Chapter 7

"Selfie!" Lucie called, and everyone huddled in a pile so she could take their picture.

The band had gotten in and the whirlwind that always came with them had descended. It had taken Skyla two days to claw her way out of the coffee/beer/pizza/songwriting/jamming space and get everyone organized enough to go to the ski lodge.

The six of them had managed to fill the house with laughter and music, and Skyla was barely keeping up—at least with Lucie and Greggo. Her lead guitar and drummer were like matches and gasoline, lighting each other up. Thank god that the others were more stable and?—

Icy cold snow hit her, right in the chest.

"Snowball fight!" And that was Mich, her fifty-year-old just turned grandmother fiddle player.

Yep.

Staid.

Solid.

"Bitch!" She bent down to form a ball of her own when Mich's wife, Andi, pinched her butt, hard.

"Don't you mean butch, Sky?"

"Lord. I can't take y'all anywhere." She pitched her snowball, and years of softball practice meant she winged a hard fastball.

She just managed to miss Brenda's ass as she pegged Mich.

"Woo! Careful. Don't hurt me, boss." Mich laughed, though, the sound wild.

Then it was a free-for-all, the bunch of them throwing snow and hollering like fools.

Fuck, they were all ready to let off steam. She held her own, finding a defensible position by a low wall near one of the bars that was closed this time of day.

She'd missed them, more than she'd thought she would. By the end of a tour, she was out of her mind from dealing with them, but it had been long enough that she was having a ball. And they were pelting each other with snow. Snow! Good lord.

"You know you're going to have to brush off before we get in the SUV, right?"

Brenda pointed out. "It's a rental."

"I know. We all are." She rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. Brenda was such a herding puppy.

"Uh-huh. Don't you roll your eyes at me, child." Brenda's laughter made her lips twitch.

"How do you always know?"

"You're a Texan. Your head moves a certain way."

"Damn. Good to know." She shivered. "I'm heading into the lodge, y'all. I hear there's a shop with local artist stuff."

"Oh, cool! Can we come and let the kids have their fill of snow?" Mich and Andi were on her like white on rice, and Andi twined her arm in Skyla's. "You picked a neat place, boss."

"Thanks. I like it here a lot." Like a lot. Texans and Colorado, she guessed. It was a running joke.

"Excellent. So, let's find amazing art! I need something for our new condo." Mich and Andi had found a place outside LA near the mountains. They'd been searching for a new place, and they wanted to be near the beach, the mountains—everything.

"I want something for the bus." She had a little paneled wall in the bus that she hung stuff on. Then the one she was replacing went to one of the band for their houses. So she could visit it.

"Oh, cool. I bet you can find something we'll all fight over." Mich winked at her, teasing hard.

"I bet." She snorted because it kinda hurt this time. That joke usually made her cackle. Something about Kirsten's art-filled apartment had made her…wistful. That was a great word, wasn't it? She could make it rhyme with fist full.

Andi's eyes narrowed. "You okay, boss? You doing well?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure, honey. I was just noodling in my head. Some turn of phrase." She waved a hand, knowing that would work. The band accused her of always being in her own world.

"Ah, that's our Skyla. Always writing her next solid gold hit." Mich chuckled. "And thank fuck for it."

"That's it. There's the shop, I think. Oh, and there's coffee too. Thank God." She grinned, nudging Andi to peer out the window where the others were gearing up to get on the ski lift.

"I cannot believe Brenda's going up there with the young'uns. She's old enough to break."

"Yeah, but she's also old enough to be more careful than they are."

Andi snorted. "Have you met Brenda?"

Skyla hooted. "Yes. She's hell on wheels, but not stupid." They walked into the art shop, and she immediately liked it. It was a little curated bit of Summit Springs.

There were pictures of mountains, of sunrises, of mountain lions and creeks. Then there was the lesbian art—rainbows and goddesses, violets and swaths of pinks and oranges. Mich and Andi were over the moon.

She studied it all, thrilled to have so much to look at. Oh, she would go to the galleries and shops on Conifer Avenue, the main drag, too. She'd buy something for her parents and her family and friends from each one.

"This place is amazing." Andi had a heavy little clay Venus of Willendorf in her hand. "I'm going to get this for Mich."

"That's awesome, hon." She had to grin at the boobs out, lips out, round shape. "I bet she loves it."

"Yeah. When she asks, I like that wild rainbow painting over there on the wall."

