Snowed Under (Aspen Peaks #2)

5. Cooper

I balanced a tiny orange cone on my fingers, circling it around and around while pacing.

“Why didn’t you just tell them you were single?” Finn asked, setting out flags near the cones I’d laid to prep the area for our classes.

After I’d found the account for the magazine, I didn’t even look twice at the slopes. I raced straight home to sit down and start contemplating how I could pull this off. I ended up lying awake half the night, trying to think of anyone who might pretend to be my wife for a single lunch. Or heck, even a fiancée. I’d take a girlfriend who I simply had kids with at this point. Just something. But every idea came up empty-handed. Prospects of any previous girls in my life were out, considering the ones that weren’t a dumpster fire were all married or states away.

“Did you not hear a single word I said?” I tossed up the cone, attempting to land it in line. “They need a family man. A husband. A dad. They don’t need a guy who’s just now getting his life together.”

Finn shrugged and pushed the line of flags down farther.

Other than those I was related to, there were few women in my life that I was actually cool with. The dark-haired girl with gauges in her ears at the café in the lobby, who had memorized my order and refused to let me stick my finger in the gaping holes in her earlobes. The older woman at my favorite corner store, who hit on me regularly, despite her wrinkly husband working one register over. And…

I tilted my head back to Finn. “Can I borrow your wife?”

Without answering, my best friend ducked, grabbed a cone, stood up, and threw it with enough force to smack me in the face.

I spread my arms in defense when he picked up another one. “Not like that. Just for a single lunch. I’ll treat her.”

“I treat my wife. Daily.”

“Come on. Just a couple of hours.”

If that. I wasn’t sure how long a magazine interview took, but I doubted they would need that much time. Where else was I supposed to find a girl to pretend to be my wife? eBay? Etsy? At some point, these code people needed to branch out of regular dating apps and start making fake-dating apps.

Finn’s second cone hit my temple. “Something is wrong with you.”

I groaned and put both hands to my eyes, digging into the sockets. “Help me out here, man.”

“Get your own wife,” he sneered.

“I’m trying to.” I emphasized each word before straightening both cones he’d thrown my way.

We only had an hour before our first classes started, and I needed to sort this situation out soon. Chase had texted back yesterday and said he would prefer we meet in two weeks, when they had a break from their current projects. That left me two weeks to pull a prospect out of thin air.

Finn sighed, sticking his last flag into the ground and going to get the next set. “Just ask a friend.”

“Olive is my only female friend.” Other than the sandwich girl and the pervy old lady.

“Do not ask my wife.”

“Well, then help me.”

“I dunno. Maybe ask Madeline.” He shrugged and dipped his head back and forth like he was weighing the options. “She’s cute. Got two kids. Nice girl.”

I racked my brain for any hint of recognition, but nothing came up. Names meant basically nothing to me until I saw a picture of the person. Hence, why all the male workers at the lodge went by Easy Money in my head. It got a laugh out of then 100 percent of the time and made me feel better for never remembering their names and not forcing it out by staring at their name tags. Madeline didn’t ring any bells, though.

“Who the hell is Madeline?”

“Seriously, how unaware are you of your surroundings? I’m kind of concerned.”

I chose to ignore that. “Who is she?”

“You just met her son a couple days ago. Charlie? I told you about him before he joined your seven- to nine-year-old class.”

The new kid?

“Mini Coop?” I asked, pausing with a cone halfway to the ground.

Finn’s nose scrunched. “Uh, I guess.”

“You think I should ask the hot mom?”

Madeline. It fit her. All sweet and feminine, and yet had this twist that only made you more curious about her. Lavender sweater and soft honey-brown hair, with a smirk that I needed to see just once more.

Before Finn could answer, I had it sorted in my mind. She was perfect. Exactly what I needed. Beautiful, which wasn’t even a requirement, but definitely a bonus. And she had a kid who wasn’t a complete stranger. Not really anyway.

My mind raced back to the way we’d met. Despite the rigorous training I’d done to convince my frontal lobe that the embarrassing part of that story hadn’t actually happened, it replayed often. I’d had plenty of humbling experiences in my past, but apparently my subconscious thought hey, why not add one more to the lot?

I know exactly who you are. What was that supposed to mean? That smirk, pink lips pulled up like she was holding back a laugh, said that whatever she knew about me was probably not great. Chances were, unless I could find one of those memory wiper things from Men in Black, Madeline was going to shoot me down because of whatever piece of my past she was aware of. I shivered at the thought.

But no matter what she knew about me—which I really hoped wasn’t illegal and/or solid enough blackmail material to have me sending checks with lots of zeroes her way—I did need her. Or at the very least, if she said no, I could ask her if she had any somewhat attractive, breathing mom friends that could spare a single day for me.

“She’s not his mom. She’s his aunt.”

