Stranded
on Vail Mountain
Vail
Mountain Trilogy Book 1
by
Desiree L. Scott
Genre:
Romantic Suspense
It
was supposed to be a vacation, a time to save her marriage, but what
Joan Clayton hadn’t counted on was Murphy’s Law of Vail Mountain
and the secrets that had damaged her marriage beyond repair. It was
over. Depressed and angry, she decided to venture directly into an
oncoming snowstorm, one that would be known as the blizzard of the
century.
Stephen
Brockheart received the call concerning a missing tourist after
working 26 hours straight. A park ranger for the mountain resort, he
set out on the routine mission, knowing he was running out of time as
the blizzard hit with visibility zero. What he hadn’t counted on
was saving a beautiful woman and falling for her, a city girl who
knew nothing about the dangers of the mountain. He had been there
before and vowed never to return.
As
Mother Nature raged, Joan was soon overcome by the feelings a
complete stranger evoked in her, causing her to reevaluate her own
life. Through the blizzard and stranded at the resort, death was
imminent for any who would try to leave. Despite loss and secrets,
can two people find love and happiness again?
Can
they be given a second chance to make it real and lasting, or will
that chance die with them?
Stephen saw the woman leaning against the wall at the bottom of the cavern,
shivering but alive, and felt a relief like none other knowing he had made it.
There had been times in the last two hours when he had thought he wouldn’t find
her, and his own chances of survival were diminishing, especially with the
blizzard in full swing. Visibility was zero, and the trek down the mountain was
going to be a bitch for one, let alone for two. It had been close to five hours since
the woman had gone missing. Usually, the allotted time of retrieval on rescues
was two hours, but he wasn’t complaining.
She was alive, at least for the moment. It hadn’t been a long drop, but it was
the steep incline that had trapped her.
He yelled down at her, but he didn’t think she heard him over the wind.
He saw her eyes widen in her pale face and knew she had at least spotted
him. Relief filled her eyes as they met his. He threw down the rope and tied it to a
thick tree that stood just a few feet away.
He almost lost his footing on the way back to the edge and fell to his knees,
striking his left on a hidden rock. Cursing, he moved his leg cautiously and stood
up. With slow steps, he took hold of the rope and swung his legs, propelling
himself over the icy side. His spiked boots dug into the ice, keeping him stable
as he made his way down to her.
He reached the bottom and let go of the rope to walk over to the woman,
kneeling down beside her.
His eyes scanned her slender body, and he didn’t like what he saw. Pale and
trembling, her lips were turning blue.
Fuck.
“Are you hurt?”
Please say no, please say no, please say no…
She nodded with a jerky movement and looked down at her right leg.
Double fuck.
He followed her gaze but didn’t see a break.
“Sprain?”
“Y-y-yes.” Her voice was scratchy and low, her words slurred.
He swore, knowing her blue lips and pasty, white skin meant the woman was
close to hypothermia.
Come on, damn it. I need a break!
Stephen spotted dried blood on her forehead and flinched imaging her fall.
The incline wasn’t something to laugh at even though it hadn’t been far. Neither
was a head injury. They didn’t have time for him to check her over. He did a
quick sweep with his hand over her head and neck and found she was bleeding at
the back of her head.
“My name is Stephen Brockheart, and I’m a park ranger for the resort. Can
you stand?”
She nodded again, and he helped her get to her feet, putting all of her weight
on the left leg.
They looked up. Stephen glanced around the cavern, his lips tight, and
looked to the woman, meeting her eyes straight on. “We won’t survive the cold if
we don’t try to get down the mountain.”
The woman stared at him, her eyes worried and big. But then something
happened, stunning him and gaining his respect. He saw determination light up
her blue eyes, a level of strength he hadn’t seen before in any woman’s eyes.
She pulled away from his hold and straightened her shoulders. “Let’s go,”
she said, her voice soft but determined, and somehow he understood.
They were going to make it or die trying.
He stared down at her a few more seconds and then nodded, putting the rope
around her slim waist and tying it securely before taking the rope and tying them
together. He didn’t want her passing out and falling again.
Giving it a tug, he made sure it was still tied tautly on the tree.
He grabbed the end of the rope and fastened it around himself with a tight
knot.
“Piggyback time. Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my
waist.”
With her ankle, she wouldn’t be able to climb out, not by herself.
She hesitated and then slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and got on
his back.
He knew she was tired, probably had a concussion, and no doubt dehydrated
with hypothermia setting in, but they didn’t have a choice.
