Page 66 of Stuck on the Slopes

“Thanks for taking my call, Rachel. Wishing you a belatedchag sameach.”

“And to you as well. It’s no problem.”

“I saw your press release. And I gotta say, this is very good timing what those awful tabloids making the rounds.”

I let her hear my nervous laugh. “Yeah, that’s no coincidence.”

“Off the record, are you and Juniper seeing each other?”

Since LeAnn was with a legitimate news source and held herself to a higher standard than the rest of the reporters I met, I decided to trust her—but only a little for now to test the waters. “Off the record, I’m not sure what label he wants to put on our relationship. But he values his privacy and seeing this has him all torn up. I’d love to get a handle on it, so he doesn’t have to worry as much.”

“I completely understand,” she said. “So, I’d love to swing by with Ralph, my photog, and get some B-roll for the station. The photos you have are great, but video is king these days, as I’m sure you know.”

“Oh, for sure! I’d be more than happy to host you. When were you thinking?”

“Can we do something this morning? I can be there in twenty minutes and get the package ready for the noon broadcast.”

“It would be my pleasure. I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”

“I’m assuming Juniper won’t want to be interviewed?”

“Most likely not,” I said. “We’re getting there, though. Maybe when we open, you can get a quote or two out of him.”

“Alright, sounds good. We don’t really need him for today, anyway. See you soon, Rachel.”

“Thanks, LeAnn.”

Juniper was nowhere to be found. Before I met with LeAnn, I knocked on his door, but there was no answer.

“Hey, if you’re in there, just know that I’m on it, okay?”

Silence.

I walked away and waited in front of the concierge desk. Only a few minutes later, LeAnn and her cameraman, Ralph, arrived. LeAnn’s hair was up in a ponytail today, cascading down the back of her cobalt blue dress. Ralph wore a Colorado Rockies baseball cap and a flannel.

“This place looks so beautiful since the last time I was here,” LeAnn said.

“Thank you. We’ve been at it almost non-stop.”

“I can only imagine. We’re looking forward to filming today.”

As he adjusted his camera settings, Ralph said, “Our options were this or a crazy viewer who’s convinced that aliens live in his backyard.”

“Oh, lovely!”

As my eyes widened, LeAnn said, “We get some interesting claims, that’s for sure.”

We went through the tour, taking plenty of breaks for Ralph to get all the footage he needed. I’d share some fun bits of history with LeAnn, who would film what she called a “look live” where she spoke to the camera, giving the illusion she would be there live, but the segment was prerecorded.

After about two hours, we found our way back to the lobby. When Ralph ran out to drop off the camera equipment in the van, LeAnn stayed behind and asked, “Do you have a second?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“My mic is off, don’t worry. I wanted to see how you were doing with everything. You know, as a friend. I know it’s easy to say you’re fine, but people can be awful. Believe me, I know.”

I smiled at her. “That’s really sweet of you. But I’m okay, really.”

“You sure?”

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