A Snow Covered Nightmare: Refuge Series Book Two by Debbie Zello (16)

Chapter Sixteen

The mountains. They had always been her good place. Briah drew strength from their height. Courage from their rocks. Acceptance from their slopes. Peace from their majesty.

Her first stop was at the resort to find Tom Dunn, her new boss. The resort was enormous and elegant. It was a relatively new construction and simply breathtaking. The outside was wood and rock edifice with an alpine feel. The lobby was rich with hues of brown and burnt orange furniture in small seating groups. White birch trees dotted the pillars with slate flooring and a huge rock covered fireplace against the wall. Briah found herself much like a ping-pong ball bouncing back and forth taking in the expanse.

She walked slowly up to the reception desk and said, “Good morning. Would you please tell me where I might find Tom Dunn?”

“Of course, is he expecting you?” the perky woman asked.

“I’m sorry, I’m Cherie Ames. I’m going to be working here beginning on Monday.”

“Oh yes! We were told about you. I’m Carla Sims; Tom is expecting you to stop by. His office is down that hall on the left,” she said pointing the way.

“Thank you so much. I look forward to working with you.”

“Me too. You’ll love working here. It’s like a family,” Carla said smiling.

“Wonderful. I could use a family,” Briah said walking away smiling. The door to Mr. Dunn’s office was at the very end of the hall. Briah passed by framed pictures on the walls depicting the lodge at different times of the year. Each one more beautiful than the last. She secretly hoped this would become her haven and that this time, it would last.

She approached the door and gave it a determined knock. From within she heard a strong male voice say, “Come in.”

Briah cracked open the door and stuck her head in saying, “Mr. Dunn, I’m Cherie Ames.”

“Come in, Cherie, please. It’s so nice to meet you,” he said standing and coming around the desk to shake her hand. “I’m glad you stopped by. Have you had a chance to look around?”

“A little around the town. I’m going to walk the mountain when I leave here.”

“Walk the mountain?”

“Yes. I want to see it before its covered in snow. I like to know the trails, see the trouble areas. It’s easier to get the lay of the land when it isn’t freezing out.”

“Very true. You’ve never skied here before?” he asked curiously.

“No. I want to thank you for taking me on,” she said smiling.

“With your resume and letters of recommendation, I would have been nuts not to. To find someone that can run the ski shop, take care of rentals, and the ski patrol is a real find. Helping out in the office during the off-season is a plus. Most of our people want May through August off,” he said taking his seat again and motioning her to sit.

“What can you tell me that I should know about the inner workings?” she asked taking a seat.

“Well, I could wait until Monday when you’re on the clock, so to speak,” he said winking.

“I’m here now, you might as well lay it on me,” she said winking back.

“We hire a lot of college kids for the season. They’re great with energy and enthusiasm but lack the commitment. If they have been up partying, they tend to call out. So, even if your schedule seems fine, if you have a few absent, you’re the replacement. I’m in my office now, come the snow, I’m on the hill right along with you.”

“Okay. I need to make the ski shop run without my constant presence. At least tell me we have more responsible employees there.”

“I tend to put people with more experience in the shops. The job itself attracts them anyway. Unless you’re a ski-bum, like me, you want to be inside where it’s warm!” he said laughing.

“I can see that. I’m a bum too, in spite of the connotation,” Briah said joining him in a good laugh.

“Do you want me to show you around, or do you want to wait? Go see your mountain?”

“I’m going to see the mountain. Listen to what it tells me,” Briah said smiling reflectively.

“I’ll see you on Monday then. If you have any questions or need anything, call me or stop back in. It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Cherie,” he said standing to see her to the door.

“Thank you, for me too.”

Walking out of the lodge’s front door, Briah looked up at her mountain home. The ski-trails were clearly etched in the mountain’s facade. Taking a deep, calming breath, she said softly, “Okay my friend; let’s see what you’ve got to offer.”

She drove across the street and parked near the currently immobile ski lifts. Taking her small backpack from the seat next to her, she began her hike up the mountain.

