountain?
The track twisted, and entered another copse of trees. Zoey checked her speed, and had to bank hard to miss a group of pines. She drifted out onto the main track, sliding farther than she intended. She turned her body, trying to get back to the other side, but a mogul popped out of nowhere. It was sizable, and uneven. She had no time to prepare, so Zoey softened her knees, anticipating the jolt.
She could do this. She wasn’t going to fall. Not today.
When she took air, though, the back fastening came loose from her board, leaving it dangling uselessly under her front foot. She flailed with her arms, coming down hard, and her board flew out from under her. Her front boot popped free of its bindings, and she fell back, slamming into the icy snow so hard, her breath whooshed out. Gagging and gasping for air, she tried to get purchase with her hands to stop sliding, but her body had a deal with physics—once in motion, a body stays in motion.
She was moving too fast and, in a cruel trick, the path veered into the trees, sending her careening into the trunk of a giant pine. She slammed into it with her shoulder, and her whole right side blossomed with pain. She cried out, dark spots dancing in her vision, as snow from its branches landed in clumps all over her body. The impact spun her around into another tree, and this time she wasn’t as lucky.
Her head clipped an aspen, and the world went black.
Chapter Thirty-One
Parker
“I’m telling you guys, the lifts are closed,” the park official said at the entrance to the Cirque lift. “It’s too dangerous up there.”
Parker growled in frustration. “I think my girlfriend went up there.”
“Pretty blonde, green ski jacket?”
He stepped forward into the man’s personal space in his desperation. “So she did go up?”
“Yeah, about forty minutes ago. I told her it wasn’t the best idea for less advanced riders, but she seemed determined to do it. About twenty minutes later, we had a call saying to close down.” The man looked up at the grey clouds boiling overhead. “I bet we close all the lifts, except those bringing people down, any time now.”
Less advanced riders? He said that to her? What an ass. “Look,” Parker snapped, “I don’t care what’s going on with the lifts. I’m going up, even if I have to climb the hill on foot.”
“Are you sure she didn’t come down already?”
Luke stepped in, putting a hand on Parker’s arm. “We’ve been texting her and she hasn’t answered. That’s a pretty good indication she’s up there, possibly in trouble.”
“If that’s the case, then Ski Patrol can look for her,” the man said stubbornly.
“Tell you what,” Luke said, all reasonable. “Why don’t I give you a report, so we can have them go look. Okay, Parker?”
He sounded so sensible, but Parker could see the gears turning in his brother’s head. He was about to do something reckless.
About damn time.
Parker nodded. “Okay. We’ll give a report, but they need to go up right away.”
“Do you have a radio?” Luke asked the official.
“In the hut.” He pointed to a little building behind the lifts. “Come on, you’re welcome to wait inside.”
The man started that way, but Luke waited five counts, before whispering, “Get ready!”
He threw the lift switch, and the man yelled, “Hey!”
It was too late, though. Parker grabbed a bar, skating on his board since he didn’t have time to buckle his back binding. As he was pulled up, Luke blocked the man from the control panel to give Parker a chance to make it up the hill before the official stopped the lift. Parker knew he’d probably face a wall of pissed Ski Patrol officers when he and Zoey made it down, but he’d take that risk. He’d do anything to make sure she was okay.
The lift pulled him up into the worsening storm. Even though it was barely noon, the sky was leaden gray and visibility was down to nearly nothing. Hopefully, he’d find her standing at the gate, or headed toward the newly running lift.
Knowing Zoey, he’d find her at the bottom, hands on her hips, telling him he was a complete idiot to worry, that she could take care of herself. Either option was fine with him.
He let go of the lift at the top of Cirque. No sign of Zoey. Okay, either she took the lift back down, or she took the trail. Worry made his hands shake as he skated to the edge at the gate. No matter what, he’d run the trail, in case she was down there and needed him.
He tightened his bindings as far as they’d go without cutting off circulation, then stood and tipped over the edge. The path was dangerous, covered with fresh powder. He slipped more than once, staying on his board by sheer will. He took the run a little slower than he normally would, so he could stare into every patch of trees. With each turn, he’d slow even more, peering through the blowing snow.
No sign of her. Yeah, she was totally at the bottom of the hill, worrying about him now. He had to believe that, or he’d go crazy. He took a sharp turn, jumped an ugly mogul that jarred his teeth, then skidded to a hard stop to rub his eyes.
There, on the side of the hill, was Zoey’s snowboard, with the back braces broken and hanging loose. Her hat was a few yards below it, stuck to the ice.
>
No sign of Zoey.
His knees went weak with terror. Oh, God, where was she? Why was her board here, without her? Was she hurt? Was she…
Stop. Just stop. Think this through, and you’ll find her.
Parker forced himself to be still and listen. The wind made whistles and wails in the trees. Snow scrubbed against his cheeks and ice had built up on his eyelashes, but it all came in second to the worry pounding in his chest. He needed a sign, something to tell him where she ended up.
He skated slowly down to her board and picked it up. Six feet away, there was a dent, then a skid mark down the mountain in the snow. It headed into the tree line. She was in the woods.
Parker bent over and unfastened his board. Standing Zoey’s board upright, he forced the tail into the snow, then did the same with his, making an X sticking up. The Ski Patrol would recognize that as a distress call.
“Zoey?” he yelled, jogging into the woods. “Zoey? Baby, where are you?”
There, to his right…was that a girl? Or just a drift piled next to a tree? The branches swallowed what little daylight was left, and he could barely make out the marks in the snow. They sailed down into a thick copse. He ran to it—snow had come free from the pine’s branches, and the marks had changed course. She must’ve hit the tree, and spun away.
He turned…and there she was, lying immobile in the snow, limbs flung out awkwardly.
“Zoey!” He raced to her and dropped into the snow at her side.
Terror turned into a live thing, clawing its way into his back. She was so still. He couldn’t even tell if she was breathing, and he held his breath, too. There was a cut on her forehead, and blood streaked down her cheek. Her arm hung funny, like it had been broken in her fall.
Praying she was alive, Parker ripped off his gloves and touched them to her neck. He let out a long sigh—there was a pulse and her skin, while cold, wasn’t frozen.
Okay, he could deal with this. She was alive, and that’s what mattered. She probably had a concussion and at least one broken bone, which meant he shouldn’t move her. The temperature was dropping so fast, though, and who knew how long it would take for the Patrol to find them?
Defying Gravity Page 16