Colton's Rescue Mission, page 15
While she might never have the answers to those questions, she could only hope he was found and brought in without any bloodshed. Gazing out into the swirling whiteout, she wondered where Seth was. The last she’d heard, the sheriff’s department had organized a massive manhunt in Roaring Springs and the surrounding area. They’d hoped to apprehend him before the blizzard hit. She wondered if they had. Doubtful, since they most likely would have let Remy know.
Despite everything, she wanted Seth to get help, not to die alone in the freezing snow. She thought back to the times they’d been together, tried to remember if there’d been something she’d missed, some hint or clue of the darkness hidden inside him.
She’d thought him a bit self-centered, she mused. And he’d always seemed to have a deep-seated mistrust, maybe even envy, of people who were better off than him. For the first time she wondered how much of that stemmed from his involvement with the clearly wealthy Coltons.
She’d always treated Seth more like a brother than a mate, she realized. She’d refused to allow the physical part of their relationship to progress beyond kissing and some heavy petting. This had never appeared to bother Seth. If it made him angry, he’d managed to keep his feelings hidden from her.
Of course, he’d been dating Sabrina Gilford on the side. What he hadn’t gotten from Vanessa, he no doubt received from her. She thought of the photos she’d seen on Seth’s computer. The dark-haired woman had laughed up at him, her fondness for him evident on her pretty face. She hadn’t seemed abused or worried in any way. And Seth, with his arm around Sabrina’s slender shoulders, had gazed down at her with the same adoration with which he’d once looked at Vanessa.
How much of that had been feigned? Was Seth really that good of an actor? Why bother to pretend to be in love with two different women? Her eyes widened as she found herself wondering if he’d actually proposed to both of them. Had Sabrina broken off things just as Vanessa had? Was that the reason she’d ended up dead?
Seeing where her thoughts had gone, she wrapped her arms around herself and forced herself to face the truth. The man she’d once considered her best friend most likely was a murderer. If he’d succeeded when he’d grabbed her, would that have made him a serial killer?
Vanessa sighed. She supposed she should consider herself lucky that he hadn’t killed her that day at her place in Boulder when she’d given him back his ring.
Some of the chill from outside mixed with her dark thoughts made her shiver. She turned, went back to the bed and slipped between the soft flannel sheets, squirming just enough to put herself back into Remy’s arms without stirring him. This was where she belonged, she knew. But how could she and Remy forge a future with his brother between them?
Morning brought that particular brightness of sun on fresh snowfall. Which meant the storm had ended as quickly as it had appeared. Sitting up in the bed, loath to leave the warmth of the covers, she debated whether or not to go back to sleep.
“Hey there.” Smiling, Remy stretched, drawing her gaze to his muscular chest. “Come here.”
Unable to resist, she slid down next to him. His morning arousal delighted her and she reached for him.
“Wait.” He grabbed her hand before she could touch him. “We didn’t use a condom last night.”
“Should I worry?” she asked, half teasing. “I’m clean and I’m on birth control. What about you?”
Expression relieved, he kissed the hand he’d captured before guiding it back. “I’m clean, too.” He looked around for his jeans, his body already pushing into her expert strokes. “Do you want me to grab one now?”
“No.” Her unequivocal answer came straight from the heart. “I don’t want anything between us.”
After making love again, she dozed, secure in Remy’s strong arms. “Do you want the first shower?” he asked. “I’ve ordered breakfast from room service. It should be here in about thirty minutes.”
“Yes, thank you.” Happier than she had a right to be, she dashed for the ornate bathroom and took a hot shower.
Blow-drying her hair while Remy showered felt cozy and domestic. If not for her niggling worry about Seth, she might have allowed herself to relax and enjoy the feeling.
They enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. Though he had to be worried, Remy appeared more concerned with making sure she was comfortable. She caught him glancing at his watch a few times and finally asked him if he was due in at the office.
“No,” he answered, clearly distracted. “This time of the year things are super slow, so I texted my assistant and had her let everyone know to stay home due to the storm.” He took another long sip of coffee before pulling out his cell. “I’m going to check in with the sheriff.”
She nodded. “Okay.” And then she held her breath while she waited to hear what he found out. Judging by his sober expression, the news wasn’t good.
After ending the call, he met her gaze. “They shut down Pine Peak due to the storm, but got word of multiple avalanches.” He swallowed hard. “And one of the ski patrol got a call about a man stranded up there. They’re not sure if he was caught in one of the avalanches or not. Either way, Trey thinks it might be Seth.”
Her stomach twisted. “Are they sending the ski-rescue team out?”
“Yes, but they’re severely undermanned. I’m going to go offer to help.”
She stared at him, trying to find the best way to divulge her thoughts. “Remy, you’re not a strong enough skier. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Maybe not.” Grimacing, he shrugged. “But I don’t have a choice. Seth’s my brother. I can’t let him freeze up there alone.”
“I’ll go,” she said, surprising herself. “You know I can handle it. I even volunteered on a ski patrol when I was in Switzerland.”
