5. Griffin

5

GRIFFIN

“ H ave fun at the spa,” I tell my mother as she gives me a tight squeeze. “And let me know if you need anything in your cabin.”

“I will,” she promises. “I’m just glad there was an open three-bedroom on such short notice! We were only going to stay for the afternoon, but that storm just came out of nowhere.”

“You know there will always be room for you here at Frosted Mountain. Between Mrs. Reinhold and myself, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“That’s my boy,” Mom says with a smile. She pats my cheek, making me roll my eyes. “You take such good care of us. I know you’ll take good care of Destiny, too.”

I shove my hands in my pocket and look up at the ceiling. My grandma, aunt, and mother have been grilling me for the last two hours on how Destiny and I met, who she is, and if she's okay with a spring wedding. Even though I had shockingly little information about my future wife, the women all told me that I looked absolutely smitten. I couldn't deny it if I tried. These ladies would call me out in a heartbeat.

“I’m trying my best,” I tell her. “In fact, I should go back and check on her. I bet she could use some soup to warm her up.”

We say our goodbyes and I wave to the three women as they pad their slippered feet into the back of the lodge where we offer all kinds of spa services. They are ridiculous and I love them. I just hope they didn’t scare Destiny off with their intensity.

I zip up my coat and put my fur-lined hood up, surprised by how bad the weather has gotten in just the last hour. I should be used to the extreme changes after five winters up here in these mountains, but Mother Nature still amazes me.

When I get to Destiny’s cabin, I knock softly on the door. She doesn’t respond, so I knock again, a little louder this time. I wait a few moments in case she’s waking up from a nap, but the longer she goes without answering, the more I start to worry.

This time, I pound on the door, not caring if it comes across as aggressive right now. I just need to know Destiny is safe. She can tell me to go to hell as long as I know she’s warm and cozy in her cabin.

“Destiny, it’s Griffin,” I call out through the door. “Please answer the door, angel. There’s a storm out here and I need to know that you’re okay.”

Nothing. Zip. Nada.

“Destiny!” I shout as I bang on the door again. “Open up! Des–”

My voice stops in its tracks when I notice her skis are gone. I frantically look for them in the small pile of snow that’s gathered in front of the door, but I don’t find them anywhere. God, no. Please don’t let this mean what I think it means…

I peer inside one of the windows, but of course, the curtains are drawn. I don't see any shadows moving or hear anything, including the hum of the electric fireplace. My heart drops to my stomach, both falling to the ground with the realization that Destiny isn't inside. If she's not in her cabin and she's not at the lodge and her skis are gone…

Jesus, she’s somewhere on the mountain.

I sprint to the maintenance shed and grab the keys to the emergency snowmobile, making sure it’s packed with all the essentials for a rescue. A thousand worst-case scenarios fill my head, but I shake off the horrors and stay focused on my mission; finding my Destiny.

It's nearly a whiteout, but I've been trained on how to operate a vehicle under these conditions. It helps that we cleared the mountain of other skiers an hour ago, though obviously, we didn't do a thorough enough job. I'm not sure who is to blame for leaving Destiny stranded on the mountain, but when I find them, I'll make sure they do a more thorough job at their next place of employment.

I start the slight incline up the bunny hill, hoping and praying that I find my woman up here. I have a feeling if she’s not on the bunny hill, she’s on the black diamond slope. I’m not exactly sure what drove her out here in the first place, but something tells me Destiny is the “go big or go home” type once she gets herself worked up about something.

“Destiny! Can you hear me? Destiny! I’m coming for you, angel. Hold on.” I continue shouting her name as I reach the top of the hill, desperately searching for my woman.

Shit . I could do another up-and-down pass of this hill, but my gut is telling me she's not here. Time is of the essence, and if she's trapped eight hundred feet up the mountain, I need to get to her as soon as possible.

Jerking the snowmobile to the right, I take the path leading toward the more advanced slopes. My heart is racing and despite the single-digit temperature outside, I’m sweating as I scan the snow for any signs of a body.

“Destiny! It’s Griffin. Shout if you can hear me.”

The track of the snowmobile runs over something smooth and hard, breaking up the otherwise smooth ride through the snow. I break and turn around, my chest squeezing up painfully when I see a broken ski. The same skis Destiny purchased before her first private lesson.

I search the area, my breath catching in my throat when I see signs of a fall about a dozen feet away. The snow is coming down fast, but I can still make out the grooves in the snow where it looks like someone rolled off the other side of the trail.

