Chapter 2
Two
SOREN
T he weather had gone to shit in the past couple of hours, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I was snowed in. It wouldn’t hurt to put down another layer of sand on the path to the firewood and generator, hoping it wouldn’t become too slick.
I was staring out the big window in my living room when my cell phone rang. It was Caleb, the owner of the resort and technically my boss. Although the job had become more of a collaboration and we’d become good friends.
As I walked toward the front door, I hit the button to answer the call and put it on speaker.
“If you’re calling to fuss over me, I’ve had enough mothering from my mom and sister,” I said in greeting.
They’d been calling a little more frequently since I told them about the major blizzard that would derail our Christmas plans.
My sister, Lara Ann—Lulu—and my parents lived in my hometown, which was just across the Colorado border into Wyoming. They had planned to drive out to spend the holiday with me at the ski resort. But it was a four-hour drive to Winter Falls in good conditions, and this storm was too dangerous for anyone to travel in it. Which meant I wouldn’t be able to go to them either.
Caleb chuckled. “I’ll leave the fretting to them. I just wanted to make sure you’re all set before things get any worse.”
“Your wife stopped by yesterday and brought me every supply I could ever need,” I drawled. “If I didn’t like my job so much and was interested in a noose around my neck and left ring finger, I’d steal her from you.”
“Keep saying shit like that, and I’ll let you freeze to death,” Caleb growled, making me grin. I didn’t laugh out loud, though, because he would most likely give me a black eye the next time he saw me. He was head over heels for his wife and extremely possessive of her. If anyone could convince me that love and marriage were worth putting my faith in, it would be them. But I’d seen the other side of that rosy picture. What were the odds that there was another woman like Raven out there? She was one of a kind.
I’d been too busy for more than a passing relationship for most of my adult life. I spent all of my time earning my degrees, interning, then building my business. If I longed for anything familial, I had my parents, sister, and adorable niece and nephew.
This had made it easy to grow in my career because as an architect and project manager—mostly for sports facilities—I moved on whenever I completed a job. I had an apartment in my hometown, so I didn’t have to stay with my parents when I visited, and a cabin in Aspen where I could chill between projects, but I was rarely at either place for very long. However, over the past year, I’d been thinking about the possibility of putting down roots somewhere. It was mostly a passing thought, though.
When Caleb approached me about designing and managing the construction of the Olympic training facility at the Winter Falls Ski Resort, I jumped at the chance. It was a dream job, and I’d loved every minute so far. For the first time, I actually felt dispirited about the inevitable end. It was still around a year off, but time flew when you were having fun.
The howling of the wind brought me out of my thoughts and I set the phone on the end table while I put on my outer gear.
“I’m going to put down one last layer of sand to keep the path around the cabin from getting too slick.”
“My guys were just out there. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m just going to walk to the wood on the side of the house and to the generator,” I told him as I finished bundling up.
I switched him to earbuds and shoved the phone in my pocket. “I wonder if I should salt too,” I mused as I opened the door. Snow blew into the room, and I braced myself against the wind before stepping out onto the porch.
“Soren!” Caleb shouted. “Don’t be a fucking idiot. We checked the generator this morning and put a stack of wood on your porch.”
I glanced around and saw the bundle of firewood on my right. “Ah, so you did. Thanks.” A shovel stood in the corner on my left, with an open bag of sand and one of salt resting next to it.
The snow was falling heavily, but it was also whipping around in every direction. Choosing to heed Caleb’s warning…mostly, I decided to just pour the sand on the path over the porch rail, so I remained under the overhang.
“I won’t go beyond the porch,” I assured him as I picked up the bag. When I took a step back, I misjudged the placement of the salt and hit it with the side of my foot, sending me careening backward. My head cracked against one of the wood beams by the stairs, and when I shafted to the side, I slipped on the top step. I dropped the sack as I flew off the porch ass first, and my back hit the snow with a loud thud. “Fuck!” I grunted, the wind knocked out of me.
“Soren?” Caleb yelled. “What the fuck? Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I—fuck, that hurt,” I grunted.
With the howling of the wind, he didn’t hear me and continued to yell, asking if I was okay or hurt.
After taking a few seconds to clear away the fog, I carefully climbed to my feet and hurried inside.
“I’m good,” I assured Caleb as soon as the door shut. “Just a bump on the head that made me see a few stars and probably a few bruises from landing on the hard snow.”
I stomped one foot to dislodge the snow, and pain shot through my skull. “Dammit,” I snarled, closing my eyes until the sting dissipated.
“How hard did you hit your head?”
“Not hard enough to worry about.”
“You could have a concussion, Soren,” Caleb insisted. “You need to have it checked.”
“Remember what I said about mothering?” I griped. “I’m fine. Nothing a little medicine and an ice pack won’t cure.”
“Are you sure?”
He sounded dubious, so I used a firmer tone when I replied, “Definitely.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But I’m going to call every few hours to make sure.”
I rolled my eyes, then winced at the pain. “You do that,” I muttered. “Talk later.”