Chapter Fourteen
COLE
Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…
“What in the world was that buzzing sound?” Cole thought as he blinked his eyes open.
His watch buzzed again, and he froze, remembering where he was—and who he was with.
Slowly, he lifted his wrist to check the time and groaned inwardly.
He’d fallen asleep when he was supposed to be out helping the other workers shovel snow after the storm.
When Aspen had fallen asleep on his shoulder, he’d set the alarm on his watch and switched his walkie to silent, not wanting to wake her.
He’d leaned back on the couch, trying to make his shoulder a better pillow for her head.
But now… now she was asleep on his chest, her head resting right where his heart beat, and he wasn’t sure how to move without waking her.
Was she a light sleeper? He had no clue.
Heck, he barely knew her, and here he was, sleeping with a complete stranger.
His mother would throttle him if she knew.
And if Jack ever found out, he’d never hear the end of it.
His wrist started vibrating again, and Cole quickly silenced the alarm. Crap. If he didn’t leave soon, Jack was bound to come sniffing around. He’d better get going before that happened.
Well, it was now or never. Would she wake up or stay asleep?
Only time—and a little movement—would tell.
He reached over, grabbed a pillow from the couch, and, moving as little as possible, gently lifted her head from his chest. Sliding out from beneath her, he replaced himself with the pillow and slowly stood.
When she didn’t stir, he did a tiny victory dance, pumping his fist in the air for not waking her.
Apparently, she was a heavy sleeper. Good to know.
Good to know? Why was that good to know? He almost smacked his forehead, stopping himself just in time, and tiptoed out of the room.
He pulled on his socks and shoes, shrugged into his jacket, and grabbed a fresh beanie from his room. The other one had probably slipped off while he slept—and he wasn’t about to go rummaging around for it on the couch where a pretty, pink-haired angel lay sleeping.
In the bathroom, he brushed his teeth, trying to keep quiet, but his cheeks warmed when he noticed Aspen’s clothes hanging from the shower door. Closing his eyes, he grabbed them and carried them to the kitchen, tossing them into the dryer before finding a scrap of paper to scribble her a note.
Carrying the note with him, he added a couple more logs to the fire, taped the note to the door—hoping she’d see it before she left—and took one last look at the woman sleeping on his couch before quietly stepping outside.
He hadn’t thought much about it last night, but why had she come to his cabin? She could’ve just as easily gone to the lodge. Sure, it was farther than his place, but still. How had she known he was awake? How had she even known he was there?
When he’d heard someone approaching, he’d thought it strange—and he was already a little irritated that his walkie had woken him so early. But he was needed, and he wasn’t about to let everyone else work while he slept.
Then he’d seen Aspen—covered from head to toe in snow—and his irritation vanished in an instant. His heart had nearly stopped, and he hadn’t thought twice before getting her inside and warmed up. It had been pure instinct.
He shook his head, kicking through the snow where he thought he’d left his shovel before finally giving up. If he wanted to clear all this snow, he’d need to attach the front-mounted plow blade to his snowmobile. There had to be at least five feet now—far more than earlier that morning.
In the distance, he could see other workers already out and about, so he hurried to the shed behind his cabin to fetch his snowmobile and the plow attachment. Grabbing the spare shovel from the side of the shed, he started digging out the entrance so he could get inside.
After a few minutes, another pair of boots appeared beside him and joined in shoveling.
“Thought I was gonna have to use my spare set of keys to come wake you up, Cole,” Jack said, hefting a scoop of snow out of the way.
“Sorry, Jack. I must’ve hit snooze on my watch,” Cole said, bending the truth. He and Jack had been friends for years, so Jack usually knew when he was full of it. Hopefully, this time he was too preoccupied to notice.
“Huh. That’s a first. You’re usually the one out here before anyone else when a big storm rolls through,” his friend said, eyeing him skeptically.
Cole gritted his teeth and scooped another shovelful of snow. The door was almost cleared. “Uh… yeah. Not sure what happened. Maybe I’m catching a cold or something?”
His forehead was sweating—not from the shoveling, but from how ridiculous he sounded. Why was he lying, anyway? It’s not like Jack was going to go running to his mom to tell her he had a girl in his cabin.
Would he?
