Chapter Ten #2
“And he’s definitely watching Nina,” Liam said. “He’s violating a restraining order to stay at least a hundred yards away from her.” He pointed to the man’s helmet. “He has a sticker for Mt. Hood Meadows on his helmet. It’s the only one like it I’ve seen at the resort, so keep an eye out for him.”
“I’ll make sure everyone sees these and knows about the sticker on his helmet,” Connor said. “If we see him around, we’ll alert security.”
Liam scowled. “Don’t bother alerting security unless he’s within a hundred yards of Nina. I spoke with Doug this morning, and he pointed out that there’s no law preventing this creep from being on resort property, as long as he’s not bothering Nina.”
“There’s no law preventing a couple of us from getting him alone and impressing upon him that he needs to leave,” Brian said.
“Don’t risk your jobs over me,” Nina protested. “Just—let me know if he’s around.”
“We’ll do that. And if you see him, call one of us. Don’t let him get you alone.”
“I won’t. I promise. And thank you. All of you.”
She left the patrol building and Liam followed. He wanted to say something about how he knew this was upsetting for her, or that he liked her fellow patrollers and trusted them to help her. Instead, she turned to him with an overly bright smile. “Want to grab some lunch?” she asked.
He followed her to a sandwich place near the back of the plaza. “Everything go okay this morning?” he asked while they waited for their order.
“It was fine. I didn’t see Nicholson.”
“I hung out in the plaza for a while, watching people. But I didn’t see him, either.”
“Did Doug really say they couldn’t do anything about Nicholson?”
“Only if he’s violating the terms of his parole or actually harassing or threatening you.” Liam picked up a salt shaker, then pushed it aside again. “I think he’s right. If the government thinks Nicholson served his time, he’s free to do what he wants.”
“Then we have to wait for him to step out of line.”
“He’s going to have a lot of people watching him now. He’s lost the element of surprise he had when he attacked you before.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I should be a lot safer now. I just don’t feel that way.”
The server called their number, and Liam retrieved their sandwiches. She unwrapped hers but didn’t eat it. Liam pushed his own lunch aside. “Doug suggested you might want to leave town for a while. If Nicholson can’t find you, he’ll give up and move on to something else.”
“It’s the middle of the season. We’re still short one patroller. I couldn’t leave.”
“Doug says he can find someone to fill in.”
“Someone who won’t be as much trouble, he means.” She scrunched a paper napkin into a ball and tossed it on the table. “Now that I’ve done all the photos for their big marketing campaign, he’d be happy to get me out of the way.”
“I’ll support whatever you want to do,” Liam said. “If you stay, I’ll stick around. If you want to leave, we could go to Ireland, or anywhere else you want to go.”
“You don’t have to change your whole life because of me. Don’t you have jobs you need to complete?”
“I scheduled in some downtime after this, on purpose,” he said. He wouldn’t admit it was because he had hoped to reconnect with her and had allowed time for that to develop.
“You can’t babysit me forever.”
“You’re not a child I need to watch over,” he said. “But you are someone I want to spend time with. And you have to admit, this is a good time to have another set of eyes watching out for you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It makes me furious that even from a distance Nicholson is controlling me. He’s making me second-guess everything I do.”
Liam picked up his sandwich again.
“I’m not going to leave SkyCrest,” she said.
“I’ll make sure Doug knows that.” She picked up her own sandwich.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do about Nicholson right now.
I have to focus on things I can control, and that means doing a job I’m good at.
I’m not going to let Nicholson—or Doug, for that matter—keep me away from work. ”
* * *
The next morning, Nina was glad she was able to sleep in until six.
When her alarm sounded, Liam reached over and pulled her close, and she allowed herself the luxury of cuddling with him for a few minutes.
He had spent the night at her house again, after she had paid a man to scrub the graffiti from her garage door.
“I could get used to this,” she murmured, and Liam wrapped himself around her.
“Mmm.” He nuzzled her hair.
She squirmed away. “But I really do have to get ready for work.”
“I know. I know.” He released her, and she headed for the shower. When she emerged once more, he had fallen back asleep. Smiling, she switched off the lights and motioned for both dogs to accompany her.
Grateful to have the dogs as both protection and a warning system, she took them outside and scanned the area for signs of trouble.
Everything looked normal—no new graffiti, no notes, no damage to cars or property.
After a brisk walk around the block, she went back inside, gave the dogs a treat, then made coffee and her own breakfast and lunch.
After eating, she returned to the bedroom and kissed Liam goodbye.
He opened his eyes. “Is everything okay?” he asked, and shoved up onto his elbows.
“Everything’s fine,” she said. “I took the dogs out and everything is perfectly normal.”
He ran a hand over his face—sleepy, in need of a shave, still strikingly handsome. “Maybe my being with you is keeping Nicholson away.”
“Maybe. Cowards like him always choose the most vulnerable.”
“You were never vulnerable,” he said. “You’ve always had friends, and you’ve always been strong. He just didn’t realize how strong.”
“Maybe.” A counselor had said something similar to her, and the words had begun to change how she thought. Just because Nicholson saw her as weak didn’t mean she really had been. She had fought him and escaped. She would do it again if she had to, though she prayed she wouldn’t have to.
The patrol crew crowded into the ski patrol office, some clutching steaming cups of coffee, some finishing off breakfast burritos or muffins.
The dogs milled about their feet as Connor tried to clear a path for an easel and a whiteboard.
“What’s that?” Raz asked, and gestured to the board, which seemed to show a diagram of the front-side runs.
“SkyCrest is hosting a big Mardi Gras celebration next Tuesday,” Connor said.
“They’ve hired a zydeco band to perform in the plaza, the hospitality staff will be handing out beads, and at noon there will be a parade down Main Line to the base of the lift.
The restaurants in the area will be highlighting Cajun food and offering drink specials. ”
“Sounds like fun,” Renee said. “Do we get to wear beads and stuff?”
“We do,” Connor said. “But we’ll also need to help with crowd control and keep an eye out for guests who may have overindulged or anyone making trouble.”
“You know that’s going to happen,” Chase said. “Some people can’t help themselves.”
“SkyCrest is heavily advertising the event, so they’re hoping for big crowds,” Connor said. “We’ll need to help mark off the parade route and clear the run before noon,” he said. “Any questions?”
“Who’s in the parade?”
“They’ve got a theatre company in costume leading things off, along with a brass band on skis, and then anyone else who wants to participate.”
“Sounds like a great party,” Lily said.
“Let’s hope everyone behaves themselves,” Connor said. “And that’s all I have for today, so let’s get to work.”
Nina was shrugging into her pack when Connor waylaid her.
“I’ll remind everyone again on Tuesday morning to keep a special lookout for your stalker,” he said.
The previous afternoon, he had distributed Nicholson’s photos to the patrol team, and two of the photos were tacked to the bulletin board behind his desk.
“Thank you,” she said. “But the crowds could be a good thing. It will be harder for him to do anything, with so many witnesses.”
“You’re probably right, but I want you to know, we’ve got your back.”
She smiled. “You can’t know how good that makes me feel.”
Raz was waiting for Nina outside the patrol office. “Hey, Nina, got a minute?” she asked.
“Sure, Raz.” Nina moved over to an alcove between buildings where Raz was standing. The normally cheerful redhead looked serious, almost furtive. “Is something wrong?” Nina asked.
“I’ve been thinking about this guy who’s been stalking you. That’s such an awful thing to deal with.”
“That’s sweet of you to be concerned, but I’m handling it.”
“Yeah, but it would be a lot better if we could catch him and send him packing, right?”