Snowbound Read online

  What Others are Saying about Snowbound:

  “With Snowbound, I became lost in the story and relationship and loved every minute of it.”

  Lilac ~ Reviewer for The Long And Short Of It

  “…entertaining and uplifiting. If you are looking for a sweet love story that rises up out of bad

  circumstances, you will like SNOWBOUND!”

  Stevi B~ Reviewer for Manic Readers

  “After hearing all the good reviews on Snowbound, I downloaded it the other day and finally had a

  chance to sit down and read it last night. I LOVED it. My DH was a little annoyed because I almost

  burned dinner — I couldn’t put it down. Look forward to reading more of your stuff.”

  Christy ~ Romance Reader

  SNOWBOUND

  M.G. Braden

  ****

  PUBLISHED BY:

  M.G. Braden

  Snowbound – Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2010 by M.G. Braden

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication

  may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any

  means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written

  permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of

  the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and

  trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without

  permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by

  the trademark owners.

  Kindle Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to

  other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy

  for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not

  purchased for your use only, then you should return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank

  you for respecting the author's work.

  Dedication:

  For Steve – Thank you for showing me what a real man is made of, you are my hero.

  ****

  Chapter One

  “I’m going to die of frostbite.”

  Looking through the swirling snow, Cassidy Jensen stamped her skis and shivered. “Just keep

  moving,” said the man in the ski mask, giving her a little push. Dressed all in black, he looked very

  foreboding amongst all the white.

  Cassidy sighed, pointed her skis toward the bottom of the hill and pushed off. She couldn’t see a

  thing, but she kept moving because she knew it was the only way to get somewhere that was warm and

  safe. Also, if she didn’t keep moving she was sure she’d never hear the end of it.

  A sign marking the chair lift flashed by and she turned sharply to avoid ramming into it. Thank God,

  I made it to the bottom. Relief washed over her, and she skied in the direction of the chalet. “Where are

  you going?”

  Cassidy stopped and tried to answer calmly, despite her annoyance. “Rick, it’s minus forty with a

  wind chill. My eyelashes are frozen, and I can’t feel my fingers or toes. I am going inside.”

  “No, you aren’t! We’ve done one run. One!” Richard Bastien’s voice rose to a soft yell. “I paid to

  ski all day, and we’re going to ski all day.”

  “Yes, but you have a ski mask and goggles, plus that Thinsulate-lined ski suit and heated boots.”

  “Fine, let’s go in and buy you some goggles, but then we are going back out. If you wanted to only

  ski one run we could have stayed at home and gone to one of the local mountains. You insisted we come

  away to this resort.” Rick snapped off his skis and stomped over to the gift shop.

  Cassidy groaned. She hated it when he was mad at her, but she didn’t want to stay out here freezing

  her butt off either. As far as she could see, there hadn’t been one other skier from the top of the hill all the

  way down, or anywhere else. Of course, without goggles, she couldn’t see much of anything so maybe

  people were out there… somewhere.

  “Here you go. Brand new goggles. Put ‘em on and let’s get back up there.” Rick handed her the

  goggles and put his skis back on.

  “Ok, fine but we are coming down for lunch. I’m not skiing all day in this weather without a break.”

  Cassidy snapped the goggles over her head and moved back to the chair lift entrance. “Plus, I’m not doing

  any black diamonds.”

  Ignoring her, Rick sidestepped into position for the chair. Cassidy followed. As soon as the chair

  hit her backside Cassidy knew going back up was the wrong idea. The seat was so cold she swore her

  bottom would freeze there. Her goggles immediately fogged over, and she couldn’t see a thing between

  the fog, the weird yellow colour of the lens, and the swirling snow.

  “What kind of goggles are these anyway?” She tried to wipe away the accumulated frost with her

  fingers.

  “Who knows? I just grabbed them from the sale rack. They were the cheapest ones they had. Man,

  it’s cold.”

  Cassidy shook her head. Rick always talked about how much things cost. He could afford nice

  things, even though he was cheap when buying for anyone except himself—it was only the best for him.

  However, talking about the price of things was his way to make sure she knew how much money he’d

  spent on her.

  Don’t be bitter, Cass. He doesn’t mean anything by it. They arrived at the top of the lift,

  disembarked and skied over to the top of their next run.

  Rick muttered, “It’s so damn cold.”

  Rolling her eyes she said, “Just keep moving, that should help.” Turning back toward the run, she

  tried to figure out which direction to go. At this point the snow was swirling so hard she couldn’t even

  see her hand in front of her face. Shrugging, she headed down anyway. There was no other way to get to

  the bottom.

  Crack.

  Cold air stung her eyes, which watered immediately. Her goggles had cracked and split. Great.

