Snowfall

by Carolina Valdez

  By the time she’d finished her rounds, the rest of the crew had arrived, and she left to teach her first class of the day on the bunny slope.

  By noon, she was starving and tired. Her emotions after going down Satan’s Domain and the conflict over Jean being here had drained her of energy. She desperately needed food. Ellie and Le Roy were sitting at an open table in the dining hall, but she carried her tray to a separate table for two because she wanted to be alone, wasn’t up to talking to people. Riley settled her tray just as Jean slapped down his across from hers. Before she could protest, he pulled out her chair and seated her.

  She couldn’t hold back a long sigh, regret that she couldn’t just let go and respond to him mingling with irritation. “Can’t get rid of you, can I, Jean?”

  From the corner of her eye, she noticed Ellie watching, but was forced to turn her attention to Jean when he asked, “You seeing someone, O’Ryan? Paul, maybe?”

  Surprised, she asked, “What makes you think that?”

  “Oh, I guess it’s the way he looks after you.”

  “He’s patrol leader, and that’s his job. If you’d been here longer, you’d have seen he does that with each of us. Fact is, he’s married. Happily.”

  “Then why am I getting the cold shoulder from you? We’ve been friends a long time.”

  “Were friends.”

  His brows grew together in a puzzled frown. “What?”

  She suddenly realized he didn’t have a clue what he’d done to her, how deeply he’d hurt her, had scarred her as much as the surgery on her knee. She pretended to check her watch. “I can’t talk about this now. I have a gifted skier I’d like you to evaluate. Sandy Myers is four. Her parents ski, but have never competed. They’re here to find out if she’s as talented as they think she is. Come to her lesson about two o’clock? Beginner’s slope.”

  “I’d love to.”

  * * * *

  She was standing with little Sandy’s parents and chatting when Jean skied down to them, his skis tossing up a graceful swirl of soft snow as he pulled up. He clicked the quick-releases on the boards, stepped out of them, and stuck his skis and poles upright into the snow.

  Fighting the glow Riley had always felt when he approached, especially when he was on skis, she introduced Jean to Sandy’s parents.

  They were nice people, happy to meet the accomplished skier, but not gushing or demanding.

  Sandy was dressed in a pink ski outfit with white trim. Her knit cap didn’t cover all her long blonde hair and it curled along her neckline and below her ears. She smiled when Riley said, “This is Mr. Merseau, Sandy. He’d like you to ski for him.”

  He crouched beside Sandy in the way he’d always had with kids, putting his tall body at their level. “Can you show me how you’ve learned to stop? It’s fun, isn’t it?”

  The girl nodded and performed for him.

  As he watched, Jean said to Riley, “I see what you mean. Great balance, a wonderful feel for her skis. As if they’re just an extension of her body.”

  “Look,” Sandy cried, and skied slalom style for a few yards.

  “Fantastic,” Jean said.

  Riley’s heart opened up to the girl. “No one taught her that. She’s figured it out for herself.” Someday, Sandy, you just might do that in the Olympics.

  To the parents, Jean said, “Your daughter has great potential. If you agree and she enjoys it, you might consider regular lessons for her. But I wouldn’t push her to meet your expectations of her abilities. Let her ski because it’s fun. In time, let her watch kids compete, then if she thinks she’d like to do it, let her try.”

  Riley added, “While you’re here, I’d be glad to give her some free lessons after I’m off work. Just for a few minutes since she’s so young. We’ll make it fun.”

  The Myers thrilled when Jean opened a small box and showed Sandy his colorful medals and ribbons.

  After they’d left, Riley said, “I thought—”

  “That I didn’t bring them.” His voice dropped in volume. “I wasn’t interested in Gina Roberts or anyone else seeing them. I wanted you to see them. Now you have. I’d like to eat dinner with you and catch up on your news.”