“You sure are acting weird, Cole. Maybe you really do have a cold.” Jack rested a boot on his shovel, tugged off a glove, and reached toward Cole’s face.
“What the—what are you doing?” Cole smacked his hand away, and Jack burst out laughing.
“Guess Mae’s motherly ways are rubbing off on me,” Jack said with a shrug.
“Let’s hurry up and get this snowmobile out of the shed and ‘Hit The Road, Jack.’” Cole wagged his eyebrows at his friend and started singing the song Jack had heard more times than he could count. Jack immediately plugged his ears.
“No, Cole, please—for the love…” Jack groaned, but Cole sang even louder. Eventually, Jack gave in and joined in, singing along.
Before long, they had the snowmobile out, the plow attached and ready to go.
He dropped Jack off at his own snowmobile, and they took off, clearing the pathways to the cabins and the lodge as the sun began to rise in the distance.
He had one more stop to make before heading to his lessons.
Stacking a pile of wood on the back of his snowmobile, along with a few starter logs, he made his way to Aspen’s cabin.
She needed more firewood—it was, after all, why she had come to his cabin last night.
At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.
Cole was tired from the lack of sleep, but looking back on it, he wouldn’t have changed a thing.
He felt both exhausted and energized, knowing he would be meeting up with Aspen later.
Cell phones didn’t work well around here—only up at the lodge—but they had made a plan to meet once his lessons were done.
He had planned to take her to the cookie-decorating activity that afternoon, but a last-minute snowboarding lesson sign-up meant he couldn’t make it; his lessons ran until 2 PM.
Still, he could meet her for the Snowman Building Competition at 4 PM.
He had no way of letting her know he wouldn’t be joining the cookie decorating, but maybe he could get Jack to deliver a note, and since Jack’s next lesson wasn’t until 1:30, he should be able to pass a message to Aspen.
He pulled out his walkie and switched to their private channel. “Hey Jack, you there?”
“Yup. Right behind you, man. What’s up?” Jack replied. Cole spun around to see Jack standing about fifteen feet away. He clipped the walkie back to his pant strap and slid his board over to him.
“Hey, man… can you do me a favor?” Cole needed to play it cool, or Jack would get suspicious.
“Uh… sure. What do you need?” Jack unclipped his board from his boots and picked it up, brushing off the snow.
“I… uh… need you to find Aspen Sterling and tell her I can’t help with the cookie baking at one, but I’ll meet her for the… I mean, help with the Snowman Building Contest at four.” Cole blurted it out, like ripping off a bandage he wasn’t ready for.
Jack’s eyebrows furrowed, his head tilting as Cole failed miserably to keep a neutral expression.
“Aspen Sterling, Aspen Sterling? Like the one you’ve been watching for years?” Jack asked, eyebrows shooting up.
“I wouldn’t say I watched her… that’s creepy,” Cole muttered, shrugging and looking away.
“Obsessed with?” Jack muttered under his breath.
“I wasn’t obsessed with her either. I thought she was a pretty awesome snowboarder. That’s all. But yeah… that Aspen Sterling. I’m helping her with… stuff.”
There. Perfect, Cole. Leave it at that. Not a big deal. Ugh. He really stunk at lying. But he wasn’t lying… was he? He was helping her.
Jack’s face shifted from curiosity to a grin, then to laughter as he reached out and smacked Cole on the arm.
“How stupid do you think I am, Cole? Your face says you’re more than just helping her.
You like her! Oh man, this is good stuff.
Does she like you? When did this start? She’s only been here for what, a day?
” He playfully slapped Cole’s face, and Cole could feel his own face heating up.
“Shut up, man,” he said through clenched teeth. “She’s a famous snowboarder. I don’t want anyone knowing anything. Not that there is anything to know. We’ve barely even hung out.” He couldn’t look his friend in the face, even if he wanted to, so he stared off into the distance.
“Wait a second. Is that why you didn’t show up earlier this morning? Were you with her? Ohhhh, if your momma knew, you’d be… what do the kids say these days? Cooked?” Jack laughed again, and Cole slapped him back on the arm, making him lose his balance.
“I said quiet, Jack. I’m serious. She’s been through enough.
I don’t need anything getting back to anyone.
She’s here for an event. I’m helping her out.
