Stormy Passion (38 page)

“
Well, it's stupid to take
two cars,” Lisa defended. “Besides Taylor is family.” She reached
over and tugged on her sister's jacket. “They're waiting for us, so
let's go.”

“
Yes, but they are on
vacation and might like to be alone.”

Lisa shrugged. “Carol was the one who
suggested it.”

“
Great.” Brenna slowly
stood up and gathered her packages. At this moment, she was
considering putting her sister up for adoption. Taylor was not
family ... Taylor was trouble.

This was going to be one long afternoon. She
just knew it.

When they were back to the house, Brenna
carried her skis over to the car. Taylor had already put his and
Carol's skis in the carrier on top of the car.

“
I'll put those in the
racks for you.” Taylor took them from her.

“
Thank you.” Brenna kept
her gaze anywhere but on Taylor. “I'll get Lisa's skis, and then we
can go.”

She turned to leave, but Taylor grabbed her
arm. “Look.” He waited a minute until she glanced up at him. “Last
night was a mistake. Let's just forget the whole thing happened and
enjoy a day on the slopes. Maybe it can be like old times.”

“
All right,” Brenna agreed,
but somehow she wasn't relieved when she went to the garage. “Old
times, my foot,” she mumbled. Last night was like old times, but
she got the distinct impression he regretted almost kissing her,
she thought miserably. And he should.

Well, she regretted her part, too. He'd just
caught her at a weak moment, that's all. After leaving her, he had
probably gone upstairs and made love to Carol, vanquishing all
thoughts of herself out of his mind. Brenna shook her head. No. She
didn't want to think about that. After tomorrow they would be gone,
and somehow she would have to find a way to return her life to
normal.

The foursome was on their way to the slopes.
Lisa chattered away as they passed the pretty pastel, Victorian
buildings lining the streets.

“
Isn't this fun.” Lisa
turned around so she could talk to Taylor and Carol in the back
seat. “Have you learned to snowplow yet?”

“
I was getting the hang of
it yesterday,” Carol admitted. “But I moved my heels apart too
quickly and lost my balance. The next time my skis bumped into each
other, and I hit the ground again. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty
sore, so I'll probably do worse than yesterday.”

“
Maybe you should take it a
little easier today. It takes some people longer than others to
learn,” Taylor told her.

Brenna turned the Jeep left into the parking
lot just as Carol said. “You're quiet today, Brenna. Don't you feel
well?”

She glanced at Carol in the rearview mirror.
Her pale pink ski jacket complimented her olive skin. She'd make
the perfect wife for Taylor, Brenna grudgingly admitted before
answering, “Just a slight headache. Hopefully, the cool air will
help.”

Once they were out of the Jeep, Taylor handed
everyone a pair skis and they carried them to a bench where they
put on heavy ski boots, then adjusted their bindings.

Brenna slipped on a crimson headband to hold
her hair back and keep her ears warm. Then she helped Lisa
stand.

Taylor had been over talking to the
instructor and was now coming back. “They're getting ready to start
a class in ten minutes, so you both are just in time. Are you sure
you're up to this, Carol?”

“
Oh, I'll be okay.” Carol
stood when Taylor extended his hand. “Thank you.” She smiled. “You
two
experienced
skiers run along. Lisa and I will be just
fine.”

“
I don't know about being
experienced,” Brenna said. “It's been a long time. I probably
should take the class myself.” She wanted to add, so I won't have
to be alone with Taylor.

“
Nonsense,” Carol
protested. “You're just trying to be nice. You and Taylor run along
and have fun. Come on, Lisa, I'll race you over to the cute ski
instructor.”

“
That's not fair. You've
got a head start,” Lisa shouted after her.

“
Wait.” Brenna grabbed
Lisa’s arm. “Be careful.”

“
Oh, Brenna.” Lisa frowned
then took off.

“
Lisa and Carol get along
well.” Brenna turned to Taylor only to find he was staring at her.
God, he was magnificent dressed in the black ski outfit with a
scarlet red swirl across his chest. In fact, their outfits almost
matched. She watched as he adjusted his goggles on top of his head.
Despite everything, she found herself wanting him.

