Page 8 of A Bear Ski Instructor Christmas (Holiday Shifters of Frost Mountain)

Santa on Skis

“Well, this is nice,” Michael said, sitting across the table from her in the restaurant. He picked up the menu, a broad grin on his face. “The Capital Grille.”

The restaurant was fairly full tonight, packed mostly with older couples, although there were also a few families dining. The restaurant was a sight to behold, and anyone walking in for the first time was sure to be impressed.

“It’s great,” she agreed, casting a glance at their surroundings. “But I think I overdressed.”

Around them, the other customers were staring unabashedly. It wasn’t too hard to see why. She had on a short black satin dress trimmed with sequins that left part of her thighs exposed. Between that and the low neckline that revealed a healthy cleavage, she stood out like a spotlight among candles.

Crap , she thought. Wasn’t the dress code “business casual”?

She should’ve taken Sam’s fashion advice earlier.

“Don’t worry about it,” Michael said.

Easy for him to say. He was wearing a blue blazer over a white button-down. He looked a lot different without his skiing gear. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, affording her a tantalizing view of his solid chest. Rachel lifted her gaze from his exposed forearms to his grey eyes and nearly melted in her seat.

Oh, dear Lord.

“You look stunning,” he told her, which did nothing to slow down the melting process.

You look good enough to eat, she almost blurted. But before she could utter a word, a smiling waitress appeared at their table.

“Ready to order?” she asked brightly.

“We’ll have the steak,” Michael replied in a surprisingly perfect English accent, and both women laughed.

Once the waitress was gone, he faced Rachel, piercing her with his gaze.

Double crap.

“So…” he began. “Who are you, Rachel?”

“That’s a weird question to ask.”

He smirked. “I’d like to get to know you. Really know you beyond your pretty eyes and dazzling smile.”

“You’re a flatterer.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Well, is it working?”

She brushed the question aside. “What would you like to know about me?”

“Let’s see…” He tapped his chin. “Any hobbies?”

“I like art. I draw and paint sometimes, not that I’m very good at it. What about you? Wait, don’t answer that. You ski.”

He shrugged and let out a chuckle. “Maybe I’ll take you skiing with me one of these days.”

“Whoa there, Rudolph. We haven’t even gotten past our first date.”

“We’ll see how it goes.”

The waitress soon returned with their order, and they both dug in. Over the steak, which Rachel found delicious, they asked more questions about each other. He ran a furniture store and was thrilled to learn that she was in the modeling business. To her surprise and relief, he knew she was an elf and didn’t seem to have an issue with it.

“Wait,” she said tentatively, “you’re sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re not the only supernatural present at this table.” When she held her breath, he added, “Bear shifter.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Whoa.”

“Try not to let your jaw hit the table, darling,” he said with a smirk. “So…what’s a damsel like you doing living in Vegas without a guy like me on your arm?”

I could ask the same about you… “A guy like you?”

“You know…handsome, funny, boyfriend material…”

“You wish,” Rachel replied, but she could hardly resist a chuckle.

“You laughed,” he said, pointing. “Clearly, you find me hilarious. Now, about the other two qualities…”

“Oh, please.” She gave a dismissive wave. “Do you live alone in Vegas, or do you have family here?”

“My parents died a few years ago.” His voice turned almost solemn. “Car accident.”

“I’m so sorry,” she offered. Then, after a moment, she added, “I lost mine two years ago. It was a burglary gone wrong. I got home and…well, let’s save the gory details for some other time, why don’t we?”

A twinkle appeared in his grey eyes. “Oh? Does that mean I’m getting a second date?”

Rachel stifled a laugh. “Are you serious right now?”

“Of course. I want another date. We could go skiing together at Lee Canyon. I’ll teach you.”

She pretended to think. “I’ll consider your offer.”

“Please, do. I’d like to try out a bunch of stuff. Like skiing in a Santa suit.”

“Santa on skis? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He frowned. “Maybe that’ll be next year. Still, I’m taking you to Lee Canyon next week. I’m hoping that’s where we share our first kiss.”

This time, she did laugh again. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself, buster.”

But even as she spoke, she knew that, with Michael, a second date was inevitable.

***

She rose from the depths of sleep into darkness momentarily before her eyes flickered open. She lay on her side on a tiny, threadbare bed in the corner of a room lit only by a fireplace and the rays of sunlight streaking in through cracks in the walls. Her eyes roamed about her surroundings for the next few seconds, then settled on the floor before her. It was daytime.

The cabin seemed empty except for her. Its main resident, Maria, who’d offered to let her sleep in here, was rarely around. The woman mostly shared a cabin with one of her close friends in a nearby street.

Rachel pulled herself to her feet, stretching. The details of her dream slowly trickled into her memory. She and Michael had gone on that date four winters ago, but it might as well have been last week. For Michael, it had never happened at least for now.

It would be quite some time before his memory came back. It could take weeks, months—hell, maybe even years. But Rachel wasn’t going to stop trying. She wanted Michael back— her Michael, not just the Michael she bumped into these days. This guy wasn’t much different, except for the very painful fact that he had none of the memories that truly mattered.

It felt like some cruel trick of fate, some sick game the universe was playing on her. And for what? What had she done to deserve this? She’d lost Michael three years ago to Frost Mountain, believed him dead or worse, abducted, only for her to get sucked into the same crappy dimension and bump into her long-lost lover. The plot twist? He didn’t even remember her.

He'd lost his memory when he hit his head on a rock when landing on Frost Mountain. Rachel wondered if whacking Michael over the head with one of his skis would speed up his recovery process. She nursed the thought for a moment before deciding it was too extreme.

With a yawn, she stepped out of the cabin into the snowy street, greeting some of the passersby as she rounded the corners. It was a calm, beautiful morning. Maybe today, she would take another tour of the village. Despite how long she’d been here, she hadn’t really gotten to visit all the interesting parts of Mel—

A bloodcurdling scream broke through her thoughts. Rachel spun around just in time to see two young girls dart past her, giggling excitedly. Each clutched a ski under her arm like a snowboard. They rushed toward the low village fence. It wasn’t too hard to put two and two together, and Rachel knew that something terrible was about to happen, even moments before a red-faced woman came bursting into her field of vision, pointing at the running children and crying:

“Sadie! Katie! Someone, stop them before they hurt themselves!”