Page 4 of Snow One Like You

“Forget it, baby.”

“But what if?—”

“Let them work it out.”

“If I could just?—”

“Do I need to throw you over my shoulder and lock you in our cabin so you’ll keep your nose out of their business?”

I almost laughed when Raven slammed her hands on her hips and glared up at her husband. He was so much bigger than her; watching her try to intimidate him was hilarious. Although to be fair, it seemed to work most of the time. My brother-in-law adored my sister, and honestly, I was a little envious of their relationship.

Raven growled, “I’d like to see you try—” but she was cut off when Caleb scooped her up into his arms and stalked to the back door.

A wide smile spread across Raven’s face, and she waved at me before they disappeared.

“My family is insane,” I declared, blinking a few times as if it would clear the fog in my brain.

Two

SOREN

The weather had gone to shit in the past couple of hours, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I was snowed in. It wouldn’t hurt to put down another layer of sand on the path to the firewood and generator, hoping it wouldn’t become too slick.

I was staring out the big window in my living room when my cell phone rang. It was Caleb, the owner of the resort and technically my boss. Although the job had become more of a collaboration and we’d become good friends.

As I walked toward the front door, I hit the button to answer the call and put it on speaker.

“If you’re calling to fuss over me, I’ve had enough mothering from my mom and sister,” I said in greeting.

They’d been calling a little more frequently since I told them about the major blizzard that would derail our Christmas plans.

My sister, Lara Ann—Lulu—and my parents lived in my hometown, which was just across the Colorado border into Wyoming. They had planned to drive out to spend the holiday with me at the ski resort. But it was a four-hour drive to Winter Falls in good conditions, and this storm was too dangerous for anyone to travel in it. Which meant I wouldn’t be able to go to them either.

Caleb chuckled. “I’ll leave the fretting to them. I just wanted to make sure you’re all set before things get any worse.”

“Your wife stopped by yesterday and brought me every supply I could ever need,” I drawled. “If I didn’t like my job so much and was interested in a noose around my neck and left ring finger, I’d steal her from you.”

“Keep saying shit like that, and I’ll let you freeze to death,” Caleb growled, making me grin. I didn’t laugh out loud, though, because he would most likely give me a black eye the next time he saw me. He was head over heels for his wife and extremely possessive of her. If anyone could convince me that love and marriage were worth putting my faith in, it would be them. But I’d seen the other side of that rosy picture. What were the odds that there was another woman like Raven out there? She was one of a kind.

I’d been too busy for more than a passing relationship for most of my adult life. I spent all of my time earning my degrees, interning, then building my business. If I longed for anything familial, I had my parents, sister, and adorable niece and nephew.

This had made it easy to grow in my career because as an architect and project manager—mostly for sports facilities—I moved on whenever I completed a job. I had an apartment in my hometown, so I didn’t have to stay with my parents when I visited, and a cabin in Aspen where I could chill between projects, but I was rarely at either place for very long. However, over the past year, I’d been thinking about the possibility of putting down roots somewhere. It was mostly a passing thought, though.

When Caleb approached me about designing and managing the construction of the Olympic training facility at the Winter Falls Ski Resort, I jumped at the chance. It was a dream job, and I’d loved every minute so far. For the first time, I actually felt dispirited about the inevitable end. It was still around a year off, but time flew when you were having fun.

The howling of the wind brought me out of my thoughts and I set the phone on the end table while I put on my outer gear.

“I’m going to put down one last layer of sand to keep the path around the cabin from getting too slick.”

“My guys were just out there. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m just going to walk to the wood on the side of the house and to the generator,” I told him as I finished bundling up.

I switched him to earbuds and shoved the phone in my pocket. “I wonder if I should salt too,” I mused as I opened the door. Snow blew into the room, and I braced myself against the wind before stepping out onto the porch.

“Soren!” Caleb shouted. “Don’t be a fucking idiot. We checked the generator this morning and put a stack of wood on your porch.”

I glanced around and saw the bundle of firewood on my right. “Ah, so you did. Thanks.” A shovel stood in the corner on my left, with an open bag of sand and one of salt resting next to it.

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