Stranded on Vail Mountain Read online

  Stranded on

  Vail Mountain

  Desiree L. Scott

  Lavish Publishing, LLC. – Midland

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  STRANDED ON VAIL MOUNTAIN. Copyright 2016 ©

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Lavish Publishing, LLC.

  First Edition

  All Rights Reserved

  Published in the United States by Lavish Publishing, LLC, Midland, Texas

  eBook edition

  ISBN-13: 978-1-944985-11-0

  ISBN: 1-944985-11-5

  Cover Design by: Wycked Ink

  Cover Images: Adobe Stock

  www.LavishPublishing.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Author Bio

  Chapter 1

  Location: Vail Mountain, Colorado

  Game Creek Chalet Lodge

  His cell rang just as Stephen Brockheart made it through the door, his legs heavy with fatigue.

  He closed his eyes wearily, and his shoulders slumped, exhaustion pulling hard. He had already been up a straight twenty-six hours, and his feet felt like lead.

  He thought about ignoring the call but shook his head, resigned. Sleep would have to wait. He thought about his large bed and almost groaned as he grabbed his cell out of his pocket and answered it, his voice rough.

  “This is Stephen,” he growled, eyeing his bedroom door. It stood open, and he could see his unmade bed in the center, the thick blankets tossed on the floor at the foot of the bed.

  He inched his way closer and started to pray. God, not another one, he thought.

  God wasn’t listening. He jerked to a stop listening to his boss’s rushed explanation.

  “Hey, Stephen, I’m really sorry, man. I know you haven’t had any sleep, but there is a tourist, a woman, lost on Castle Peak. Her party reported her missing two hours ago.”

  “Location?”

  “The south side.”

  “Bobby? Alex? Thomas?” Stephen asked, desperately naming off the other rangers in quick order. He already knew the damn answer, but he prayed he was wrong anyway.

  No such luck.

  “On another rescue mission,” his boss said. “A party of four on the north side of Capitol Peak hasn’t returned either.”

  “What the hell?” he muttered.

  Stephen headed for the kitchen and coffee. He usually made it sweet with sugar, but fuck it. He was going for broke and black.

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said as he snapped his phone closed. It was times like this he was grateful he lived so close to the base of the rescue headquarters. It never ceased to amaze him the stupidity of the human race. Seriously? A trek through the mountains right before a damn blizzard hits. When people are checking in, all of the resorts recommend guests listen and pay attention to the weather station, but do they? Doubtful. If they did, he wouldn’t have had to rescue the fools from their own stupidity.

  Nine minutes later, he walked into the rescue headquarters, steaming coffee in his hands as he headed for the office. It was a large facility on the edge of the mountain, halfway to the midpoint of the top mountain, between two resorts. Besides the main building, they had four outbuildings containing all of the necessary equipment for the rescues.

  “Suit up quick,” his boss, Rob, said. His face tight with worry, he paced in front of the large window that overlooked the mountain, his brown eyes on the dark clouds rolling in. Snow blew to the right as the wind picked up, howling against the rafters of the building.

  “There is a major blizzard coming in from the east that could be heading this way within the next few hours. I want you back as soon as possible.”

  Stephen eyed those same clouds mentally calculating her possible location and the length of time to get there and back. It was going to be a tight timeline, too tight for his comfort.

  Stephen nodded his dark head and within twenty minutes pulled away in his ATV heading toward the higher altitude of the mountain and the foolish person who had decided to hike during an impending blizzard.

  Her body hurt like a bitch.

  Joan Clayton groaned from where she had landed. She gingerly moved her upper body to crawl towards the wall and sat back against the icy side of the hole. Touching the side of her head, her fingers came away bloody.

  Glancing up, she squinted against the cold flakes of the falling snow and spied the icy wall of the long drop. The world spun. Cursing, the muttered words lost in the howling wind, she concentrated on breathing.

  She glanced up cautiously, her gaze traveling up the steep incline again. With slow movements, she looked around, her heart beginning to hammer against her chest as she realized the depth of her situation. It never failed to amaze her how much of an idiot she could be. Having stormed off the resort was idiotic mistake number one. Not hitting the bastard was idiotic mistake number two. And getting lost? That topped it all off, but she hadn’t been thinking beyond getting out of the resort and away from everyone.

  Not thinking leads to this, she thought, grimacing.

  Joan looked down at her ankle, at the swelling she could already see, and flinched as the pain radiated up every nerve ending. She could still move it, so she guessed it was only a sprain. With the way her luck was going lately, she was thankful she hadn’t broken her damn leg.

  Or worse.

  Shit, she thought, clenching her fists against her thigh. Her ankle felt like a thousand needles were piercing the flesh in jagged angles, and she gasped heavily, trying to catch her breath.

  Closing her eyes, her mind raced thinking and discarding specific scenarios on how she could get out of this, but nothing came to her.

  “Damn it,” she muttered, laying her injured head against the icy wall. She knew she shouldn’t have woken up this morning. After the week she had had, it wasn’t surprising this had topped it off.

