And Jordan was on team Dan, not team Rosie. “She has always been my responsibility.”
“Younger sister? Big age difference?”
“I was joking when I said I was a hundred and three.”
He laughed. “I’m rethinking Rottweiler. You’re more of a terrier. Spirited and loves an argument.”
“What makes you think I love an argument?”
“Maybe because you keep starting one.”
“Which is possibly because you’re annoying. What breed would you be, then?”
He thought about it. “I’m an energetic, outdoor type. Reliable, protective of those I love same as you are, easygoing, unless someone crosses a line.”
She wondered where that line was.
Everyone had limits, didn’t they? She’d recently discovered hers. “So you’re a Labrador, too.”
He pulled a face. “I’m not that easygoing. Maybe more German shepherd.”
The road curved through a narrow valley. Huge walls of granite and limestone rose steeply, silver gray and stark, mostly too steep to hold the snow. Patches of white clung to the less vertiginous sections, and coated the trees.
“This is an impressive place.”
“Welcome to Glenwood Canyon.”
“I can’t imagine how they built this road through the mountains.”
“It was a compromise between the engineers and the environmentalists. It’s one of the main routes through the Rocky Mountains. That’s the Colorado River right there.”
It was spectacular.
She gazed out of the window at the soaring walls of the canyon. There was something soothing about being in a warm car, looking out at the snowy mountains outside. Her life felt distant, too far away to be more than a niggle of anxiety. For once she had no responsibility, no one relying on her judgment. Jordan was a good driver, confident, not flashy. Not that she had any intention of telling him that. She had a feeling he was a man who already had the true measure of his worth.
“Does this road ever get blocked in winter?”
“It can have its tricky moments. There’s a rest area up ahead at Grizzly Creek. We’ll stop there for a short time. Are you hungry?”
She discovered that she was.
After a hastily eaten snack she headed down to the water with him, her hands wrapped around the drink he’d bought her. The air was fresh and cold, the mountains rising straight up from the river. Snow clung to boulders and the water bubbled past patches of ice.
“I bet that water is cold.”
“Icy.” He stood, legs spread, hands thrust into his pockets. “Dan and I used to spend our summers rafting on this river. Further downriver you have the Shoshone rapids—Tombstone, The Wall and Maneater.”
“Funny, none of those names are tempting me to ask you to take me white-water rafting. I can’t think why.”
“Come back in the summer and I’ll take you. I think you’d enjoy it.”
“What makes you think that? Do I look sporty?”
“No, you look tense. And clinging to the side of a raft while you’re being thrown around in wild water surrounded by breathtaking scenery is a good way of making you forget everything except the moment.”
“I’m going to have to take your word for it.”
“You’re missing out on a real adrenaline rush. It’s pretty thrilling.”
She took a sip of coffee, feeling the warmth spread from the cup to her fingers. London, with its gray skies and rain, seemed like a long way away. For the first time in a while she felt half-human. “Thanks but I think I’d prefer to get my thrills elsewhere.”
He finished his coffee. “You shouldn’t be afraid of adventure.”
“Who says I’m afraid?”
“You’ve been grilling me about Dan, which means you’re the type who researches everything in detail before you commit to something. You don’t trust your instincts.”
“I don’t have instincts where Dan is concerned. I’ve never met him.”
“Precisely.” He dropped his cup in the trash can. “But you’re assuming he has a past he needs to hide. And you’re not even the one who is marrying him. Are you always this cautious?”
“I’m not cautious.”
“No? When did you last do something that scared you?”
Seeing Dr. Braithwaite had scared her, and lately she’d been scared every time she’d arrived at work. “We should probably get going. My family will be expecting me.”
He studied her for a moment. “Sure. If that’s what you want.”
They headed back to the car, and negotiated the next section of road in silence.
They reached a town called Glenwood Springs, and he followed the signs for Aspen.
Katie must have fallen asleep because when she woke they were driving down a snow-covered drive toward a brightly lit building.
“That’s pretty.”
“Welcome to Snowfall Lodge.”
“This is it?” She gazed at the sloping roof outlined by tiny lights. There