They needed to get back to the resort if they were going to survive, but it was
going to be damn close. It was already hard to see as night descended.
With her firmly tied to him and on his back, he jumped up and dug his spikes
into the ice. He slowly progressed, inching himself up the side of the cliff, the
woman holding on tightly.
After what seemed like forever, they made it to the top, and he collapsed on
his side, his breathing ragged and harsh. He was careful not to crush her. The
wind was strong, the bite of the chill stinging the flesh. Stephen drew off his face
mask and handed it to her. She took it gratefully and put it on, covering all but
her eyes and mouth. He grabbed an extra one from his pack and slid it on.
He stood up, grabbed her around her waist, and they headed down the
mountain, fighting the wind that seemed to be pushing them back. The struggle
lay in putting one foot in front of the other. They battled not only the wind but
the snow that was rapidly building up. It was almost knee deep with more falling
steadily.
He could see pain written all over her pinched, pale face. Cursing, he
wrapped his arms around her lifting her up. He thought he heard her gasp but
ignored it as he continued, the wind and snow beating at his back.
Trapped
on Vail Mountain
Vail
Mountain Trilogy Book 2
Nina
Williams’ world shattered in an instant when she and her daughter
witnessed her father's brutal murder. Everything in her life became
trivial save one: protecting her only child.
With
the help of a friend, Nina leaves the city in a cloud of terror and
heads for Vail Mountain and the safety she prays she will find.
Rob
Garland has seen his share of the treacherous conditions on the
mountains. But even spring floods, summer fires, and hikers lost in
winter storms have not prepared him to face the fear in Nina's
eyes.
There
is no beating the odds on this one. The men who are after them won’t
give up. It’s only a matter of time before the truth is revealed
and the stakes turn deadly.
Can
Nina and Rob hold it together when nature and man turn against them?
Nina shivered and pulled her daughter in closer, trying to give her as much
body heat as possible. The little girl had finally crashed, no longer able to stay
awake after two days, and Nina exhaled a small sigh of relief as she leaned her
head against her daughter’s.
They had managed to find a small hole in the rocks to get out of the wind,
and after making sure that nothing would surprise them or that they wouldn’t
surprise an unsuspecting inhabitant, they had crawled inside.
They lay huddled in each other's arms on the rocky ground, the cold seeping
into their sweaters. Nina had looked at her phone and had seen that the text she
had shot to her friend had gone through, and she knew Joan would do everything
she could to get them help. Joan’s fiancé and his boss were excellent trackers.
She just prayed they got to her before anything happened to her daughter.
With nothing but the darkness closing in, Nina wasn't able to think of
anything except her father and his death, the pain in his eyes as he left her.
Why, Daddy? Why you?
She thought of her father's mentality in the weeks prior, and now that she
thought about, she realized how he had been acting, always looking over his
shoulders and calling and checking on her, thinking of excuses to come by her
apartment. If he had been receiving threats, then it all made sense.
Why didn't you say something, Daddy? Go to the police?
They were questions she could no longer ask her father, and tears filled her
eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she lay on the ground, her daughter tight
against her chest.
She started to feel warm, almost cozy, and sighed in relief, loving the warmth
that coursed through her as her eyes started to drift close.
Suddenly, her daughter moved and twitched.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, baby?" she responded drowsily, struggling to keep her eyes open. She
let them drift close again, just wanting to rest.
"Mommy!"
The little girl jerked and sat up, and Nina saw the fear in her eyes as she
looked up at her.
"What is it, baby?" she mumbled.
"Mommy, you're freezing!" Emily's small voice pitched high with panic.
Nina felt her shoulders shake and Emily lean over her. "Mom, please wake up!"
Nina shook her head, trying to dispel the drowsiness from her mind, but it
didn't help. She was so warm. She didn't want to move.
“Mommy, please. You have to wake up. I’m scared, Mom.”
The trembling voice of her daughter finally brought consciousness back, and
it was all she could do not to sink further into the warmth, but that would mean
leaving her daughter to fend for herself, and she refused to allow that to happen.
Nina tried to remember everything she could about hypothermia because she
knew deep down that she had it.
And it was getting worse.
Before she could move, her daughter straightened further and then lay on top
of her.
“What…?” she started, her daughter’s small body penetrating the warmth. It
felt like needles were piercing her whole body within seconds.
“Body heat, Mom. Even I know that. That’s why you didn’t want me to get
wet. So I wouldn’t get hypothermia. Instead, you got it.”
