“Hey,” Megan laughed. “Were you part of this Search and Rescue gang?”

  Freddie interrupted. “He was the captain. The best guy the Chance Rapids SAR has ever had.”

  “He’s exaggerating. He just wants me back on the squad.”

  “Everybody does, buddy. Everybody does.”

  Then Freddie did something that seemed out of character - he reached his arm around Josh and squeezed his shoulders in a side hug.

  “Maybe this year, Freddie.”

  Freddie turned to face Josh, a huge grin on his face, “Really J.J? I’ll go tell the guys now.”

  Freddie started to walk away but Josh grabbed his arm. “Don’t say anything to the squad just yet. That was just a thought.”

  “Ok, bud. Well, when you’re ready you know that the crew will be waiting for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “How’s the tour going?” Freddie turned to Megan.

  “It’s great. I’ve eaten a beaver’s tail, toured the main street, and am now getting drunk in a part-time strip club.”

  Freddie guffawed, “Josh has captured the essence of the town to a T. But there’s something missing from that tour.”

  “Oh yeah, and what’s that?” Josh’s voice had a hint of warning in it.

  “You mean to tell me that you’ve had this gorgeous woman on your arm all afternoon and she hasn’t done a shot ski yet?”

  “What’s a shot ski?”

  “It’s a Tuesday.” Josh turned away from Freddie. “It’s 4:30 on a Tuesday.”

  “What’s a shot ski?” Megan repeated.

  Freddie stood on the bar rail and leaned across the bar to pull a ski off the wall. There were four shot glasses glued to the top of it. He grinned. “A shot. Ski.”

  Josh grabbed the ski from Freddie’s hands. “You usually do this after skiing, you know après-ski, not après-work.”

  Freddie held his hands up in front of him. “You want to give her the whole Chance Rapids experience, don’t you?”

  “Maybe I should take her skiing first.” Josh put the ski back in its rightful place on the wall.

  Megan felt her head start to spin and wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the thought of strapping skis to her feet.

  “No.” Megan practically leaped off her barstool to grab the shot ski from the wall. “Let’s do it now.”

  “Are you sure?” Josh looked at her and she swore there was concern in his eyes.

  “Yep.” Megan was damn sure that she could handle one shot of alcohol if it was her get out of jail pass from actually going skiing.

  “Alright. A shot ski it is.” Freddie whooped. “Charlie. Maple whiskey.” He shouted to the bartender.

  Charlie poured the amber liquid into the four shot glasses and the three of them lined up in front of the ski. Freddie turned and yelled to his group of friends, “Shot ski.”

  A young shaggy-haired guy jumped up from the table and jogged over. “I knew you’d be the first guy over here,” Freddie said to the fresh-faced blonde kid who looked like he couldn’t be a day over twenty-one. “This is Ethan,” Freddie said, and Ethan shook Megan’s hand. “You’re in the presence of snowboarding royalty right here,” Josh said to Megan and then to Ethan. “Nice to see you. You home for the holidays?”

  “Yeah,” Ethan drawled. “My exams are all done and I’m helping the mountain set up the half-pipe and terrain park. Let’s do this,” Ethan rubbed his hands together.

  “How do we do it?” Megan asked eyeing up the contraption.

  “Get in position and we’ll knock it back on three,” Freddie explained.

  Megan stood in front of the shot ski, feeling mildly ridiculous, but enjoying the camaraderie she was feeling with the town locals. On three Josh and Freddie lifted the ski and the sugary shot of fiery alcohol slid past Megan’s lips and down her throat. She coughed and felt her eyes start to water.

  The dizzy feeling returned, and Megan knew that it wasn’t trepidation about the shot ski. She was properly drunk. On a Tuesday.

  “Come and join us.” Freddie put his arms around both Josh and Megan. Josh shot Megan a look and she nodded.