Remy started shaking his head before she’d even finished. “Please stay here, Vanessa. If it is Seth, with him being so unstable, there’s no telling what he might do if he sees you.”
He had a point. Wavering, she let him pull her into his arms. “Can we at least go to The Lodge and sit in with whoever is coordinating the rescue?”
“Yes.” He kissed her cheek. “That we can do. It might be a bit of a struggle getting up there—the plow will be busy digging downtown out first, but we’ll figure something out.”
“How about we ski there?” she asked, itching to get going.
“It’s all uphill,” he reminded her. “Snowshoes might work better.”
She saw his point. “Do you have any?”
“Not personally, but we always keep several pairs in the extreme-sport area. I’ll call my cousin Blaine—he runs that program. They should be able to deliver them to our room.”
Vanessa nodded, still trying to figure out a way to go along with the rescue team. She had confidence in her skiing skills and knew she would be an asset, no matter what Remy thought. Though he wasn’t wrong about a possible bad reaction from Seth if he saw her or caught her alone. After all, he’d tried to kill her once. No doubt if he saw a second chance, he’d take it, regardless of the circumstances.
Reluctantly, she knew she had to stay behind.
Remy finished his call and told her the snowshoes would be delivered in a few minutes. “Go ahead and suit up,” he said. “No idea how long getting up to The Lodge might take. We have a tram, but they shut it down until they can get the snow cleared off the rails.”
The trek up to The Lodge might have been arduous, but the bright blue sky and sunshine made it actually pleasurable. Though her legs were well conditioned to skiing and snowboarding, using the snowshoes for such an uphill distance made her muscles burn. Beside her, Remy appeared to be feeling it, too, though he made no complaints. Instead, he appeared fixated on reaching their destination.
When they reached the large sign at the entrance to the resort, Remy stopped, his labored breath producing puffs of steam in the frigid air. “They haven’t even cleared the driveway,” he said, clearly disappointed. “That’s usually one of the first things the grounds crew does.”
She understood. If the drive had been plowed, they could have taken off the snowshoes and simply walked it. Now they were facing another steep grade they’d have to climb.
“I’m guessing they were busy with more important things,” she murmured, glad for the opportunity to catch her own breath. “Just think of this as conditioning for the next time you strap on skis.”
Her comment made him laugh. She smiled back, basking in the warmth of his grin. A second later, it faded. “If the snow is this deep at this lower elevation, just imagine what it’s like up there on the mountain.”
Though he hadn’t said his brother’s name, she knew exactly what he meant. Focused once more, they began trudging up toward The Lodge.
When they reached the parking lot, Vanessa stared at the private luxury cabins dotting the mountainside before eying the main building itself. The modern construction managed to look both historic and decadent—the place to be if one wanted to stay at the best ski resort in the state. Each time she saw The Lodge, she fell in love with it a little bit more.
Though she’d never booked a room here, she could honestly say that nowhere else could possibly hold a candle to this one.
“This way,” Remy said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “We’re not going inside the main building. There’s a ski-patrol cabin right before the road that leads to the lift.”
“Lead the way.”
The one-story frame building looked deserted on the outside, though she knew had the lift been open, the place would have been buzzing with activity. But the instant they stepped inside, the small but focused group of people gave off an intense vibe that showed they meant business.
She should have been surprised, but this ski patrol was high-tech. A large computer screen monitored each member’s GPS location. Impressed, she slipped in the middle of a group of three men and a woman. “Any luck so far?”
If they were surprised to see her, no one showed it. “Nothing yet,” the woman said grimly. “Though our people are just now reaching the area where the stranded man was last seen.”
Remy came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. When the others registered his presence, their eyes widened.
“Hey, guys,” Remy said quietly. “I know you’ll do your best to locate our stranded guest and bring him back safely.”
“Yes, we will, Mr. Colton.” A petite young woman, her blond hair in a long braid, regarded him solemnly. “We’re all hoping it’s not Seth. He’s a skilled enough skier that it seems unlikely he’d be in this position.”
Vanessa couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of that. “If it’s not Seth, then who...?”
The young blonde lifted one slender shoulder. “It could be any one of our guests. We have a group of guys from Longmont up here celebrating a bachelor party. They’d been warned several times about taking unnecessary risks. My bet is that it’s one of them.”
Vanessa exchanged a long look with Remy. If the stranded skier wasn’t Seth, then where was he? He couldn’t have left town, not with all the roads closed. Unless...
“Does Seth have a snowmobile?” she asked Remy, keeping her voice pitched low.
“No,” he replied. “At least not that I know of.”
“Maybe he borrowed one, so he could get out of town.”
Remy shook his head, taking her arm and leading her away from the others. “He has nowhere to go. No matter how desperate he got, I don’t think he’d go back to our mother and that hellhole apartment. Not when he’s invested so much time and money creating a nice life for himself here in Roaring Springs.”
“They found him!” One of the rescue team shouted. “Alive. They’re bringing him in now.”