"I will tell her." She found a weird little rock sculpture for her momma, who would laugh like a loon. And then she saw the sweet little portrait of a black dog, marked with the local animal shelter tag stating all sales went to the shelter fund.

That was the thing, right there.

That made her think of her Reba, who was at doggie daycare living the good life with Nadia at Waggin' Butts. She thought maybe she needed to take her girl out on a hike. There were trails that looked snow light as they were maintained.

Maybe Kirsten was a hiker.

Her thoughts kept going back to those fingers, how they would feel against her skin, how they would stroke her and make her shudder. They had those guitar calluses, and?—

Yeah. Whew. No getting all hot in a tourist trap.

"Sky, what do you think of that big rainbow painting up there?" Mich asked, sliding right up to her elbow. "You think Mama Andi would like it?"

"I think she would love it. You want me to get it for her?"

"Nope. I'm going to get it. I just wanted to make sure you thought she'd like it."

"She will." She hugged Mich to her side. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too! It's good to bond, to jam out and enjoy life." Mich kissed her cheek, eyes searching out her wife, always.

"It is. I was feeling burnt out. I got to play y'all this song I wrote the other night with this amazing guitarist I met here."

"Yeah? I'm in. How'd you find one so quick?"

"The pizza place has live music a couple nights a week. She was playing there. She's… Wow."

"Oh. She's wow like can play, or wow like—wow."

"Both. She's a good singer, but she can pick like nobody's business. And she's hot."

Her cheeks heated, and she glanced around.

"You're safe with me, ladybug. You know that."

"I do." She sighed. "She's out. She's proud. And I'm not mean enough to even think about asking her not to be. But damn, I want to…to hit that up."

"Well, have a vacation fling. Something wild and wonderful."

"Sure." Was that okay? Maybe it was. Maybe if she and Kirsten were up-front about it. Hell, Kirsten might not really even want that. But she could ask. What would it hurt?

Mich nodded. "Seriously. Who's going to tell? None of us. Go to her. Bring her to us. We're all about you being happy."

"I know. I love you guys so much. There they go up on the lift." She waved, though she knew her crew couldn't see her.

"Look at them! Andi, come look. Brenda's in the black, then Lucie and Greggo."

"Neat!" Andi came to join them. "I love all these windows where we can see. Man, it looks cold out there."

"I see adult hot chocolate in our future," Skyla said.

Andi bounced. "Ooh… I'm all over that. Bring on the marshmallow vodka."

"Right? I bet they have that at the bar…"

"Let's just watch until we can't see them anymore," Mich said.

"Works for…" Skyla frowned. "Is someone dangling off the ski lift?"

"Oh my god." Andi ran to the window. "What the hell is happening?"

Mich frowned. "That's Lucie. Sky! Andi! That's our Lucie!"

More people rushed to look out the window, all making horrified noises.

"They're too far up for her to just drop!"

Skyla pulled out her phone, calling 911. She was just giving all the details when she heard big engines revving and ski patrol vehicles moving at a super fast clip.

"Come on. Come on, Sky. We have to move. Now. I have to get you somewhere safe." Mich grabbed her and started moving her. Getting her somewhere safe.

"What? Why? That's Lucie!"

"I know, but you don't need those people getting distracted by you, either. They need to help Lucie."

"Oh god." She nodded, ducking out, pulling the hood up on her parka so no one could see her face. She could go sit in a corner somewhere and wait for an update.

"Car or the?—"

A man in a suit and a resort tag came up to them. "Ms. Bridey," he murmured, voice pitched low-low. "Come with me. I have a room for you to wait in."

"Thank you." She gulped, trying not to dissolve into tears or start yelling at people to help her friend out there. Everyone was rushing to do just that, so she followed him, Mich at her heels. Andi stayed behind, and she knew Andi would relay news.

"I'm Jack Wagner. Security. This will be a safe place to wait. I'll be right outside the door, should you need me."

"Thanks," Mich said. "Do you think someone could get a couple of Diet Cokes?"

She almost laughed. Yeah, that was the war room drink of choice with her and her female band members and crew. The guys always wanted Dr Pepper.

"Of course. Right away, ma'am."

So polite. Like her guitarist wasn't about to fall to her death.

"She's going to be okay," Mich said immediately after the door closed.

Skyla wrapped her arms around herself. "Of course."

"Look at all that snow down there, girl! It's soft, right? You were just playing in it."

"Right." She bit her bottom lip. This was nuts. And she suddenly wanted to text Kirsten. Which was even nuttier. Right?