  They pulled some extra chairs up to the crowded Search and Rescue table and Josh and Megan joined the rowdy group. They were squished in between Ethan and a guy named Ralph, and Megan felt her breath hitch when her leg brushed against Josh’s and chalked the touch up to their proximity, but when she felt Josh’s hand on her thigh, she knew that the leg brush hadn’t been accidental. She pressed her thigh against his and felt his press back in return. Megan placed her hand on her own thigh beside Josh’s hand and let her pinky finger press against his. His wound around hers in response. She swooned inside.

  They sat with their baby fingers intertwined in a secret pinky swear, while the guys at the table regaled Megan with stories about the various rescues that had happened in the last few years. She was shocked and impressed by the skill and dedication that the men had to their volunteer cause. Sitting there laughing with a table of strangers, alongside Josh, felt like one of the most natural things that she had ever done. Even though she was completely out of her element, she felt something she had never felt before. She felt like she belonged there.

  From what Megan could gather, there was a mechanic, a snowcat driver, an accountant, a professional snowboarder, and a lawyer all sitting together at the table. An unlikely group of characters all drawn together for the love of the mountains and helping people. Megan couldn’t help but think about how unlikely it would be for this cast of characters to all sit and laugh together in the city.

  Alfred, the snowcat driver was telling a story about coming up on a car that had gone into the ditch in a blizzard, and when he had dug out the door, found the couple inside, well, keeping themselves warm. He continued the story, that they had kept at each other even as he pried the door open. Alfred hadn’t known what to do, so he shut the door and gave them five more minutes to finish up. He hadn’t spared any details, “You know, they probably could’ve rocked that car out of the ditch with their humping,” he guffawed. Megan felt Josh laughing and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He caught her eye and winked at her as he brushed a tear of laughter from his eye.

  “When is opening day?” John the lawyer asked her.

  “It’s scheduled for the 15th, to coincide with the opening of the ski hill.”

  “That’s ambitious,” he replied.

  “She’s got everything under control,” Josh said and squeezed her hand, intertwining his thick fingers with hers.

  Megan felt tingles rush from her fingertips to her heart.

  “It’s going to be tight, but I think we can do it,” she said. She honestly believed that it was possible if everything fell into place.

  “Well, I’ll be there after I get a few runs in on the mountain,” John replied.

  “Me too,” Ethan chimed in. “I’m going to come in and get some coffee first thing.”

  As every man sitting around the table said that they were planning on visiting the café on opening day, Megan realized the enormity of what she had taken on.

  “I think you better expect everyone in town to show up.”

  Josh squeezed her hand again, “She’s ready. But I think that’s enough business talk for now.”

  The conversation turned back to knots, snowmobiles, snowpack, and avalanche danger, but Megan’s mind was flip-flopping between worrying about the opening day of the café, and the excitement she felt deep in the depths of her body. A part of her she hadn’t felt in a long time had awoken, and for the first time in years, she wanted to feel a man inside of her, and not in a perfunctory, making a baby way, but in a sensual filling up that can only come with pent up passion and desire.

  She was sitting beside her general contractor, thinking about how he’d look in her bed, how she wanted to run her fingers through his chest hair while she rocked her hips against his.

  She pulled her fingers from his and scraped her chair against the floor to try to create some distance between them. She couldn’t do this.

  “I should go,” she whispered to Josh. “Do you have the number for a cab?”

  “I do,” Josh whispered back. “But Al is the only cab driver in town.” Josh gestured to one of the men sitting at the far end of the table.

  “Shit,” Megan muttered to herself. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Charlotte.

  Need ride. ASAP.

  In textbook Charlotte fashion, her phone chimed back almost instantaneously.

  Are you okay? Where are you?

  I’m okay. I’m at the Last Chance.

  WTF. Be there in ten minutes. Be outside.

  Megan slipped the phone back into her pocket. “I have to go. Something urgent just came up.” Megan pulled a handful of cash out of her purse and thrust it into Josh’s hand. He pushed it right back into hers.

  “Drinks are on me. Let me walk you out.”

  Megan waved to the table of men, said goodnight, and brushed off their calls for her to stay for one more drink. She had to get out of that bar before she made a terrible mistake.

  Josh helped her into her coat and walked her out onto the street. The snow was falling heavier now, like thick wool blankets dropping from the sky, their hats covered instantly in a crown of white.

