“Can’t complain, though I wouldn’t mind a sweet pup like this one.” He leaned over to pat Hunter.
“Did Lily and Shelby ride up ahead of us?” Scott asked.
“Sure did. Shelby batted those big brown eyes at me like the flirt she is.” He leaned over to boost the dog into the lift chair. “Have a good run, mate.”
As they rode the lift up, Scott scanned the terrain below for Lily and her dog. The crowds were thinning, the sun low in the sky and temperatures cooler. He made note of the need to reposition the snow fence that marked the beginning of the terrain park. A snow dump had partially obscured a couple of trail signs. They’d need to check those first thing tomorrow. Snow was in the forecast tonight. They’d need to set charges to clear the slopes above Tessa’s Trees and the Glades.
At the top of the lift, Hunter bounded off and Scott skied out after him. “Have you seen Lily and Shelby?” he asked the liftie, a tall woman name Gigi.
“They headed down May Day about ten minutes ago,” she said.
May Day was a wide blue run that opened to views of the distant snowcapped peaks. Two-thirds of the way to the bottom, he spotted Lily and Shelby, surrounded by half a dozen preteens. Hunter let out a bark and raced to join them, but Scottcalled the dog back. He stopped a few feet upslope and ordered Hunter to sit. Lily was running Shelby through a bunch of basic obedience exercises—sit, stay, roll over—to the delight of the children. Scott watched for a while. She had pushed her goggles up on top of her helmet and was smiling at the children, who cast adoring glances at her and the dog. Wisps of light brown hair had escaped from the helmet and framed her face, and her cheeks were flushed pink from the cold. Most of the time, he avoided looking at her directly, but now, with all her focus on the dog and the children, he felt free to do so. Her beauty hit him like a kick in the gut, leaving him breathless and staggered. He’d felt it the very first time he laid eyes on her, and recognized the danger in the feeling. He was her boss. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way about her. Or at least, he wasn’t supposed to act on his feelings. And he wouldn’t. He respected her, admired her even, though her presence on the team made him uncomfortable. That was his problem, not hers.
She looked up, and for a fraction of a second their gazes locked. Another kick in the gut. Her smile had vanished, and she quickly looked away. Yeah, she definitely didn’t feel the same attraction he did.
“I have to go now, kids,” she said.
“No!”
“Show us one more trick!”
“Please!”
Smiling, she shook her head and called Shelby to her side. She lowered her goggles and gripped her poles.
“Is that your boyfriend?” a girl with brown braids and braces asked.
Lily glanced at Scott again. “No, it’s my boss.” She turned from the children and skied over to join him. “Did you need something?” she asked.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
Her tone was brusque, and she didn’t look at him. “What did you need to see me about?”
I needed to make sure you were okay.But he couldn’t say that. “I need to get a copy of Shelby’s certification for our files.”
Her head snapped up. “You’re worried about thatnow?”
He had been trying to come up with something innocuous when the words popped out. He looked away, face burning. “Just get it to me whenever you get a chance.”
She shook her head. “I can’t really think about that right now.”
He started to walk away, but that was the coward’s path. Instead, he faced her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
She didn’t answer.
“Is it Jackson?” he asked. “It’s natural you’re upset about him. It’s always harder when you know the victim.”
“Don’t say that word.”
“What word?”
She grimaced. “Victim.”
“Lily.” He tried to make his voice gentle. “You know the odds of Jackson still being alive are slim to none.”
“You don’t know that.” He couldn’t see her eyes behind the reflective goggles, but he was sure she was glaring at him. “His backpack was found at the edge of the avalanche field. Jackson could have been thrown free. He could have skied out of the path of the avalanche. He could be out there alone in the woods, without his pack.” Her voice broke, and she pressed her lips together.
