Page 7 of A Bear Ski Instructor Christmas (Holiday Shifters of Frost Mountain)

A Walk Through The Village

“Look out!”

Michael swerved to the right, sending up a spray of snow in his wake as he maneuvered his way around the jutting rock that would have sent him tumbling all the way down the hill had Andrew not jerked him back to his senses. A hard left righted his course, and he tightened his grip on the poles as he skied toward the foot of the hill like a rocket.

The wind howled in his ears. How he’d managed to hear Andrew’s warning, he wasn’t sure, but right now, it was just him, the wind and blanket of snow extending as far as his narrowed eyes could see. The hill grew less steep as he neared the bottom, where the snow stretched across more even ground.

Any second now…

Carefully, he dug his poles into the snow, decelerating a little as he reached the foot of the hill. Another sharp jerk of his skis sent snow billowing into the air ahead. Chuckling to himself, Michael plodded off the skiing path and began divesting himself of his skis just as a couple of other skiers shot downhill. There were four of them, two of whom decelerated deftly once they reached the bottom. The other two stumbled over their skis and face-planted in the snow.

“Good going, guys!” Michael called out to them as the two youths who’d been ostriching in the snow pulled themselves to their feet. “Lori and Jeff, you’re going to need some more practice. Why don’t we go back up and try this again?”

Andrew left the group and clumped over to Michael, a frown on his face as he pried off his skis. “What happened back there? You almost hit that rock.”

Michael nodded, turning to march back up the hill with his friend. “Good thing you were looking out for me, huh?”

“That’s the problem. I shouldn’t have had to. You could’ve seen the rock from a mile away. Is everything okay? It looks like you weren’t really focusing.”

A sigh parted Michael’s lips. “You’re right. I guess you could say I’ve been inside my head lately.”

Understatement of the year.

Andrew wasted no time responding. “This is about her , isn’t it?”

No answer was needed. Both men already knew the truth.

A week had ticked by since Michael nearly crashed into Rachel on this very hill. It felt like an hour. Michael still couldn’t seem to shake the image of her for more than a few moments at a time. Somehow, no matter what, his thoughts strayed back to her. It didn’t help that they kept bumping into each other every couple of days or so. Thus far, they’d done little more than exchange a few awkward greetings.

Michael thought it was probably best that way. At least, that was what he’d told himself a couple of nights ago as he lay awake in his cabin, staring absently at the ceiling. He wasn’t avoiding her—well, not really. But it all still felt pretty weird to him, and it wasn’t just the fact that she’d kissed him the other day.

Between Michael’s work and the fact that she was still getting accustomed to Melinor, they hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk. They hadn’t even been alone together since the afternoon of the kiss, but Michael had a feeling it was only a matter of time. When they got that chance, they would talk, nothing more. No kissing, no touching, no matter how much the memory of the softness of her lips taunted him.

He nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll focus on skiing this time. She won’t be a problem.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Andrew told him.

He pointed toward the hilltop, where several figures stood waiting just outside the fence that surrounded Melinor. Squinting, Michael made out a few of the villagers who’d come to take skiing lessons. A few other spectators stood around them, but Michael’s gaze was riveted on a lone woman watching the group march up the hill.

“Cripes,” he muttered. “She’s here.”

“It’s not a mystery who she’s here for.” With a laugh, Andrew clapped him on the back. “Why don’t you go ahead? Give me your skis.”

Feeling his heart thudding madly inside his ribcage, Michael increased his pace, sprinting up the hill toward Rachel. She seemed to freeze as he drew close, her lovely eyes widening as though in alarm.

“Hi,” he said, panting.

“Hi.”

They stared awkwardly at each other for the next few seconds. Michael could feel the eyes of his students on them. God knows what was going through their minds at that moment.

She fixed him with her turquoise gaze. “I, uh, I feel like we haven’t had an actual conversation since…you know…”

Since you kissed me out of the blue.

He nodded calmly as though his insides weren’t bursting with excitement. “Right. Why don’t we take a walk?”

She smiled a little, which caused his heart to beat a lot faster. Together, they turned and headed past the low, snow-covered fence into the village. They meandered through the streets without a word, Michael aware of everything from his pulse pounding in his ears to the eyes that followed them as they walked.

