Chapter 3

3

N oah dragged himself out of bed first thing in the morning and groaned. He needed to be on the mountain bright and early to prep for skiers and snowboarders to arrive. Staying up late for the new year wasn’t something he had cared to do the last few years, but his brothers had convinced him to come out. And he wasn’t entirely sure it was a good idea.

But he saw her . The girl from the lobby.

He tasted her lips. Thrill had shot through him—an excitement he hadn’t felt in a few years. Just as quickly as it had started, it ended. He had to escape before he fell for another tourist. So he forced himself to leave the party immediately.

Despite it all, he couldn’t regret the late night, even with how long his day would feel after the lack of sleep.

Being the head of the ski patrol at the Wintervale Resort put extra responsibility on him. He was in charge of training new hires and making sure everything ran smoothly. He enjoyed every second of it. There was nothing like being on the mountain with the crisp air to remind him how fortunate he was to live in a place like Wintervale.

Noah scrubbed his face and got in the shower before he could convince himself to stay in bed. Afterward, he grabbed his gear and headed to the resort. He got to the gondola just as the other employees arrived, and they all loaded in for the twenty-minute ride to the top of the mountain.

“How’d your night go?” Jeff, one of the ski patrollers, asked.

“It was good. I ended up at the resort party,” Noah said.

“I actually saw you. And I saw a little more, too.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you did.”

Wintervale was a small town and word got around quickly whenever something happened. Everyone knew he didn’t date much, not since his ex. So it felt like whenever he went out with someone, even if it was just a friend, it spread around town like wildfire.

“I didn’t recognize her. Tourist?”

“Yep.”

The few other employees in the gondola with them were carrying on their own conversation and not paying them any attention. At least, not that Noah could tell. Jeff leaned forward and lowered his voice regardless.

“Careful, man.”

Noah tipped his head in acknowledgment. He wasn’t the only one in town who had fallen for a tourist and ended up heartbroken in the end. It was the problem with living in a small town. Everyone knew each other, so the dating pool was tiny. That left tourists to be who most of the younger people dated. But then it left a choice in the end—do they stay in Wintervale, or do they leave?

The entire day, his mind wandered to the black-haired beauty from the night before. He tried to force himself to think about something else, but he thought every woman he saw on the mountain was her. Trying to recognize someone in full snow gear was damn near impossible, especially since he had no idea what her snow gear looked like… or if she even planned to take part in any snow sports.

By the time he was doing his last runs to clear the mountain, he was exhausted. The lack of sleep, mental fatigue from constantly looking for her, and the physical fatigue from skiing for several hours had him wanting the day to end.

Noah pushed off the ski lift and waved at the operator before going over to the blue intermediate run. He moved to a new slope with each run, keeping an eye out for anyone who might need help. In his experience, most of the help needed was with skiers who went down a slope that was far above their skill level. Most skiers could work their way down without too much trouble, but occasionally someone was too afraid to continue without a little extra encouragement.

He carved across the slope, going at a leisurely pace to keep an eye out for any stragglers. It had been a quiet day for the ski patrol, which he was thankful for as he never wanted anyone to get hurt, but it also meant he spent a lot of time skiing.

Just as Noah began going by a cat track that cut off from the slope, a flurry of purple came flying off it and straight into him. He wrapped his arms around the person as he was taken off his feet and hit the ground before they started rolling down the mountain. His and the other person’s skis instantly popped off, and he lost his poles in the process of attempting to stop their descent.

The woman squealed, and Noah dug his heels into the ground to slow them down.

“Press your feet into the ground,” Noah said.

Her knee connected with his groin, and he groaned as a zing shot through his body.

They slowed to a stop, and Noah released her before rolling onto his back and taking several deep breaths. She had barely tapped his nuts through all the padding of their snowsuits, but it was enough to render him breathless.

She scrambled up and looked down at him; her goggles pushed up and on the top of her helmet. Her dark brown eyes were edged with concern, and he immediately recognized her. “Oh, my gosh. Are you okay?”

He bit back a groan and swallowed the metallic taste in his mouth. The last thing he wanted was to throw up in front of the woman he had been thinking about the entire day. “I’m good.”

At that moment, recognition crossed her face, and a blush crept into her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I gained too much momentum and tried to slow down on the cat track.”

He took a minute of taking deep breaths until the zing subsided to a dull ache in his groin before pushing himself up. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes roamed over his jacket and her face flamed a deeper red. “Yes. Just embarrassed. Out of all the people to run into, it had to be you.”