  “There is no work emergency, is there?” Josh smiled meekly.

  “Josh, we can’t do this. For so many reasons.” She leaned against the bar, her hands shoved deep inside the pockets of her down coat.

  “Megan, have you thought about all the reasons that we should do this?” Josh looped his arm around her waist and pulled her hips toward him.

  She hadn’t.

  She felt an attraction to Josh that was stronger than any she’d had in her life. He was kind, generous, caring, hot as hell. She had only focused on the reason why she couldn’t let herself succumb to her desires, to let herself feel good, to risk being hurt again.

  There it was.

  The excuses - she was his boss, he was too young, it was too soon. She was just protecting herself from certain heartbreak.

  Josh’s arm felt like a solid piece of wood supporting her back, he exuded strength and protection, and she felt herself melting, even in the cold of the night. She lifted her face and when her eyes met his, she saw kindness. Her breath intermingled with his, their steamy desire dancing between their lips. She closed her eyes and lifted her face to his, her whole body shaking with the anticipation of feeling his lips against hers—

  “Oh, shit. Sorry,” Freddie’s voice rang out as he tried to back himself back into the bar. “Sorry you two, I. Shit. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  Josh and Megan jumped apart from each other.

  “You didn’t interrupt anything,” Josh said sternly and leaned against the building beside Megan. “I was just making sure Miss Brittle got home okay.”

  As if on cue, the headlights of Charlotte’s SUV turned onto the main street and the snow crunched under the tires as she pulled up in front of the bar.

  “Good night, guys,” Megan practically sprinted to open the door of the car.

  “Bye,” Josh said. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow,” Megan said and shut the door as quickly as she could. “Drive.” She ordered Charlotte.

  As the SUV pulled away, Josh turned to walk back into the bar. Freddie stared at the car as it drove away and then said to Josh, “I think that was Billie Jo Bunkman.”

  Sixteen

  Freddie turned to Josh with a smile on his face, “Sorry for interrupting there.”

  “It’s probably a good thing,” Josh sighed. “Who is Billie Jo Bunkstan?”

  “Bunkman,” Josh corrected. “She was a few years ahead of me in high school. She was in my brother’s class. She grew up in the trailer park across the tracks.”

  “Well, she must have a twin, because that girl’s name is Charlotte.”

  “I mean, it’s been a few years, but it sure looked like her. She came to our house a few times to work with Logan on a school project. She had quite the uh, reputation back then. I think that they called her the BJ Queen.”

  “Is that because her initials are B.J?”

  “Hah, I never thought of that.” Freddie laughed. “I guess the Chance Rapids class of 2004 wasn’t too creative.”

  “Well, Charlotte seems a whole hell of a lot classier than that. And I don’t think a girl from the trailer park is living it up over in Sugar Peaks.”

  “I guess not.” Freddie stroked his beard, “I wonder what happened to Billie Jo.”

  Josh shrugged.

  “Want to go finish that pitcher?”

  “I should grab Timber and get home. Megan is optimistic about opening on the fifteenth, but I know how things work around here, and unless I light a fire under those drywallers, she’s going to be opening up in the new year and missing the holiday crowds.”

  “Fair enough,” Freddie said and opened the door. “Josh, I know you know what you’re doing, and I’m glad you’re moving on, but getting involved with someone from across the bridge has never worked.”

  “I know, Freddie. Nothing’s going to happen with her.”

  Josh went inside the bar and said goodbye to the search and rescue team, hooked Timber up to his leash and trudged home through the snow that was now well over the top of his hiking boots. He thought about the almost kiss with Megan and although the stirring in his pants said otherwise, he was glad that Freddie had interrupted. Freddie was right, he was ready to move on, but he needed to find someone who was from his world. Someone who wouldn’t leave.

  He shook the snow off his boots, looked around his tiny unfinished home and saw it through Megan’s eyes. He saw the plywood floor, the open walls, the kitchen with no cupboards. He had nothing to offer her.

