Warm Winter Love Read Online Free Page A

away from, her as her movements stirred the wind. She passed close to another tree and this time she felt the snow on her face as it fell from the small limbs in the wake of her passing. Yes, Katie, she thought, this is your time.
    “Well, what did you think?” Sam was leaning against a fence. “Worth the trouble of getting up early?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Another try?”
    She threw back her head and laughed. “Yes.”
    They made four runs that morning and when there were too many people ahead of them they took off their skis and headed for the coffee shop. She couldn’t remember having had so much fun at Cedar Crest. Too bad Jason wasn’t here. He would probably enjoy it even if he only sat in the lounge the whole time and just watched the scenery.
    “Hey, Katie-Katie,” Sam said and she smiled at her new name. “What say we go tackle Devil’s Mist next?” He pointed to the mountain a few miles away and she shook her head.
    “No way, thank you. I have a healthy respect for that slope.”
    “I’ve been down it,” he said. “Yesterday morning. It’s not that bad.” He looked at her in surprise. “I thought you said you’ve been here before.”
    “I have, but I just never have gone down Devil’s Mist.”
    He stirred his coffee. “How come?”
    She shrugged. “No real reason,” she lied, not wanting to confess to her fear. “I just never had the chance. I was always enamored of old Magic Mountain.”
    Sam grinned again. “Well, let’s take it now.” He indicated her skis against the wall. “Grab them, and we’ll take the van over and give it a try.”
    She shook her head again and tried to make it sound as casual as possible. “Uh-uh, Sam. Not today,” she said, and the way she said it made him look at her curiously and then drop the topic. She took a deep breath. What could she possibly tell him, a perfect stranger? That a mountain defeated her? That Devil’s Mist scared her? That she was afraid of it? No—better to say nothing. After all, she wouldn’t see him again after this week so why confess something so personal to someone she just met. She had never even told Jason.
    “Okay,” he said, “if that’s out, how about some of the cross-country trails around here? Those I haven’t been on—partly because they’re so lonely and I’m hardly ever in a lonely mood on vacations. I have enough of it on my job.” He raised his hand slightly. “How about it? Are you game?” He smiled, and she saw that there was a gap between his front teeth. Small and hardly noticeable, it somehow made him seem so appealing… so trustworthy.
    Katie nodded. “Sure. There’s a trail across a field about four miles away and if we’re lucky, no one else will have gotten to it yet.” She picked up her gloves and cell phone. “Give me a few minutes to make some calls.” She looked at her watch. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in about twenty minutes. Okay?”
    He was waiting for her and when he saw her from across the room he smiled making her feel as though she were the one person in the world he definitely wanted to be with at that moment. She was flattered. Sam was good-looking in an interesting way. Not really good-looking as if he belonged in the movies or on TV. Not even as handsome as Jason. Just good-looking as if he would be presentable if you took him home to your mother. Katie looked him up and down and frowned. Well, maybe her mother wouldn’t approve. Sam was a bit flamboyant in his ways and that might be a bit much for her. Her mother liked her men quiet and dignified and Sam was definitely not that type. He was too easy-going, too happy-go-lucky and too full of life. He was a bit like her father. The laugh and the easy manner—that was it. Just like her father as she remembered him from when she was a little girl… from long before her parents’ divorce.
    She tossed her head as though she were removing the childhood memories from her mind. That was then and this was now and Sam