Period. The end. Capiche?” Cole held his hand out in front of him, like he was part of some Italian mafia—only making himself look more guilty and causing Jack to laugh even harder.
“Alright, alright, man. I’ll be quiet.” Jack zipped his mouth and tossed the imaginary key behind him. “Now, what do you need me to do again?” His voice was muffled, barely audible from keeping his mouth shut.
“Nothing.” Cole said and turned to leave. “Never mind. I’ll figure something else out.”
Jack stopped him, hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, Cole. I’ve just never seen you like this before. You gotta give your best buddy a break for giving you a hard time.”
Cole turned back, staring down his friend before speaking again.
“Fine, you can give me a hard time, but don’t you dare give Aspen a hard time, or I will tell Mae that you think her pie crust tastes like plaster.
” He crossed his arms, locking eyes with his best friend.
He would never actually tell Mae, but a threat was a threat—and with his friend being a screwball sometimes, he needed leverage just in case.
“You wouldn’t dare.” Jack crossed his arms and clenched his jaw. Cole wasn’t one to purposely tick off his friend, but he wouldn’t have him messing with Aspen.
“I would. So I’m asking you to tell her word for word what I said earlier—and nothing more.” Cole relayed the message again, and Jack silently propped his board against the fence where Cole was standing.
“Watch my board. Be right back.” Jack marched toward the lodge, and Cole let out a breath. Then, quickly yelling after him, he added, “Love you, Jack!”
Jack waved his hand behind him, as if shooing away a fly, and Cole laughed. He really was the best friend a guy could have.
His next group lesson approached, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead, glad that ordeal was over and done with. He hoped.
“Are you Cole? My family signed up for lessons, but they were kind of vague about where to meet you,” the seemingly unhappy man said, as his two kids and what looked like a snowboard Barbie doll approached.
Cole looked up at the sign above him that read Snowboarding Lessons and pointed. “Oh, sorry about that. Sometimes people don’t see the sign, I guess.”
The man looked up, his face turning two shades of red. “Uh… yeah. You should probably have it in a color that pops more.”
Red isn’t a color that pops against a white snowy background?
Cole wanted to say, but he swallowed the words and gave the man a smile as he led them all to the practice area.
This was going to be a fun lesson—Cole could already feel it—as he watched the family, who clearly thought they knew better, ignore his simple instructions.
Sometimes people just needed a slice of humble pie, and there was no better way than letting them ride up the bunny hill before teaching them anything.
Cole motioned toward the magic carpet lift, and the family made their way to the top, struggling with their snowboards since none of them had clipped in their front foot, despite his clear instructions.
He chuckled as he watched them get off the magic carpet, strap in, stand up, and shoot down the bunny hill—catching edges and slamming into the powder again and again—until they finally reached the bottom, out of breath and more than a little put out.
Once they were all down and back at the practice area, he wiped the smile from his face and gathered them around him. “Okay. I know you all think you know what you’re doing, but clearly, you don’t.” The dad started to speak, but Cole held up a finger to stop him.
“You paid for an instructor, so unless you want another fun run like that—and to be a safety hazard to everyone around you—you should probably listen to what I have to say. If not… have a nice day. All lessons are non-refundable.” He unstrapped his board and turned to leave.
The dad’s voice called out behind him, “Sorry, man. It’s been a while since I’ve been snowboarding. I paid for the lessons, so we might as well listen to what you have to say.”
Cole strapped his front foot to the board and demonstrated riding the magic carpet, keeping the back foot free to guide the snowboard. They all followed his lead.
Sometimes, being direct was the easiest way to teach—especially with people who thought they knew better. That was why Cole was good at what he did. He could be kind, but he could also be firm without being a total jerk.
He spent the next two hours with the family, letting them take practice runs down the bunny hill, showing them how to lean into the board to turn, and teaching them how to avoid catching an edge and ending up on their butts.
Finally, the lesson ended, and the family walked away. Cole hurried to clean and store his board for tomorrow. He didn’t have time to go home and take a shower, but since they were going to be building snowmen, that would be fine.
He hurried toward the courtyard where the contest was being held and glanced at his watch. 4:10 p.m. Hopefully, Aspen hadn’t already found another partner.