Never Been Snow Lucky (Snowed Inn Romance)

Chapter 3

3

IRIS

I spent most of my first day in Winter Falls sleeping. It wasn’t exciting, but when I woke up this morning, I felt more refreshed than I had in longer than I could remember. I knew that my grad school studies had taken a toll on me, but I hadn’t realized quite the extent of it until my plan to take a short, late-afternoon nap turned into fourteen solid hours of sleep.

It was only six o’clock when I woke up, but between all the rest I got and the time difference, I was wide awake. By the time I headed to the rental shop to get geared up for my snowboarding lesson, I had already downed two cups of coffee, eaten breakfast, and read a romance novel that had been on my Tbr since summer break.

The door to the shop jingled as I entered, and I wasn’t surprised to see that they were snowman-themed when I glanced up.

The girl behind the counter caught my look and laughed. “Even the new trail signs we installed last year have little snowman cutouts on the end. Raven has left her touch on every inch of the place.”

“Raven’s the one who’s addicted to snowmen?” I asked, thinking about the nice woman who’d checked me in when I arrived.

“Yup, she’s one of the owners.”

“Gotcha.”

“I’m Sara, and I’m hoping you’re Iris?” She tapped her fingers against the keyboard on the counter in front of her. When I nodded, she explained, “Good because the schedule is a mess with the big storm coming in.”

My brows drew together. “Big storm?”

“Yeah, we’re supposed to get dumped on big time over the next few days. You’re lucky that your lesson is today. I’m not sure Lincoln will be available tomorrow, and he’s by far the best instructor we’ve got. As he should be since he’s got a crazy amount of pro snowboarding competitions before he met Bethenny and decided to settle down in Winter Falls. But I can’t see him being willing to risk getting stranded on the mountain while she’s at home with kids. Especially with Christmas only two days away.”

I had no idea who the people Sara was talking about were, but I had the feeling that if I didn’t divert her attention back to the reason I was here, I would miss my lesson while learning their entire life stories. “Sounds as though I will be in very good hands.”

“For sure,” she confirmed with a nod before having me sign a bunch of paperwork. Once that was done, we headed over to a wall of snowboarding boots. The lesson package I chose included all the equipment I’d need since my ski stuff didn’t do me much good while snowboarding—except for my helmet, which I’d brought with me. I got to keep everything for the next week and could extend for longer and add on additional lessons if I wanted.

The boots were softer than what I was used to wearing, so I made a few circles around the inside of the shop to get used to them. While I was doing that, Sara walked over to a row of snowboards and grabbed one from the middle. “This one looks perfect for you.”

I gripped the sides of the board when she set it in front of me, easily meeting her gaze since the top went to my chin, a couple of inches shorter than the skis I brought with me. “Thanks.”

“Go ahead and pop your boots into the board so you can get a feel for it before you meet Lincoln on the bunny hill.”

With both of my feet strapped together on a single board, the weight distribution I needed to balance was completely different from what I was used to on my skis. “This feels weird.”

“Yeah, the single plank stance will probably take a little getting used to. But your experience on skis will give you an edge over most first-time boarders.”

“I’ll take every advantage I can get,” I murmured, shifting my weight between my feet to get a feel for the board.

“Lincoln will coach you through using a single edge to turn and proper fall techniques, but once you get over the mental adjustment to being on a single board, it’ll be a cinch.”

Considering that overcoming mental barriers was my specialty, that was exactly what I needed to hear. The confidence from her encouragement faded as I neared the bunny hill.

“Iris Katz?”

I turned to look at the man who called my name. “Yup, that’s me.”

He lifted his chin in greeting. “Hey, I’m Lincoln Granger, your instructor for the day.”

“I’ve heard good things.”

“Sara does a great job talking me up.” He shook his head, laughing off the compliment. “But you’re the one who’s going to do all the hard work today.”

He proved how right he was over the next hour. I thought I was in pretty good shape, but my attempts at snowboarding had me rethinking that. Lying flat on my back in the snow, I stared up at the blue sky above me.

Lincoln slid next to me, blocking my view as he asked, “Doing okay?”

“The answer to that question depends on your definition of good.” I shook my head with a laugh. “At least I remembered not to try to catch myself when I fell. I’m so used to the bindings on my skis releasing, I keep expecting my snowboard to do the same. I think that’s the only reason I haven’t snapped a wrist yet.”

“You have definitely mastered the proper fall technique,” he teased.

“At least I have one hurdle down.” I shook my head with a soft laugh as I dusted myself off.

“But if I had known that snowboarding was this much harder than skiing, I’m not sure I would’ve signed up for a lesson.”

Stretching his hand out to help me up, he smirked. “But then you would have missed out on all the fun.”

“I have a feeling that watching me fall over and over again is a lot more fun for you than me.”

After we said our goodbyes, I didn’t even bother to try to board to the entrance of the inn. There was enough snow to do it, but I figured it was safer for me to walk.

The lobby was crowded, but I caught the gaze of a man across the space and found it impossible to look away. Something about him grabbed my attention…and piqued a feminine interest in a way that I had never experienced before.

I groaned at my awful timing. My ski pants and jacket were covered in snow, and my hair had to be a sweaty mess from the helmet I had been wearing during my lesson. My cheeks and nose felt as though they were red from being out in the cold for so long, and I had forgotten to put on lip balm, which left them chapped from the wind. Meanwhile, the guy stalking toward me looked as though he had walked straight off the cover of a winter sports magazine.

His dark brown hair was thick and just a touch messy on top, but in a super sexy way—as if he’d just rolled out of bed. His beard and mustache were neatly trimmed and amped up his masculine vibe. The crinkles at the corner of his light brown eyes as his plump lips curved up made me think he smiled a lot.

The grin he aimed my way as he crossed the room sent a sensual thrill up my spine that held me in place until he was standing less than a foot in front of me. His gaze briefly darted toward the snowboard I was holding, and his grin widened. “Have a good time on the slopes?”

“Umm…I definitely got up close and personal with the snow.” His brows went up at my answer, and my cheeks heated as I explained, “I’m a decent skier, but it was my first time boarding.”

“Ahh, gotcha. I’m way better on planks than a board, so I get it.”

Glancing at the white cross on the sleeve of his red jacket, I laughed softly. “You’d have to be better than most to be a member of the ski patrol.”

“True,” he conceded. “If you need any help on the mountain, I’m your guy. Just ask for Jack.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Grinning at him, I added, “If you get a call about a guest in distress named Iris, that’s me.”

“Your name is almost as pretty as you.”

My blush deepened at his compliment, but our flirting was interrupted by a crackly voice saying his name.

“Dammit,” he growled, pulling a walkie-talkie out of his pocket. “Sorry, with the blizzard incoming, I gotta take this.”

I flashed him a soft smile. “I understand.”

Heading up to my suite, I made a little Christmas wish…that I’d see a whole lot more of Jack during my trip.