Chapter 1
One
CASSIE APPROACHED the stunning Silver Pines ski village the following day, her insides still tingling from the letter’s reminder to stay away from Joel.
After a year, she’d hoped she was finally free, though his last letter before disappearing warned of what would happen if she reunited with Sheriff Joel Brunswick, and she’d refused to risk Joel’s life—no matter how much it destroyed hers.
Now he was back. Because she was seeing Joel this weekend? They were hours away from her home at the Cedar Loft ski lodge in Silver Pines, Colorado, so how did he know where she was?
Her skin crawled. Had he gone through her things? Seen the invitation to the four-day wedding party weekend for her bestie in the trash? She’d learned not to keep personal information lying around. Her planner stayed on her phone, and her phone stayed on her. But somehow, he knew. But how?
Taking a stiff inhale, the winter chill burning her lungs, she pushed those thoughts away as she passed by the Silver Pines Resort, continued through the quaint ski village all the way to the opposite end, and pulled into Cedar Loft Resort’s parking lot.
She prayed the four-hour drive to the Colorado destination was enough to leave him behind, but fear whispered otherwise.
She grabbed her gear, checked in at the lodge, then walked through the upper part of the idyllic ski village to find her cabin. Cedar Loft consisted of the beautiful lodge—only a few years old—and outer cabins only reachable on foot—snow shoes optional.
She rested her mittened hand on the outer doorknob of her cabin. He couldn’t be here. She exhaled. Yes. He could, but . . .
Please don’t let him be here. No more letters. Let me be free.
At least for the long weekend, culminating in Iz wedding Talbot. She didn’t want her horror ruining another Brunswick wedding, and more importantly, ruining the wedding of someone she loved so dearly—again.
She opened the door and pulled her gun from her waist holster.
Entering, she held her breath. She hated herself for letting him bring her to this level—scared, trepidatious .
. . borderline paranoid. But he had. She couldn’t shake the sensation of always being watched, of the prickly fear creeping up her neck that he’d been in her place, touched her things . . .
“Stop it! He’s not here. You are fine!” Maybe if she repeated it enough, she’d believe it. Doubtful, but worth a shot.
Clearing the main room, she smiled at finding a note from her bestie—thankfully, no envelope with her name scrawled in black across it or she’d have freaked. His always came in expensive linen envelopes. How something so beautiful could bring such pain she didn’t know.
She cleared the rest of the cabin and came back to read Izzy’s note.
Welcome to the Silver Pines ski village! Our first excursion begins at one p.m.
Meet on Cedar Loft’s main lodge’s porch at ten till.
Dress in snowboarding gear.
We’re going to have a blast!
Izzy & Talbot
A deep swell of dread swirled through her. Not for seeing her stalker but for seeing Joel. It’d been a year, almost to the day—the perfect day they’d spent before their wedding.
Tears burned her eyes, dropping on the note and smearing the ink.
He’d ruined her life. Taken away the man she had loved—loved still.
Even after her move from Jeopardy Falls to Taos, all the precautions and sacrifices, he’d still returned.
Please, Lord, I beg you, let me be free. I don’t know what else to do.
Sheriff Gonzales, of the Taos sheriff department, didn’t know what else to do. Given it’d been a year without contact from her stalker, he’d set the case on the back burner.
Joel worked the case to the bones in Jeopardy Falls, then he joined forces with Sheriff Gonzales after she moved, but the case still refused to be solved despite their best efforts.
Her fists tightened, the note crumpling inside her left hand, and she forced herself to take a deep breath.
He’s not here. He’s back there. She exhaled and sank down in the oversized leather chair, resting her head in her hands.
Please help me not ruin Izzy’s wedding like I ruined her brother’s. And guide me to the right path when I return home.
She’d alerted the sheriff before she left and prayed he was already making progress. Glancing at her watch, she had a half hour until the meet-up.
Changing into her snowboarding gear, she stepped out into the crisp air. Not knowing which cabin Iz was in and not wanting to go knocking on all of them, she set out for the lodge and the coffee shop she’d spotted at the base of the trails. There was always time for coffee.
