A Matter of Trust(21)

And then Gage let out a word of frustration between his teeth, pulling the phone from his ear. “What an idiot.” He set the phone down on the table and then reached out as if to strangle someone.

“Who was that?”

Gage looked at him, shaking his head. “Oliver Blair.”

Ty frowned, lifted a shoulder.

“The T. rex guy.”

Oh. He didn’t exactly understand Gage’s ire over the kid in a dinosaur suit who’d broken the rules and skied down the back bowl in an undesignated area. It wasn’t like Gage hadn’t done that plenty of times. Practically made a career out of it.

“How’d he get your number? And why would this guy call you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe from dispatch—I’ll have to talk to them about giving out my number. I tracked him down during the last run of the day and chased him into the lodge. I took his ski pass—and all the time he’s saying”—Gage changed his voice, turned it incredulous, even silly—“‘Are you Gage Watson, dude? Like, the super awesome snowboarder?’”

Ty couldn’t help a smile at Gage’s surfer impression. “Ah. That was what tonight’s sour mood was really about. This guy recognized you—”

“And announced it to the entire bar.”

Oh. That was rough.

“And now, this idiot wants to ski down Heaven’s Peak. Follow my line.” Gage winced, then shook his head and looked away. “He’s going to get himself killed.”

“Why? You did it, right? And you said he’s a great boarder.”

“You have to be more than great for Heaven’s Peak. I planned that route for months. And practiced. There’s a sixty-foot stomp off a waterfall on the way down that, if you don’t take it right, will get you killed. And, a couloir that is nearly straight down. Not to mention the fact that it can’t be run in one day. You have to take it in spurts. It took me two days—which meant I had to camp on the mountain . . .”

“And there’s a storm front heading toward Montana.”

“Exactly.” Gage reached for his phone. Pressed redial. Made a face. “Voicemail.” He sighed, looked at Ty, then at the team. Pocketed his phone.

“I gotta go over to the resort and see if I can find him. Talk some sense into him.”

Ty put his hand on his shoulder.

Gage stopped. “Don’t try and talk me out of it, Ty. I know it’s not my responsibility, but really, it sort of is. It always will be, as long as my name is associated with freeriding.”

“I was going to say that I’m going with you.”

Gage led the way out the door. He said nothing as Ty climbed into the Mustang.

They were halfway back to the ski hill when, “Sorry for what I said about the sim, bro. This has been a . . . well, not my favorite day.”

Ty lifted a shoulder. “So, how are you going to find this guy?”

“I have his ski pass. I’ll ask the lift office for his lodging information.”

The place was closed when Gage arrived, but Ty found the resort manager and they dug around in the computer files and found Oliver’s name and his local lodging information.

Thirty minutes later, Ty and Gage drove through the snowy drifts to one of the grand lodge-style four-plexes that edged Moose Run. Cedar siding, a thick layer of snow frosting the roof, pine trees flanking the walkway. The place had money embedded in every cranny.

Ty’s parents owned two, which they rented out all year long.

He didn’t mention that as Gage parked, got out, and crunched up to the front door. A front porch hosted Adirondack chairs, and a porch light glimmered out welcome.

Gage knocked on the door. “If I have to, I’ll call Sam, tell him that this kid is drinking underage, get him thrown into the Mercy Falls drunk tank—”

The door opened.

And for a second, Ty’s world stopped, stilled on the sight of the woman in the doorway. She wore a pair of baggy gray sweat pants, a tank top, and a pair of fuzzy UGG slippers. With her long blonde hair, gray-green eyes, all curves and a sweet smile, she looked the girl next door. The lilt to her smile suggested curiosity at the two men on her front porch.

“Gentlemen? Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Oliver Blair,” Gage said darkly, clearly not as taken with the woman as Ty.

Then again, Gage was apparently immune to women—hadn’t had a date since he moved back to Mercy Falls, it seemed. Definitely not as long as Ty had lived with him.

“I’m not sure if he’s back yet.” She ducked her head inside. “Ella! Um . . . you’d better come here. Someone is here to see your brother!”