Falling Snow (12 page)

“I was on the podium, just not at the top. I got third place. My first run was clean, but safe. I sat down the landing on my backside nine on my second run.” She shrugged. “Those things happen. Amy took first place with a killer first run. She did a new trick she was working on that is kind of like a rodeo five-forty I think, anyway it was sick. I’m sitting in second in the point’s standings and we have two more stops on the tour. So, hopefully I can stay off my ass.”

“Where do you go next?”

“I’ll be in Copper Mountain in two weeks and then Killington the week after that.”

“Is that the end of the season?”

Adler smiled. “No. That’s just the end of one tour. When that’s finished we kick off an international tour that goes to New Zealand, Chile, and two other places. I didn’t do the international tour last year so I’m excited.”

“Wow. That’s pretty cool. I can proudly say Canada and the Bahamas are the only stamps in my passport.” She smiled.

“Oh, you’re a travel virgin.” She laughed. “I need to corrupt you.”

You already have.
Cason thought. “I’ve wanted to travel, just haven’t found the right companion or reason for that matter.”

“You do get vacation time, right?”

“Oh yeah, three weeks worth, maybe I’ll get overseas one day.”

“I love New Zealand in the winter and the summer. It’s a beautiful place.” She said as she sat their plates on the small dining table.

Cason wasn’t much of a talker and eater, she learned over the years as a doctor to eat fast in case she got paged. She would sometimes go half of a day without food, so she ate when the opportunity arose. When she finished she watched the snow fall softly onto a moonlit mountain outside the window in the distance. When she looked back at Adler she had put her fork down and was staring at Cason’s eyes as she watched the snow.

“I’ll wash the dishes.” Cason broke the eye contact and stood up. She needed to put some distance between herself and Adler before she made a stupid mistake, like kiss her.

“I’ll wash, you can rinse.” Adler said as she carried her plate to the kitchen.

They were standing at the sink together, so close their shoulders rubbed together at first, then, just stayed together. The flames of desire ran up and down Cason’s body. She could barely concentrate and in turn a plate slipped from her wet hands. Adler saw it slipping and reached over grabbing Cason’s hand and the plate. The feel of Adler’s soft skin against hers under the hot water was just too much to bear. Cason backed away from the sink and dried her hands on a nearby dish towel.

“Excuse me.” She said as she went around the corner to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, and then held her wet face in her hands. She couldn’t deny it anymore. Her heart was breaking. She couldn’t control her feelings anymore than she could control which lives she saved or lost. It had been so long since she was in love and even then it was nothing like this. The ache in her chest was so painful it felt like a heart attack and the shallow breaths she was taking was restricting oxygen to her blood flow. She feared she might pass out if she didn’t get control of herself. She splashed ice cold water on her face one more time and dried it on a hand towel. When she stepped out of the bathroom Adler was standing there with a concerned look on her face.

“Is everything okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m just tired I guess.” Cason walked past her towards the living room. “I should probably go get some sleep. Dinner was wonderful.”

“Okay?” Adler walked up behind her. “Cason what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I…I just need to get some air and some rest.” Cason turned to face her. “Dinner really was good. I’m sorry to run out on you like this. I’m sure I’ll talk to you before I leave.” She turned back towards the front door.

“Wait a second, you’ll talk to me?” Adler walked up behind her. “Cason look at me…”

Cason took a deep breath and turned around. Adler was less than a foot away. She couldn’t stop it, she was trying to get out of there, get away from her, but it was just too late. She closed the distance between them in a split second and pressed her lips to Adler’s softly. Adler gasped and Cason slid her tongue between her lips. When she felt Adler’s warm, lithe body move against her she wrapped her arms around her waist and laid her hand in the palm of her back. Adler’s mouth opened further and she slid her tongue against Cason’s kissing her back with equal ardor. Adler ran her hands up Cason’s arms and into her short dark hair. Cason kissed her as if it were her last kiss, so soft, so sensual, and agonizingly slow. She didn’t stop for air, choosing to breathe when their lips slid slightly apart before going back together fully. Adler’s lips felt so soft and delicate against hers.

Cason felt Adler pull away and she knew it was over. What had been the most amazing minute or two of her life was ending. She opened her arms and her eyes as Adler backed away from her. Her bluish-green eyes said it all, she was hurt, confused.

“Adler…”

“Don’t…” Adler said. “Just go.”

When Cason walked out the door Adler touched her fingers to her lips and closed her eyes.

***

Cason walked out the door before the tear on the edge of her eyelid slid down her cheek. She had just made the biggest mistake of her life. She got into her SUV and smacked her hand on the steering wheel. She was sure she would never see Adler Troy again, much less hear from her. She drove on mental auto-pilot to the little condo she called home for one last night. She sat in the snow outside of the door and ran it through her ungloved fingers like sand on a beach. There were two things that usually happened when the human mind and body was so distraught it was incoherent. You either wanted to get drunk or get laid. Cason couldn’t do the first, she was on call, and the second wasn’t really an option either. She sat there in the snow staring at the moon until her hands felt frozen.

Twenty One

During her eight weeks on rotation Cason had gone from probably the happiest she had ever been to the saddest she ever could possibly be. Her mind was exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster. Three long months had passed since the day she arrived home, unpacked, and went straight to Denver Medical Center.

Nothing had changed while she was gone. The nurses and doctors told her how much they missed her and Warren was glued to her side. She was honestly happy to be back. The rhythm felt right and she settled right back into the fast pace of the busy hospital. She had finally been back home longer than she was in Aspen, but her dreams still carried her right back to the snow covered town every night.

“You know you’re off until tomorrow right?” Warren said when he bumped shoulders with her when she showed up in the doctor’s lounge on her day off.

