Page 1 of Snow One Like You

One

CAMMIE

“Yes, Mom. I have everything I need,” I replied, trying not to sigh out loud.

“Are you sure you should leave during a blizzard?”

“We’re headed to the airport in a half hour. We’ll beat the storm and be somewhere warm while you guys are covered with snow.”

The weather was one reason I’d chosen to spend Christmas in southern Europe. I loved Winter Falls, the small town where I’d grown up. It was high in the mountains and sat at the base of the Winter Falls Ski Resort. It was just cold enough to keep the resort open all year, which meant constant tourism. And they loved that it was perpetually Christmas in our little slice of heaven.

Most of the time, I didn’t mind the weather, but every once in a while, I wanted to lie on a beach. Especially when epic blizzards blew through the area. The one headed our way was going to be the worst we’d seen in seven years.

“What if you’re kidnapped?” my mom worried, and I could practically hear the wringing of her hands.

“I’ll always be with my girls, Mom. I promise.”

“Cammie, honey. Are you sure you should traipse around Europe alone? A group of single women?”

Oh, good grief…here we go.

I tried to remind myself to be patient with her since my parents had been so great about the fact that I would be missing Christmas this year. But…sometimes the sarcasm just slipped out.

“Of course not, Mom. We won’t be alone. I intend to hook up with a guy in every place we visit. He’ll be our escort.”

My mother gasped, and I grinned, imagining her clutching her pearls.

“Cambria Ashley!”

“She’s a grown woman, Francie,” my dad yelled. “We didn’t raise her to be stupid. She can take care of herself.”

Thank you, Dad!

Unlike my dad, my mom had always been a bit old-fashioned, and she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around a situation where independent women, such as her daughters, could survive any level of responsibility without a man. She meant well and loved us to pieces, which was why we occasionally put up with her meddling and matchmaking.

But my dad was the best. He always believed in his kids—both his son and two daughters—and encouraged us to take risks and follow our dreams. That was why my brother Jake was a professional snowboarder who had just won an Olympic gold medal.

My sister, Raven, had been successfully running the family business for ten years—The Snowed Inn and Lodge—despite our mother’s worries that she couldn’t handle it alone.

And I was a nationally certified EMT with a master’s in Athletic Training and had just completed my clinicals and passed the National Physical Therapy Examination for my doctorate in physical therapy. Between school, my job as a medic and ski instructor at the resort, and traveling to amateur and professional sporting competitions to help as temporary medical staff, there hadn’t been time for much else. Especially a relationship.

After so many grueling years of nothing but work and studying, I just wanted to take a trip with some girlfriends and relax. So I’d planned the trip to celebrate completing my doctorate.

“I promise not to do anything that would put off my future husband, okay?”

“Now that you mention it, when you get back, you should meet Caleb’s friend. I’ll have him over for dinner and?—”

I groaned. “No matchmaking, Mother. I told you after the last time, never again.”

“Yes, but you’re done with school now. You have more time.”

“When I come home, I’ll be helping to set up the new facility.”

My sister’s billionaire husband had bought the resort when he married Raven. Since she and Colin had the inn running like, in her words, “smooth hot chocolate and whipped Irish cream,” there had been little for him to do since he’d quit his family’s real estate business. So he’d been working on expanding, and his latest project was a state-of-the-art Olympic training facility. He’d asked me to be the director of the medical department, and I’d jumped at the chance to have an amazing and well-paying job while still living in my favorite place in the world.

My mom sighed, doing her best to guilt-trip me. It wouldn’t work. The last time I gave in and let her set me up had been an utter disaster. The guy hated snow sports and lived on a Christmas tree farm outside of town. And, although he tried to hide it, I was fairly certain he didn’t even like Christmas.

“Mom, I need to go. The girls are waiting for me, and we need to get on the road so we don’t miss our flight.”

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