“
I guess it's just the two
of us,” Taylor said, breaking the ice between them. Brenna acted
like a scared rabbit caught in a snare, but what a gorgeous rabbit,
dressed in blood-red with her flowing black hair. Or should he say
scarlet red with a big A on her forehead? How could she look so
innocent and be so guilty of hurting him?

“
If you want to go ahead to
the advanced course, don't let me hold you up,” she
said.

“
And just what are you
going to be doing? I thought you wanted to ski.”

“
I think I'll do the
intermediate course first. It's been a long time, and I need the
practice so I won't break my leg.”

“
Yes, it has,” Taylor said
in a husky voice. But skiing wasn't what he was thinking about. He
checked his thoughts fast. “That's probably the smart thing to do
and should be fun. I didn't ski that course yesterday, so I'll give
it a try, too. Let's head to the lift.” He shoved off.

Brenna followed slowly at first until she got
her footing.
Well, that didn't work
, she thought. Did she
not affect him the way he did her? She had given him a chance to
get away--yet he'd chosen to stay with her. She couldn't help
thinking he didn't act like a man engaged. Could he possibly be as
confused as she was last night? A prickling of panic nagged at her
because she didn't want to be this close to Taylor. She didn't want
any of the thousand of questions that rumbled around in her head,
especially when she couldn't provide any answers.

Damn. Her head hurt worse.

When they reached the lifts they only had to
wait a few minutes for a chair. Soon they were swept way up into
the crisp, mountain air. The murmur of excited voices drifted up
while she looked down at the little children who looked much too
small to walk, let alone ski.

Taylor shifted in his seat trying to get
comfortable before he finally draped his arm on the back of the
chair. Brenna's discomfort increased. This is what she meant. He
was too close. His thigh pressed against hers, and if she leaned to
her right, she would be cradled in his arms. She must stamp all
these lustful thoughts from her mind.

“
I'd forgotten how
beautiful everything is from up here,” Brenna said.

“
If you don't sit back.”
Taylor pulled her against him. “You might see more of the snow than
you anticipated. I promise I will not bite.”

“
I guess you're right,” she
admitted as she allowed herself to lean against Taylor. “How do you
like our triple chair lift? They just built it last
year.”

“
I'm impressed,” Taylor
admitted. It's cut the waiting time in half. I can remember when we
had to wait an hour for a chair.” Brenna felt Taylor's breath on
the back of her head almost as if he were whispering into her hair.
She shivered as he kept on talking.

“
I'm surprised it's been so
long since you've skied. With a place like this at your fingertips,
I'd think you would be out here every day.”

Brenna shut her eyes, remembering his lips on
hers. If she turned now, she knew she couldn't resist him. But he
belonged to someone else and she wasn’t crossing the line again.
She gave a funny, little laugh, knowing she must keep talking.
“When I was younger, I would have been. But when we first moved
here, Lisa was very sick, and there was a lot of physical therapy
for me to help with. Then I had work to do.” Brenna turned slightly
toward him. “It would have been cruel to leave a child who could
hardly walk while I gallivanted off to the slopes. Besides, I don't
like to ski by myself.”

Taylor's arm tightened around her. “You've
been a good sister and mother to Lisa.”

Brenna thought Taylor's voice sounded a
little funny as if he were choked up. But she didn't dare look at
him. It would be so easy to forget all the promises to keep her
emotions under control. They grew quiet.

Brenna breathed in the sweet, clean smell of
spruce and Frasier fir. She felt as if all her senses were being
seduced. Stop that. She silently scolded herself.
Keep the
conversation light. And most of all, get hold of yourself.
“Carol told me this was the first time you'd been skiing in a
while. What happened? I know it was a passion of yours.”

“
Things change. I'm not so
sure I have a passion for anything these days.”