“Yeah, I don’t know I was just walking around my condo today and it was so cold and empty. I figured you could use the help.” She shrugged.

“You ever gonna tell me what happened?” He said.

She grinned. “Nope,”

“Alright,” He knew better than to press her. “There’s a stabbing coming in. Want to assist?” He said.

She smiled. Yes, it was nice to be back. “Of course,” She said.

***

May was the only month that Adler actually took time off. It was also the only month she couldn’t find snow. She was glad it finally passed. Over the last three months she traveled all over the United States for competition and training camps. She was exhausted, but she threw everything she had into riding her snowboard every chance she got. It was exhilarating and excruciating at the same time. Everything she did, saw, or heard reminded her of Cason Macauley and she hated it. She tried to have a vacation over the last four weeks, but nothing seemed relaxing or vacation-like so she just gave up and flew to New Zealand two weeks early.

The snow finally began to fall two weeks later and her friends showed up stoked and ready to free ride for the next two months. She was waiting in line to ride in a helicopter to top of the volcano that doubled as one of the best mountains on the continent. The slopes they were dropping in on were for the most advanced riders with jumps, obstacles, and absolutely no marked path whatsoever. She was more than ready.

“I’ve been salivating for two months waiting for this moment.” Gordy said from the seat next to her in the chopper. When they got to the top they snapped their bindings closed and jumped out of the helicopter hovering thirty feet in the air. Loose tendrils of long blond curls always found a way out of her purple jacket and flowed behind her. The lime green board she was riding was the only thing that physically set her apart from the other riders dropping in on various parts of the volcanic mountain. It was sort of hideously loud, but she loved it.

Adler hit three jumps in a row that were well over fifteen feet in the air, throwing and landing a different trick each time. She had an ear to ear smile on her face behind the black wrap that kept her from getting frostbite. She was happy to be back in the snow. The thrill of free riding at this level was the adrenaline rush from hell. This was where she felt alive. The only place she could truly be free and clear her mind, if only for a few minutes at a time. She carved around boulders and through forests of tree on her private path to the bottom. Gordy was about twenty feet in front of her riding a very similar line.

When they finally skidded to a stop at the bottom Adler pushed her tinted goggles up onto her black helmet. “That was fucking awesome.” She panted slightly.

Gordy sat down in the snow. “Holy fucking shit.” He laid back and swung his arms and legs back and forth creating a snow angel. “I’m in heaven.” He laughed.

She dropped down next to him and did it too. “Wanna go again?” She said with a grin when she looked over at him.

“Hell yeah,” He jumped up, brushed off, and headed towards the bus stop. Various buses ran a route back and forth that picked up skiers and snowboarders and dropped them off at multiple destinations all over the ski area. They waited for the next bus to come by and take them to the helicopter pad.

When they grabbed a seat on the bus behind the driver Gordy looked out the window at the light snow starting to fall. “I hope we can still go up if it’s snowing.”

“It shouldn’t be a problem, unless it gets windy.” The driver said.

“Awesome. Amy is going to be pissed she missed this for a wedding.” Gordy said.

“She’ll be here in two weeks.” She shrugged. “It’s not every day that your mother gets remarried and you’re the maid of honor.”

“I guess.”

“You have a thing for her don’t you.” She turned half towards him and grinned.

“What?” He furled his brown eyebrows together and made a scrunched up face.

“I’m not going to say anything to her. That’s your business.” She smiled brightly and started singing, “Gordy has a crush on Amy.” He smacked her arm.

“Shut the fuck up, what are you ten?”

“Oh just admit it.”

He sighed. “Fine, I think she’s cute and I like hanging out with her. It’s not like I want to get married or anything.” He bit his lower lip as soon as the words left his mouth. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool.” She said. She signed the mediation papers for her divorce before she left for this trip and would probably be officially divorced before she made it back to the states in six weeks. She and Kevin had no assets together, no children, no property, nothing. The mediation wasn’t exactly amicable, but it had proceeded smoothly. Gordy was one of only a few people that knew she was in the final stages of her divorce.

“It’s a new beginning.” He said when they stepped off the bus.

“Yeah, something like that.” She said and walked to the helicopter line. They paid in advance for unlimited access for the day so they could easily pass all of the people inside the office paying for each ride individually. She wondered when she would stop looking twice at every person that walked by with short messy dark hair. Cason was as far away as she could get, yet Adler felt like she was right there with her warm body and soft lips. She tripped getting into the helicopter. Gordy caught her before she smacked her head on the side.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah,” She shook it off. If she didn’t get her head cleared soon she was going to be in trouble. She was straight. Whatever the hell was making her think of Cason was driving her crazy. It wasn’t just the kiss, no, it started long before that. She didn’t go around cruising women, wrestling in the snow with them, kissing them. Damn it, she was in the middle of a divorce, from a man. Not to mention, she was about to jump out of a helicopter and free fall thirty feet onto one of the most treacherous mountain ranges in the world with a snowboard strapped to her feet. Now was not the time to be thinking about any of that.

Twenty Two

June quickly turned into July and August wasn’t far away. Cason was working more hours than she could keep up with, but she was starting to finally move on and let go of Aspen. She definitely had no problem settling back into to her chaotic work load and she loved every minute of it.

“We have a shooting victim coming in by helicopter from Aurora.” Dr. Harris said. “It’s your patient. I just got a family emergency call. I gotta go.”

Cason watched him run down the hall towards the ER double doors. “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know. I think something happened to his dad.” Warren said. He was standing next to her.

“Feel like assisting on a gunshot wound?” She turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, what the hell, we might as well kick this shift off with a bang.” He laughed.

***

Adler was sitting in the snow with her board strapped to her feet, looking out at the magnificent view from the top of one of the slopes. She pulled a protein snack bar from her pocket and tore it open.