Nobody But You(95)

He’d been running ski patrol for years now and had been a cop for long enough that he was good at reading people, often before they said a word. It was all in the posture, in the little tells, he’d learned.

Such as all the layers she wore. Yes, it was winter, and yes, it was the Rocky Mountains, but thirty degrees was downright balmy compared with last week’s mid-teens. Most likely she wasn’t from around here.

And then there was the slightly unsure posture that said she was at least a little bit out of her element and knew it. Her utter lack of wariness told him something else, too, that probably wherever she’d come from, it hadn’t been a big city.

None of which explained why she was sitting alone on one of the toughest mountains in the country. Maybe…dumped by a boyfriend after a fight on the lift? Separated from a pack of girlfriends and just taking a quick break? Hell, despite appearances, maybe she was some kind of a daredevil out here on a bet or a whim.

Or maybe she was simply a nut job. As he knew, nut jobs came in all shapes and sizes, even mysterious cuties with heart-stopping eyes. “So are you?” he asked. “Okay?”

Her smile faded some. “Do I not look okay?”

Hud had a sister and a mom, so he recognized a trick question when he heard one and knew better than to touch it with a ten-foot pole. Instead, he swept his gaze over her but saw no visible injuries. Then again, he couldn’t see much given all the layers. “You’re not hurt.”

“No, that’s not the problem.” She paused. “I guess you’re probably wondering what is the problem.”

“Little bit,” he admitted.

She rolled her eyes. “Did you know that people who don’t understand ski maps, or maps at all, shouldn’t ski alone?”

“No one should ski alone,” he said, but then her words sank in and he pulled off his sunglasses and stared at her in incredulous disbelief. “Are you saying you’re on Devil’s Face, the most challenging run on this mountain, because you misread the ski map?”

She bit her lip and tried to hide a rueful smile, which didn’t matter because her expressive eyes gave her away. “I realize this is going to make me look bad,” she said, “but yes, yes, I’m here because I misread the map. If you must know the truth, I had it upside down.”

Upside down. Jesus. “We color-code the things, you know. Even upside down, green is still for beginners, blue for intermediate—”

“Well, I know that much!”

“This run is black—a double-diamond expert,” he said. “It’s marked all over the place.” He pointed to a sign three feet away.

CAUTION: DOUBLE DIAMOND. EXPERTS ONLY!

“I saw that,” she said. “Hence my thinking position, because trust me, I wasn’t about to be stupid on top of stupid.”

He let out a low laugh. “Good to know.”

“And you should also know that I’m not a complete beginner. I’ve taken ski lessons before, at Breckenridge.” She grimaced. “Though it’s been a while.”

“How long is a while?”

She bit her lower lip. “Longer than I want to admit. I thought it’d be like getting on a bike. Turns out, not so much. But if it helps, I realized my mistake right away and I really was just taking in the view. I mean, look at it…” She gestured to the gorgeous scenery in front of her, the stuff of postcards and wishes and dreams. “It’s mind-boggling, don’t you think?”

The wonder in her gaze mesmerized him. A little surprised at himself, he turned to take in the view with her, trying to see it through her eyes. The towering peaks had a way of putting things into perspective and reminding you that you weren’t the biggest and baddest. A blanket of fresh snow stretched as far as the eye could see, glistening wherever the sun hit it like it’d been dusted with diamonds.

She was right when she said it was mind-boggling. He tried to never take this place for granted, but the truth was that he did. Interesting that it’d taken a pretty stranger to shake him out of his routine and make him notice his surroundings. He turned his head and met her gaze. Yeah. He was definitely noticing his surroundings.

She smiled into his eyes. “I figured after I got my fill of the view, I’d just head back to the ski lift and ask if I could ride it down. No harm, no foul, right? But then came problem number two.”

“Which is…?” he asked when she didn’t continue.

“I broke my binding, and while I’ve got lots of stuff in all these pockets, I’m not packing any tools. I think I just need a screwdriver or something. I thought I’d locate a ski patroller.”

“I am ski patrol,” he said.

Looking surprised, she ran her gaze up and down the length of him. Usually when a woman did such a thing it was with a light of lust in her eyes, but she didn’t seem overly impressed.

He looked down at himself. “I’m not in my patrol jacket,” he said. “I was hot from putting up the fencing—” Why the hell was he defending himself? Shaking his head, he removed his skis and walked to hers. He laid out the one she pointed to and took a look. Yep, she’d broken a binding. “The hinge failed,” he said.

She crouched next to him and the scent of her soap or perfume came to him, a light, sexy scent that made him turn his head and look at her.