Snow.

Endless white as far as the eye can see.

There are no trees here, no mountains, nothing but white snow and white sky.

And somewhere in this desolation is Levi.

I can’t hear him, can’t see him, but I can feel him. In my bones.

The cold takes my breath away.

I start running, but quickly slow as my feet sink deeper and deeper. He’s so close and yet so far away. I might reach out and touch him, if only I could keep going.

The snow is at my neck now and someone is pulling me under. I know from the grip around my legs that it’s my mother and my father. Trying to pull me to the life I once knew, the person I once was. The person I’ve been running from. The person Levi saved me from.

I kick and I fight but the fear crawls up me, icy tentacles that wrap and wrap and wrap. Somewhere out there is Levi, the man I once loved, the only friend I really had. He walks somewhere into the snow and I’m too scared to save him. Too afraid to follow.

If I was stronger, better, I would be able to break free.

But I can’t.

So I let the past pull me under, I let the snow fill my lungs.

And I fail once again.

The world drifts away.

White to black.

Black to white.

Dream to reality.

FUCK.

My eyes fly open.

I’m lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling and trying to breathe. The room looks unfamiliar, everything is cold and foreign and strange. My lungs feel like they’re filled with ice, my heart is hammering many miles a minute.

It was a dream, I remind myself. Just a dream. Just another stupid dream.

I used to dream about Levi a lot after the accident, but they slowly started to taper off after a year. My counsellor said it was completely normal. But they’ve appeared again after I decided to take the job in North Ridge, and my parents being in them is something else entirely new.

I don’t like it. I don’t want to dwell on the past, not when I’ve got my future at my feet. And I especially don’t want to think about any of that today, my first official day on the job.

I groan and rub my hand across my eyes, trying to get the courage to get up. I might have been nervous yesterday because I didn’t know what to expect, but today is even worse because I have some idea.

And the idea is that this whole thing is going to be awkward as fuck.

I mean, leave it to me to do something so royally stupid as to have a one-night stand with a loser right before she’s set to work alongside him. And Micropenis Neil is even worse than my nickname suggests. The guy seems like a total jerk and I now know that if Maverick had to talk to me about him, then Neil had to have told him what happened. I can just imagine, he was probably bragging. Who knows what intimate details came out, details my fucking boss now knows.

Ugh. I’ve gone through life trying not to berate myself for bad choices. I’ve owned most of them, I’ve made mistakes and learned to look at them as learning tools more than anything else. There are some words I wish I never said, there are things I wish I never did and yes, sometimes there’s a guy I wish I didn’t get involved with in one way or another.

But I am regretting every single second of Micropenis Neil, and what makes it all that much worse is that my new boss, that giant hunk of a man, had to lecture me about it. I felt like I was teenager being scolded by her parents (not that they ever gave a rat’s ass what I did).

To top it all off, despite how embarrassed and ashamed I was last night over the whole thing, my body kept on running like nothing was said at all. Every look that Maverick gave me set my skin on fire. The way his eyes trailed over me, like I was the dessert he’d been saving up for. Then when he pushed the hair behind my ear, I nearly lost it.

Or maybe I did lose it, because then I started flirting with him. I had only had three beers so I know I wasn’t out of control, but my fucking hormones were definitely acting like it. After everything he had just told me about being my boss, I still had to slip into seductress mode.

Which he promptly shut down. Yet again, embarrassing. I’ve become really fucking good at exiting the scene though lately. I just have to wonder what I’m going to do today and how I’ll get out of it. I’m supposed to be going for a helicopter ride. Will I be bailing out the door the moment I put my foot in my mouth again? I should probably pack a parachute.

All my hemming and hawing over the day has me running a bit late, so I walk to the office as quickly as I can, nearly eating shit a few times on the sidewalks. Even though I work a job that’s physically taxing and I have to be in excellent shape and health, I’m surprisingly klutzy. There’s something about me and ice that ironically don’t mix.

There’s barely anytime to compose myself though before I’m at the office. I try to take a second outside the door to get my thoughts in order but it’s swung open, Maverick on the other side.

“I was worried you wouldn’t show,” he says to me, keeping his voice low. He’s got such a distinctive voice, gravely and rough, these whisky-soaked words every time he speaks. There are a few things that really get me raring when it comes to men, and a good, panty-soaking voice is one of them, along with tattoos, large forearms, wide shoulders, a firm ass, and a big dick. So far Maverick is five out of six, though the way things are, I don’t think I’ll ever figure out the truth about number six.