  “Rick?” Looking around, Cassidy tried to find him. Between her eyelids blinking furiously and the snow

  swirling all about, she could barely see anything, let alone Rick. Using a hand to shield her eyes, she

  squinted through the snowflakes .

  Nothing. “Rick?” She yelled a little louder as she slowly glided along. She wanted to avoid picking

  up too much speed so she didn’t careen off into the forest. Not that she could see the forest. Where is he?

  She snowplowed so she could slow down even further. Why can’t he just stay with me? She called out

  again, “Rick?” Straining to listen, all she heard was her own ragged breath. Skiing further, she stopped

  and called for him again. Still no answer. Anxiety rose in her chest. Unable to see a darned thing, she

  swiped at her goggles and moved forward.

  Cassidy went over a small mogul, then hit something solid—another person.

  “Mmph,” expelled from the person in a breath of air as they both toppled
over.

  “Rick, is that you?” She attempted to untangle her skis and her body from the poles, skis, and limbs

  that pointed every which way. No one had ever said she was graceful. Her goggles were now completely

  frosted and she couldn’t see anything. However, the body entangled with hers did not feel like Rick’s.

  Where Rick was stocky and compact, this person felt lean yet muscular, even through his ski suit. She

  actually fit against him quite nicely, despite their twister-type positioning.

  “No. Daniel.” In one fluid movement he stood up, set her upright, handed her ski poles and then

  must have realized they were his. “Oh, sorry, wrong ones. Here you go. Are you all right?”

  Judging from the height of his ski poles, she figured Daniel must be quite tall. She wished she could

  see better. His voice sounded nice—soothing and mesmerizing, with a touch of concern. He didn’t even

  seem angry that she had knocked him over. “Yes, thank you. I’m so sorry. I can’t see properly. I’m just

  trying to get down in one piece at this point. Once I hit that mogul I lost control.”

  “No worries. I’m fine. I thought I was alone up here because of the bad weather and was standing

  there trying to decide which run to split off to. I know well enough that I should have moved to the side.”

  While he talked to her he kept a hand on the small of her back. She wasn’t sure whether he thought he

  needed to steady her, or if he was just keeping track of her, but either way she liked the warm

  protectiveness of it.

  Cassidy wasn’t used to a man taking some of the blame for anything, since nothing Rick did was

  ever his fault. “Thanks for that, but I think it may be easier to blame the weather and that way we’re both

  absolved.” Cassidy smiled. The air was so cold, she wondered if her lips would freeze in position..

  “Right. Well as long as you’re ok. Those goggles are cracked, and it looks like your lashes have

  little icicles on them. That’s not good for your eyes. Here…” Daniel handed her some heavy goggles. “I

  keep an extra pair in my pack. The visibility is getting worse so we should both head down. We want to

  make it in one piece.”

  “Oh, that’s nice of you. Thanks.” She looked around. “Um, I’m not sure which way to go and it

  looks like I lost my friend. Hopefully he’ll be down at the bottom.” Why did I say friend, instead of

  boyfriend? Freudian slip? Refusing to over think the subject, Cassidy shrugged it off and settled the new

  goggles on her face. Although she could see much better with the proper coloured lens, the visibility was

  still poor.

  “At this point, it’s a good bet that, er, Rick I think you called me, is down at the bottom. At least

  let’s hope. Anyway, I know this mountain like the back of my hand so why don’t you follow me. I’ll go

  slow so you don’t lose me in the snow.” Daniel pushed off and gradually made his way down the run.

  Since his bright blue jacket stood out against the snow Cassidy was able to follow him. Even still, he was

  mostly a blue blob in a blur of white. Soon they were at the bottom and he led her over to the Peaks Cafe,

  where they parked their skis and poles in the racks right outside the doors.

  Stepping inside the first set of double doors, they both stopped to bang off some of the snow from

  their boots and to loosen the buckles to make walking indoors a bit easier. As Daniel peeled off his toque

  and goggles Cassidy got a better look at him. He had dark blonde hair that had a slight wave. It stuck up at

  weird angles from his head, likely because of the friction from his toque, which he had stuffed into his

  pocket. Startling blue eyes looked out from a long, attractive face, and held her attention. The color of his

  eyes picked up the brightness from his ski jacket and made them seem very intense. Obviously very tall,

  he stood a good four to give inches taller than her five-foot-ten. Cassidy realized she was staring at him in

  a rather goofy way, while still wearing his goggles. Pulling them off, she handed them back. “Thanks

  again. Wow, it seems like all I have done since I ran over you is thank you. I really appreciate everything

  —these goggles really helped.”

  “You’re welcome. Turnabout is fair play, though. You know my name and I don’t know yours.” He

  smiled at her.

  “Oh, sorry. It’s Cassidy. Cassidy Jensen. We just got here and--”

  “There you are. I have been sitting in that cafe waiting for you, forever. Did you go back for another

  run?” Rick demanded as he walked up to her and Daniel.