Snow crunched beneath her boots as she huffed her way to the edge of the small forest separating the cabins from the main lodge.
The snow gave way under the cover of evergreens. Only brown needles and pinecones littered the ground.
Coming out on the other side of the woods, she spotted the exterior ordering window of the Brew Through.
Five minutes in line and another few placing her order later, she studied the gorgeous Cedar Loft lodge, the Silver Pines lodge far in the distance, and the quaint, tranquil ski village surrounding her.
A beautiful place to be wed, especially since Iz and her brothers had grown up on this mountain.
Their dad’s best friend owned the Cedar Loft, and Cassie had heard all kinds of stories about their childhood antics at the original lodge, which apparently remained standing, but she had never been to the ski village herself.
“Your order, love,” the lady at the Brew Through shop said, leaning out the sliding window to hand her the hot cup of steaming cocoa with two shots of espresso. The scent of sweet marshmallows, dark chocolate, and rich espresso carried on the blustering wind.
“Sorry. Daydreaming,” Cassie said, taking the cup.
“We all do it, darling. Enjoy your drink.” She slid the window closed.
Cassie stepped out of the way for the growing line of customers, most with skis on their feet or snowboards tucked under their arms. Fresh snow filled the air, twisting in mini cyclones. She made it around to the front porch, where she found Iz and Talbot waiting—alone.
“There you are,” Iz said. “I was about to track you down.”
“Am I late?” Cassie glanced at her watch, then gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry. The coffee line must have taken longer than I anticipated.”
“It’s okay. You made it.” She wrapped her arm around Cassie’s shoulders, leading her around the corner and down the small slope to two helicopters waiting for the wedding party. A regular day of snowboarding would’ve been too dull for one of Izzy’s adventures.
She looked questioningly at her bestie.
“Heli-skiing.” Talbot smiled. “You’re in our copter.” He pointed to the nearest one as the other lifted off.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Helicopter blades sliced through the air.
Trepidation shot through her. While she enjoyed heli-skiing, and carving fresh powder was addictive, the ride there skyrocketed her anxiety.
Iz reached over and squeezed her hand. “It’ll be okay, I promise. We’re just taking it to the west side of the mountain.”
“The untouched side.” Talbot stepped back and gestured for them to go with a sweep of his hand. “After you, ladies.”
Iz climbed in first, and Cassie followed.
Talbot, Izzy, and Brady sat rear facing.
Heath, who worked with Cassie and Devon at the ME office, sat near the open bay door, forward facing.
Her two coworkers had grown tight with Talbot over the past couple of years at all the group barbeques and outings, and now they were a close part of the gang.
She scanned the seats again. Jayce and Mia had their seats, leaving the only empty one next to . . .
Joel.
Had it really been a year since she’d seen him? It seemed like yesterday, or at least her feelings were the same as back then. Despite what Izzy claimed, he couldn’t possibly still hold feelings for her.
His gaze met hers, and he nodded. “Cassandra.” His gaze pierced to her marrow.
Cassandra? He hadn’t called her that in years. Not since they’d first met when Iz brought her home to hang out in junior high. Cassie. For one wonderful and frightening year, she’d been his Cassie. But not anymore.
She settled in her seat, and before she had her headset in place, the copter lifted off, rising in the air. She longed to reach for Joel’s hand as she had so many times before. Instead, she balled her hands in her lap.
Joel’s gaze bounced over them, then he directed his attention forward. She could practically feel the warmth of his body, his thigh inadvertently brushing hers as they hit turbulence, but he kept his focus on the windshield.
She, on the other hand, couldn’t keep herself from staring. It’d been a year since she’d seen his strong shoulders, his chiseled arms visible under his pushed-up sleeves, the hunter green Henley shirt bringing out the green undertones in his blue eyes. His jacket lay across his lap.
His gaze flashed to her. She glanced down but not fast enough. He’d caught her staring. Heat rushed to her cheeks. She braved a glance back up, meeting his gaze head on.
Deep emotion filled his eyes.
But which emotion?