Warm Winter Love Read Free Page A

and through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and in the twilight she was able to see the hulking shape of the mountain—a huge, shadowy entity that seemed to fade into the night itself. She loved that mountain—she felt that she knew it trail by trail, inch by inch, and snowflake to snowflake and she smiled to herself. She had skied its slopes and had felt the exhilaration of speeding down its side take over her whole being. The mountain was her personal symbol of nature and reality. Magic Mountain was her mystical touchstone!
    It was the other mountain a few miles away from the Crest that frightened her. Devil’s Mist! She shuddered. Even the name was forbidding. Those twisted trails weren’t for her. They looked too fearsome… too lonely… too impossible. Some of the other skiers had told her that the mountain wasn’t as menacing or as formidable as it appeared but she didn’t believe them. Not even the fact that she was an expert skier could convince her to ski it. No, she wasn’t about to go down that slope.
    Not that she hadn’t tried. She had! When she had first arrived at Cedar Crest and conquered Magic Mountain she was ready for more height and speed, and the guides directed her to Devil’s Mist, telling her that it was “ a run for your money .” She had picked up her gear and gone there, eager to face the challenge, eager to try the next step. But something happened—she never could quite explain it—and when she stood at the base of Devil’s Mist and looked up and saw the low-hung clouds obscuring the top of the run, she panicked. It was such a silly feeling, she had told herself immediately, but nevertheless the feeling remained. It was the beginning of the mental fight whether she, Katie Jarvis, would win and go down the ski run, or whether Devil’s Mist would defeat her. So far, Devil’s Mist had won.
    Katie leaned on her elbow and was fascinated as the lights were turned on illuminating the mountainside. It seemed as if the peak was beckoning to the eager night skiers—luring them from their dinners, calling them to come out for one last run. She was bewitched by the sight of the lights blinking through the falling snow and she was watching so intently that she was startled by the deep voice near her.
    “So we meet again. This is getting to be a habit, isn’t it?” She looked up at the now familiar stranger and grinned.
    “Seems so.”
    He pointed to a table beside a window. “Want to join me?” He smiled at her and she saw that his teeth were just a little bit uneven, making his grin seem even more reckless and as though the rest of the face wanted to laugh and was being held back by a sense of good behavior.
    “I…”
    “I’m over there by the window, third table to the right. And,” he looked at her uncluttered table, “I noticed you haven’t eaten yet, and neither have I, and I also saw you looking at the mountain. So, if you’re not waiting for anyone…”
    “I’m not.”
    “Good. I’ll tell the waiter to move you.” He stopped the young man and spoke a few words to him.
    “It’s okay,” he said to Katie, “He’ll set another place. No trouble at all.” He held out his hand to her. “Sam Hubbard.”
    She shook it. “Katie Jarvis.”
    “And how long have you been a Cedar Crest person, Katie Jarvis?”
    “Four years. I found this place by accident—read about it in a brochure—and it was love at first sight. And I’ve come back every year since. What about you?”
    “Oh, nothing that long or that romantic, I’m afraid. I’m just your average skier who needed a slope in a hurry and this was the closest one according to my travel agent. She promised me lots of snow, good skiing and good food, which were just what I wanted.” He smiled at her again. “But she didn’t promise me great dinner company. That’s a bonus.”
    “Uh huh!” She turned her head toward the mountain. “And what do you think of it?”
    “It’s not half bad.” He handed the basket