Damn it, why did it have to be Micropenis Neil at the bar?

“I was running a bit late,” I tell him, “the sidewalks are icy and I’m such a huge klutz when it comes to that sort of thing. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve publicly face-planted. I’ve turned it into an art form.”

He purses his lips, squinting at me. “Are you sure you’re cut out for this job?”

I sigh. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I don’t know when to shut up. It’s early. I—”

“I’m just fucking with you.” He grins and puts his hand on my shoulder. I can’t help but stare at it, so big and meaty and strong. In seconds I’m already imagining what it would be like to have it skirt over my naked body, the feel of it rough and wild on my skin. I wonder how hard his grip would be on my hips.

Focus, focus.

“Come on in, meet the team.” He opens the door wider, ushering me in as he leans in close and whispers in my ear, “aside from the one you’ve already met.”

And there he is, sitting down at a desk with his feet up on it, still wearing that ridiculous Big Bird jacket and that smug look on his face, beady eyes taking me all in.

I ignore Neil and look to the rest of them.

“This is Tim,” Maverick says, gesturing to a lanky man of Asian descent. “He’s been here longer than me and technically he should be the boss, but I try not to tell him that.”

“Responsibility is overrated,” Tim says in a soft accent. “Nice to meet you, Riley.”

I nod my thanks and then Maverick introduces the short but spry Italian guy next to him, looking to be in his late forties. “This is Tony. Don’t let his size fool you. He’s seen Cliffhanger enough times to brainwash him into thinking he’s Sly Stallone.”

“But better looking,” Tony says.

I laugh, grateful that so far everyone here seems nice and completely normal.

Maverick then introduces me to Jace, who looks to be the youngest out of all of us, even me. He’s got a stocky build and a quiet demeanor, with dark, watchful eyes.

“Jace is our go-getter,” Maverick says. “Day or night, if you need him, he’s there. I don’t even think you take a fucking break, do you man?”

Jace doesn’t say anything, just manages a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. Okay, so maybe he’s not as friendly as everyone else, but he’s still better than Neil.

Speaking of. Maverick is nodding in his direction. “And you met Neil yesterday. So that’s that. That’s the team. I won’t further embarrass you by making you make a speech about yourself and telling us all what your favorite color is. Or food. I already gave them the rundown on your background before you got here.”

I meet Maverick’s eyes, hoping he didn’t tell them everything. And by everything, I mean what happened with Levi. I don’t want everyone to know about that, to treat me any different. But from the way his eyes stare back at mine, soft, and then his slight nod, I know he didn’t.

Relieved, I give everyone an awkward wave. “Hi. Nice to meet you all and I look forward to us working together. And for the record, my favorite color is red and my favorite food is cheeseburgers.”

“Any kind of cheeseburgers?” Tony asks.

I nod. “Any kind. McDonald’s are classic, but I’ll take the fancy ones too, though the less toppings the better.”

“Then you have to check out Smitty’s,” Maverick tells me with a smile.

“Absolutely,” Tony adds. “It’s a cheap little diner but they do the best greasy, old-fashioned burgers in town.”

“I’m sure I will then.” I’m so close to turning to Maverick and asking if he’ll go with me one day, but again, inappropriate. The funny thing is, I’ve never been like this in a working environment before. Even with Levi, we were so ingrained as friends and co-workers having worked together so often, that I’d learned to bury everything mildly inappropriate deep down. It always took a back seat, even though sometimes I have my regrets.

When it comes to Maverick though, I can’t seem to keep my head on straight. I need to be less distracted by him. Especially now, since today he’s showing me the ropes.

He explains the office, what everyone does, our schedule, what our average week looks like during each month, the most common rescue scenarios, how we’re basically on call all the time at all hours of the night but we still have to put in a set number of hours. Sometimes it’s preventative work, like the avalanche triggering that Tim was doing the other day, sometimes it’s patrols, sometimes it’s hanging out at the resorts and doing safety talks and watching over the hills, sometimes it’s checking in with the tour and heli-skiing operators, or heading over to other areas and helping out there in emergencies. Sometimes it’s just doing the boring paperwork in the office. And that’s just all in the winter. The rest of the year is a whole different ballgame.

