Rachel Lee - Snowstorm Confessions

“No.” He didn’t even try to shake his head. It probably felt as big as a pumpkin, she thought. “I know we were climbing around checking out sight lines and terrain. To build up there we’re going to have to do some blasting. The last thing I remember was walking along what looked like a level path. The snow wasn’t very deep. I guess it must have been slippery, though.” Lifting his good arm, he waved at himself, then winced slightly. “Damn, how long am I going to be like this?”

“It’s going to take a while,” she said honestly. “If you behave, you might get a walking cast in a week or two, but I don’t know. I’m not the doctor.”

“Hell.” He sighed and closed his eyes. The next thing she heard was a quiet snore.

She pulled the blanket up to protect him against drafts. Even with the heat on it was still cold enough at night that occasionally the chill wafted through the house like frigid fingers.

His being asleep gave her time, though, to go eat her own dinner. When she’d stopped for the milk shakes, she had bought herself one of Maude’s steak sandwiches and a salad, enough to keep her going for two days. She ate quickly, concerned about Luke in the next room, but she didn’t want him to wake and see her chowing down on real food. He had enough misery to contend with.

After she cleaned up, she went back to check on him. His eyes were open, and despite the red and rapidly purpling swelling that covered one whole side of his face, he managed a crooked smile. “Thanks, Bri.”

“Somebody had to do it. DEL apparently doesn’t think you’re worth bringing back.”

“Probably thinks I should have stayed in the hospital.”

“Maybe you should have.”

“Doesn’t suit me.”

“No kidding.” Once again she could almost see the humor in this, except there was absolutely nothing humorous about the injuries he had suffered. “Getting hungry?”

“A little.”

“Broth or milk shake?”

“Milk. Please.” At least that was what it had sounded like. So she brought him a milk shake and when she was sure he had a good grip on it, she sat again. “You want the TV?”

“Not really. Maybe later. I’m...having a little trouble following things.”

She could well believe it. The improvement since last night was huge, but he was going to take a while to come back fully. It was a good sign, however, that he recognized he was having a problem.

“Pretty, up there on the mountain,” he mumbled.

“It certainly is. I’m not sure I want to see it turned into a resort.”

“You and shum—somebody else.”

Her heart slammed. Had he remembered? “You think you were pushed?”

“Mike said.”

So he had heard what Mike said. Not exactly evidence of anything except that he now remembered something from this morning. Impulsively, she reached out and laid her hand on his shoulder. Almost at once she snatched it back, shocked by the zing of attraction she felt for him. She knew his body intimately, and at this most inappropriate time, those memories seemed to want to come back. She had to force herself to remain professional when she had the worst urge to lean over him, kiss him and tell him everything would be okay. “Don’t worry about it. The important thing is to heal. Everything else can wait.”

“Never been a good waiter.” Then he dozed off again. She caught the milk shake as it began to tip from his hand and set it beside him on the adjustable table that had been brought with the bed.

Sitting back, she watched him, thinking about how fast her life had been turned on end, and what it might mean if he had been right about someone pushing him.

There were certainly people hereabouts who didn’t want to see anything change. They’d resisted the semiconductor plant and had celebrated when it shut down and the jobs went overseas. They barely tolerated the community college. Why would they ever want a big resort that would bring all kinds of strangers to the area?

But there were a lot more people who wanted jobs. Wanted some kind of economic infusion into this county. Ranching was no longer the big moneymaker it had once been, not since the commodities markets and ethanol had raised the cost of feed through the roof. A lot of them stuck it out, though, refusing to give up their way of life and land that their families had owned for generations. She watched them make all kinds of hard adjustments to survive.

But people in town were making the same adjustments. Church rummage sales were so well picked-over these days that there hardly seemed to be anything left for them. Nearly everyone dressed in secondhand clothes, pregnant women traded outfits, young mothers traded baby clothes, and even goods from China weren’t moving fast off the racks at Freitag’s Mercantile.

The place was fading, she thought sadly. Probably like a million other small rural communities. A ski resort could turn that around. It might not mean great jobs for the locals, but it would mean jobs. Business for the stores in town, as long as the resort didn’t supply everything. She needed to ask Luke about that.

But the entire character of the community would change, and she really couldn’t blame the folks who wanted to resist.

“Face-lift.”

The word startled her back to the present and she realized Luke was awake again. She put the milk shake back in his hand and he sipped on the straw.

“Good,” he said.

“I’m glad. Who needs a face-lift?”

For a moment he looked confused, then said, “The town.”

“Oh. I don’t know if people will like that. What kind of face-lift?”

“Paint. Brick sidewalks. Streetlights...”

Well, none of that sounded exactly awful, she thought. If that’s all that was involved. She waited, but his thoughts seemed to have drifted elsewhere.

“Great mountain,” he said, then resumed sipping. It appeared to be getting a little easier.

“I love those mountains. I don’t know if I want to see them shredded by ski runs.”

“Not visible.”

“What’s not visible?”

He sighed. “Not from down here.”

“Oh.” All of a sudden she wished it were easier for him to talk. She wanted to ask him all kinds of questions about what DEL intended to do up there.

“Hurts,” he said, this time sounding angry.

“Where?”

He just looked at her like, Isn’t it obvious?

She glanced at the clock. “It’s too soon for more pain meds, Luke. Another half hour. I guess you feel like you’re being hammered.”

“No joke.”

“Soon,” she assured him. “Very soon.”

He sighed, and his eyes closed as he drifted away, a result of the concussion most likely. Or maybe the remaining morphine in his system.

“I lost you,” he said, then passed out again.

“You threw me away,” she answered quietly. The real pain in her heart that had never gone away, the certainty that he had thrown her away. She was glad he didn’t hear her.

Chapter 3

Bri spent the night on the couch in the living room in case Luke needed something. He was able to tend to his most personal needs, so she didn’t have to manhandle him down the hall to the bathroom, a relief. She had no doubt she could have done it, but it wouldn’t have been fun for either of them.

By morning, though, a thought had occurred to her. She needed to look after the man for at least a week, maybe longer, depending on how soon he could travel. His cast went from his ankle to above his knee, which meant that wasn’t likely to be soon.

With a sigh, she picked up the phone and called Jack. “I need a safety bar in my bathroom,” she told him. “Can you do that?”

“Sure,” came the prompt response. “When do you want it?”

“As soon as possible. Thanks, Jack. You’re a good guy.”