It’s not Cedar Ridge you rushed up here for…
Laughing at herself, she dropped off her bag at the efficiency apartment and walked in the dark to the village. Past the tiny coffee hut, closed now, but she could still smell the faint scent of the caffeine and sugar that were mainlined there every morning. The rental shop was shut up tight as well, for once utterly devoid of the hundreds of skiers and boarders that passed through the place every morning seeking equipment. The beauty salon was closed, too, but there was a light on and within she caught sight of Aidan’s girlfriend Lily hunched over a laptop. She waved.
Other than that, there was no one else around. The mountain had closed to skiers and boarders several hours ago. The only thing open now was the cafeteria, and that was getting ready to close too.
The path had been cleared and rock salt laid down to keep it from icing up. They’d had a bunch of snow this week, she thought, a little surprised at the berms built high on either side of the trail. The wind had died a little bit and the snow fell silently in thick lines, each snowflake the size of a big white dinner plate.
It never failed to awe her as she stopped and just took it all in: the glorious view of the mountain backdropped against the black night, the eerie, calm quiet echoing around her.
She stared up at the mural—protected from the elements by two walls of the lodge and the huge overhanging patio roof. The beautiful tree was the centerpiece, stretched across the top and bottom of the wall, framing in the highlights on the family tree as they moved in chronological order from left to right. She’d started with Gray, since he was the oldest. The leader. The glue.
Well actually, Penny was the glue, Bailey corrected with a smile. She loved them both already, adored their relationship, and knew that the others did as well.
In any case, she could now see what the entire tapestry would look like and for a moment she felt an overwhelming surge of emotion.
Pride.
Because she was really doing it. Surviving and living and doing something with her life, something she’d never expected to get to do.
From the corner of her eye, she caught a profile of a man in the shadows. Hudson. Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled at him.
He smiled back, much more muted than she expected. Then he stepped closer and she realized her mistake. Not Hudson at all.
Aidan.
He looked up at the mural and smiled. “So it turns out that you can paint.”
She went brows up. “Lucky for you.”
He laughed. “I had a feeling.”
She stared at him. “You hired me on a feeling?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Well you did come at a good price.” He flashed her a smile that was so close to Hud’s her heart skipped another beat. “And as a bonus—you get Hud.”
“That’s a bonus?” she asked.
He laughed. “Hell yeah.”
She cocked her head at the echo of what sounded like a couple of guys whooping it up. Turning to the mountain, lit only by the glow of the night, she saw them.
Two skiers, careening down the run at breakneck speed. “Ohmigod,” she whispered. “Is that—”
“Yeah.” Aidan let out a low laugh as he acknowledged two of his brothers doing the unthinkable—skiing in the dark, in a storm. “It’s how they let off steam.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off the two figures attacking the mountain with that incredible speed, and yet each movement they made was sheer, unchoreographed grace. “Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Living is dangerous,” Aidan said.
“I’m serious! They can’t have very good depth perception.”
“Actually,” he said, “with the lighting the way it is right now with the snow and the reflection from the clouds, it’s pretty awesome. It’s not too cold, the wind died down, and they have the entire mountain to themselves. It’s not dangerous for two guys who know this mountain inside and out as they do.”
“So why aren’t you up there then?” she asked.
The smile widened. “I kicked Gray out of his office because he works too hard. And I don’t think Hud’s taken a day off in… I have no idea. Between running all of ski patrol and working shifts at the cop shop several times a week, I don’t even know how he’s still on his feet. With all he’s got on his plate, I’m glad he’s taking a break.”
The moment was interrupted by low voices carrying across the night air.
The skiers returning.
Gray waved. Hud met Bailey’s eyes but didn’t wave. They vanished into the thick woods.
“They’re climbing back to the top for round three,” Aidan said. “Or maybe it’s four.”
“That’s as crazy as skiing in the dark!”
“It’s part of the adventure,” Aidan said on a low laugh. “It’s what we Kincaids do.”
“And what’s that? Dare death at every turn?”
He smiled. “Live. Live hard. Confront life at every turn. We’re tough, and that’s because we’ve had to be.”