He stole a glance in her direction. She’d since changed out of the leather clothing she’d been wearing when she first arrived. Now, she wore a green varsity jacket over a pair of jeans, her dark hair smoothed into a bun behind her head, leaving the tips of her ears visible. No wonder people were staring so much. He was walking through Melinor with the most beautiful creature to exist under the sun.

“I wanted to apologize for the other day,” she said suddenly.

Michael grinned. “What, the kiss? No, don’t worry about it. In fact—”

“No, Michael. Not the kiss. The slap.”

So she wasn’t apologetic about the kiss. He did nothing about the sparks that filled his belly. “Oh, that. Well, my face doesn’t sting anymore. I hope you won’t attack me again?”

He raised both hands as if to defend himself, and she let out a giggle, her eyes gleaming.

“You’ve always been such a kidder,” she muttered.

“What can I say? Humor runs in my veins.” Curiosity pricked at his consciousness. “It’s weird that I don’t remember you. I know I lost my memory when I first arrived on Frost Mountain and hit my head on that large rock down the mountain by the lake, but I was pretty sure I got it all back—or at least, most of it.”

“Clearly, you were wrong.” Was that a hint of pain in her voice?

“Well, it doesn’t look like the rest of my memory’s coming back anytime soon. It’s been three years. Why don’t you catch me up to speed? Were we…friends?”

The look she gave him told him he’d asked a stupid question. Michael refrained from smacking his forehead. Of course not. Friends didn’t kiss each other. They’d obviously been much more than that.

He found the thought exciting.

“You don’t remember the day we met?” She blinked at him, an expectant look on her face. “The Starbucks?”

He scrunched his eyebrows, scanning his memory. “Nope.”

She sighed. “What about our first date? You took me to a restaurant in Vegas and promised to take me skiing.”

Michael grinned. “I wish I could say that rings a bell. Did I take you skiing, though?”

She nodded. “At Lee Canyon.”

“Lee Canyon.” That sounded familiar.

“It was a disaster. I kept falling over. You know, that was where we shared our first kiss.”

“What was that like?”

She smirked. “Why don’t you tell me?”

The memory of her throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him filled his mind. His body responded immediately, and he felt the front of his trousers tighten. He swallowed the urge to whisk her behind a cabin and kiss her delicious, inviting mouth for all he was worth. Out here, they’d be spotted for sure. Maybe he could invite her into his cabin…

No, what the heck was he thinking? He discarded the memory, feeling a twinge of shame. He still couldn’t be completely sure that he’d had anything to do with this woman in the past. He didn’t remember her. For all he knew, she could be lying to him. But some of the things she’d mentioned made sense, like the ski resort.

How could he possibly have forgotten this woman? A face as gorgeous as hers would have burned itself into his memory. He would surely remember kissing her, running his hands along her enticing curves. His mind shot ahead of itself, spinning from nothingness a mouthwatering image of Rachel naked, lying beneath him.

It took him a moment to realize that they had stopped walking. They stood gazing into each other’s eyes, neither uttering a word. Michael’s pulse pounded harder, and a rush filled his ears as those beautiful lips slowly parted…

“What else don’t I remember?” he said suddenly, clearing her throat.

Was it just him, or was that disappointment in her eyes? She bit her lip, frowning as though searching her mind for an answer. “Well, the day you disappeared—”

The sound of footsteps cut her off. The duo spun just in time to see someone marching toward them. It was a slender woman with long, stringy brown hair, a frown creasing her somewhat- rugged features.

“Elena.” Michael straightened suddenly.

“Michael,” the woman replied. She slid her gaze toward Rachel, but only for a moment before turning again to him. A smile tugged at her lips. “I’ve been searching all over the village for you. Weren’t you skiing?”

“I was, but I decided to spend some time with Rachel here.”

Maybe it was his imagination, but he could’ve sworn he saw the woman’s lip curl slightly. “I see. Well, Reba wants to see you in her cabin. Something about some furniture that needs fixing.”

He suppressed a sigh. “I’ll drop by the workshop to get my tools.” Turning to Rachel, he smiled. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

She smiled back a little uncomfortably. “Sure.”

Elena did an about-face and walked off without another word.