All in all, it seems pretty much on par with what I was doing in Aspen, except the provincial government is controlling this operation.

“Which can be a pain in the fucking ass sometimes,” Maverick says, as we head outside to his truck to get my tour started. “They like to have their eyes on everything, to make sure resources are being allocated properly. AKA, see if there’s any reason to let anyone go.”

I head over to the passenger side but he beats me to it, opening the door for me like a gentleman.

I raise my brows. “Do you do this for everyone else?”

“Fuck no,” he says. “Get in.”

I oblige, even though I hope the rest of the crew aren’t watching us through the windows. The last thing I want is for them to think I’m getting special treatment.

I take a quick look around his truck as I buckle up and he gets in. It’s relatively clean, though there’s what I assume is dog hair absolutely everywhere.

“Do you have a dog or do you just shed a lot?”

He laughs as he starts reversing down the driveway, looking behind him. He’s got a good laugh, loud and heart-warming. “I have a dog,” he explains with a sentimental grin. “Chewie.”

“What kind?”

“She’s a pit bull. A rescue. Sweet as pie, even though she chews through everything.”

“So it’s not just a clever name.”

“Wayne’s World fan?” he notes. “You can’t be old enough to remember that movie.”

I shrug. “I’m a fan of everything. You don’t have to grow up with a cult comedy to find it funny. If it’s funny, I’ll find it funny, no matter my age.”

“And how old are you?”

I give him a funny look.

“What?” he says. “Your age isn’t on your resume.”

“Twenty-five,” I tell him. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-one.”

“That seems about right.”

“That age where you look like an adult but you can still get away with a lot of shit?”

“I don’t know,” I say, feeling a teasing smile slowly turn my lips, “what kind of stuff can you get away with?”

He stares at me for a moment, trying to suss me out, before turning his attention back to the road. “I think you just might be trouble, you know that?”

“I know.” I pause, looking out the window. “So where are we going anyway? I thought that Neil was supposed to take me up in a chopper for a bird’s eye view.”

“You really think I’d let you be alone with him now?”

“Let me?” I repeat.

“Look, as your boss, I’m looking out for you.”

“You’ve only been my boss for like a day, and I think I can take care of myself. No need for you to act like a caveman.”

“I’m not acting like a caveman,” he scoffs.

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” I tell him, softening my stance. “I like that you care. But don’t worry about leaving me with Neil. I don’t think he would dare try anything, especially if he knows what’s on the line, and if he did, I could hand his ass to him, no problems.”

“You’re impressing me more and more.”

“Good. You should be impressed. Anyway, thank you for taking me instead. I’m sure I’ll be working with him alone at some point but until then, it’s nice to have things be as awkward-free as possible. I’d like to forget all that shit ever happened.”

“Problem is, he’s not the type to let you forget it.”

I sigh and run my fingers down the cool of the window pane, the town flying past. “Can I pick them, or what?”

Maverick lapses into silence. I look over at him. His jaw wiggles back and forth, tense, his eyes now have laser focus on the road. Since he’s not looking at me, I take the opportunity to let all of him soak in. His large hands on the steering wheel, his thick dark hair, like a buzz-cut that’s grown out for a few months that showcases his strong neck, the way it slopes into powerful shoulders. I swear to God, every single part of this man is pure perfection.

Finally, his eyes flit toward me and he smiles. “Get a good look?”

“It’s hard to say…it’s a shame you’re wearing clothes.”

He’s gobsmacked for a moment before he bursts out laughing. I know I need to shut up, but I honestly can’t help it and I know I wouldn’t say a word if I knew things were getting dicey.

Oh God, I hope things aren’t getting dicey now. That’s my problem sometimes. I’ll push and push and push to see what I can get away with and then everything blows up in my face. It’s probably why I’ve been so attracted to the adrenaline junkie jobs to begin with.

He shakes his head, staring at me with a disbelieving smile on his face, like he’s trying to find the right things to say. I don’t even know what I want him to say, I just want him to keep reacting to me. I want to shock him, make him laugh. It’s addicting.

“What I said earlier about trouble,” he says. He clears his throat and tries to put on a serious face. “You keep throwing me for a loop, Riley Clarke. I’m honestly not sure what to do with you.”

