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Had I made a mistake returning? Should I have let the memories of the best weekend of my life, stay—as memories?
With the few groceries I’d brought with me put away, I turned on the radio and settled into the blue and white sofa. With my steaming cup of tea, I tried to read through the tourism book Charlotte had supplied—but I flipped absentmindedly through its glossy pages. I had gone ten years without thinking of him, but being back in Chance Rapids, where it had all happened, had me replaying the night that we’d spent together.
ChapterTwo
TEN YEARS EARLIER
The cab lurched to the left as the driver plowed through the side streets filled with a mixture of rain and snow that had turned the streets into a slushy disaster. My watch read six-thirty. On a good day, I would’ve been early to the airport, but on a storm-of-the-century kind of day, I was cutting it close.
As I gripped the armrest, my goal shifted from making it to the airport on time to making it to the airport alive. My ski bag was wedged in the seat beside me and I scrolled through my phone looking for flight updates.
At the airport I grabbed my bag and ran through the crowded terminal, my snow boots thudding on the freshly buffed floors. I passed the airlines flying south and felt a pang of jealousy. On my one vacation of the year, I’d decided to head to the mountains instead of the beach.
The couple in front of me looked like they were also heading to Chance Rapids. They wore matching designer ski jackets trimmed with fur and had their ski boots bags slung over their shoulders. Sugar Peaks Mountain was one of the newest resorts in the west and attracted wealthy visitors tired of Aspen, as well as ski bums. I fell somewhere in between.
The trip was bittersweet. My ex-boyfriend and I had booked it together—on my credit card, but then he decided to sneak around with an Instagram model. Sneak around is giving him some credit. I came home early from visiting my parents, to find her in the shower—using my shampoo. Moving into a new apartment had put a significant dent in my saving account, but my best friend Sarah had convinced me that a solo trip to the mountains was just what I needed.
“I’m sorry Miss Atkins, but the flight is overweight.” The girl at the check-in looked tired.
Taking a deep breath, I managed to hold in my tears. “Overweight?” I’d never heard of being bumped for that reason. As a curvy girl, the comment struck a deep wound. “Can you get me on the next flight?”
The woman, whose name was Carole, tapped on her keyboard. “I’m sorry Miss Atkins, but the next flight doesn’t leave until tomorrow. I can get you and Mr. Crawford on that flight… I think.” Her voice trailed off and she didn’t inspire much confidence.
“But what about the couple ahead of me?”
She sighed. “They are in first class; your tickets are for coach.”
I was still tired from drinking wine with Sarah the night before, so it took me a second to realize that she had referred to my tickets—in the plural. “It’s just me, the other ticket was canceled.”
“No, it looks like Mr. Crawford’s ticket is still active.”
“Sonofabitch,” I muttered under my breath. “We broke up eight months ago.”
Carole’s demeanor changed immediately. “Hold on, honey.” She bit her lip as she went into a flurry of typing. “It looks like we can squeeze you onto the plane. If it’s just you.”
I sighed. “I can’t guarantee that fucker won’t show up and try to use his seat.”
Carole gave a light shrug. “He won’t get on. The plane is now full. You’re the last person we’re allowing on this flight. Enjoy your trip to Chance Rapids, Miss Atkins.” Her crimson lipstick smile was huge and she gave me an obvious wink as she handed me my boarding pass. “You can drop your skis at the oversized baggage check-in, but because of the storm, I’d carry on anything you want to make it to Chance Rapids with you.”
“T-t-t-thank you, Carole.” I couldn’t believe my luck. After I checked my bag and headed to the gate, I wondered if it was lucky that the counter attendant had squeezed me onto a flight that was already overweight. I shrugged off the ominous thought. No. It meant that the trip was meant to be.
The plane was boarding as I reached the gate and I handed the gate attendant my boarding pass. “Welcome, Miss Atkins. You are in Seat 2A.” As I reached 2A I realized that Carole had upgraded me to first class.
I settled into my seat and accepted a complimentary mimosa as soon as we were at cruising altitude. The seat next to me was empty, so I raised the glass and gave a silent toast to my trip guardian angel Carole. As shitty as my last year had been, everything was falling into place.
* * *
My original connection had been through Chicago, but I found myself in Denver shivering as I jogged across the tarmac to the twin-propellor plane that would take me into Chance Rapids. Again, the seat next to me was empty.
“Where’s your luggage?” The shuttle driver clapped his leather-gloved hands together. “Let me guess, it didn’t make it here.”
“It looks like my good luck has come to an end.” I sighed. I wasn’t the only one waiting for luggage that never arrived.
“Don’t say that.” The shuttle driver tipped his cowboy hat. “You arrived in a ski town at the tail end of a blizzard.”
“Without skis,” I reminded the modern-day cowboy.
“There’s plenty of them kickin’ around here.” He grinned and offered me a hand into the small bus.