Except Kirsten was local. Kirsten could pick up her dog if she needed to.

So she texted, just in case Kirsten was at work or something and couldn't answer a call. You around? It's Skyla>

I am. UOK?>

Not really. My guitarist is falling off the ski lift at the lodge. Not a joke.> Her phone immediately began to ring.

She picked up and heard, "What the actual fuck? I'm getting in my car."

"Hey, honey. I'm sorry. I—They stuck me in a conference room. Someone is bringing me a Coke. I'm not even sure you can get up here."

"It's okay. I know people. What happened? What do you need?"

Her hero.

"I don't even know. I looked out the window and saw her dangling. All sorts of people went speeding out there. That was a big drop. I'm kind of scared she's dead."

"I bet she's going to be damn embarrassed, but fine." Kirsten sounded so sure, like there was absolutely zero doubt.

"I hope so."

"I know it. But I'll be there in a few to help any way I can."

"That means a lot, honey."

"Of course. I'll text when I get there. Breathe."

"I'll try." She hung up when Kirsten did, then huddled in her jacket, staring at Mich, who stared back. Waiting.

"Was that your guitar player?" Mich asked.

"Yeah. It was. I texted her. She's the only person I know here."

And Kirsten didn't even hesitate.

There wasn't a second's pause before Kirsten was coming. That was…she was used to people expecting her to do that, not the other way around. It felt warm when she was super cold.

"Go her. It can't be a bad thing to have a local here to help." Mich took her hand and squeezed. "And I can't wait to meet her."

"I want you to. I think y'all will like her." Skyla sure did. She just didn't know what to do about it.

"Of course we will. We're friendly old bitches."

"You are." She chuckled at that. They got their Cokes and maybe ten minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Bridey, there's someone here to see you. A Kirsten Langdon."

"Oh, send her in."

The door opened, and Kirsten ducked in. "Hey, lady."

"Hey." She smiled. "What the hell is going on?"

"Alive and on the ground. She's heading to the hospital. June says it looks like a break at the wrist and arm. She's awake. Your drummer's going with her. Looks like she passed out."

"Oh god. Thank goodness Greggo was on the same lift with her." She looked at Mich.

"Should we go to the hospital?"

"There are a lot of folks out there with their phone cameras out. You might want to wait half an hour or so." That was Kirsten.

"Good point. Can you go?" She wasn't afraid of using Kirsten to get information.

Kirsten nodded. "Sure. I can go for it."

"No, I'll go," Mich said. "Andi and I can take the car, and then you can come with, uh, Kirsten is it?"

"Yes, ma'am. Kirsten Langdon. Pleased."

"Nice to meet you. Sorry it sucks given the circumstances." Mich grinned. "I'm going out. I'll send more refreshments."

"Do you want me to take you somewhere now?" Kirsten was a little wide-eyed. "Or I can hang with you right here."

"We'll stay here for a bit, huh? Until the crowd is less nuts?" She shivered. "That was awful, honey. I could see her dangling."

"It must have been scary as fuck, but they're pros up here."

"They are." She went to Kirsten, standing in front of her, and when Kirsten opened her arms, Skyla dove into them.

"Oh, honey. I have you. It's okay." Kirsten was solid as a rock, arms holding her up.

"Sorry. I'm being a ninny. I just—that was so scary. What if she'd been there by herself?"

"She wasn't. That's the point, but she wasn't."

"You're right." She gulped a deep breath but didn't let go. "Okay. Yes."

"She's going to be fine. I'm not sure I'd let her on a ski lift again without a safety net or something, but she's okay."

"Nope. No skiing for her unless it's on a tow line thing." She'd seen those, where you never went up in the air.

"There you go. We'll see if Evie can pull her behind a horse."

"Oh, I like it." Skyla had no idea who Evie was, but she was pretty sure horse meant cowgirl. At least it did down where she was from.

"I've ridden a sled like that. It's fun."

"I've ridden a piece of leather. Does that count?"

"Totally. Riding counts, all the way."

Skyla snorted. "I've also ridden a piece of cardboard. When I was a kid."

"I remember that. I felt so cool. Now we have plastic sleds. Fancy."

"High tech." Kirsten felt warm. Strong. Comforting. Her cheeks heated. "I probably ought to let go."

"No one can see. You don't have to." Kirsten kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you. It's nice not to have to go deal with everything right away."

"Yeah, I hear you. You can just breathe a second."

"I will." And then she would deal with all the stuff with a band member who'd fallen off a ski lift.

Whatever all that was.