Another sly smile comes over me, emboldened by how comfortable I am with this man already. “I can think of a few things.”

I have to wonder when he’s going to put his foot down and put a stop to this. I know flirting is pretty harmless but there’s going to be a point where he’ll play the boss card. He will because he has to, especially after what happened with me and Neil.

“You’re a little minx, you know that?”

I grin, feeling exceedingly charmed by that. “Maverick’s minx. I like it.”

“It’s Mav,” he says imploringly. “Not Maverick. Not John. Mav.”

“Alright, Mav. I can be your minx if you want me to.”

He tugs at the edge of his jacket, a firmness coming back to his face as he looks back to the road and takes us toward the small regional airport situated alongside the river. “But in all seriousness, as much as I appreciate how, uh, friendly you’re being…”

“You want me to knock it off? I can do that. I’m just having a bit of fun.”

“Yeah, well,” he clears his throat, “the thing is, I’m your boss, right. And we just met…”

“You don’t strike me as the kind of man who has a problem with that.”

“Okay, so then let’s go back to the whole I’m your boss thing. As much as I know you’re having a bit of fun, I just…we have a job to do, a serious one, we have to work together and I don’t want things to get complicated. You understand?”

I’m a little bit embarrassed he shot me down so fast, but not so surprised. It’s one thing to keep flirting with him as I am if he’s actually down for it, it’s another if he’s only mildly flattered and wish I’d behave myself.

“I understand.”

He sighs. “Not that I don’t appreciate it. It just makes things—”

“Complicated,” I fill in. “Like you said. I get it. Most people don’t know what the hell to do with me, I’m used to it.”

“You know…” he starts, those glacier eyes trailing over my nose, my lips, my chest. “If our situation were different…”

“If you weren’t my boss and there weren’t rules in place that you just lectured me on last night and I hadn’t just started this job…”

“Then things would be different.”

Or it could be that he’s just not interested in me in that way. But I don’t know, the way he’s looking at me right now is both remorseful and wild, like he’s this close to pulling the truck over to the side of the road and having his way with me in the backseat.

And fuck, he could have his way all day long, anyway he wants it.

“Anyway,” he says, pulling the truck to a stop in the parking lot. “That’s the helicopter.”

I look across to the pad at a small building. “Do you have a usual pilot?”

“I’m the pilot,” he says, matter-of-factly.

“You know how to fly a helicopter?” Can he get any fucking hotter?

“I do,” he says. “Tony has his licence too and he does most of the flying around here, but it’s good to have two just in case. Otherwise we have to rely too much on local pilots, and they’re not always willing to take the risk.”

I think back to all the helicopter drop-offs I’ve done. Sometimes it gets pretty nasty with the pilots lives in more danger than our own. We’re ready to bail, the pilots aren’t always.

“Plus,” he says, opening the door, “it’s cheaper for them this way.”

“From the way you talk about the government cutting corners and saving money, I’m actually surprised I was hired,” I tell him as I get out and join him at the hood of the truck. I’m pretty tall—five-foot-eight—but once again I’m struck by the difference between us. He’s just all brawn and beast, making me feel impossibly dainty and small.

At that, he looks away toward the chopper, rubbing his lips together.

“What? I was hired, right?”

“Yeah,” he eventually says, looking sheepish and rubbing the back of his neck. “But the reason was because we needed to hire either a woman or a minority to keep everyone happy.”

“I was only hired because I’m a woman?” I exclaim.

He nods. “The only woman who applied and as far as I could tell, the only minority as well.”

“Oh.” I’m deflating fast, like a pin to a balloon. “And here I was thinking that I was hired because of my awesome skills and resume.”

“Hey,” he says, briefly touching my arm. “That’s why you got the job. You wouldn’t have been hired if you didn’t have what it takes. Okay?”

I cross my arms and kick feebly at the snow. “Now I just feel like a token.”

“You’re not a token, Riley,” he tells me, leaning over until he catches my eyes. “You’re here because I want you to be here. And you want to be here too. Now come on, let me show you the best part of the job.”

