“Good to see you,” the older man said. He wore black pants, a yellow-and-black jacket and a black helmet with a single SkyCrest sticker on the back. “Hello, Farley.” He bent to pat the dog.
“Hello, George.” Connor looked past the older man, expecting to see Stacy.
“I’m on my own for now,” George said. “Stacy wanted me out of her hair.” He straightened. “Am I interrupting your work?”
“I’m just checking out a few runs, seeing if anyone needs help. And letting Farley get some exercise. You can ski with me if you like.”
“That would be great. Thanks.”
They made their way down the run, past groups of people having fun. No signs of distress or trouble. The sun shone brightly, warming Connor’s face in spite of the brisk temperatures. This was how every day should be but too often wasn’t. At the bottom, Connor motioned for George to follow him to the head of the lift line.
On the chair, George leaned back. “What a gorgeous day,” he said, looking out at the expanse of white snow and blue, blue sky. “You are living the life. I should have done something like this when I was younger.”
Farley settled between them, his head in Connor’s lap. “You’d rather be a ski bum than a federal agent?” Connor asked.
“Yeah, well, maybe not.” George grinned. “I wanted excitement, travel, to make a difference.”
“And the FBI offered that?”
“Sometimes. But what’s exciting when you’re young can become routine drudgery when you start raising a family. All that travel was tough when Stacy was little. I missed a lot of milestones. I regret that. I didn’t really get to know her as a person until her mother and I divorced when she was fourteen.I didn’t know what I was getting into, taking on a teenager full time, but it was worth it.”
“And she followed in your footsteps,” Connor said. “That has to be flattering.”
“Either that, or she was trying to show me up. I’ve never been sure.” George glanced at him. “I suppose she complained to you about me butting in where I’m not wanted right now.”
“I’m smart enough not to answer that question.”
George chuckled. “It’s not that I don’t trust her to do her job. I know she’s a good and capable agent. But she doesn’t have my experience, and they should never have sent her out here alone.”
“Maybe they don’t think there’s real danger.”
“Stolen explosives sound pretty dangerous to me.”
“Yeah. Me, too. I’d a feel a lot better if we could recover them.”
“I got a bad vibe at that meeting last night,” George said.
“I guess I don’t have your instincts,” Connor said. “Everyone I met seemed pretty ordinary. Do you really think some of those people are terrorists?”
“You’d be surprised how innocent dangerous people can appear. The Unabomber looked like a harmless old man to his neighbors.” George chuckled. “Some people would probably say the same about me.”
“Nina Rose thinks you’re good-looking,” Connor said.
“The ski racer?”
“And ski patroller.”
“No kidding? She works for you?”
“She does.”
George grinned. “I’ll have to be sure to thank her.”
“I hope I’m around to watch when you do.”
They exited the lift. “One more run, and I have to get back to the office,” Connor said.
“I need to take a break, too,” George said. “Maybe I’ll see if I can find Stacy.”
