Page 26 of Finding Love on the Slopes

Allowing Leigh to drape his arm over her shoulder, she knelt in the snow beside him and helped him to his knees. After a moment to determine his pain level, they made their way to a standing position, and she held him tight so he didn’t sway too strongly and topple over.

“I need a moment before we try to walk anywhere. Let the blood start flowing to my feet again.”

Enrique turned into Leigh until they were chest to chest and wrapped his arms around her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. Leigh rested her head against his chest, taking comfort in the steady beat of his heart against her ear. Even under the extreme circumstances, it felt good to be in his arms.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, both taking comfort in each other’s arms and catching their breath from the previous exertions before separating.

“We need to get moving. We have a mile-long hike in this snow to get to safety. The storm is getting close. There isn’t much time. Let me call Curtis really quick to give him a status update.” Grabbing her satellite phone from her pack, she rang Curtis.

“You made it. I knew you would,” was the first thing Curtis said when his end of the call connected. “Is he alive?” he asked with trepidation.

“He’s alive and standing. I can’t assess his injuries out in the elements, so we’re heading towards the cabin. I’ll call once we reach safety.”

Leighann ended the call and tucked the phone back into her pack. Taking a deep breath, she tucked herself into Enriques side with her arm stretched behind his back for stability and they trudged forward in the snow.

The sky darkened quickly, and snow fell so thick that they could barely see where they were going. Leighann’s small LED headlight was their only light in the darkness. They followed the edge of the forest praying it led them to the cabin the ranger told her about.

The longer they walked, the more pain registered in Enrique’s body. The wind howled around them and whipped at their hair and clothes. It felt like there was a stampede of angry elephants roaring through his head. Their enormous feet stomped on his brain while they trumpeted their distress in his ears. The pain was so bad he thought he might vomit at any moment.

His sides hurt, his knees were weak, and he could feel the exhaustion in his bones as each boot sunk into the deep snow. He doubted there was any serious injury, but he would at least need a few days of rest after this experience.

Enrique knew he was blessed to be alive. For a moment after he had rolled down the mountain and crashed at the bottom, a deep silence enveloped him. He had never felt more alone in his life than he had at that moment as he lay face-first on the icy cold snow. He didn’t want to die alone, and because of his stupidity, that was exactly what was going to happen.

Enrique had been reminded time and time again that pride comes before a fall. His overwhelming confidence that he could handle anything had led him into some pretty big scrapes in his lifetime. Somehow, he always managed to get out of them to live another day. But this time… this was different.

As he lay in the snow, semiconscious, he had a reckoning with God. A come to Jesus moment, if you will. He had not been living his life right, and he knew it. He loved his family and took care of his employees, but he had been living his life for himself, selfish and self-centered in every possible way. Laying there freezing to death, he finally understood what “You can’t take it when you go” meant. All of his accomplishments, his bank account, and his worldly possessions weren’t going to do him a bit of good out here. Had they done him a bit of good at all or just overinflated his head?

He had just promised to be a better person, to live with purpose if God would give him another chance, when he heard Leighann’s sweet voice. At first, he didn’t think she was real; perhaps it was a last sweet image before he took his final breath. Even when he felt his body being turned over, he had expected to see a forest ranger whom he would have been lucky to meet.The last person he ever expected to see was Leighann. The very woman he had intentionally made things difficult for ever since they began their training sessions had risked her safety to help him. It was incomprehensible, and yet he felt deep down that this was God smiling down, saying, “Now keep your end of the deal.”

The thought that Leighann had come for him was astounding. What woman would risk life and limb to rescue a man who had treated her so poorly? His chest tightened as he thought of it, thought of the woman who was currently struggling by his side to handle both his weight and hers as they made their way to the cabin. She had to be feeling just as exhausted as he was, and yet she pushed on, determined to get them to safety. Suddenly, a strange, intense feeling flooded his body with warmth, and his heart began to race. He admired this woman. Cherished her dedication to humanity and her kind spirit. He had never felt this way about anyone but his sister Hannah.

