“I’m afraid so. And Colorado snowmobile safety laws say you’re going to have to wear the orange shirt.”
“Orange…shirt?”
Arden nodded stoically. “Yes. The one with the red letters across the back that say B-O-B. You’re a Bob.”
She’s shitting me. She has to be. “I’ll bite. What’s a Bob?”
“Bitch on Board. So that when you fall off into a snowdrift, you’re easier to fi—hey!” Arden ducked the handful of snow Kyle threw at her as it showered into a glittering spray.
That made Arden double over with laughter. “God, I even have to teach you how to make a decent snowball, California!” She dropped and scooped up a pile of snow even as Kyle went to his knees and shoveled snow into his hands as quickly as he could. Camo barked happily around them, as if to say,you guys are stupid but you’re entertaining at least. Arden got off a shot first that slammed into his shoulder. When he threw his, it dissolved into another snow spray before finding its target.
“Dammit!”
Arden stood and brushed snow off her legs. “Come along, Bob. I have a surprise.”
“Seriously though, you’re giving me quick steering lessons because I’m not riding bit— Oh.”
Light from the open door fell onto two snowmobiles and one grinning Arden.
“That better, Bob?” she asked.
“Way better.”
“Good. You’re still getting a lesson though. And I’m taking the one with the carrier on it for Camo.” Both snowmobiles had containers on the back, but one also had a trailer with a perforated metal box with a small door. “These used to belong to Mom and Dad. Dad had the carrier for small animals in case he had to make a house call and transport in the winter.”
“Right, he was a veterinarian.”
“And a damn good one.” She opened the carrier and took the warmed blanket out of her backpack. The carrier was already padded and had a dog bed in it. She patted it. “Up, Camo.” The dog didn’t hesitate to jump in. “Good boy.” She gave him a treat and one of the Kongs. “We practiced earlier this week. I wanted to make sure that if I needed to get him into town, there wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Did you ever think about becoming a vet? You’re a natural.”
A shadow passed over her expression. “Yeah, but it wasn’t in the cards.” She brightened back up immediately. “Now, let’s get you trained.”
Half an hour later, Kyle had decided he’d wasted his life up to this point not riding a snowmobile. They were fuckingfun. Arden explained to him that the Tundras were more workhorses than built for speed, which made him wonder how much more fun that would be, to see how fast he could get one of the speed machines to go. But for now, he was happy to be following Arden along previous snowmobile tracks over open spaces and into a wooded area, always heading downhill. Sun filtered through the trees and illuminated the fresh snow which sparkled like diamonds. The trees whipped past, and above them, the sky was the bluest thing Kyle had ever seen. Bluer than the ocean. Hard to believe another storm was on its way.
The trees gave way and the trail joined up with an unplowed road. They met up with other snowmobilers and rode west past a red-painted caboose, a distillery, and a quarry selling red sandstone. A sign made up of the same stacked red sandstone welcomed them to Lyons.
Kyle had never seen a Hallmark holiday movie—wouldn’t be caught dead watching one ever. But he imagined that if he did, one of those inevitable little towns where so many took place would look exactly like Lyons did right now. Everywhere he looked, red ribbons and evergreen garlands decorated shops and were strung across Main Street.
Arden pulled into a parking lot half-filled with other snowmobiles and a few trucks. A big hand-painted sign over the front door readThe Stone Cup. The rich smell of coffee wafted over the parking lot.
Arden took off her helmet and smiled at Kyle. “What’d you think?”
“I think I’m in love. With snowmobiling.”And you for introducing me to this fresh new joy.
“With snowmobiling,” Arden repeated under her breath as she opened Camo’s carrier. The dog came bounding out no worse for the wear. Arden had told Kyle she’d take it slower and easier than usual for Camo’s sake.For yours toowent unspoken but he’d felt it in her tone of voice.
She snapped Camo’s leash onto his harness. “This is my favorite coffee shop in the entire world. If you think my hot chocolate is good, wait until you have theirs.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kyle said. He followed her into the shop. The line was surprisingly long.
Arden nodded. “Yeah, I knew Lyons would probably be crowded. Everyone’s out taking advantage of the lull between the storms.”
“I hope not everybody,” Kyle said, scanning the room for Rick the Dick.
“You really think it was him, don’t you?” Arden’s voice sounded resigned.
“Iknowit was him.” He put a protective hand on her shoulder. She moved closer to him.