The grass was verdant green under her hiking boots. The trees that lined the trails were also thick and lush from the recent rain. Briah made her way past the lower portion of the trails to the middle, before stopping to turn and look back at the panorama.

The lodge was in full view, with the condominiums behind it. The complex was huge and she was now a part of it. She took a long pull from her water bottle and then turned back to the mountain.

It took her slightly over an hour to climb the rest of the way. The scenery from the top was spectacular. She could see for miles in almost every direction. The ancient rocks told their tales of storms and turmoil. The trees acquainted her with the visitors long gone, and critters that lived amongst them. The wind spoke of tempest, laughter, and cries of injuries past. All in all, lifetimes of memories.

Briah lay back on the grass to look up at the sky. Listening to the breeze moving swiftly through the trees, she fell asleep. Dreaming, she could see Aiden’s face; feel his hands on her body, and his lips on hers. The tear that seeped from the side of her eyes and ran into her ear, woke her.

Sitting up and drying her eyes, she said sadly, “I’m leaving you here with the rocks and trees. I’ll come back from time to time to visit, but for now, you’ll live here, Aiden. I can’t have you in my heart anymore, it hurts too much.”

Aiden was beating himself up with Briah’s memory by drinking. He stopped working out completely, choosing to sleep off the night before, with regularity. He frequented the local bars and the liquor stores. After all, he didn’t care what anyone thought about him now. Briah was gone. Her opinion was the only one that really mattered to him.

The summer passed in a beer and whiskey fog. Everything in his life appearing to Aiden just like that warm dark yellow color as he looked in his glass. Depression feeds depression, until it no longer is just a feeling, it simply becomes everything. That’s where Aiden found himself. That level in life beyond self-destruction.

“You look like shit, Aiden. Are you actually trying to kill yourself, or just hoping it happens?” Pete said handing him a coffee.

“I don’t need this right now, Pete,” Aiden said taking the coffee.

“I don’t expect that you want to hear it. I’ve known you for three years, Aiden. You’ve never let your personal life fuck up your professional before. I just wanted to point out you are doing that now,” Pete said walking away.

“You can request a new partner anytime you wish to, Pete. I’m not holding you here.”

“No, you’re not. Loyalty is holding me here. What you and I used to share. You have my back and I yours.

“Look, I know what you’re going through. I know what you’ve lost. Do you think for one minute that she isn’t suffering too? She is somewhere, feeling just like you, and alone. I think you have the balls to stand up and get on with your life, just like she’s doing, but you need to do it soon. You can’t keep wallowing in your misery,” he said turning away to focus on the papers in front of him.

“I feel like I’ve been shredded. Torn open, allowing everything worth anything to spill out. I can see it all in front of me, but I can’t stop it from seeping away.”

“You’re giving your life, future, and your career to a beer and a bottle of scotch. For a smart guy, you’re acting very stupid. Make an appointment and talk to somebody if you can’t talk to me. But for God’s sake, please don’t throw your life away, Aiden. She wouldn’t want that for you.”

For the first time ever, Aiden was glad his back was to Pete. He wouldn’t be able to see his face. From his desk drawer, he took out the green employee handbook he had previously never even opened. He thumbed through it until he found the page he was looking for. He punched the numbers into his cell and held it to his ear.

“Good morning. I’d like to make an appointment to talk to someone….no, I’m not going to hurt myself, at least not that way…job related…yes, in a roundabout way…tomorrow at three is fine. Thank you. Good bye,” Aiden said hanging up.

Pete turned around to look at his friend. “You know if you need anything, all you have to do is ask. Right?”

“What I need, no one can help with, Pete. I need to turn back time. Say fuck everything, and go with her. Figure it out as we go along. Instead, I abandoned her, and left her to figure everything out alone. What kind of man does that to the woman he says he loves?”

“Hindsight is always clear, my friend. You made an extremely difficult decision in a few minutes. You used the information available to you. You did the right thing, at the time. It’s still the right thing.”

“If it’s the right thing, then why do I feel like crap?” Aiden asked.

“No answer for that one. Sometimes the right decision just hurts.”