* * *
Remy and Vanessa joined the small group of people waiting to meet the injured man and his rescuers as they came down from the slope. Vanessa gripped Remy’s hand so tightly her nails dug into his palm, but he didn’t mind. So far, no one had mentioned the guy’s identity, so they had no idea if it was Seth or one of the young men from the bachelor party. Though odds were high it was the latter, Trey had joined them just in case. If they brought Seth down on a stretcher, he’d promptly be arrested and charged.
“There they are!” someone shouted, pointing at a speck way up on the mountain. Everyone grew quiet. As the group drew nearer, Remy strained to make out the features of the man on the stretcher.
“It’s not him,” Vanessa breathed, at the same moment he realized the exact same thing. On Remy’s other side, Trey grunted and walked over to the man’s group of friends, who’d celebrated with a few unrestrained cheers. They fell quiet the instant the sheriff approached.
“Well.” Still holding Vanessa’s hand, though her grip had loosened somewhat, Remy tugged her close. “What do you want to do now?”
“I’m not sure,” she answered. As she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widened. “The crowd size has doubled.”
Turning, he saw she was correct. Alerted by the ski patrol, most of The Lodge management staff had come out to watch them bring the injured skier down from the mountain.
Catching sight of Remy, one of Seth’s counterparts hurried over. “The plow is on the way, with an ambulance right behind it. We’ve got people working on a press release, too.”
“Good. Make sure they run it by me before releasing it.”
“Will do.” The man moved away.
“Listen.” Vanessa tugged on his hand. “That sounds like the plow.”
Everyone around them murmured, some craning their necks to see if they could catch a glimpse of it. A moment later, the plow made its way up the driveway, shoving aside snow into great piles on either side.
Another cheer went up as everyone caught sight of the ambulance, lights flashing, following right behind. As the plow made a slow circle to go back down, the ambulance parked and three EMTs jumped out. As they surrounded the young man, whose name apparently was Eric, the ski patrol relinquished custody and vanished into the crowd.
Eric’s group of bachelor-party attendees remained at his side, unusually quiet while they watched the paramedics set up. Remy suspected one or two had bad hangovers, but they all seemed genuinely concerned.
“Looks like he’s going to be okay,” Vanessa said. “Let’s go inside and maybe get something to eat or a cup of coffee.”
He squeezed her hand. “Great idea.”
Hand in hand, they walked toward the side entrance.
As usual, the interior lobby of The Lodge was packed full of skiers. Today, with nowhere to go, they seemed hell-bent on spending money and having fun. The gift shop had a sign up noting they’d sold out of souvenir T-shirts, scarves and knit caps. The bars were packed and it was standing room only.
Remy sensed an impatient vibe. The vast majority of the guests were here for the snow sports. Since the storm had stopped, they were all biding their time until Pine Peak reopened.
If no one seemed concerned about the man who had been rescued from the mountain, Remy knew there was good reason. They didn’t know. Per policy, Lodge employees kept the worrisome news under wraps and would continue to do so until a successful rescue had been announced by Decker. He’d be releasing a statement very soon. Luckily, they’d been successful.
If they hadn’t been successful, they’d figure out a way to do a press release that wouldn’t scare off any of the guests. They had procedures in place for handling fatalities. Even if someone died in a skiing accident, once the slopes were determined safe, the skiing would continue.
Luckily, Eric hadn’t died. Remy figured he’d find out later what exactly had led to the young man becoming stranded.
“Each time I see this place, I’m more and more in awe. I notice more and more details, like these absolutely beautiful Christmas decorations,” Vanessa breathed, turning her head and trying to take them all in. “It’s impossible to take them all in on one visit. I love that they’re totally different than the ones at The Chateau.”
“They are.” He grinned. “The decorator there is instructed to go for an elegant, old-world, European vibe. Here, they strive for a more artsy, outdoorsy feel.” Gazing at her, blue eyes sparkling, creamy skin pink from the cold, he wanted to kiss her senseless. Of course, that would have to wait for later. “Which do you prefer?” he asked, gesturing at a huge tree decked out with deer and moose among all the other ornaments.
She took his question seriously, studying the tree. “I like them both,” she finally said. “Although, if and when I ever put up my own Christmas tree, I think I’d lean toward a more casual approach, like the rustic look here.”
“If and when? Are you saying you’ve never put up your own tree?”
With a slightly embarrassed grimace, she shrugged. “I always visited my family and my parents had a tree there. Until six months ago, I never had my own place and nowhere to go.” She swallowed. “This will not only be my first Christmas alone, but the first in my Boulder house.”
“Makes sense.” Giving in to temptation, he bent down and lightly kissed her mouth. “There’s the café. Let’s go get in line.”
Relaxing into him, she nodded. “Sounds good, though I can think of something else I’d rather be doing...”
Sorely tempted, he hugged her. “Coffee first. We can always go to the room later.”
They joined the line, which seemed ridiculously long, waiting with her in front and him pressing himself into her. Cozy and tempting at the same time. He felt a moment of happiness so pure, so bright, it hit him like a lightning bolt. This woman made everything better. They completed each other. As soon as possible, he would tell her, though he really wanted to wait until Seth was captured and safely locked away.
