Page 19 of Cold and Bitter Snow

“Colorado.”

“Did you always live there?” she asked then caught herself. “Oh, probably not. You probably traveled a lot.”

“I traveled a lot,” he confirmed. She’d taken off her sunglasses and he wanted to spend the morning staring into her beautiful hazel eyes, not talking about his past which would inevitably lead to a conversation about why he left the Army. “How about you, had you ever been to Switzerland before?”

Siena gave him a knowing smile that told him she knew exactly what he was doing by changing the subject but was too kind to call him out on it. He added kindness to the list of qualities he liked about her, which was already about a mile long.

“I traveled a bit, when I was in college, but never to Switzerland, no. I actually don’t think I took a day off in the last five years. Maybe that’s why John and I stayed together so long.” She paused for a moment, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. “But I guess this makes two days off now: yesterday and today.”

He barked out a laugh. “I’m not sure getting caught in and avalanche counts as a day off.”

“Okay, today then. Today is a day off. I’m not even thinking about that drone we saw earlier even though it most certainly is a security hazard in a place like this,” she said smiling.

“You don’t need to think about it. You wrote it down on your little notepad.”

“I don’t like to rely on my memory. I prefer to keep my brain ready to use and not cluttered with to do lists,” she defended.

“It wasn’t a criticism, Siena.” He smiled, raising his hands.

“Hey, Conor,” Luc shouted, waving from the entrance. There were several tables and tens of skiers between them but Conor made no move to help his friend navigate the room, beyond moving a chair out of the way so Luc would have a spot to sit.

He signaled to Siena to stay put. “He won’t like it if you help him,” he said quietly.

She nodded but Conor could see just how much it cost her to stay sitting.

Finally, Luc arrived at their table. “I knew you’d be here, Conor. And who is this?” he asked, his blue eyes looking interested.

“Luc, meet Siena. Siena, this is Luc. My housemate.”

“From the avalanche?” Luc’s eyes grew rounder.

“That’s me: Siena-from-the-avalanche. Nice to meet you, Luc,” she said, leaning forward to shake Luc’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, Siena,” Luc said, smiling broadly.

“We’re going to ski some more,” Conor said. “Want to join us?”

“You can ski?” Siena said, then covered her mouth with her hands.

Luc raised his hands in the fingerless gloves, stopping the apology before it could come.

“I’m into sit-skiing these days,” he said lightly.

“Luc can give me a run for my money on the slopes.”

“That’s not really saying much, Conor, you ski like my grandma,” Luc laughed. “You guys go on, I’m going to grab a bite to eat then head into town.”

Conor nodded. “See you later, Luc. Come on, Siena, we have time for a few more runs.”

When Siena turned around to put on her scarf, Luc exchanged a quick glance with Conor. “I like her,” he mouthed then covered it with a smile.

#

Siena

A few more runs turned into a second snack which turned into more skiing. By early afternoon Siena’s legs felt like jelly, her thigh muscles complaining loudly about the unusual exercise.

It was also getting colder now that the sun was setting on the horizon. Siena tightened her scarf around her neck but didn’t say anything, knowing the moment she did the day would end.