Any other person would have left him to his fate and saved themselves, seeking safety from the storm. They were in this mess because of him—he knew that well. She was suffering from the repercussions of his selfish actions. She could have been, and still could be, terribly hurt because of him. So, what made her stay? What made her save him instead of putting her safety first?

Leigh huffed, her frustration nearing its peak when the headlight flickered and went off again. He wanted to say something to her, anything at all, but he couldn’t muster the courage to do so. Guilt was eating at him, so he just stood there,trying not to put too much weight on her small shoulders as she pulled the lamp off her helmet and hit over her thigh to get it back on.

The light was dim, signifying that the battery was about to die. Leighann’s legs were weak and burning after walking what seemed like forever with half of Enrique’s weight on her while they trudged through knee-deep snow. She kept telling herself,You can’t give up. When you think you’re at your limit, you have only used 40%.When that wasn’t working, she visualized her and Enrique strolling through a park full of bright green grass and flowers blooming. His arm draped lovingly over her shoulder while she was tucked into the protection of his side. They were laughing and chatting as they walked along.

That technique had worked until the headlamp died. Then she was thrust back into the middle of the blizzard, praying they found the cabin before they got disoriented or froze into human popsicles.

She had been begging God to give her a sign that they were at least heading in the right direction when she spotted the outline of a cabin through the snow. Relief washed over her; they were almost there, just a little bit further, and they would be to safety.

“There it is,” she shouted, her voice barely audible over the howling wind. “We’re almost there.”

Strands of her hair blew around her face as they continued. She was shivering uncontrollably, the cold punishing as it bit into her exposed skin and blew through the layers of her clothes. The side tucked close to Enrique was warmer, whether because it was protected or absorbing some of his body heat, she wasn’tsure. Whatever the reason, she was certain that if she had been walking through the storm alone, she would have already frozen to death.

Branches beat against the cabin wall as the storm grew more violent with every passing minute. Leigh immediately found the numerical padlock securing the front of the door but couldn’t turn the numbers with her gloves on. Using her teeth, she removed the glove from her right hand and spun the dials until the zip code for Avalanche Crest was reflected in the waning light of her headlamp. What a blessing she had worked several years in the back office of the resort sending and receiving mail, or she might not have remembered the code after that long, exhausting walk.

Pulling on the lock to release it, she was relieved to feel the click under her hand and lifted it from the latch to allow the door to swing open. They had just walked inside when a large gust of freezing wind blew through the door, slamming it against the wall and rattling the windows. It took both of them leaning their weight and applying the last of their energy to close the door. Leigh found a matching latch on the inside and hooked the padlock into the hole without clicking it into the locked position. An extra layer of security against the wind and elements didn’t hurt, right?

We made it, she thought as she tipped her head back to rest against the door. Her shoulders ached and her legs felt like Jello. She was weak and could feel her energy leaving her rapidly, but despite the discomfort, nothing diminished the joy she felt over the fact that they had made it. Curtis was right, and she was proud of herself.

Chapter Twenty

She opened her eyes, aware that Enrique was just a few feet away and needed to be evaluated for injuries. Not ready to speak to him, she took a few minutes to assess their situation.

The light on her headlamp slowly started to fade to nothing, so she ripped it off her helmet and quickly looked around for anything that could be used for light. She found a large flashlight on a shelf and was thrilled that when she pressed the small black button, it clicked on, illuminating the small space with bright white light. Now she could see it was a one-room cabin, little more than a shack, really. She bet it wasn’t five paces to the far wall.

There was little in the way of furniture. A well-worn couch circa 1970’s sat a few feet from the small fireplace. A tiny table stood in the middle of the kitchen area with two straight-backed chairs, their surfaces scratched, but they looked sturdy. There were boxes stacked in a corner that she suspected containedthe supplies the forest ranger talked about. Firewood filled a small box next to the hearth, and a single bed on a metal frame was tucked against the left wall. The right corner had a curtained-off area, which she sincerely hoped was a toilet of some kind. Rough wooden planks protruded off the wall, acting as shelves, and were nearly bare, containing only two pans, two plates, and an enamel coffee pot.

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