Brenna could see the top of the hill where
they would get off. And she needed to put some distance between
them because his touch robbed her of her self-control. Over him?
No, she wasn't over him by any means. Who was she trying to kid? If
only she could turn back the clock and wipe away all the hurt, all
the pain, all the lonely nights. “I'm sure Carol will fix that. I
like her,” Brenna admitted.

“
I like her, too,” Taylor
said. But again Brenna thought his voice sounded strange. Shouldn't
he have said love?

It was too late to ponder his strange remark.
They had arrived at the top of the mountain and the chairs stopped
long enough for a man to grab her by the arm and jerk her out of
the way of the moving chairs.

Suddenly, Brenna felt wonderfully alive
surrounded by blue sky and white snow. Taylor skied over to
her.

“
Are you ready to give it a
try?” Taylor saw the sparkle in her eyes, and he smiled at the
bewitching snow-bunny. Damn, she was beautiful.

“
Let's try the Widowmaker
Run.” She pointed. “There doesn't seem to be a crowd.”

“
After you.” Taylor bowed.
His mood suddenly brightened. “I'm right behind you.”

At the beginning of the course, Brenna gave
Taylor a sassy look as she dug her poles deep in the snow. “You'll
never catch me,” she challenged just before she shoved off down the
hill.

Taylor chuckled. He watched as her black hair
streamed out behind her. She still had a good form in more ways
than one.

“
Wait ... Stop!” A member
of the ski patrol shouted as he came up behind Taylor. “That run is
closed.”

“
What do you mean it's
closed? There's no sign.”

“
That's because it's here
in my hand.” He promptly produced a sign that read,
Danger!
Run
closed
, and hammered it into the snow.

“
It can't be closed.”
Apprehension slowly crept over Taylor. “My girlfriend has just
started down the slope.”

“
Damn!” The man muttered a
curse. He immediately pulled out a walkie-talkie and put it to his
mouth. “Send the sled up. We have a skier who could be in
danger.”

Taylor grabbed the man by the back of his
jacket and spun him around. “You had better explain and fast.”

“
O--One of our snow making
machines malfunctioned. We were supposed to cut it off last night,
but someone missed it. Unfortunately, it threw water across the run
producing a large patch of ice--dangerous ice. We've already had
one mishap on the run today.”

Taylor planted his poles in the snow. He had
heard enough. Someone grabbed his arm.

“
I just told you, you can't
go down there.”

Taylor didn't have time to argue as he stared
at the unwanted hand on his jacket. He shoved the man backward,
watching him land on his backside in the snow. “Just try to stop
me,” Taylor bit out as he pushed off down the slope.

He had to get to Brenna before ....

Chapter Six

Brenna felt camaraderie with the frozen land.
It was so isolated out here surrounded by nature's playground. She
felt like she was wrapped in a blanket of silver. There were no
bills to pay, no menus to plan, and most of all, no decisions to be
made. Exhilaration surged through her veins.

She entered a sharp turn. The soft powder
flew from beneath Brenna's skis. All her muscles stretched as she
zigzagged down the mountain. She wondered why she didn't see any
other skiers in front of her, and now that she thought of it, it
was strange that there hadn't been any skiers or mountain personnel
at the gate. Glancing over her shoulder, she wondered why Taylor
hadn't caught up with her. He was so much heavier that his speed
would be much faster than hers would. However, she wasn't doing too
badly. Despite her well-controlled turns, she picked up speed on
each one. And the faster she went the more aggressive she
became.

Her laughter rang in her ears as she crouched
lower ready to take the next turn. Swinging wide she felt an ache
in her thigh, but she ignored the pain as she entered a shady
section of the course. Something shiny caught her eyes near the
snow machine. What is that? The snow ahead sparkled like glitter or
perhaps a mirror, or . . . My God . . . Ice!

She had to stop before she hit the ice.
Brenna tried to straighten to her full height, but it was too late.
She was committed to the turn. One of her ski poles slipped from
her hand. “Nooo!” The minute her skis hit the ice her feet flew out
from under her, and she went down, sliding helplessly like a rag
doll across the ice.