Her brave and intelligent daughter nailed it. And Nina couldn’t have been
prouder of her.
They wrapped their arms around each other, and Nina started shivering, the
cold seeping back in, but her thoughts began to clear.
“Have I told you lately that I love you?” she murmured.
“All the time, Mom. I love you too.”
Sighing, Nina started to say something but then went still, closing her mouth
as she strained to hear past the wailing of the wind. Emily must have heard it too
because she lifted her head from Nina’s chest and cocked it to the side.
“Mommy, did you hear—?”
“Yes, baby. Quiet.”
Struggling to get up, Emily slid to the side, and Nina stood, her legs
threatening to collapse beneath her. Holding on to her daughter’s thin shoulders,
Nina stumbled to the entrance of the hole and looked out, still straining to hear.
She could have sworn…
There! There it was again, a voice.
She started to open her mouth to yell but froze as thoughts of the killers
filled her mind. What if they had found them? Her yelling could get them killed.
Suddenly, she heard her name and then Emily's, and her heart felt as though
it were going to explode inside of her chest. She shared a fearful look with her
daughter and then looked around wildly for anything she could use as a weapon.
She had to protect her daughter, but before she could find anything, the deep
voice got closer, and they held their breath as the heavy steps approached.
"Nina, it’s Rob from the resort! Joan sent me!"
Her shoulders slumped, and they stumbled back from the small hole. If it
hadn't been for her daughter, she would have collapsed from sheer exhaustion,
cold, and the magnitude of relief that made the world spin. In fact, the world
kept spinning, and she couldn't get it to stop.
Emily took one look at her, and panic widened her eyes. She knew Joan's
name from when Nina talked about her.
"In here!" Emily yelled, her small weight struggling to hold up her mom.
"Please help! Mommy is sick!"
Within seconds, a tall shadow hunched down and crawled inside, but Nina
could barely make him out. Blackness threatened to consume her, and she dimly
heard cursing as she felt hard hands take hold of her arms. The cold ground met
her back, but it didn't really bother her. She just wanted to sleep, but she faintly
heard the orders above her.
"Sweetie, your mom has hypothermia. Get my bag and get the silver blanket.
It'll keep the warmth trapped so she warms up slowly. Hurry."
Nina heard scampering and then the static of a radio.
"Danny, I have Nina and Emily. I'm north of the river, about a mile. Nina has
hypothermia. It's too dangerous to travel with her right now. I'm going to start a
fire and get her warmed up first. We'll head out at first light and meet you back
at the resort."
Seconds later..."Roger that."
"Em," Nina murmured, trying to make sure her daughter was okay.
"She's right beside me, sweetheart. We'll have you warm in no time," the
deep voice said.
Suddenly, her wet clothes began to fall off, and she jerked, struggling weakly
against the gentle hands that continued to remove her clothing.
"It's okay. I just have to get the wet clothes off you, or the hypothermia will
get worse. I have a blanket. Don't worry."
She didn't have the strength to fight, so she lay there, her eyes struggling to
open.
Suddenly, she felt a natural warmth begin to spread through her as the
rustling of a blanket met her ears.
"Why does that blanket look like that?" she heard her daughter whisper. "It
doesn't look warm."
"It's made out of a fiber that traps body heat so your mom will warm up, but
if she warms up too fast, it will send her body into shock," he responded.
"Oh."
Her daughter loved to learn, always asking questions, never taking that
answer at face value, and she wasn't surprised when the line of questions
continued. What did surprise her was the patience she heard in the man's voice
as he answered each one.
Before long, the shivering started, and her whole body started to shake,
causing her daughter to gasp and come closer.
The man seemed to anticipate the next question. "She's fine, honey. Her body
is warming up, and when that happens, it's natural for the shakes to start. Your
mom will be just fine."
Just then, the hole lit up with a small blaze of fire, bringing light to the
darkness. Her eyes opened as the shaking and cold subsided, and she saw the
man's face for the first time as his brown eyes met hers.
"And there she is!"
She saw her daughter peek around him, smiling big at her mom. "You're
going to be okay!" she exclaimed.
Nina smiled and opened her mouth to reassure her daughter, but just then, a
noise erupted outside, and they all froze.
The man started to crawl out, but Nina quickly grabbed his arm, stopping
him. She shook her head wildly and made the world spin again but forced the
words out past her trembling lips.