  For a hair’s breadth of a second, she believed him, then she didn’t. Nothing explained why she hadn’t heard from him once he’d learned her career as a champion had ended. Even if he was married, and cared about her only as a friend, he should’ve at least called her dad to find out how she fared during her recovery.

  And he should have let her know he was coming to Angels Resort.

  She shook her head. “Sorry about dinner. I have paperwork to finish tonight for the boss.”

  “Maybe another time?”

  She said nothing. Did not respond even when he suddenly leaned down, cradled her face in his gloved hands, brushed his lips across hers, and teased her mouth open with his tongue. For a moment, she responded, tasting him, enjoying him. Then she suddenly withdrew and shut her mouth.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” He closed the medal case, slipped it into a jacket pocket, then picked up his skis and walked away.

  Chapter 7

  Afterward, still rattled by that familiar, earth-shattering kiss, Riley took inventory of their supplies in the First Aid/EMT room with Ellie, who surprised her with a question.

  “You’re such a marvelous skier that I guess it’s natural for the crew members to wonder why you stopped competing. Feel like talking about it?”

  For a moment, Riley felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. Then she shook off the feeling because her team members were closer than most crews. They dealt with life-threatening situations, and there was no reason not to share what this young woman wanted to know.

  “I’m really tired today. Mind if we sit down?”

  “Not at all.”

  “I don’t talk about it much because it was the worst three years of my life. I think it’s time you all understand how lucky I am to be able to ski at all. And why I’m afraid of the double-black.”

  “I didn’t mean to push you into something uncomfortable.”

  “That’s okay. I’m ready to do this and you all deserve to know. Let me get a cup of coffee. Want one?”

  Ellie nodded.

  They sat in the staff lounge, cradled the hot cups of brew, and sipped before Riley spoke.

  “After winning the bronze, my skiing improved over the next three years until I was at the level Jean-Claude is today. I’d medaled every time I’d competed. Won gold at World Cup. As the Olympics neared, I was considered a done deal, a shoe-in to win the women’s giant slalom, especially since my main competitor had retired and the Canadian silver medalist when I won bronze was injured and couldn’t compete.”

  “That’s a ton of pressure,” Ellie said.

  Riley nodded. “It was, but I was skiing superbly and led in every qualifying run at the Olympics. Then, on the run that counted, I crashed and burned. All I remember about it is the pain, the terrible bone-searing pain. And me crying and whining like a baby while a blur of coaches and paramedics swirled around me. What I saw when I was emotionally and physically well enough to watch it on video was an arrogant, cocky, overconfident woman who lost focus the minute she slammed through the starting gate. I lost all control, tore up the course flags in an erratic deadly speed I couldn’t handle. Midway I flew off course and crashed into a fence.

  “Coach Minuchin told me the quick-release on my left ski failed, sending my leg into an unnatural position when I landed. It shredded my left ACL and destroyed any chance to ever compete at that level again.”

  “My God.”

  “Yeah. Two years of surgeries, physiotherapy, and a personal trainer brought me back, but not to Olympic standards. The terror I developed for doing Satan’s Domain, which is far less dangerous than training runs for the Olympic and World meets, sealed that deal. Despite my trainer’s encouragement, I made up my mind not to ever compete again.”

  Ellie gave Riley’s forea
rm a gentle squeeze. “Jeez, I am so sorry, Riley.”

  Riley drew in a deep breath. They might as well know all of it. “Some of my pain was because Jean and I had been going out since high school, and were really, really close. I thought we had a future together, but we’d gradually drifted apart. We saw each other less and less due to things in the sport over which we had no control. He had to have known about my accident, but this is the first I’ve heard from him since I was injured. I’m having trouble adjusting to the shock of him being here.”

  “Well, his face sorta glows and softens when he looks at you when you aren’t watching.”

  “Really? That’s surprising. I thought we were a go, but he married after I was out of the hospital and home again.”

  “No wonder he didn’t contact you.”

  Riley shrugged and stood. “I always saw her as a seductive bitch. They divorced a year later.”

