Her eyes roamed over his jacket and her face flamed a deeper red. “Yes. Just embarrassed. Out of all the people to run into, it had to be you.”
Noah tilted his head at her choice of words, but before he could decide what she meant, she spoke.
“You know, because you’re ski patrol and all.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly before looking back up the slope. His skis were on the side of the run halfway between them and the cat track, about fifty feet away. He couldn’t see his poles, but knew he’d find them on the hike back up, along with her missing skis.
He pushed himself to his feet before reaching a hand down for her to take. He partially wished they had lost their gloves just so he could feel her hand in his. But the biting cold air on his face immediately had him thanking his lucky stars that the most they lost were their skis and poles.
Being closing time, the runs were quiet as the ski patrol was doing their last sweeps to send any stragglers to the gondolabefore it shut down for the night. Noah could see the familiar red jackets of the other ski patrol members on a few of the surrounding slopes in the distance as the sun began to set.
He walked back up the run, his legs protesting, as she walked beside him.
“This sucks. I’m so sorry,” she said.
He looked at her and gave her the best smile he could muster. “It’s okay. It’s probably for the best you ran into me rather than someone else.”
“That’s probably true,” she said quietly.
“I’m Noah, by the way.”
“Jessa.” She glanced around, a worried look crossing her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was trying to find my friend when I ran into you. I’m worried she’s stuck somewhere.”
He looked around as well, not seeing any other skiers on the runs aside from ski patrol. “What color is her jacket?”
“Teal.”
“Can you call her? The ski patrol is doing sweeps, and I can keep looking for her if you think she isn’t at the lodge.”
Jessa used her teeth to tug her glove off before she fished around in her pocket. She tapped the screen, relief flooding her face. “Oh good. She’s waiting at the gondola for me.”
She typed one-handed on the screen before putting her phone away and pulling her glove back on.
Noah reached down and grabbed a pole on the ground before walking a few feet and grabbing the second one.
“Were you carrying poles?” he asked. He hadn’t seen a second set anywhere.
“No. My friend Megan told me I didn’t need them as a beginner.”
Noah cracked a smile. “You’re a beginner?”
Jessa giggled. “I figured that was obvious.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t want to assume. Are you staying at the resort?”
Although he knew the answer to that. Aside from seeing her check in, he had asked the front desk how long Jessa was staying.
“Yes. It’s my first time here. Very pretty.”
“It is.”
“Have you worked here long?”
He nodded. “Several years, in fact.”