"N-o… K-killers… Guns…
The man's brown eyes narrowed, and he patted her hand reassuringly.
"It's okay. I'll be careful." He looked over at Em. "Stay here with your mom."
With that, he disappeared out of the hole and back into the night, his heavy
footsteps silent.
Drawn
to Vail Mountain
Vail
Mountain Trilogy Book 3
Her
dreams shattered, Connie Meyer just wants to be left alone to live
her life in peace. She finds that difficult to do when her estranged
husband’s mother insists she return to her son and a marriage she
no longer wants—a marriage that does more harm than
good.
Desperate
to escape, Connie returns to Vail Mountain, the one place she had
truly felt alive. However, her troubles soon follow her, and she gets
more than she bargained for as she fights not only her past but the
intense feelings that one newly elected sheriff arouses in
her.
Jacob
Tanner is weary of the city life and the never-ending stream of
criminals that plague New York City. He resigns from the police force
after a drug bust goes wrong, landing himself in the hospital to face
his mortality alone. Uncertain about the direction of his life, he
learns of the new sheriff position on Vail Mountain and takes a
gigantic leap of faith—faith that he isn’t making a big mistake.
Armed with nothing but a few possessions, Jacob relocates, only to
find himself falling hard for a woman whose blue eyes speak of pain
and loneliness.
As
he battles his worst nightmare, can Jacob show her there is more to
life than what they have been dealt and convince her that with him,
nothing is impossible?
A few weeks after his decision was made, Jacob navigated the treacherous
roads, careful to stay away from the edge of the cliff as he climbed higher up
Vail Mountain.
What the hell am I doing? he wondered, his hands tightening on the wheel.
Everything he owned was in the back of his Jeep, and for some surprising
reason, it had been easy to pack up his city life with no intention of coming back.
This decision was unlike him. He wasn’t a spontaneous kind of guy. He never
made decisions without first analyzing each possible outcome. Yet within a small
amount of time, he had packed and settled his affairs with the city and his bills.
It had taken him a bit to cancel commitments, handle his lease, and sell what
he wasn’t going to need or want, and he now found himself on the mountain
headed to the edge of civilization, for all intents and purposes, homeless.
A few hours later, his back ached from the holes in the roads, and his arm
pulsed in pain from any small amount of movement. The brace had come off the
week before, the stitches before then, but it was still tender and sore. The lack of
shocks on his Jeep hadn’t helped either. He had been meaning to get those
replaced, but with everything else that had happened, he had forgotten.
I should have just sold the damn thing and bought me a truck.
Sighing, he pulled up in front of the resort and cut his engine, looking
around. Nothing had changed, but he hadn't really expected it to. The tall
mountains with the snow-covered tips graced the landscape in the background,
and everything was turning the different shades of autumn. Before long, winter
would again fall on the mountain, and the resort would be booked. He had called
ahead, and Nina had said that it was their slow season with only a few bookings,
so that suited him just fine. He really didn’t feel like socializing now.
He was surprised he didn't see anyone in the yard, but Nina had mentioned
that most people didn't start showing up until late November and early
December, and it was early October.
He stepped out of his green Jeep, rocks crunching beneath his boots, and
sucked in the cool mountain air as he took in the large trees surrounding the
resort, and the smell almost seemed to rejuvenate him. It was colder up in the
higher elevation of the mountain, and he pulled his jacket closed, hastily zipping
it.
I must be crazy, he thought, taking another glance around. He didn't know
what he was going to do or if the city council would even hire him, but hell, no
one could accuse him of not trying or stepping outside of his comfort zone. This
was so far out of his comfort zone it wasn’t even funny anymore.
That’s it. I’ve lost my fucking mind.
Just then, the door opened, and Nina walked out on the porch, a large grin on
her pretty face.
A few months, hell, years, he had spent thinking he was in love with her.
And then she had gone and fallen for Rob, the resort owner. Now he knew it had
just been infatuation of a sort. All he felt now was a gentle love for a sister, and
he was grateful for that.
"Jacob! You made it!" Nina exclaimed.
The glow on her face was so vastly different from a year ago when the run
for her life and kidnapping had taken place. Now the glow of happiness was the
result of peace and joy with her new life. Marriage and love agreed with her.
Jacob wanted that same glow, hence the drastic move himself. He was sick of
waking up by himself with no plans for the future and with no one to share it
with. He walked up the steps of the porch and gave her a side hug, smiling at the
man who appeared behind her. He was glad the aching jealousy was gone. All he
felt now was happiness for his friends.
