Page 48 of Stuck on the Slopes

About me.

But I had no idea what his baseline was for showing he cared. I didn’t want to get as giddy as a schoolgirl because he helped me when I was sick.

The train of thought continued as I returned to The Fox’s Den. In order to prevent my head from getting too fuzzy with the idea of catching feelings, I beelined it straight for Edgar where I’d dropped off some grocery items I picked up for him, and then straight to my room to unpack what I’d purchased. It wasn’t long before I heard a knock on the door.

When I opened it, I faced the very man who occupied my thoughts. From head to toe, he was ready to hike. His black hair stuck out from beneath a blue beanie that matched the flannel he wore beneath his down jacket. Snow pants hid the tops of his thick boots that were built to handle the snow.

“Hey, Rachel.” As his glove-coated hands adjusted the straps, I noticed that Juniper had a backpack with him, but there was no sign of his dog. He did that doorway lean he had before, where he gripped the top of the frame as he stretched his right leg out. My heart fluttered at the sight, but I choked back any flustered feelings in order to stay professional.

“Hey, Juniper!” I fiddled with the emerald ring on my pinky, holding my hands in front of my sternum since I didn’t know what else to do with them. “Where’s Sasquatch?”

“Probably against my better judgment, I’m giving him the day off. He hasn’t been resting super well lately, and I’m worried he’s working too hard. But I was going to head to the VIP cabins and see if there were any finishing touches we needed to put on them. Care to join me?”

“Sure!” I said as I grabbed a lemon muffin and handed it to him. “Muffin for the road? It’s lemon with pistachio.”

Juniper grabbed it. “Thanks. From your errand run this morning?”

“I cannot resist Nora and her baked goods.” I put on my hiking shoes and a down jacket, slipped on my front pack, then grabbed a muffin for myself before heading out the door. “She makes the best challah, way better than I ever can make it. Reminds me of my mom’s.”

“Speaking of your mom, if your family ever wants to come up, they’re more than welcome. They don’t have to wait until opening.”

“Thanks. I’ll let them know, though I think they’re waiting for the official day, so it feels more special.”

Our feet crunched through the snow, but thanks to my socks and shoes, my feet stayed warm. One of Juniper’s old down jackets kept me toasty, too, as we made our way past the dense rows of pine trees. The sky was thick with clouds, the grey overcast concealing the mountain peaks on the horizon.

“So, Florida girl,” Juniper said as we approached the first cabin, “what do you think of real winter so far?”

“Not gonna lie, proper seasons are refreshing.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s so weird because you think it’s just so fucking hot all the time,” I said, “but then summer rolls around and you realize how much you took winter for granted. Because even though winter was still, like, eighty outside, now it’s over a hundred degrees and you’re sweating from places you didn’t even know you could sweat from, strictly scientifically speaking.”

He chuckled. “Strictly scientifically, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s that bad! And then you’re like, ‘Oh, well, it’s gonna rain this afternoon. That’ll help cool it down!’ And every time, you’re wrong. It cools it down for about five minutes before it becomes unbearably humid to where you’re positive your skin is literally melting off. Now that I’ve swapped my skincare products to adjust for dryer weather, I could get used to this.”

Juniper unlocked the front door to the first cabin and smiled. “Good. Despite everything, I love it. No real reason. I always have.”

The log cabin was massive on the inside. Most of the furniture matched, with forest green and maroon patterns and accents in the carpets and furniture. The cabin was only one floor with an entirely open floor plan.

“This is the smallest unit. There are two-story cabins, too,” Juniper said.

“It’s beautiful. But yeah, it could use a dusting.”

“I’m not sure when everything was last washed, but each cabin has its own laundry unit in the back.”

We passed through the small kitchen so we could beeline it for the bedroom to strip the bedding. Once everything was in the wash, we got to rearranging a few pieces and giving everything a good wipe down until the hour was up and we had to toss the clothes in the dryer. Juniper purchased a carpet cleaner a few weeks ago, which came in handy with the area rugs in the living room and bedroom.

We made our way to the cabin next to this one to repeat the process. This one needed a lot more work, as the previous owner of the lodge must have missed this cabin entirely when they last cleaned or had housekeeping come through. As much as we wanted to move back to the first so we could remake the bed, by the time the bedding finished drying, we were only halfway through cleaning.

“Quick bed-making break?” Juniper offered.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m starting to smell like cleaning products. My nose could use the break.” At least they were lemon scented.

He chuckled. “That makes two of us.”

Before we could do much else, though, a thunderous boom shook the entire cabin.

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