  “Man, I wouldn’t get involved with him again.”

  Riley held out her hand for the other woman’s cup, did a quick wash of the two, and set them in the dish drainer to dry. “Do me a favor and call in the crew, please? We don’t need Paul.”

  * * * *

  Once everyone had assembled, Riley said, “I could check the schedule and find out who was careless with our coffee maker and, believe me, I will if this happens again, but we’re all adults, so I’m just going to call your attention to a small problem we all need to avoid in the future.”

  Fact was, she had checked the schedule and knew Le Roy was the culprit. She had seen a sheepish look flash across his face, and knew he realized he was the one who should have been dressed down. That was enough for her. At least this first time.

  The door opened.

  “Ah, here’s our leader. Hi, Paul,” Riley said. She poured a black coffee for him and gave him the floor.

  Paul said, “If you’re new, you’ve heard of the New Year’s Eve midnight ski with torches. It works this way—Sam has arranged guards to be sure the guests remain only on the open trails. Be sure your radios are on as we’re on call for emergencies. We’ll man the First Aid room two-at-a-time, probably in forty-five-minute stretches. Check the schedule, because if there are no emergencies, each of you should enjoy at least one torchlight run. You get to go to the head of the line.”

  He smiled as they clapped and cheered.

  “Fifteen minutes before closing, the events coordinator will announce the end of the runs, and they stop anyone getting on the lift. The lift delivers the last load of guests, and after those skiers go down, they’ll reverse the lift so the guards and those giving out the torches can get back to base camp.

  “Some of them may wish to ski down, so your job is to wait until they have. Signal me and I’ll turn on the lights on that trail so you can clear it. Be sure you get your asses here at base camp before the lights go off.”

  “I think I’ll take a torch with me just in case,” Le Roy said.

  “Great idea,” Paul added.

  Spirits high, they laughed because this was always an upbeat affair.

  Paul fielded questions, and ended with, “Just a pleasant reminder that it’s midweek and the indoor pool and spa are open only to us from six to eight tonight. Now get back to work.”

  They clapped and cheered again.

  As they filtered out of the room, Rodolfo rubbed one shoulder. “That nice, hot spa is going to feel super good on this. I think I sprained it a little in the rescue.”

  “Our good deed threw off our exercise schedules, didn’t it?” Riley said. “I need to do laps, then get in the spa and relax.”

  Chapter 8

  In the women’s locker room, Riley undressed and slipped into her bikini. The scar on her leg was beginning to lose its redness, but it was still thick and ugly. They’d all seen it before. Until now, they just hadn’t known it was why she’d stopped competing. After pulling on a thick, white terrycloth robe and sliding into flip-flops, she opened the door and stepped into the pool area.

  The room was warm enough. The pool where Le Roy and Rodolfo were doing laps would be eighty degrees. That was warm enough for some, while maybe too warm for heavy exercisers. Their crew would be swimming to relax, not break world records, so the temperature would be fine.

  The underwater lights of the pool enhanced the mystical feeling of the bluish water. It gave off a faint chlorine smell, reminding Riley of months of workouts to recover from her injury.

  From behind her, Ellie said, “Oh, shit,” under her breath.

  “Make that a double,” Maria echoed.

  Something moved near the shallow end, and Riley discovered the reason for the expletive. She would have said it herself if she’d been the first to see what had triggered it.

  Gina lay stretched out on a chaise at the shallower end of the pool. A small bikini in a bright Hawaiian print displayed her voluptuous figure to perfection.

  What irritated Riley the most about her presence was having seen her around the resort every day and evening hanging onto Jean-Claude’s arm while he looked down at her, smiling. In Riley’s eyes, Gina was just a blonde version of the temptress Margot.

  The door to the men’s dressing room flew open, and Paul appeared, dressed in Hawaiian surfer shorts that ended about four inches above his knees. He had a white resort towel hanging around his neck.

  He strode up to Gina and spoke to her quietly.