  He stripped off his clothes and crawled into his flannel sheets, Timber came to the side of the bed and gave him a nudge, Josh let his hand fall from the bed and patted Timber’s damp fur. “Get in your bed buddy, no wet dogs on mine.” He swore he heard Timber groan, but then he heard the creaking as he settled into his wicker bed.

  His mind raced back to his day with Megan. It had been perfect, even after she saw his house. She wasn’t judging him, and Josh sat up and realized that the person who had been judging, was him. Megan knew who he was and still wanted to kiss him. Josh realized that he had been a fool. He reached for his cell phone and sent her a text:

  You are in violation of Chance Rapids Bylaw 1.27

  He was surprised when the phone chimed back immediately.

  Bylaw 1.27?

  One shall not partake in a shotski without actually skiing first – he added a ski emoji.

  Unlike his first message, he didn’t receive a response right away. He saw the text bubble come up and disappear at least three times and knew that she was at a loss for what to say.

  I like to live dangerously.

  He smirked. She was good.

  As a citizen of Chance Rapids, I need to ensure that you get onto a set of skis in the next twenty-four hours or pay the consequences.

  And what might those be?

  A mandatory polar bear dip. Your choice.

  The text bubbles came and went again. Josh’s heart was in his throat. He hadn’t flirted like this in years. He felt himself growing hard under his flannel sheets imagining Megan’s body in a bikini, covered in goosebumps, how hard her nipples would be in anticipation of jumping into the icy river, how good it would feel to sit next to her in the sauna, sweating and kissing. He was growing harder imagining what he would do to Megan in the sauna pre and post icy swim.

  He would grab her behind her neck, her icy hair melting in his hands as he eased himself on top of her while on the top bench, the hottest bench, of the sauna. The stones would be hissing, and the room would be steamy as he undid her bikini string and took her nipple between his lips. Her back would be arched and she’d be moaning, her hips moving toward him achingly. He would kiss down her taut abdomen and nip at her strong thighs. She would be writhing in anticipation and he would tease her inner thighs with his tongue while he slid her bikini bottoms to the side before burying his face between her legs, tasting her anticipation.

  His phone chimed again, interrupting his daydream. His cock was rock hard and tenting out his sheet. He shifted to pick up his phone,

  I’m a good girl. I don’t break bylaws. Winky face.

  The phone chimed again.

  I guess this means we’re going skiing. She added an angry face emoji.

  He wasn’t surprised. He didn’t know too many women who would want to jump into the Chance River in December.

  Easy now, girl. There’s a loophole. Nobody said it has to be downhill skiing.

  Megan texted back a smiley face.

  Josh set down his phone. He was too far into his daydream about the polar bear dip to switch it up to a cross country scene. He reached down and gripped his hard cock and imagined Megan’s lips as she moaned with her orgasm. He stroked himself as he imagined pulling her bikini bottoms all the way off and scooping her up in her arms and setting her down, turning her so she could plant her hands on the sauna bench while he slid into her from behind, slowly at first. Josh’s stroking matched the pace he was thrusting into Megan. In his fantasy, he imagined gripping her hips in his hands, how her round yoga pants wearing ass would look arched in front of him, and he began thrusting harder and faster, his cock throbbing as he held back. In his fantasy, he gripped her hips tightly to his body as he came, his breath rasping as his manhood throbbed and twitched inside her tightness. In his fantasy, he collapsed against her back and then she turned around and kissed him hard. Their naked sweaty, post-orgasmic bodies sensitive and quivering in the heat. Then they’d run naked and jump into the Chance River and repeat the whole thing. All. Night. Long.

  Josh fell asleep excited and ready to jump in with Megan, all in.

  Seventeen

  Megan rolled over and saw the sun rising over the jagged peaks. She yawned and stretched in bed. She had never been a morning person, but today she wanted to jump out of bed and sing in the shower. She was excited to get to the café and see Charlotte’s vision come to life. Every other morning, waking up in Charlotte’s mountain house had reminded her that her life was in shambles. Charlotte told her that sometimes things have to fall apart in order for something greater to be built. Megan had chalked that up to Charlotte seeing one too many motivational speakers, but today, for the first time, she really believed it.