she loved this. She ducked to avoid a pine branch. It brushed over her helmet, sending down a cascade of new snow. Behind her, she heard Shep swear and knew he must have caught the swinging branch.
When she looked back, he was getting up from the deep snow. Laughing, she found herself at the edge of the ski hill. Other skiers and boarders were now carving their way across the hill. She dove back into the trees to avoid them and hadn’t gone far when she sensed someone behind her again. She assumed it was Shep, but he was following her awfully close. A lot closer than he had been before.
She turned her head to look back into the darkness of the pines an instant before she was hit hard just below her shoulder blades. The blow knocked her off balance and sent her crashing downhill. She saw a tree coming and threw herself to the side, striking a smaller tree before burrowing deep in the snow.
The impact with even the small tree knocked the air out of her and for a moment, she didn’t know which way was up. She was under the snow, unable to breathe. Fighting her way to the surface, she gasped for breath and sucked in icy snow crystals that burned her lungs.
Furiously she wiped the freezing cold snow from her face with her glove and looked around in confusion. She didn’t see anyone close, but there were two ski tracks nearby that had cut through the trees before returning to the groomed ski slope.
Who had hit her from behind? She was barely able to process the thought before Shep came boarding up to her.
“Charlie? Are you all right?”
She wasn’t sure. She lay in the snow, still gasping. Her side hurt where she had struck the tree, but she didn’t think anything was broken. “Someone hit me.”
He stared at her as he helped her up. “Someone out of control?”
“Maybe, but it felt like I was hit with a fist.”
* * *
SHEP HAD SEEN another skier in the trees just before he’d lost sight of Charlie. But all he’d seen was a bundled-up shape. It had been too dark to make out much more.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, not for the first time since they had left the ski hill and returned to their room. They’d both changed, Charlie into yoga pants and a sweater, Shep into jeans and a T-shirt.
“It probably was just a skier out of control who hit me,” she said as if trying to convince them both.
“Did you get a look at the person?” he asked.
“It was dark. All I saw was a blurry figure as I was falling. But it was definitely someone on skis.”
“That leaves the suspects wide open since most everyone was on skis tonight,” he said, looking at her with concern. “Did Lindy ski?”
She nodded. “I remember she was looking forward to winter. She said she’d learned to ski at age three. But Lacey had grown up in Brazil. I guess it’s possible she’d learned to snow ski. Kat said Matt had money. He could have taken her to the Alps skiing for all we know.”
If Lacey had found out about the wedding and followed them up here... “Or it could have just been someone skiing out of control. An accident.”
He shook his head. “The person didn’t even stop to see if you were all right?”
She shrugged and he saw her flinch. “I’m just sore,” she said quickly, seeing his worried reaction.
They both startled at the sudden loud knocking at their door. Charlie looked at him with an expression that told him she was thinking the same thing he was. Amanda or Greg. Or both.
“Don’t answer it,” she whispered.
The pounding grew louder. Then a male voice called, “Charlie?”
Shep exchanged another look with her, this one more than surprised. “Daniel?” he mouthed.
She nodded.
“What is he—”
She held up her hands, eyes wide.
Shep stormed to the door and threw it open to find Daniel getting ready to knock again. He was dressed in ski pants and a jacket. He held his stocking cap and gloves in his free hand.
Daniel blinked at the sight of Shep and shifted his gaze to look past him into the room where Charlie was sitting on the bed. “I need to talk to Charlie,” he said.
“Daniel? What are you doing here?”
Shep realized that Charlie had gotten off the bed and was now right beside him.
* * *
CHARLIE WAS HAVING trouble believing this. Was