I try not to let things get to me, and I’m usually quick to shake things off (with the exception of Micropenis Neil because, let’s be honest, that’s sticking with me for a while), but I can’t help but feel the sting of that one. Obviously you don’t always know why you’re getting the jobs you do, and you usually assume it’s because you’re the right person for it, but now that I know the truth here—that it was about meeting a quota to seem politically correct or something—it makes me wonder if that’s how I’ve gotten jobs before. On one hand I have to work extra hard for people to take me seriously, on the other hand I might not have to work hard at all. Just show up and have a vagina.

But the moment I get into that helicopter with Mav and we lift off from the landing pad, snow blowing in all directions beneath us, I feel like all my worries drop away too. One minute I’m fretting over not being good enough for the job, the next I’m in awe at the beauty around us, Mav confidently piloting the craft like it’s second nature.

“So this is North Ridge from the raven’s point of view,” he says to me as I stare down at the town. Even though there’s about ten thousand full-time residents, from the air, the town is much larger than I thought. It’s nestled in a river valley between mountain peaks, and the town spreads out in brick and pretty colored buildings along the main street and other arteries until the houses and roads back up onto the lower mountain slopes. With snow covering everything, it looks absolutely magical.

“Does it always snow here?”

“Not always, it’s mild here in BC compared to out east. But February and March are notorious for that last blast of winter before spring comes along. See that right there,” he nods to the tallest mountain rising along the edge of town, “that’s the start of the Selkirk Mountain range. And that’s the ski resort there. That’s where we’ll be spending a lot of our time.”

I stare down at the tiny skiers and snowboarders slicing down perfectly groomed powder, the lifts in full operation. “It looks nice. Reminds me of a place I worked at in Wyoming. Not as big as Aspen or Whistler, but still fun.”

“It is fun,” he says, adjusting his big headphones. “We get a lot of powder here and it’s reliable, so we get lots of locals from the coast coming here when their snow isn’t cutting it. Most winters, the BC coast doesn’t get enough snow. Problem is, a lot of those locals are young and by the time they get here, they tend to not listen to the rules. Hence why we’re always busy.”

He takes the helicopter away from the mountain, skirting along the edge of a lake on the other side. “And over there, that’s the Kokanee Glacier. That’s another thing that keeps us busy. I blame the beer.”

“Beer?”

“We have Kokanee beer and the commercials are always about the glacier and sasquatch. Sounds crazy, but a lot of people seem to think they’ll find sasquatch out there. Or beer.” He sighs. “It is a beautiful place though, when it’s not being trampled by morons.”

The helicopter swings even further around until we’re flying back toward town. “And now,” he says, “on that side of the river, you’ll see Cherry Peak and Ravenswood Ranch. That’s my home.”

I stare down at the picturesque ranch houses and barns nestled beneath a photogenic mountain. “You live there?”

“Well, I was born there. My father lives there, my younger brother Shane and his fiancée too. The ranch is still in full operation.”

“Wow,” I whisper. “I’ve always loved ranches, horses, cows, the whole package.”

“What about cowboys?” Mav asks.

I grimace. “No thanks.”

“So you wouldn’t like me in a cowboy hat and chaps?”

I let out a small laugh, happy that he’s playing along again. “If it’s just chaps and a hat, you can be whatever you want to be. I’ll be there for it.”

“Well, hey,” he says with a shrug. “I’m sure one day you’ll see the place. It’s a beautiful ranch, all seven hundred acres of it.”

“Will you be taking me there?” I ask pointedly.

“Or Del,” he says. “She practically grew up there too. And she really likes you.”

And I like you, I think to myself. But for once I keep it to myself.

“At least someone is charmed by me,” I say, before I quickly add, “other than he who shall not be named.”

Mav stares at me for a moment, studying me with a softness I haven’t seen yet. “I’m utterly charmed by you, Riley.”

My heart flutters, just for a second.

“You find me amusing,” I point out. “And confusing.”

“No, not confusing. You’re nothing if not straight forward. But yes, I find you amusing. I find you a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t.”

“Such as?” Now I’m intrigued.

“Nothing I can get into for fear of losing my job,” he says. “But just so you know, I’m glad you’re here. I’m looking forward to…more of this.”

I give him a small smile. “Same.”

The only problem is, I’m not sure what more of this is. Flirting? Working together? Setting boundaries?

The only thing I do know is that if Mav is already thinking of me in ways he probably shouldn’t, and I keep pushing his buttons, we’re both going to end up in big trouble.

Bring it on.