But it wasn’t just sex. It had never been just sex—not with Ellie. And why would he want to end it when being with her made him feel … happy?
And hewashappy when he was with her. Here he was skiing by himself through some of the most beautiful terrain on the planet, and all he could think about was Ellie. And the worst part was that he was okay with this. He was smiling about it, grinning ear to ear. Becausethatis what she did to him.
You’re hopeless, Moretti.
He spotted a couple of snowboarders about to drop into an out-of-bounds shoot on the other side of the orange plastic security fence. “Idiots.”
Did theywantto die in an avalanche?
He skied through a gap someone had cut in the fence. The two were smoking a joint, so they didn’t see him coming up behind them until he slid to a stop. “Don’t even think about it.”
He confiscated their pot and their season passes and asked whether they had cut the fence—a crime.
“No, man, it was already like that,” said the taller of the two. “That’s why we crossed. We figured maybe it was okay.”
“You figured wrong.” He skied with them down the slope, ignoring their whining and yammering and all the names they called him.
“Bastard fuck.”
“Loser.”
“Pencil prick.”
When they reached the lodge, he held up their passes. “You can pick these up at the main office in two weeks—unless we catch you breaking in or skiing out of bounds in the meantime. If that happens, you’re out for the season. And leave the weed at home. It’s legal, but not here. Got it?”
“Way to be an asshole, man,” one of them muttered as they walked away, carrying their snowboards. “Weed thief.”
Jesse skied to the ski patrol chalet, stepped out of his skis, and carried them inside together with the joint and the bag of weed.
The moment he stepped through the door, the chalet exploded into cheers and applause.
Hell.
It was an ambush. All the patrollers were there. Even the resort’s general manager, a former patroller named Brent Arthur, had come.
Arthur shook his hand, then saw the weed. “Looks like you came ready to party.”
Jesse was about to say that it wasn’t his weed, that he’d taken it from a pair of snowboarders when Arthur pointed at him and laughed.
“Look at his face. He thought I meant it.”
Everyone seemed to find this hilarious.
“I just wanted to thank you for saving lives yesterday, including your own. You did one hell of a job. I’ve never lost a patroller, and I aim to keep it that way.”
More cheers and applause.
Jesus.
“On behalf of Scarlet Mountain Resort, I want to give you this.” Arthur held out a piece of paper that turned out to be a gift certificate for an overnight stay in one of the lodge’s luxury suites. “Kick back and relax a bit. That’s an order.”
“Thanks.” Jesse’s gaze fixed on the wordshot tub.
And, damn, if that didn’t give him some ideas.
* * *
Ellie walkedtoward the back door that opened onto the loading dock with the six-page supply list and a pen in hand. She’d told her mother not to expect her until after nine. Even if Megs turned up with a few people, it was going to take a long time to sort through all this stuff.