  This was supposed to be a mini, impulsive vacation for her and her husband. They had been married four years, yet they were almost strangers. As she was a reporter, and he was the CEO of a large bank, they both worked long hours and traveled extensively. He always seemed to be gone on one business trip after another. Joan had figured they would use the time away to reconnect, to show some emotion, damn it. If she were honest with herself, in her heart she knew it was a last ditch effort to save her marriage and future. Something had shifted between her and Michael, something she was afraid to admit, so she had planned the small weekend getaway. After checking in at the resort, Joan had turned around to see her best friend standing in the doorway, her luggage at her feet.

  “Joan!” Her smile big, showing perfect teeth, Stacy Collins rushed over and hugged her tightly, almost knocking her off her feet.

  Shocked, Joan pulled back. “What are you doing here, Stacy?”

  “What
are the chances we had both decided to get away and ended up at the same resort?” Stacy asked excitedly, ignoring the question completely.

  Chances indeed. Joan sighed, seeing her alone time with her husband disappearing. She looked over at Michael who just shrugged, a lock of blond hair falling across his blue eyes. He was a handsome man, standing almost a foot taller than her five feet three inches. His muscular frame was the result of hours spent at the gym after leaving the office, but Joan wasn’t complaining.

  She shook her head and looked back at her best friend, at the excitement in her brown eyes and contagious grin. She really couldn’t be mad. She loved the other woman, and hey, maybe this was a good thing. When Michael was busy at the gym, she and Stacy could hang out.

  Snow fell on her closed eyelids, bringing her back to her dangerous situation. Shaking her head to dispel the depressing memory, at the naive impression she had been under, she immediately regretted the movement as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. Her stomach lurched as her situation truly sunk in.

  She was in serious trouble.

  Stephen felt the tires slide on the icy, packed snow and cursed, his knuckles white from the tight grip on the handle bars.

  He fought to regain control before he slipped over the edge. Unable to see past the blind snow, he tightened his focus, his lips taut with tension.

  The ATV lurched again, but this time there was no stopping the inevitable loss of gravity. He jerked the bars to the right, but he couldn’t stop the momentum. The edge came closer as he fought both the elements and the machine. Spying a small window of opportunity, he didn’t waste any time. With a grunt, he jumped, and his knees hit the ground hard, jarring every bone in his body as he landed a few feet away.

  He almost breathed in a handful of snow as he swirled around, still kneeling, and saw the vehicle disappear over the edge. A few seconds later, he heard the crash and flinched.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  There went his only communication with the resort. His two-way radio had been inside of the larger black bag strapped to the back of the ATV. Now he was fucked unless he could find the woman and shelter before the eye of the storm hit. He only had the smaller bag strapped to his waist with a few emergency pieces, plus his colt.

  A person never went into the mountains without a weapon. He had learned that the hard way.

  Just then, the wind picked up, biting into what flesh was exposed to the elements. The blizzard had set in almost two hours after receiving the call. He knew the woman didn’t have much time and prayed he'd get there in time. I have never lost a rescue before, and I’m not about to break that record, he thought grimly.

  He stood up against the strong wind, grateful it was at his back, pushing him forward towards his destination. Stephen paused to get his bearings. It was easy to get lost in the mountains. Even with his ten years of experience as a park ranger, he still got lost himself.

  The woman will be extremely lucky if I can find her. The thought pushed him forward as he dismissed the tiredness that threatened to affect his fluid movements. He felt his heart rate increase as he shot a hurried look up at the darkening sky.

  Fuck!

  Joan thought she felt and heard something hit the side of the mountain at her back, but her mind and body could also have been playing tricks on her.

  Shivering, she groaned, her body stiff. The deep cavern acted like a shield that kept the wind out, but the biting cold was still a threat, penetrating the layers of her clothing. Her throat tightened as panic and fear spread throughout her trembling body. She was losing feeling in her hands and feet, and the edges of her vision blurred.

  Please help me, she prayed silently. I’ll be good. I won’t kill the bastard. I’ll just maim him.

  She felt a sob work its way up her throat and fought the urge to cry. Crying never accomplished anything. She had learned that the hard way. It really pissed her off that a tear escaped anyway, the memo having never been received about the no crying thing.

  She laid her head back against the icy wall and knew if she fell asleep she would die. Joan struggled to keep her eyes open but felt them start to slide closed.

  Just then, she heard it again, and her eyes popped open. Her head heavy, she rolled it to the side and glanced up from the bottom. She thought she spied movement, someone at the top leaning over the ridge of the opening.

  Her eyes widened, and she struggled to get her voice to work. “Help!” she yelled, her voice coming out weak and harsh. She didn’t know how much time had passed since she had fallen but knew it had to have been hours.

  “Please help me!” she yelled again, her voice a little stronger but still weak.

  Hopelessness threatened as she felt another tear escape at the thought of being so close to being rescued. She wiped it away angrily.

  She saw a shadow lean over the edge just as the world started to blur.

  Joan thought she heard a voice, a yell, but she couldn’t hear past the wind and chattering of her teeth.

  A rope landed next to her, and her heart began to pump warm blood throughout her body as relief brought tears to her eyes.

  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 a
nd 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.