Page 6 of Stuck on the Slopes

I wanted to gag but tried to bite back my resentment.

Once the reporters left, Rachel sighed. I could feel her eyes on me, her stare more pointed than any of the knives in The Elk’s Head kitchen. “What was that all about?”

And I’d already failed.

“No reporters,” I said.

“We need them.”

“For what, drumming up some good press? Isn’t that what social media’s for these days?”

Rachel looked like she wanted to huff, but she swallowed loud enough to hear. There was a flame igniting her dark eyes, but her words were calm and poised. “Social media is only one piece of a much larger puzzle.”

I wished she would just snap and bite my head off instead of maintaining her corporate composure. But ultimately, I’d hired her to do a job. At least she’d already started.

Rachel then said, almost in a whisper, “Now her channel’s gonna think you’re a real mensch.” The sarcasm wasn’t lost on me.

“Well, luckily I was never exactly famous for being nice, so she shouldn’t be surprised.” I shrugged; it was the truth. As a snowboarder, my attitude stemmed from a different place than it did now, but I was known for it all the same. Whether it was from being a cocky bastard or a rude bastard, they already all thought I was a bastard.

To be honest, I preferred it that way.

“Okay then,” Rachel said, “we can play good cop, bad cop. Problem solved. Just please don’t make it impossible for me to play good cop.”

I chuckled. “Challenge accepted, Friedman.” Knowing to quit while I was ahead, I said, “Well, I’ve got some bookkeeping to attend to. Contractors gotta get paid and all that. You have my personal cell number already, so give me a ring or knock if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll give you the day to unpack and get settled.”

She nodded as we both made our way down the hall. “Sure, yeah. Sounds good.” Her voice nearly cracked with nerves, and it took everything in me not to roll my eyes.

What did she have to be nervous about? She knew what she was signing up for.

The question plagued me as I went through the books, making sure I paid the last of the contractor invoices off and that everything was still in the green. I did so from the comfort of my couch with the blinds pulled back so I could enjoy the view of the grounds behind me. Nature brought me some semblance of peace, as did being out in the mountains. Despite everything that happened on slopes like these, they still brought me comfort. The slopes at this resort were familiar territory, ones that had never failed me since I was a boy.

I wasn’t sure how long I stared out the window aimlessly, but I snapped out of my daze when Sasquatch plopped a folded blanket that he’d carried in his mouth onto my lap. As I petted his head, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, buddy.”

I set my laptop down so I could twist my spine, letting my lower back crack, and then set the blanket over my lap. Once my laptop was back in place, I patted the spot on the couch next to me, inviting Sasquatch up. I removed his vest, tossed it to the side, and shifted as he set his head on my left thigh; he knew better than to snuggle on my right side. The weight of his head and his soft fur always brought me comfort, too.

All that was left for me and Rachel to do was some final cleaning and decorating before we set up for an opening day. While I’d need to hire some additional staff before then, I wanted to see how far Rachel and I could go without having to get any more hands-on deck.

From personal experience, the fewer people involved, the better.

“Say, Squatch, do you think I made her nervous?”

The Newfoundland looked at me with wide eyes. Even when he smiled—I’m not sure if dogs actually do smile, but Sasquatch seemed to—his dark eyes made him look like he was pleading or on the verge of tears.

“I don’t make people nervous, do I?”

With a small, sweet boof, he shook his head in my lap.

“You know, it’s times like these where I’m not convinced you can’t actually understand me beyond the basics.”

Leave it to me to communicate better with a dog than with a fellow human being.

Chapter 3

Rachel

Itwasagoodthing Juniper only showed me around the main building because once I’d returned to my room it started snowing. As the thick white flakes fell and coated the ground, some of them pressed against the window. I moved a chair in the den so I could curl up with a hot cup of tea and watch, enjoying the feeling of the steam rising on my face and the mug warming my hands.

It also gave me a moment to think about Juniper. I tried to not think about him and his heavy-lidded gaze, which actually proved rather difficult thanks to his beautiful, long face, perfectly framed by wisps of dark, shoulder-length hair and just the right amount of stubble to look rugged while still seeming put together.

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