Falling Fast, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 4) by J.H. Croix Page A
Authors: J.H. Croix
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checking on skiers who needed assistance and essentially cruising around. With the lodge completely booked, everything carried on there. Don had headed to the top of the slopes to clear snow around the lift landings.
Cam grabbed his skis and hopped on the lift once he was ready. When he arrived at the main landing, an area where four different slopes could be accessed, he found Don hard at work clearing the snow around the small warming hut. Cam skied to Don’s side.
“Need some help?”
Don glanced up, his weathered face crinkling with his smile. “You know, I’d like to say no, but I’m slower than I used to be. If you don’t mind helping for a few minutes, we can have this cleared pretty quick.”
“No problem.” Cam loosened his bindings and stepped out of his skis. He snagged the extra shovel hanging high on the side of the small cabin and immediately got to work shoveling. In short order, the cabin was cleared, so skiers could access it if needed. Don stepped inside and checked the propane heater and returned to Cam’s side where he was adjusting the bindings on his skis.
“That was a big help. You headed to do your rounds?” Don asked.
“Yup. I’ll loop through every slope. I’ve got my radio, so if you see anything, holler at me.”
Don chuckled. “You got it. Any word on Marley?”
Cam shook his head. “I got the call she was in labor and they were headed to the hospital, but that’s the last I heard.”
Don nodded slowly. “Could be a while before we hear anything.” At that, he stepped to the snowmobile he used for travel on the mountain. “I’ll see you later,” he said with a wave.
The snowmobile roared when Don started it. Cam watched Don zip away, the sound of the snowmobile’s engine slowly fading. He took a gulp of cold air and glanced around. Today was sheer heaven for a skier. The storm last night had left behind a dense base of fluffy snow. For backcountry skiing, it was like skiing on a cloud. For downhill skiing, this kind of snow afforded cushioned landings. Since they hadn’t yet finished the backcountry trails and Gage wasn’t here for back up, Cam would have to pass on the temptation to take off for hours through the trails. He pushed off on his skis and headed through the trees to reach the more advanced downhill slopes.
As the day passed, it was fairly uneventful. Two teen boys overestimated their skiing prowess and tumbled together down one of the advanced slopes. Being teen boys, they insisted they were unharmed, but they respected Cam’s insistence they wait for Don to ride up and bring them down on the snowmobile. He was relieved they’d managed to escape injury and wasn’t about to let them try to ski the rest of the slope. Aside from that, he skied his way through the day, his eyes watchful on the other skiers.
He was coming to learn time did ease the loss of Eric. For so many months in Utah after the accident, Cam tried to ski and couldn’t keep Eric out of his mind. He’d worried he’d never be able to enjoy skiing as much as he once had. It was that which prodded him to look for jobs elsewhere. Last Frontier Lodge was proving to offer what he needed—a chance to stay busy and focused with work, lots of time to ski, and a setting where Eric had never been, so Cam wasn’t constantly bombarded with memories of Eric. He hadn’t thought much of it when they’d been growing up together, but sharing so much of his life with Eric made it hard to escape the memories. He still struggled with guilt. Yet, he found it had been over a week since he last recalled replaying the accident in his mind.
Today, he found himself thinking mostly of Ginger. Last night was just…well, it was out of this world, and he was half out of his mind because of it. He hadn’t even noticed a woman in over a year. Eric died and his world went into a skid. He thought he was managing to piece things back together, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to consider a relationship. The
Cam grabbed his skis and hopped on the lift once he was ready. When he arrived at the main landing, an area where four different slopes could be accessed, he found Don hard at work clearing the snow around the small warming hut. Cam skied to Don’s side.
“Need some help?”
Don glanced up, his weathered face crinkling with his smile. “You know, I’d like to say no, but I’m slower than I used to be. If you don’t mind helping for a few minutes, we can have this cleared pretty quick.”
“No problem.” Cam loosened his bindings and stepped out of his skis. He snagged the extra shovel hanging high on the side of the small cabin and immediately got to work shoveling. In short order, the cabin was cleared, so skiers could access it if needed. Don stepped inside and checked the propane heater and returned to Cam’s side where he was adjusting the bindings on his skis.
“That was a big help. You headed to do your rounds?” Don asked.
“Yup. I’ll loop through every slope. I’ve got my radio, so if you see anything, holler at me.”
Don chuckled. “You got it. Any word on Marley?”
Cam shook his head. “I got the call she was in labor and they were headed to the hospital, but that’s the last I heard.”
Don nodded slowly. “Could be a while before we hear anything.” At that, he stepped to the snowmobile he used for travel on the mountain. “I’ll see you later,” he said with a wave.
The snowmobile roared when Don started it. Cam watched Don zip away, the sound of the snowmobile’s engine slowly fading. He took a gulp of cold air and glanced around. Today was sheer heaven for a skier. The storm last night had left behind a dense base of fluffy snow. For backcountry skiing, it was like skiing on a cloud. For downhill skiing, this kind of snow afforded cushioned landings. Since they hadn’t yet finished the backcountry trails and Gage wasn’t here for back up, Cam would have to pass on the temptation to take off for hours through the trails. He pushed off on his skis and headed through the trees to reach the more advanced downhill slopes.
As the day passed, it was fairly uneventful. Two teen boys overestimated their skiing prowess and tumbled together down one of the advanced slopes. Being teen boys, they insisted they were unharmed, but they respected Cam’s insistence they wait for Don to ride up and bring them down on the snowmobile. He was relieved they’d managed to escape injury and wasn’t about to let them try to ski the rest of the slope. Aside from that, he skied his way through the day, his eyes watchful on the other skiers.
He was coming to learn time did ease the loss of Eric. For so many months in Utah after the accident, Cam tried to ski and couldn’t keep Eric out of his mind. He’d worried he’d never be able to enjoy skiing as much as he once had. It was that which prodded him to look for jobs elsewhere. Last Frontier Lodge was proving to offer what he needed—a chance to stay busy and focused with work, lots of time to ski, and a setting where Eric had never been, so Cam wasn’t constantly bombarded with memories of Eric. He hadn’t thought much of it when they’d been growing up together, but sharing so much of his life with Eric made it hard to escape the memories. He still struggled with guilt. Yet, he found it had been over a week since he last recalled replaying the accident in his mind.
Today, he found himself thinking mostly of Ginger. Last night was just…well, it was out of this world, and he was half out of his mind because of it. He hadn’t even noticed a woman in over a year. Eric died and his world went into a skid. He thought he was managing to piece things back together, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to consider a relationship. The
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