The Best Of The Year - Medical Romance. Carol Marinelli
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put the phone in her pocket and then shoved her glove back on. “Do you want to lead or follow?”
“I always believe in letting ladies go first.”
“Perfect. Because I like going first. That way, I can concentrate on getting to the good stuff.”
Before he could decide if she was purposely being suggestive or not she’d used her poles to shove off the flat surface and start down the hill. He followed her, watching in awe as she expertly picked up speed and maneuvered from side to side. His balance felt pretty good today, but even so he couldn’t match her speed, even using his poles to give himself some additional impetus from time to time. She was halfway to the bottom by the time he’d made it fifty yards.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of another skier, coming just as fast as Mira had gone. Only this person sliced to the right just as he passed Jack, his skis sending out a large burst of snow that pelted him right in the chest. “Sorry about that, Number Five.”
What the hell? Struggling not to lose his balance or his temper, he watched as the jerk proceeded on down the hill and did a quick zigzag as he came to Mira and then pulled in front of her, forcing her to come to a quick halt.
Jack frowned. That damn instructor again. He pushed his ski poles into the snow and forced himself to go faster, making sure his skis were aimed straight down the hill to speed his progress. By the time he reached her, though, the idiot had already left, heading toward the bottom in a series of moves geared to show off his skills to their best advantage. Well, that was all the man had going for him, from what Jack could tell.
“What was that all about?”
Mira’s jaw was tight. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“What is a number five? Is it some kind of skiers’ code for ‘make way’ or something?”
“What?” Her face went very still.
“He skidded in the snow, hitting me with the stuff, then threw me an apology and said ‘number five’.”
“I...” She took a deep breath and then tried again. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
Somehow he didn’t believe her, because she hadn’t given him a blank stare or said she had no idea what it meant. She’d said it didn’t mean anything, as if she knew what the guy was talking about but was discounting it.
She scooted closer and brushed some snow off his jacket. “Sorry he’s such an ass.”
What Jack couldn’t understand was what Mira could have seen in a man like this. But he did like the way she’d sidled closer and the touch of her hands on his chest, even if there were ten tons of clothing between them.
“Did he get you too?”
“No. He was just trying to show off for his students.”
It was more than that, but if she didn’t want to get into it, who was he to try to force the issue?
She again pulled out her phone and glanced at it. “Do you mind if we head toward the mine? We won’t go all the way or anything. There’s another easy slope or two that we’ll need to cover, but they’re not much harder than this one. I just want to get a closer look at something.”
“That’s fine.” The further away they got from her ex, the better Jack liked it. He wasn’t worried about himself, he was pretty sure he could take the guy on solid, non-snow-covered ground, but he didn’t want the bastard bothering Mira. “What do you want to look at?”
“I’m not sure. One of the snowdrifts looks a little iffy from here, but it could just be the angle. I’m not seeing any alerts on the weather site.” She nodded at the sky. “But I think we might see another inch or two before the day’s out.”
Jack had noticed the thick cloud cover as well. He’d been glad for the shade, actually, as the sun glinted off the snow in a way that made his eyes burn, even with his goggles. “Will that be a problem for the resort?”
“It shouldn’t be. I’ll let you know when we get closer.” She glanced back at him. “Follow me, okay, and don’t go off the trails.”
As if he would.
Slowly, Mira guided him down one slope, taking it slow and easy before sidestepping across a plateau and arriving at another well-groomed slope. No one seemed to take any notice of them, but Mira had checked her phone several more times. Jack had no idea what she was looking at, or even for.
A flick of ice hit his cheek and then another. He reached out to touch her jacket before they started down the next hill. “Do you feel that? I think the snow’s started.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” She put her hand over her brow and seemed to scan the area.
Jack followed her line of sight, but all he saw were skiers going down various slopes, as well as another ski lift on the far side of the resort carrying people up the hills.
Jamming her poles into the snow, she scrolled through her phone, her finger sliding up the screen repeatedly as the occasional flake turned into a light snow shower. Then she bit her lip. “Jack, do you think you can make it back to the lodge on your own?”
“Why?” Was she texting her ex, getting ready to hook up with him or something?
No, she seemed genuinely worried about something.
“I’m not sure.”
Jack heard a low rumble then it stopped. He cocked his head, listening. “Does it normally thunder during snowstorms?”
She didn’t answer, just shoved her goggles on top of her head and jabbed her finger at her phone. Then she put it up to her ear. She waited and waited then someone evidently answered. She stared off into the distance. “It looks like some snow may have shifted over by the Vendry Mine.” She waited and then continued. “No, I’m not positive, but I don’t remember seeing it that far down on Friday evening.”
Friday evening. When they’d been kissing in the back of the sleigh? She’d paid attention to the snow cover by the mine? That’s the last thing he’d been thinking about on that crazy ride. It stung his pride a bit that she’d been able to concentrate on things other than his mouth on hers.
She paused again. “And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s snowing again, and we got a couple of inches last night. I’d like you to let my dad know. He’s not answering his cell.” Her brows went up. “What do you mean, he went into town?”
Jack pulled his goggles up over his head as well when the snow kept hitting them and then melting, leaving behind droplets of water. Another roll of thunder came and went.
“I think you should call him and ask him to come back. I’m telling you, you need to be ready, just in case. Something’s going on. Do you want me to have them clear the slopes?”
She waited for the other party to respond. “Are you sure?”
A puff of something that looked like a lazy roll of smoke sifted into the air over by the mine. A fire? There weren’t many trees in that particular area, so he didn’t think so. And Jack hadn’t caught sight of any lightning, neither could he imagine anyone smoking while skiing.
“Okay. I’m going to stay up here for a while. I’ll call you in a half-hour or so.” She scrubbed her cheek against her shoulder. “Will do. Yeah, me too. Bye.”
She hung up and scrolled again, then dropped the phone back into her pocket.
“Problem?” he asked, when her jaw remained tense. Had she been talking to the instructor?
As if realizing for the first time that he was still there, she slowly turned toward him. “Not really.” She hesitated and then lifted her chin. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but maybe it would best if you headed back to the lodge.”
Suspicion immediately flared