Laurie’s Wolves(95)

Laurie remained where she was with Corbin and Carlie and watched as Adam spoke to the operators who lifted shocked faces as he passed them both and reached for the large red button behind them to shut down the lift.

He turned toward the line of skiers and lifted a hand. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”

The group inched closer, their voices lowering to a manageable level of chatter Adam could speak over.

“I’m sorry. But we’re going to have to delay opening this morning.”

People groaned. Several shouted questions.

“Why?”

“How long?”

“The snow’s perfect.”

Adam continued, “I’m not sure how long. My groomers are working as fast as they can, but they aren’t quite ready at the top yet. Please be patient. I want everyone to have an enjoyable day, but safety comes first. I know you’re all anxious to hit the powder. Why don’t you come inside for a bit, and I’ll see if I can get some more details on how much longer it will be.”

Grumbling skiers turned away from the lift and stacked their gear against several of the closest ski racks. Most of them remained outside, staring up at the mountain with their hands shadowing their eyes.

Laurie felt awful for them. She could see the exact same thing they saw. Perfect conditions. Excellent weather.

But her instinct still screamed at her not to let anyone get on that lift.

“What should we do?” Carlie asked.

“I don’t know,” Laurie mumbled. She met Carlie’s gaze head on. “I don’t know,” she repeated.

»»•««

Zach lifted his face toward the sky fifteen minutes later and shook his head in disbelief. How could it possibly snow any more than it already had? The average monthly snowfall for the resort in December was typically about twenty inches. He was pretty sure they had exceeded that level in the last week—over half of it last night.

Whatever Mother Nature was trying to prove, She was speaking loud and clear. She just wasn’t making any sense.

Did She want something? He’d gladly hand it over if he knew what it was. He was getting the feeling She wanted a human sacrifice or something. And frankly, he had a few people in mind he would gladly offer.

He smirked and plunged his shovel back into the bank of snow again. The other three men helping him dig out the cabin were working as quickly as he was. At the rate they were working, it would take them the entire blasted day to get to every cabin. They had been working four hours and they were only on the third cabin. They needed more hands. The snow was packed in tight. Even if they only made a path to the front door of this one, they were going to be exhausted soon. None of them had slept much.

A noise made him lift his head and turn toward the rising sun. The snow groomers were hard at work clearing the slopes above them. They were almost done. The slopes looked amazing. A small part of Zach envied the first skiers who were going to enjoy this gorgeous day while he worked his ass off digging out trapped guests.

But something was off.

A loud crack sounded. And then another. The groomers were still moving. He could hear them clearly. They had no idea there was any other noise in the area. The machines were too loud.

The other three men righted themselves.

“What was that?” one of them asked.

“No idea,” replied another man.

Another sharp sound, like ice breaking.

Zach’s body crawled with fear. He knew that sound. He’d heard it once before. He dropped his shovel and screamed, “Avalanche.”

The other three men twisted to look at him.

“Run. Fucking run for the backside of the cabin.”

They all four scrambled to get to the cabin. It was half buried in snow itself, but at least the side facing down the slope would be a small protection against the deluge of snow that was sure to come crashing all around them in just a few seconds.

Zach was the farthest from the cabin. It wasn’t an easy task trying to free himself from the hole he’d dug and climb over the fresh powder to get to safety.

A loud roaring filled his ears—like a freight train barreling toward him. When he lifted his gaze up the mountain, he could see why. A wall of snow was tumbling full force in his direction. He didn’t have enough time. He glanced at the cabin, noticed his other three men were almost there, and stopped in his tracks.

Think. He couldn’t decide the best course of action. He was trapped. On instinct, he grabbed his shovel out of the hole he’d been digging, flipped it on end, and jabbed the handle into the snow. His hope was that the blade would stick out of the powder and help his people know where he’d been buried.

And then he took two strides to the closest thick tree trunk, jumped behind it, and wrapped his arms around the thick bark.