"Hey, Rob. Thanks for putting me up for a bit until I find a place," he said,
shaking the other man's firm grip.
"No problem, man. I'm glad I could help."
Just then, they all heard a squeal, and Jacob braced himself for the little body
that launched herself at him.
"Uncle Jake!"
He grabbed her but was careful with his wounded arm, hugging her from the
side as tightly as he dared. Even the gentle hug caused him to flinch at the pull of
his shoulder. Getting shot was never a pleasant experience, but the healing
process was just as painful as the actual bullet.
"How’s my princess doing?" he asked as he drew back to look down, the
same glow of her mother gleaming on the little girl's face as she grinned up at
him. Mountain life agreed with them all, and if he was honest with himself, he
was a tad jealous, but he didn't let that stop him from being thrilled that his two
girls were finally happy. That meant the world to him.
"Great! I love it here!"
Before he could respond, the four of them moved inside, and the aroma of
the kitchen made his stomach growl. Loudly.
Nina laughed, Rob chuckled, and Emily grinned.
"Steak and potatoes sound good?" Nina asked with a smile and a raised
eyebrow.
"Sounds delicious."
They moved to the table, and Jacob again looked around, slightly puzzled at
the lack of activity at the resort.
"No guests?" he asked as he sat down at the dining room table. Nina had
mentioned it was slow, but he could have sworn she said they had a few
bookings.
Rob shook his head, thanking the cook who began putting the food on the
table. "Not yet. Around six this evening, we have a few bookings, and the winter
months are almost booked as usual, so it's going to be busy, but we have a bit
before they get here."
Jacob nodded and started to dig in, the food almost melting on his tongue.
God, it had been months since he had a good home-cooked meal. He was used to
living on fast food, and he wouldn’t miss that.
They made small talk, catching up on the past few months and the fall and
winter plans of the resort.
Before long, dinner was done, and he sat back with a sigh, finally relaxed for
the first time in months.
“So, when do you meet with the city council?” Rob asked, taking a drink of
his soda as he shot the question everyone wanted to know.
Jacob shrugged, not having much to tell them at the moment. “Haven't called
them yet. Figured I would just go into town and scope everything out. I haven't
decided if I'm taking the job yet.”
Nina rolled her eyes. “You'll take it,” she quipped, sounding confident, the
brat. But she was right. He was going to apply, but that was beside the point. She
already had a big head and a knowing grin on her face. He wasn't giving her
more to gloat over.
He opened his mouth but froze when he heard the voice coming from the
front of the building, asking if anyone was home.
Nina and Rob both jumped up, Nina’s grin widening, and they rushed from
the room. He remained still. Emily had recognized the female voice too and ran
out of the room in excitement.
With a slow movement almost resembling an old man, he stood up and
walked over to the door of the dining room, the view of the front desk in his line
of vision.
He saw her standing in front of Nina, and his heart started to pound. He had
often found himself thinking of her, which had been surprising considering he
really didn't know her.
She turned to look down at Emily, and just then, their eyes met. Hers
widened, and for a brief second, a flash of interest gleamed in them before it
disappeared, and she nodded toward him, acknowledging his presence before
turning back to the little girl. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was dressed
in blue jeans and a red sweater, and her strawberry blond hair was longer, ending
just below her shoulders. She had minimal makeup on, and yet she was
beautiful. The same aura of sadness was still there, hidden in the blue depths of
her eyes, but unlike last time, he was taking a vast interest in getting to know her
better.
Now he just had to convince her to talk to him past the pleasantries of
conversation.
Without the cloud of Nina hanging over him, or his illusions, he saw her,
really saw her, and he liked what he saw.
A lot.
I
have been writing since I was sixteen years old and love to write
both horror and romantic suspense. I think there have been many
influences within my life that has set me on the path that I can not
help but walk. A few of those names consist of Karen Rose, Lisa
Gardener, Nora Roberts, Cynthia Eden, Catherine Anderson, Laura
Griffin, Andrea Kane, and Lisa Jackson, just to name a few. This list
by no means defines by own writing but they have indeed influenced my
desire to live outside of my own world and to create the thrill of my
dreams. I live on 40 + acres in the SHOW ME state with my six year
old daughter, with the wonderful addition of four dogs and a handful
of chickens. The weather is unpredictable, but the surrounding beauty
of the country helps my creativity as I sit on my top deck with my
laptop and coffee close by.
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