  Riley smiled as the interloper’s face turned lobster red, and she rolled off the chaise, grabbed her big towel, and stormed off through the women’s lounge.

  “Thank heavens,” Maria said.

  “No. Thank Paul,” Jean corrected as he walked in. “What did you say to get her to leave?”

  Riley thought her heart would stop at the sight of the powerful shoulders and muscled thighs of the world-class skier she still loved despite willing herself to forget him. His swim trunks were dark blue, his sizeable package snugly contained by their boy cut style.

  Paul said, “I told her she could return after eight, when our special time here ended. When she balked, I invoked the name of her dad, saying he’d agreed having relatives here wasn’t conducive to us being able to relax. I suspect Sam isn’t happy with the way she’s been hanging onto Jean.”

  “She sure wasn’t happy about having to leave.”

  “Tough titty.” This latest was from Rodolfo, who’d come to the side of the pool to get in on the conversation.

  Laughter soared almost to the ceiling.

  Paul dropped his towel on a chair and headed for the spa. “Yes, well, that’s enough of this. Let’s do what I told her we would…relax.”

  Riley dropped her own towel on the chair Gina had occupied, then dove into the deep end to swim laps using the crawl stroke.

  Soon, she became aware that Jean swam in the lane to her right. He swam faster, but each time he reached her she could see him when she turned her head to breathe. Having him this close and half naked unnerved her, so she turned over and back-stroked. Now she saw him even more often. She tried just floating, but she felt him each time he passed by.

  Disgusted with her inability to shut him out, she left the pool and stepped gradually down the steps into the heat of the spa. Sinking onto a bench where all but her shoulders were underwater, she closed her eyes, and rested her neck and head against the cooler tile of the spa’s edge.

  She was aware that some of her friends were calling goodbyes and leaving, but she was absorbed in the wonderful, bubbling, massaging heat and not interested in responding…

  Until cool lips pressed against her neck, then slipped below her ear to suck and kiss the sensitive skin.

  “What the hell?” She opened her eyes.

  Jean’s dark gaze bore into her as his hand slid around her waist. “It’s just me.”

  She moved away from his mouth, that hand, to reach for the stair railing and pull herself out of the water. “And who gave you permission to even touch, much less kiss, me?”

  The shocked look on his face
almost undid her. “I’m sorry. It’s just…well, we’re alone here and, and I’ve missed you so much.”

  She bit back all the angry, hurtful words she wanted to throw at him, nasty, cutting words slamming into his heart until he experienced all the pain she’d felt at his desertion. Grabbing her robe and towel, she left him there, looking stunned. “You have fifteen minutes before the darling Gina invades this place again. I suggest you hurry up and leave before she does.”

  She fled before he could speak again.

  It was two days until New Year’s Eve. She spent them fighting the glow she felt every time he burst into view, and basically avoiding him.

  * * * *

  New Year’s Eve arrived, clear, cold, and magnificent.

  Riley could taste and feel the excitement filling the air, and Angels Resort was still resplendent with the colored lights and decorations from Christmas a week earlier. Riley had finished her assignment in the First Aid office, and before she took the lift up to her assigned piste to patrol, her heart lurched at the beauty of the orange flares from torches carried by skiers skimming down every trail on the mountainside. They were the only lights moving in the dark velvet night while stars winked like tiny diamonds overhead.

  This was her second run with a torch, and the last load of the night. Guards were closing the lift now. Content to keep her place in line and not move to its head as she had permission to do, she was aware that Jean was ahead of her. She hadn’t acknowledged him since the night of the spa attack, but suddenly she saw Gina had arrived, awkwardly tramping toward him on skis.

  Something snapped in her. Jean needed her to watch his six, to protect him from what was coming for him. “Ski patrol,” she said, pushing through the crowd to get to him first.

  Riley tugged on Jean’s parka. “Ask me again. Quick.”

  His confusion melded into a smile. “Riley O’Ryan, will you please ski with me?”