Page 17 of Mountain Shadow

She nodded. “I’ll keep the tickets and pay you back every penny. I promise.”

His forehead creased in a frown, but he didn’t reply.

* * *

Jens

It was rare for Jens to voluntarily set foot in Chamonix outside of work. He didn’t consider himself to be antisocial by any means—he valued his relationship with his coworkers and often stopped to have a beer with them before heading back home, but he spent as little time as possible in town.

Jens had joined Germany’s Special Forces Command almost by accident. He and his girlfriend, Lena, had been studying medicine together in Frankfurt. By the time they reached the last year of their studies, they’d made countless plans. They were going to get married, join Doctors Without Borders, and see the world, treating people where the need was greatest.

It turned out life had other plans for them. During Christmas, Lena had developed an infection that wouldn’t go away. By the time it’d been diagnosed, the acute lymphocytic leukemia had already spread to her lymph nodes, her liver, and her central nervous system. Lena had passed away in the spring, after extracting from Jens a promise that he would still go out and see the world, do all the things they’d planned to do together.

Jens hadn’t taken her death well. Now, fifteen years later, he saw just how much his grief had been tainted by selfishness. He and Lena had been childhood friends—he’d taken her dreams and made them his, so when she died, he felt like his own life had been stolen from him.

Jens hadn’t joined Doctors Without Borders that summer. Instead, he’d impulsively joined the Army, which had offered him the biggest change possible. Ironically, he had gotten to see world. Ninety percent of those years had been spent in faraway places. And he’d found an amazing career, where he not only got to use his medical training but also felt he was making a difference every day.

After ten years with the German Special Forces Command, his parents had begged him to come home. His father had had a couple of health scares, and they wanted to spend time with him before it was too late. He’d been sorry to leave his job, and never thought he’d find another one he’d enjoy as much … until he’d interviewed with Damien Gray for a job with the Mont Blanc Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne.

He’d taken the job without hesitation, knowing few other jobs would offer him the chance to live reasonably close to his family and at the same time offer him the challenges he thrived on.

But he’d known immediately that he couldn’t live in Chamonix. Town life wasn’t for him. After spending so long in the Army, he needed some alone time—a place where he could disconnect from the world. A place where he could build the library he’d always wanted to build.

He’d found that in the little village of Argentière, just fifteen minutes away from Chamonix. He’d bought a small, old chalet in ruins, and had slowly and painstakingly converted into a place he could call home. He came into Chamonix for work, and to do his weekly grocery shopping, but tended to avoid the place the rest of the time. The town was too large, too full of people for his taste.

So it was with surprise, and slight trepidation, that he discovered, while walking around town with Sarah, that he was enjoying himself immensely.

Thankfully, Chamonix had no shortage of outdoor clothing stores, and Sarah was able to find everything she needed in a short time.

At first, she’d been more concerned with the price of things, but he’d quickly put a stop to that.

“Sarah, Chamonix is a tourist destination. Let’s focus on finding things that fit, rather than worrying about their price tags. Most places offer locals a discount, anyway.”

“They do?” Her face scrunched up, as if she’d never heard of such a thing.

“They do. So stop worrying about it, okay?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m just used to being responsible for myself. I promise I’ll—”

“You’ll pay me back. I know. How about this jacket?”

“Isn’t it too thick?”

“Even in summer, it gets chilly in the evening up here in the mountains.”

“It feels warm,” she said, smiling as she zipped up the electric blue jacket. “What do you think?”

Beautiful.

Even a thick down jacket couldn’t disguise Sarah’s perfect hour-glass figure.

“It looks good,” he said. His voice sounded rough to his own ears. “Pick up a hat and gloves as well, just in case.”

In a short time, they had almost everything she needed. They even stopped at an épicerie to buy an armful of tea bags. Satisfied, he looked at Sarah, who suddenly shuffled from one foot to another.

“Umm, Jens, I’m also going to need some … underwear,” she said.

He nodded briskly, purposefully keeping his eyes on her face.