  “Rick. Hi. No, I didn’t. My goggles cracked, and then I ran into Daniel.” Cassidy nodded at Daniel.

  “I don’t think we’ve met. Where do you know Cassidy from?” Rick glared at him.

  “I don’t. When she says she ran into me she means she literally ran in to me.” Daniel laughed.

  “Oh yeah. Well, she’s klutzy like that.”

  “Hey, that’s not true. Why are you so grumpy anyway? I’m the one whose contacts and eyes just

  about froze together because of the cheap goggles you bought me,” Cassidy complained. “Well you should

  have brought your own. Let’s go, I want to change and get dry. Later, Dan.” Rick stomped toward the

  stairs that led up to the hotel rooms.

  “It’s Daniel,” Daniel stated calmly.

  “I thought you wanted to ski all day since it was paid for. That’s why we went up again,

  remember?” Cassidy spoke to Rick’s backside. Turning to Daniel, she said, “Sorry, I don’t mean to be

  rude. Thank you again. I really appreciate it. Hopefully we’ll see you around.” She hurried after Rick.

  * * *

  Daniel Robertson watched as Cassidy followed Rick. He could see they were having a debate

  about something. In the short time he’d been with her she seemed like a sweet person, but obviously she

  and her boyfriend had some issues. Too bad she has a boyfriend.

  She had curves in all the right places, of which he was keenly aware since she’d knocked him over

  and landed on him—they definitely felt right as they were pressed against him—even through her ski suit.

  That may have been because the suit wasn’t exactly made for skiing in these conditions—it was pretty

  thin. Once they’d arrived back at the ski lodge, he’d been able to take a better look at her and noticed the

  mop of curly brown hair framing dark grey eyes, creamy skin and lush lips. Most of her head had been

  covered in little melting snowflakes, so she appeared slightly magical. Or maybe he’d been working too

  hard. Looking over to where he’d last seen the couple, he couldn’t help but think that it was a shame a girl

  like Cassidy was wasted on a jerk such as Rick. Oh, he knew Rick’s type all right. He could see it the

  minute Rick walked up to them all disgruntled about where Cassidy had been and acting like a king who’s

  tired of waiting for the gold to arrive. Rick was obviously the kind of man who liked to be in charge, who

  wanted his woman to do what he wanted her to do when he wanted it done, regardless of whether he did a

  single thing for her.

  Daniel never did understand why women liked that whole arrogance routine from men. Maybe most

  women thought it was manly, or that it indicated the guy would protect them or something. All he ever

  noticed was that it made the men meaner and the only thing they protected was themselves. Daniel shook

  his head. He’d met Cassidy for all of a half hour, forty-five minutes at the most. Why am I
standing here

  analyzing her relationship? It shouldn’t matter to him at all. He should be inside getting warmed up and

  having a bite of Debbie Wright’s famous cinnamon buns. Instead, he was standing out in the foyer

  daydreaming about a woman who had literally knocked him off his feet.

  Walking into the café, he saw his Aunt Sandra at the counter talking to Debbie. Debbie managed

  Peaks Café. Sandra Johnson wasn’t his real aunt by blood relation, but rather a close family friend. She

  and her family owned the resort which Daniel, now twenty-seven, had been coming to ever since his mid-

  teens. He knew most of Sandra’s family and those employees that had worked every season for years.

  Sandra was in her sixties and ran the resort with her husband, Chris, and their son, Mark. Mark and his

  wife had two children who could frequently be seen zipping about the resort. Smiling at the two ladies, he

  took off his gloves and clipped them on to his jacket.

  Sandra waved him over. “How did it go? I see you found someone.” Since he was familiar with the

  resort and often helped out, Sandra had sent him along with the rescue team to ensure that everyone was

  safely down the slopes. They were closing the lifts due to the inclement weather.

  “Oh, yeah, I guess that was her boyfriend in here. Apparently he just took off and left her up on the

  run. She could barely see, and the goggles he bought her were cracked. She ran right into me.” Daniel

  shook his head as he remembered the incident.

  “Oh, dear. I assume you are both all right,” said Sandra, her brow furrowed in concern.

  “She wasn’t going very fast, so we’re fine. It’s just a good thing that she hit me instead of a tree, or

  worse. I don’t think she could see a foot in front of her, and she was calling out for Rick the whole time.

  He had to have known she’d wonder where he was. You should never leave someone alone in these

  conditions.”

  “Man, what a jerk,” said Debbie. “I thought he was on his own. He didn’t seem concerned about

  much. He sat here sipping his hot chocolate and playing with his cell phone.”

  Sandra went behind the counter, grabbed a cinnamon bun and slathered it with frosting. She put it on

  a tray, along with a cup of coffee that Debbie had poured and carried it to a table.