Lara Lacombe - The Coltons of Roaring Springs

He loved his work. More importantly, he knew how vital it was. Matching the right dog with the right vet was life-changing for everyone—quite often, it was life- saving , as well. That simple fact was the reason why he frequently put his personal life on hold. Therefore, as much as he enjoyed spending time with Molly here at The Lodge, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to advocate for his charity and hopefully secure more funds to expand their work.

Some of the tension left her shoulders. “Did you get the money?” Molly asked. She knew how important K-9 Cadets was to him—they’d talked about it often.

Max shrugged. “I don’t know yet. It’ll be a few months before we find out.” He was trying not to obsess about it. He’d thought a change of scenery might help.

And hopefully Molly could distract him, as well.

He took a step forward, wanting to touch her. He’d missed her more than he cared to admit. If he had his way, he’d press her up against the one-way glass wall of the gondola so they could both enjoy the ride in a more...unorthodox way. But he didn’t think she’d appreciate the idea, and he wanted to spend more than fifteen minutes getting reacquainted.

Molly didn’t resist when he drew her in for a hug, but she didn’t fully relax against his chest, either. She was soft and supple in his arms, but her stomach was surprisingly firm against him.

He dropped his nose to her hair, inhaling deeply. Molly’s citrus and floral scent filled his lungs, triggering an avalanche of memories of their time together. It was the same movie reel he’d played in his head a thousand times over the last few months, but now it was even more vivid thanks to the woman in his arms.

“I missed you,” he said softly.

“I missed you, too.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, as if she was confessing something that troubled her.

He stroked her back, his fingers grazing lightly along the valley of her spine. Gradually, she melted against him.

“I know it’s been a while,” he said. “But have dinner with me tonight?”

She tensed slightly. “No.”

A wave of doubt washed over him. She’d never refused his invitation before. Was there someone else?

Well, what did you expect? he thought bitterly. It’s been six months. It was only natural Molly had moved on. She was a beautiful woman, and he’d seen the way men looked at her.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he almost missed her next words. “I can’t tonight.”

“Tomorrow?” he asked, sounding a little desperate even to his own ears. Or the next night? Or the one after? He was only in town for a week, but if he had to wait until the end of his visit to connect with her again, he would do it without complaint.

She hesitated, then nodded against his chest. “Tomorrow is fine. I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

“I should have called,” he said. “I meant to let you know I was going to miss my last visit. But I never got around to it.”

“It’s—” Her words were cut off by a deep rumble Max felt in his bones. He glanced over, expecting to see thunderclouds hovering over the town of Roaring Springs. But the sky was a clear, bright blue.

The rumble grew louder, turning into a loud roar. He shifted his gaze back to The Lodge, and the sight that greeted him turned his guts to water.

A massive wall of snow was racing down the mountain, gaining speed as it moved. The tsunami of white rose up, seeming to dwarf the gondola as it hung precariously above the chaos below.

“Oh, my God.” Molly gripped him so tightly her nails dug into his skin even through the fabric of his sweater.

The slight stinging pain snapped Max out of his shock. “It’s okay,” he said automatically.

“How can you say that?” Molly’s voice trembled.

Because he wanted to protect her. He wanted to stand between her and the wall of snow and ice threatening to bury them.

But he was powerless against the forces of nature. And they both knew it.

They held each other, watching in silent horror as the avalanche barreled toward them. It passed underneath the carriage, seemingly with only inches to spare. Molly let out a deep breath, but Max knew they weren’t out of the woods just yet.

The gondola cables were secured by a series of posts at the bottom of the mountain. If the avalanche destroyed them, well...

As though his thought had triggered it, the carriage suddenly dropped. It jerked to a hard stop, sending them both to the floor. The force of the impact wrenched Molly from his arms.

Max landed hard on his shoulder, sending a bolt of pain through the joint. There was a thump from somewhere to his left, and Molly let out a faint cry.

The sound sent his heart into his throat. “Molly?” He pushed onto his knees, searching for her amid the tangle of chairs and tables strewn across the floor.

The carriage swung back and forth on its tether in a sickening lurch. “Molly?” he practically yelled her name this time.

“I’m okay,” she said, though she sounded anything but. He saw movement on the other side of the carriage and began to crawl toward her.

He found her on her hands and knees, trying to stand. “Stay down,” he commanded, reaching for her. He eased her into a sitting position, ignoring the protests of his shoulder every time he moved.

Molly touched her head with a grimace. When she lowered her hand, Max saw an angry red mark on her forehead. The area had already begun to swell.

“You’re not okay,” he said, moving to sit next to her. “Something knocked you on the head.”

She grabbed his arm, her knuckles going white against the brown of his sweater. “I don’t want to die here, Max.”

“We won’t.”

Molly searched his face, her gaze pleading. “You can’t say that for certain.”

She was right, but he was feeling better about their chances with every second that passed. “We don’t know if the main cable is down, but even if it is, the emergency cable will catch us.” The backup line should be tethered to another set of poles, to maximize the chances it would still continue to function if the main line was compromised. So even if the avalanche had taken out one set of supports, hopefully the other set would remain standing. The fact that they continued to hang in the air made him think the system was working as it should.

“I hope you’re right,” she said.

So do I , he thought wryly.

The rocking motion gradually slowed and Max let out a sigh of relief. It was hard to think when the world was constantly moving. Once the carriage was still, he slowly got to his feet.

Visibility outside the gondola was bad. The air was filled with a fine powder from all the snow—it was like they were in the middle of a cloud. Gradually, though, some structures could be seen through the haze.

“The Lodge is still there,” Molly said, her relief plain.

Max squeezed her hand as he looked down the mountain. “And I can see The Chateau,” he added, referring to the French-inspired luxury hotel at the bottom of the mountain. “The path of the avalanche seems to have angled just enough that the place was spared.” Which hopefully meant the gondola cable supports were safe, as well.

But just as he began to relax, a sharp crack filled the air. The carriage dropped again, only to jerk to a sudden stop once more. Molly’s cry sounded like a sob, and Max reached for her as the gondola began another stomach-lurching parabola.

“It’s okay. We’re okay,” he muttered, repeating the words in the hopes of convincing himself as much as Molly.

“Max, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The cables groaned under the weight of the carriage as it swung back and forth. Fear gripped Max’s heart in a cold fist, and he fought the urge to panic. He took a deep breath, drawing on his Special Forces training to remain calm.