Page 1 of Snow Drift

1

MOORE

Agentle fire crackles in the library. The fragrance of cedar logs mixes with the faint scent of the wall of books behind me and the worn leather armchair I've sunk into.

As far as vacations go, some people might think holing up at an old-fashioned mountain chalet with two buddies is pretty boring. Not me. After just one day, with three incredible meals, great conversation, and hours of reading, I already feel completely recharged.

My friendship with my university buddies is a close one but low key. Monthly video calls, emails once in a while, and this week at Wolfe Mountain Chalet every January.

It's the perfect time for us to meet up. Dylan is an investor with very few clients, none of whom needs his constant attention. Baz is the proverbial mountain man, tending to his extensive property and maintaining the trails – but most of them can't be accessed in the dead of winter.

Since the weather is so lousy this time of year, we're the only three guests at the chalet this week. It's bliss. Our version of socializing contains great swathes of silence.

Setting down my mystery novel, I pick up a magazine and thumb through the pages of ads till I get to an article.

Baz looks up with a smirk. "Aww, did some of the big words wear you out?"

I kick the air in the direction of his arm chair. "Horticultural magazines are work. You know that."

I glance over to see Dylan rolling his eyes. "Dude, I thought we all agreed this was a no work zone."

"I'm an artist," I state with a haughty sniff. "I must feed my muse, so my subconscious mind can create visions for the spring."

Baz snorts. "Please. You plant shrubs in straight lines for rich old ladies."

Dylan chuckles. "I dunno… Those photos he sent us of the Meditation Garden at City Hall were pretty cool." His thick eyebrows raise. "Who knew that circular paths could be sodeep?"

"Don't forget the fluffy orange flowers," Baz says in his familiar low growl that on anyone else would sound angry. "Orange. That's his way of not being too girly with the pinks and purples."

I reach out and slap where his face would be if we were three feet closer together. "Jerks. You're just jealous because thousands of people see my work, and hardly anyone sees your…" I gesture vaguely in the air, then frown. "Wait. The two of you barely work at all, don't you?"

"Pfft." Baz swirls his whiskey cocktail with a small smile, sniffing it deeply. "I work enough."

Dylan grins. "I worked my butt off right out of school. I figure I can take things easy now."

"Ha. We'll see how easy he takes things with his little crush," I say, referring to this morning's conversation. Dylan clearly has a thing for our server, Maya. This morning Baz laid down the lawand said it was a breach of the rules of Guys' Week. Just another excuse to tease Dylan, of course.

We get back to our reading, but the article about new advancements in fertilizer technology doesn't hold my interest. Seeing how infatuated Dylan is with Maya has set off a chain reaction of uncomfortable thoughts and feelings coursing through me.

I want to settle down.

Over the past year, I've truly felt it creeping in and settling there, like an itch I can't reach to scratch. I hate the dating process, which is what has been holding me back. But it's time. I'm finally settled in my career, my home, my life.

I know that my dream woman is out there. Someone sweet and charming who wants to make a life with me and work on a ten-year gardening project.

But I'm not going to just run into her.

I need to get out and find her.

2

KALLIE

The warm glow of amber light gradually wakes me up a few minutes before my alarm chimes softly. Rolling onto my back, I reach over and tap the special wake-up light that is bathing the tiny room in a simulated sunrise. Best present to myself ever.

When my eyes focus, I glance to the left to check the calendar. Tuesday. Right.

I sit up and look around the room for a moment before remembering I'm at Wolfe Mountain Chalet. I move around so much that it often takes a minute to click. This is the only place I've ever been to twice. Last February I came here for a few months and left in the spring. I liked it so much that I decided to return in November for the full winter season.

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