Second Chance Summer(94)

“Nope.” She paused. “You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here.”

“Little bit.”

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

“No one should ski alone,” he said.

“You are.”

Only because he had a radio at his hip with a direct connection to command central, and an entire team of ski patrol who could look up at the board in the main office and see exactly where he was. But then her words sank in and he stilled. “Are you telling me that you’re on Devil’s Face, the most challenging run on this mountain, by accident because you misread the ski map?” he asked, doing what he thought was a damned fine job of holding back his incredulous disbelief.

She bit her lip, ineffectually trying to hold back another smile, which didn’t matter because her expressive eyes gave her away. “I realize my answer’s going to make me look bad,” she said, “but yes.” She nodded. “Yes, I’m here because I misread the map. I had it upside down.”

“This run is a double diamond expert,” he said. “You’re risking your life up here,” he added, trying really hard not to sound like a judgmental *, but seriously? How many clueless people had he rescued this week alone?

“Well, I’ve taken lessons. Three of them. Breckenridge,” she said.

Three. Jesus. “How long ago?”

She bit her lower lip. “Um, a few years. Or ten. I thought it was like getting on a bike,” she said to his groan of frustration. “I visualized it and—”

He wondered if she’d visualized the hospital bills.

“If it helps,” she said, “I realized my mistake right away and was just taking in the view. Because just look at it …” She gestured to the gorgeous scenery in front of her, the stuff of postcards and wishes and dreams. “It’s mindboggling.”

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

He tried never to take it for granted but he did. It was interesting that it’d taken a little waif of a woman who shouldn’t even be here to shake him out of his routine and make him notice his surroundings.

“Anyway,” she went on. “I was figuring after I got my fill, I’d just head back to the ski lift and ask if I could ride it down. No harm, no foul.”

He couldn’t help being curious about her. Or maybe mystified was a better word. He wanted to know her story. “I’ll get you back to the lift,” he said.

“No, I’ve got it.” She pulled one of her skis out of the snow and laid it down. She struggled to snap her ski in, her arms trembling a little bit. He started forward, but she stopped him with a hand.

“I’ve got this,” she said.

A determined thing then. Fine. But he had to force himself to stay back when ski number two took her longer because she had a balance problem. When she started to tip over, he once again instinctively moved toward her, but she managed to catch herself on a pole.

When she finally clicked her second ski in, she looked up, flashing him this brilliant smile, like she’d just climbed a mountaintop. “See?” she said, beaming, swiping at her brow like maybe she was sweating now. “I’m good.” And with that, she pushed off on her poles.

He caught her by the back of her jacket. Even with all those layers, she was surprisingly light. Light enough that he could easily spin her around and face her in the right direction, which was 180 degrees from where she’d started.

She laughed and damn, she had a really great laugh, one that invited a man right in to laugh along with her. “Right,” she said. “Thanks. Now I’m good.”

Uh-huh. At his hip, his radio buzzed, but he wasn’t budging until he knew she was safely on the lift heading down.

She flashed another smile, this one a bit mischievous. “You do know that even an intelligent person can screw up reading a map, right? Despite appearances, I can assure you, I don’t need a keeper.”

He kept his grimace to himself, or at least he thought he had, until she spoke again.

“You don’t believe me.” She didn’t seem insulted in the least, and in fact, still smiling, she patted Hud on the arm, like he was a poor, stupid man … “You’re cute,” she said, “but I bet you’re single.”

He blinked. He was single, but what the hell did that have to do with anything?

And cute?

He was cute?

He was pretty sure his testosterone level dropped at that. “Let’s just get you off this mountain,” he said in his usual work voice. Calm. Efficient.

But she laughed at him again and shook her head. “I’ve got it from here, Mountain Man. I promise.”

If Hud had a penny for every time someone promised him something and actually kept that promise, he’d have … zip. Zero.

Nada.

And his doubt must have shown all over his face because she patted his arm again. “No, really,” she said. “If I need help, I’ll call ski patrol. But thank you.”