Heading in that direction, I slow the vehicle to a crawl as I follow the indents in the snow. I pass the other ski, my heart lodged somewhere in my lungs, making it hard to take a full breath.

“Destiny, are you here?” I call out.

The softest whimper floats on the wind, barely reaching my ears. I move forward and shout her name again.

“Gr-Gr-Grif-f-f-in?” comes her broken-up voice.

“Destiny, I’m coming,” I tell her, hopping off the snowmobile and walking the few remaining feet to where she’s huddled up against a tree. “God, sweetheart, there you are,” I say more to myself than to her. Thank Christ I found her. “Are you hurt?”

She shakes her head no, but I’ll have to do a more thorough search once I get her to safety.

I bend down and scoop Destiny up in my arms, carrying her over to the snowmobile. I set her down and mount the vehicle before guiding her to sit in front of me with both of her legs hanging over one side. She does so with stilted movements, her poor nose and cheeks bright red from the blistering cold wind.

I guide Destiny to curl up against me and hold on, using my body to block the wind and snow from hitting her in the face. Even in the short time I’ve been out here, the storm has picked up considerably. After years of experiencing inclement weather out here, I know the bottom of this particular slope is prone to snow drifts when the wind is blowing westward. It’s hard to say if there’s a drift down there now, but if not, there will be shortly. Coupled with the white-out conditions, I’m starting to think we may need to find someplace to wait out the storm.

“Do you trust me?” I ask Destiny, nearly shouting to be heard over the storm.

“Despite evidence to the contrary, yes, I trust you, Griffin.”

Her answer makes me grin, which feels so damn good after a tense search and rescue. “Good, sweetheart. That’s good. I’m going to take us somewhere warm to wait until the worst of the weather passes.”

I glance at the satellite GPS attached to the snowmobile and get my bearings. There’s an old ranger’s cabin nearby from before the land was purchased for the resort. We’ve kept it stocked with blankets, clothes, food, water, and all kinds of emergency supplies for just an occasion like this.

Less than two minutes later, we’re pulling up to the cabin which is almost entirely covered in snow. I bundle Destiny up in the Mylar emergency blanket and tuck her into my side before grabbing the travel-sized shovel attached to the side of the snowmobile.

I dig my way through the snow and up to the cabin, clearing a path for Destiny to follow. The door is unlocked and I push my way inside, ushering in my woman behind me. I’m in survival mode at this point. My only goal is to warm Destiny up and make sure she’s not injured or frost-bitten.

The small fireplace already has dry logs in place as well as a box of matches and kindling sitting nearby. I remember setting everything up at the beginning of the season like I do every year. The goal is to have the fire all ready to go in less than a minute. While I don’t love the circumstances that brought me out here, I’m pleased to know everything works.

I remember the two-way radio set up in the kitchen and I take a second to turn it on and make contact with the lodge. Mrs. Reinhold answers and I update her on my location and the situation with Destiny. She lets me know the storm will be over in an hour and the resort will be shoveled later in the evening, so we should plan to come back in the morning.

With that settled, I turn my attention back to Destiny.

“Strip down,” I order as I start peeling my own clothes off. Destiny’s wide blue eyes capture mine, her mouth dropping as I tear off my sweater and long-sleeved undershirt. “Gotta get you warmed up,” I offer as an explanation. Her gaze slowly slides down my bare chest, then drops to where my hands are undoing my belt. “Come on, Destiny, skin-to-skin is the quickest way to transfer body heat.”

She snaps into action, tossing her soggy hat and gloves aside and stripping off her jacket and other outer layers. I leave on just my boxer briefs and grab a giant wool blanket from the basket next to the fireplace, placing it on the couch before sitting and opening up my arms for Destiny.

I try not to look at her generous curves and creamy skin on display in just her bra and panties, but I’m only so strong. Thankfully, she crawls up next to me without any prompting, and I wrap the blanket around us before adjusting her so she’s straddling me.

Is this a compromising position? Yes. Is it a monumental struggle of willpower not to touch her everywhere and give in to the lustful thoughts I've had about her for days now? Also, yes. But it's necessary for her survival, so I'll put my dirty desires away for the moment and focus on Destiny's safety first.

“I’ve got you,” I say softly. “You’re safe now. Just let me warm you up. That’s it. I’ve got you.” I continue whispering soothing words while spreading my hands out over her back and pressing her closer to me. When she stops shivering, I finally ask the question that’s been on my mind since I realized she was missing. “Why did you go out skiing on your own?”