Page 81 of Last Summer

CHAPTER 24

“Ella.”

She groans, burrowing under the covers.

“Ella.” Nathan nudges her shoulder.

Her eyelids flutter. The room sits in darkness but her internal clock tells her it’s morning.

Nathan turns on the bedside lamp. She groans again, burying her face in the pillow. “Turn it off.”

“Wake up, Skye.”

Her eyes snap open at the order. Nathan grins. Energy radiates off him.

“What?” she grumbles, her voice hoarse, drowsy.

“We’ve been cleared to fly. I secured a spot for you on the heli.”

“You did?” She sits up and tosses off the covers. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

Nathan stands, moving out of her way. Already dressed for skiing, he can’t stop grinning.

“Excited much?” She picks through her clothes, selecting items. Ella mentioned last night that if there was room, she wanted to ride with them. She’d photograph him heli-skiing for the article.

She glances over her shoulder at Nathan. He’s inspecting his gear. “I can’t believe I didn’t hear you get dressed.”

“I wore you out last night.”

She raises her eyes to the ceiling. “Yeah, right. That must be it.”

“You were snoring.”

“I don’t snore.”

“You were making little squeaky noises,” he says, pinching his fingers together.

“I don’t squeak.” She whips his upper back with her shirt and locks herself in the bathroom to change.

They meet Scott and another guide for breakfast, and after, they sit through what Ella believes is the longest, most detailed safety presentation she’s ever heard. It lasts an hour, covering everything from loading and unloading from the helicopter, skiing conditions, avalanche preparedness, and the importance of listening to their guides. Their word is final. Disregarding the rules means an immediate extraction from the mountain and return to base without a refund. Each guide is trained as an EMT and every skier is outfitted with a radio to communicate with their guides.

When it comes time to load into the helicopter, Ella sits up front between Cam, the pilot, and Trey, one of their guides. In the rear are Scott, Nathan, and a Canadian couple from Whistler who are over the moon to be skiing alongside Nathan Donovan. Nathan graciously poses for pictures before they board the helicopter. Scott loads the skis and poles into a cargo carrier that looks like a rescue basket attached above the landing skid. He climbs aboard and they’re off, lifting, up and over a stark white landscape.

The ride is bumpy but the views are magnificent, the mountains majestic, and Ella can’t help but feel the skiers’ excitement. Her heart races and palms sweat as they climb in elevation, following the lay of the land as it rises from the channel and up. Ella smiles broadly, thrilled she can witness Nathan in action. She waves at him over her shoulder and he gives her a thumbs-up.

Basically, the helicopter is a chairlift. The first drop is eight minutes from base, and each successive drop is a two- to four-minute flight apart until they return to the lodge. The entire trip takes no more than ninety minutes. Depending how things go, Scott hopes they can get in seven rides. That’s seven landings on various ridges—which aren’t true landings, but a hover inches above the surface—and seven pickups with fly time in between.

Skiers will ride downhill one at a time, from safe zone to safe zone, until they meet up at the pickup zone, or PZ, as Cam calls it, at the end of the run. Scott will lead, followed by Nathan, then the Canadian couple. Trey will bring up the rear.

After the first drop-off, Cam comes over the com. He and Ella are the only two with headsets in the helicopter so that they can communicate over the whir of the helicopter’s rudder and blades while the others ski.

“We’ll do a flyby so you can watch.”

The heli dives down the mountainside and Ella’s stomach shoots up into her throat. But she waves her thanks to Cam and gets her camera ready.

As Scott explained during the safety meeting, the skiers take off one at a time. Scott descends first, cutting across the pristine mountainside, digging his poles into the fresh snowpack. He’s fast. Full speed ahead, until he skids to a stop at the first safety zone, a spot about one-third of the way down.

Nathan follows, full throttle. Ella’s heart pounds in her throat. A fresh layer of nervous perspiration blooms across the back of her neck, yet she has her camera ready and takes a ton of photos.

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