My head shot up. His aunt? I guess that made sense. They had similar features, but I hadn’t even considered them being related when I first saw her. Aunt would work too. She would work perfectly.

I nodded. “Hot aunt. Even better. So, you got her number or what?”

Finn shrugged. “I think it’s in the emergency contact file on the main desk, or you could just go talk to her. She should be on shift later this morning.”

“On shift?”

“Yeah, she’s on the cleaning staff here.”

Oh. This had to be fate. This was it. My luck was coming back in full swing. Maybe God had seen my year long hiatus from my previously reckless life and had rewarded me for my good behavior by sending me an angel. An angel with long wavy brown hair, wide hips, and a kick-ass nephew who was suspiciously good at skiing.

I laughed, mostly to myself, and shook my head. “This is about to be the best day of my life.”

Finn’s eyes lifted to the sky above us, awash in white clouds tattered over the light blue background. “And the worst of hers.” He sighed. “Look, I feel like I should warn you. She’s friends with Olive—”

“Perfect.” I nodded. “Our kids can go on playdates.”

Hypothetically speaking, of course. But it gave me more details to give the interview people. Ugh, yes, our rambunctious children spent hours with my coworker’s kids, throwing dirt and learning TikTok dances and whatever else children do these days. Being a parent is so fun, isn’t it?

“Settle down. Olive told me her brother passed away. She was the one to take in his kids, and I dunno. She’s sweet but vulnerable. Just be careful.”

He said this as if he wasn’t the one who’d completely catapulted himself into his wife’s life like a stuntman being shot out of a barrel. I distinctly remembered telling him to be careful years ago, and look where that got him. Married with a pregnant wife. See? Even when I was giving out terrible advice, it worked in my favor.

“I’m always careful.”

Finn’s eyes shot me a look along the lines of don’t forget I have witnessed you crowd surf and fall directly into a trash can.

“I try to always be careful,” I corrected.

“Try harder, especially for her. I’m not saying don’t ask her, but don’t expect a yes either. Trust me.”

I really did want to listen and take in his advice, but my mind was doing this highlight reel that looked like little flashes of my potential future. Skiing. Interview. More skiing. Madeline. Work. Doughnuts. More Madeline. Skiing.

This was perfect. Every single thing about it was aligning with what I was desperate for. It almost felt like a little shoulder push from Pops up in heaven.

Finn and I finished setting up the normal kids’ area, which was essentially two big squares that allowed for our classes to spread their skis wide and feel comfortable enough to move. The only downside was we had to set up one area on one slope and the other on the opposite side of the entire resort. It would be quickest if we each set up our own space, but then we’d probably never see each other, and despite Olive’s incessant persistence, Finn was mine before he was hers.

We stomped the snow and dirt off our boots at the wire mat before heading back into the employee area, walking past the warmth of the tall heaters standing on the dark tile. Rows of “lockers” (a misnomer, considering they were more like multiple walk-in closets sitting side by side) lined the wall with our name plates nailed above their doors.

Mine and Finn’s sat next to each other. His was filled with pictures of a certain pregnant blonde and ultrasound scans with giant circles on them in white Sharpie that said My baby! His all-black uniform rested on the hooks with his high-vis orange duffel bags below. Two old plane tickets were stapled on the opposite side.

Mine wasn’t too far off from that. Except in place of just any woman’s picture was a frame my mom had given me for Christmas last year with a photo of me, her, and my childhood hamster, Truman, when I was in fifth grade. She was squishing my cheeks with one hand while I laughed, and Truman sat in my cupped hands. There was a tall Christmas tree behind us, covered in homemade ornaments and multicolored light strands. I’d considered hanging the frame up in my house, but I didn’t even own a stud finder, and I was at the lodge far more than I was home, so this felt more appropriate. My black uniform sat on the hook as well, next to my security badge and some artwork I had saved from the kids. Not that I was the bragging type, but many of the mini-Picassos in my classes had made pieces that said I love Mr. Cooper, and one of them was a drawing of me in a red Superman cape, so I believed that said everything it needed to about me.

I reached for my uniform and my bags, pulling out the helmet and goggles and fresh socks, since mine were already soaked with ice. Sitting back on the bench of the far wall, I got ready for a day full of snow and screaming children.

After we were dressed and ready, Finn pursed his lips and nodded. Then he stood to grab his jacket and security badge. “You coming?”

We had a ritual of going to get breakfast in the lobby before our first lessons, but bacon cheddar scones were going to have to wait today. I looked at the time on my phone. I had an hour before I needed to be out there.

“Nah, I’ll see you later.”

I had a brunette to find.

Finn eyed me like he could see straight into my brain. “Remember what I said.”

I walked to the door, swinging it open and pointing back at him. “Careful, careful. Yeah, got it.”