Snowbound by MG Braden

gone off on a tangent but he just couldn’t help himself. When he’d seen her lying there, sliding down the slope on her back, he had visions of Natasha flash in his head. Of course, he’d never seen Natasha sliding down that trail but still... he could imagine it. Ever since Natasha had put herself at risk, and died because of it, he’d stayed away from any himself. Oh sure, he skied black diamonds here, but he knew them like the back of his hand, they weren’t risky. Whatever he did now he always tried to be safe. He wouldn’t dream of putting anyone else in danger. He thought Cassidy had blatantly ignored the closed run, therefore not only putting herself in jeopardy, but anyone who tried to help her. She’d looked both embarrassed and contrite when she said she didn’t know the run was closed.
    While Natasha had been gone a while now, Daniel finally felt like he had closure. Even though Cassidy didn’t realize it, she had been the catalyst. When he was yelling at her up on the slope he finally figured out she hadn’t meant to do it, but he was already well into his rant. It took him a while to understand that he wasn’t even seeing her face anymore, but rather that of his ex-fiancé. He told Cassidy everything he would have liked to have said to Natasha but couldn’t. After Cassidy had given him a piece of her mind and left, Daniel actually sat down on the nearest mogul and thought about all he had said. Then he had a conversation with Natasha’s spirit, hoping that somehow she knew what was in his heart. “It’s time for me to move on, babe. I have been holding on to this for so long. I hope you understand.”
    Having never talked to a deceased person he felt awkward at first, but since the run was closed, and there was no around to hear him, he just let loose with everything he’d been feeling for eighteen months. “I have finally forgiven you and now I’m going to try to forgive myself too. No more ‘if only I had never let you take that trail’. No more. You know you’re in my heart, but it’s time to set us both free.”
    A peaceful feeling had washed over him then and he had skied the rest of his runs with a lighter heart. He felt that he had finally exorcised any remaining bitterness he had toward Natasha.
    He only had one regret and that was that he’d hurt Cassidy. It wasn’t her fault that he had his own demons to chase. Since he’d already seen the way Rick had treated her, he knew that she was probably feeling that all men were the same about now. He wanted to prove to her that guys could, and should, treat women well. Some example you set there buddy. He also realized he was more than just a bit interested in a woman for the first time since Natasha’s death. Maybe it was Cassidy’s vulnerability which brought out his protective side. Or maybe it was those smoky grey eyes and the smile that lit them up. Whatever it was, he was hoping he hadn’t chased her away with his attitude.
    “Daniel?”
    He looked at the woman speaking to him. “Oh, hi, Sandra.”
    “How are you doing? I looked for you earlier today.” She sat on the couch opposite his chair.
    “Yeah, sorry. I did find Cassidy, but once she was down safely I just kept skiing. I needed to burn off some energy.”
    “I see. Everything okay?”
    Daniel knew Sandra thought of herself as a surrogate mom to him when he was here. He had been coming here so long he was like one of the family, but he didn’t even get into this stuff with his real family. Emotions were just something he didn’t deal well with. Not that he didn’t have them; rather he just wasn’t great at expressing them. He got all tongue-tied and then words usually came out the wrong way. He smiled at her. “Sure.”
    “Hmmm. Was Cassidy all right? Any idea why she was on a closed run?” Sandra appeared to be asking nonchalantly, but Daniel suspected she already knew what had happened between him and Cassidy.
    “I don’t think she was hurt, although she