“Don’t forget this.” I handed her a candy cane from my bag. She twisted off the plastic and dunked it into the thermos, giving the drink aquick stir.
The room continued to warm as I joined her on the floor. We removed our thick jackets, settling in to enjoy our drinks and a rare stillness.
“So what is all this, Leo?” She waved a hand around the room. But there was a note in her voice, making me think she was asking about something deeper.
“This is phase two of the renovation. It needs a lot of work, and an addition, and extensive electrical work. But I think this place could make a great ski-in cafe. What do you think?”
“It has a beautiful view, and people will love it. I think it’s a great idea. How long have you known about this place?”
“A long time. I used to come up here by myself when I first came on as a ski instructor. I had to sneak in because it was off-limits, but I needed a place to escape all the noise. My father was tough—well, you know—and his expectations and control forced me to find a spot where I could be away from it all. This mountain became that place for me.”
“How come you never told me? We used to meet up after every lesson, usually until the lifts closed. You never said anything.”
“Because after I met you, I didn’t need to come up here anymore.”
“Leo…” She dropped her gaze, staring at her marshmallows. “I miss those days, too.”
Now. Tell her the truth now.
“Sage, I—”
But she lifted her head before I could finish, a burden weighing behind her eyes. “Leo, can I tell you something I haven’t told anyone else?”
“Of course.”
“This is so humiliating. You already know I never won the agency award. But the truth is, they put me on a forced sabbatical too. I was messing up at work, stressed out, and not feeling like myself. I haven’t felt like myself in a long time. And that’s when the snow started.”
“What do you mean?”
“My family has this strange curse. It causes weather-related incidents whenever we’re dealing with something troubling or our life isn’t going the way we planned. My curse manifests snow. The agency thinks I’m a liability, so they reassigned my cases and sent me home. I can’t stop the storms, and I can’t figure out what’s causing them. Coming back here was supposed to fix it, but it only seems to be making things worse. I don't know what to do, and I'm scared that if I can't stop the snow, I'll lose everything.”
My stomach sank. This was because of me—and maybe that was arrogant to think—but I’d forced my way back into Sage’s life because it was what I needed. What I wanted. I should have been helping her, not the other way around.
Valerie’s words echoed in my mind.The truth will set you free…But I’d already ruined things between us once. Telling her the truth about what happened back then would only add to her worries. It was selfish—and I wanted tobe selfish.More than I wanted to win over the town. More than I wanted to save the resort.
I wanted Sage.
But not if it hurt her. Not if it made me more like my father.
Sage shook her head. “So I’m stuck here until I figure it out. But I’m glad you showed me this place. It hasn’t snowed once today. Maybe this is what I needed.”
Or maybe I almost ruined your chance to break the curse by telling you the truth.
The radio crackled in my bag. Valerie’s muffled voice came over the line.
“You should answer that. There might be an emergency back at the lodge.” Sage pointed to my bag with her candy cane as Valerie spoke again.
Pulling out the radio, I pressed the talk button. “This is Leo. What’s going on? Over.”
“You won’t believe what happened. Over.”
I glanced at Sage, listening from her spot on the floor. “Valerie, now is not a good time. Over.”
“But I have news. You said you wanted to know when we raised enough money. We just got an anonymous donation for the rest of the project. We’re fully funded! Let Sage know. Over and out.”
The radio went quiet in my hand, and I stared at it, stunned. Who would donate such a large sum of money? And why do it anonymously?
“Leo, is what Valerie said true? We’re fully funded?”
