CA 35 Christmas Past Read Online Free PDF Page A

They’d
already shared enough personal information.
                More than he’d shared
with a stranger in…three years.
                Funny—he reached for
the stairwell door—it seemed that most everything about his life had either
ended or ground to a near stop three years ago.
                Right here in Aspen.
                Maybe that was the
problem. He was disoriented to some degree…making decisions he wouldn’t usually
even entertain.
                He slung the backpack
over his shoulder and took his time descending the stairs. Maybe by the time
he’d reached the lobby, she would already be out the main entrance or in the
restaurant.
                There were far too many
mountain trails around here for them to end up attempting the same one. But he
didn’t want to risk running into her again in the lobby. He’d been wrong when
he arrived yesterday. He wasn’t the only person here alone. Molly was alone, as
well. Unlike him, she didn’t appear to want to stay that way. If he encountered
her in the lobby, she would no doubt suggest they go climbing together.
                That was something he
had to do alone.
                Assuming he could do
it.
                That was the crazy
thing. He could push his car around the track one hundred and eighty miles per
hour, but he couldn’t put one foot in front of the other to do one damned thing
else considered even remotely dangerous without breaking out in a cold sweat.
                He paused as he reached
the lobby. Strange. He hadn’t had the usual nightmares
last night. Hadn’t awakened in a cold sweat with his heart
beating out of his chest. Once he’d gone to sleep, he’d slept straight
through until the alarm went off on his cell phone at five this morning.
                Must’ve been crazy
tired.
                Being tired certainly
hadn’t helped before, but maybe he was finally turning that corner toward
acceptance and recovery.
                However minimal, it was
progress.
                The lobby was crowded
with skiers prepared for adventure. All ages and all sizes. Some clearly total amateurs, others obviously seasoned pros.
                He pulled his
sunglasses from his pack and pushed them into place. If he was really lucky, no
one would notice him. But Aspen was one of those places that drew celebrities.
The Hollywood types loved coming here, especially during the holidays, and
wherever celebrities gathered, so did the paparazzi.
                All he had to do was
get across the lobby without running into one of their spotters.
                MOLLY LINGERED NEAR the
massive fireplace and scanned the crowd milling about in the lobby. Still no sign of Fewell .
                Wait.
                There he was.
                He’d ventured across
the lobby but hadn’t made it out the main entrance. Instead, he had stopped at
an ATM machine.
                Had he noticed the two
spotters chatting in the center of the room? A large gathering place with comfy
sofas and chairs all grouped into conversation areas was designed to give
guests a place to meet and make plans. But the two men filtering back and forth
through the crowd were not guests. She didn’t know either of them, but she
recognized the tactics. One would chat while the other, seemingly involved in
the conversation, scouted for prey. Their body language, more than anything
else, gave them away. The false smiles and disingenuous
laughter. They were pros, too. The little game they played didn’t miss a
beat.
                The hands-free cell
phone accessories each wore didn’t set them apart from any of a number of other
guests sporting the same technology. But Molly watched the two. Even as they
seemingly spoke to each other, their body language warned that