Noah tilted his head at her choice of words, but before he could decide what she meant, she spoke.

“You know, because you’re ski patrol and all.”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly before looking back up the slope. His skis were on the side of the run halfway between them and the cat track, about fifty feet away. He couldn’t see his poles, but knew he’d find them on the hike back up, along with her missing skis.

He pushed himself to his feet before reaching a hand down for her to take. He partially wished they had lost their gloves just so he could feel her hand in his. But the biting cold air on his face immediately had him thanking his lucky stars that the most they lost were their skis and poles.

Being closing time, the runs were quiet as the ski patrol was doing their last sweeps to send any stragglers to the gondola before it shut down for the night. Noah could see the familiar red jackets of the other ski patrol members on a few of the surrounding slopes in the distance as the sun began to set.

He walked back up the run, his legs protesting, as she walked beside him.

“This sucks. I’m so sorry,” she said.

He looked at her and gave her the best smile he could muster. “It’s okay. It’s probably for the best you ran into me rather than someone else.”

“That’s probably true,” she said quietly.

“I’m Noah, by the way.”

“Jessa.” She glanced around, a worried look crossing her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was trying to find my friend when I ran into you. I’m worried she’s stuck somewhere.”

He looked around as well, not seeing any other skiers on the runs aside from ski patrol. “What color is her jacket?”

“Teal.”

“Can you call her? The ski patrol is doing sweeps, and I can keep looking for her if you think she isn’t at the lodge.”

Jessa used her teeth to tug her glove off before she fished around in her pocket. She tapped the screen, relief flooding her face. “Oh good. She’s waiting at the gondola for me.”

She typed one-handed on the screen before putting her phone away and pulling her glove back on.

Noah reached down and grabbed a pole on the ground before walking a few feet and grabbing the second one.

“Were you carrying poles?” he asked. He hadn’t seen a second set anywhere.

“No. My friend Megan told me I didn’t need them as a beginner.”

Noah cracked a smile. “You’re a beginner?”

Jessa giggled. “I figured that was obvious.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t want to assume. Are you staying at the resort?”

Although he knew the answer to that. Aside from seeing her check in, he had asked the front desk how long Jessa was staying.

“Yes. It’s my first time here. Very pretty.”

“It is.”

“Have you worked here long?”

He nodded. “Several years, in fact.”

In his head, he knew he should have said he had worked there most of his life, as his parents had owned the resort since he was born, but he tried not to disclose it to anyone he didn’t know. He hated sounding like he was bragging.

They continued to walk up the hill, and by the time they reached both of their skis, they were huffing from the exertion. Noah attached his skis to his boots before steadying Jessa as she attached hers.

“Ready?” he asked.

Her eyes were saucers as she stared down the run. “You know, maybe I should just walk out.”

“That will be incredibly exhausting in this powder. I’ll help you down.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “I know you’re ski patrol and all that, but I think you seriously misjudge how coordinated I am.”

He chuckled and held out his hand to her. “Trust me.”

She audibly took a deep breath before placing her gloved hand in his. Noah kept hold of her hands as he coached her down the run. He skied backwards in front of her while telling her how to carve in the snow. By the time they made it to the lodge, the gondola was empty of all skiers and snowboarders except for Megan, who stood with a few ski patrollers looking worried.

Relief flooded her face as she jogged over to Jessa and wrapped her arms around her.

“Where have you been? I kept texting,” Megan said.

Jessa looked guiltily at Noah. “I crashed into ski patrol… literally. Took us a hot minute to get down the mountain.”

Megan’s eyebrows raised before her eyes slid over to Noah. Her eyes raked up and down his body, despite him still wearing his thick snow gear. He shifted awkwardly.

Jessa’s face tinged red. “Come, Megan. I need to return my skis and boots.”

The girls disappeared through the side door that led to the rental area, giving Noah an apologetic look.

“What happened there?” Jeff asked.

Noah shrugged. “I had to help her down the mountain. She bit off more than she could chew as a beginner.”

Noah’s walkie talkie crackled as the crew all called in their all-clears for the runs. Jessa and Megan emerged from the rental room with Jessa now wearing snow boots. She smiled shyly at Noah as she passed by him to the gondola.

“Thanks for your help. And sorry about all that.” She gestured at his crotch before realizing what she did. Her face flamed red.

He laughed. “It’s okay. Have a good rest of your stay.” He watched her climb into the gondola and disappear.

Noah scrubbed at his face. Tourists are a bad idea.