4
The next day on the mountain was hard for Noah. He couldn’t focus on anything without Jessa crossing his mind. He even saw streaks of a purple ski jacket and thought it was her on several occasions. Joke was on him though; several women seemed to wear the same purple jacket.
He sighed and made his last round down the slopes, clearing the runs for the day, half expecting her to come barreling into him again. Then he went into the staff ski locker area to store his skis, switching his ski boots out for snow boots. When the last of the staff loaded onto the gondola, he leaned back in his seat.
“What’s going on with you today, man? You seem distracted,” Jeff said.
“Oh, I don’t know. Just tired, I think.”
“Tomorrow is your day off?”
Noah nodded. “Yeah, and I’m looking forward to it.”
“You never enjoy time off,” Jeff said. “Ten bucks says you’ll be on the mountain by noon.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Nah. Not this time.”
Unless a purple coat wearing beauty makes her way up the mountain and needs a ski lesson.
He shook the thought away.
The gondola arrived at the base of the mountain near the resort and they got off.
“All clear,” Noah said. The person operating the gondola nodded and shut it off. “Have a good night, everyone.”
“See you tomorrow,” Jeff said, laughing as he walked away.
“No, you won’t!” Noah shouted back.
But instead of going to his truck, he veered toward the resort entrance, as if his feet had a mind of their own, and stepped inside. He looked around, not sure exactly where to look. He doubted she would hang out in the lobby.
Wintervale was a small town, but the resort was primarily tourists. Locals rarely hung out here unless they had family staying there.
Noah walked to the front desk and smiled at the staff before entering the back area where the office was located. His brother Jackson sat at the computer playing a video game.
“Hard at work, I see,” Noah said.
Jackson chuckled. “I’m bored and didn’t feel like going home yet.”
“Want to hit the bar with me?”
“Sure. The Range?” Jackson asked, mentioning the local bar in town. He exited his game, stood up, and pulled his jacket off the back of the chair, sliding his arms into it.
“No. I was thinking we’d get a drink here.”
Jackson paused. “Here?”
“Yeah. You know, the bar in the resort that we own.”
Jackson only blinked at him. “But we never drink here.”
Noah sighed. “Do you want to get a drink or not?”
Jackson set his jacket back on the chair. “Yeah, sure.”
They went over to the resort bar and found two barstools open at the counter. Dixie, the bartender, walked over and smiled at them.
“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?”
