1
Megan Williams stepped off the plane and stared up at the sky in the small town of Wintervale, Montana. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The cool mountain air was exactly what she needed right now. She remembered the first time she had come to Wintervale back in January with her best friend Jessa. She hadn’t been sold on spending time there, but the small town immediately drew her in.
Jessa fell in love with a man during their trip and now lived here. Megan made it a habit to visit frequently, and she was beginning to see the place as her “home base” when she wasn’t traveling.
She pulled a large suitcase with her through the airport and back out to the passenger pickup zone where Jessa stood outside her car waving frantically. Megan walked quicker and stopped beside the car, wrapping her arms around Jessa. The women squealed in delight and danced with their arms around each other.
“It’s so good to see you,” Megan said.
“Same, bestie. Same,” Jessa said.
Megan tossed her suitcase into the trunk, and they slid into the car. She rubbed her hands together and held them in front of the heater. “My God. I forgot how cold it gets here.”
Jessa giggled and pulled away from the curb. “I know. I forgot too. When the first snowstorm hit, I thought I was going to freeze to death.”
“How’s the snow been on the mountain?”
When Megan and Jessa had come to Wintervale earlier that year, Megan spent time skiing on the mountain. Jessa was terrible at skiing, but Megan was looking forward to getting back up there. She could ski all day and never get sick of it.
“Noah said it’s been great. There’s a lot of powder.”
“Perfect.”
Jessa looked over at Megan before looking back at the road. “I hope you don’t plan to drag me up there.”
Megan giggled. “I don’t understand how you don’t enjoy it when Noah is the head of the ski patrol.”
Jessa shrugged. “Opposites attract.”
They pulled up at the resort and parked. Jessa offered to let Megan stay with her and Noah, but Megan wanted her own space. She liked to wind down, and now that Jessa wasn’t traveling with her regularly for work, she got used to having her own space.
As they walked inside, Jessa smiled at the front desk staff. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with me?”
Megan gave her a get-real look. “And listen to you and Noah boinking all night while I’m not getting any? No way.”
Jessa giggled.
Megan held out a hand. “And there it is. You didn’t even deny it.”
Megan was ecstatic for her friend and that she had found love, but part of her wished she could find the same thing. While she knew hopping around between cities would make it harderfor her to find someone to settle down with, she also reminded herself that Jessa met someone doing just that. Megan didn’t want to admit that it was a one-off and that it likely wouldn’t also happen for her.
She checked into her room and set her suitcase on her bed to unpack. Jessa sat at the small table near the window and looked around.
“It’s hard to believe that this is where it all began,” Jessa said.
Megan smiled. “This town is something special.”
“It is.”
Megan unpacked her items and set her work laptop on the table, despite not planning to use it while there. But she liked to keep up with her emails even when she was technically on holiday vacation.
“Are your parents coming for Christmas?” Megan asked.
Jessa shook her head. “No. But they promised they would come sometime next month. The holidays get chaotic around here, so we discussed it and figured we could have a calmer Christmas holiday if they came afterward when the Blakes aren’t so busy with the resort.”
“That makes sense.”
“I’m surprised you came here rather than go home for Christmas,” Jessa said.
