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  Amber had been so caught up in Kelli’s entertaining banter, she scowled at Kelli’s request.

  “Oh, sorry.” Kelli slapped her hand over her mouth like it was the only way to stop her talking.

  But with everyone looking her way, Holly had no choice. She inwardly cringed as she tilted her head to give those who wanted it a better view. After a variety of comments, most of them stating how much it must have hurt, they all seemed to lose interest as quickly as they’d started.

  Kelli touched her elbow, indicating their turn to shuffle forward. “I shouldn’t have done that, right? You don’t like to draw attention?”

  Amber shook her head. “No. I don’t.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m a ditz like that. Don’t be mad at me. Verbal diarrhea, remember?” She put her arm across Amber’s shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” She had no idea what else to say.

  Every shuffle toward the spinning turnstile had Amber’s knees trembling more. With each rotation the chair swung around the terminal, she studied each skier’s process to mount the seat. Couple after couple repeated the process, progressing them farther in line. The pair in front jumped on and took off in an easy, practiced movement, and the moment they were gone Kelli grabbed Amber’s hand and dragged her forward. “Place your skis on this line and turn so you can see the chair coming. Quick.”

  Amber followed her instructions, and had no choice but to fall onto the chair as it pushed into the back of her legs. Moments later her skis left the ground, and Kelli lowered the safety bar as they cruised up the mountain.

  Kelli raised her mask onto her forehead, pushing her blond waves back from her face. “Having fun?”

  A chill ran up Holly’s spine as she realized Kelli had just spoken exactly the same words Milton had said before the helicopter crashed. It was the last thing he’d ever said to her. She hadn’t recalled that until now. And no, she wasn’t having fun then, and she wasn’t having fun now. Realizing Kelli was expecting an answer, she decided to say the truth.

  “Actually, I’m petrified.”

  Kelly tapped Amber’s thigh twice and grinned. “No need to be. I’m going to be with you the whole time. I promise you’ll have fun.” She pulled her mirrored mask back into position and Amber snapped her eyes away. Milton had been wearing mirrored glasses too.

  Amber hoped Kelli’s promise was one she could keep.

  Below them, dozens of people swished from side to side on their skis and snowboards. Some kicked up powder in their wake. They made it look graceful as they glided down the steep slope. The dark mountain looming on the horizon had as much black rock as pure white snow on its peak, and Amber was cast back to the last image she’d had of the mountain in Canada before the helicopter crashed. The blade of rock shaped like a shark’s fin would be forever etched in her brain.

  The chair bumped over one of the towers, making her jump, and she clamped her gloved hands over the safety bar, strangling it as they continued their journey upward.

  “I really am sorry.” Kelli touched Amber’s thigh.

  “It’s okay.”

  “You know what? You should be proud of that scar.”

  Amber’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Why?”

  “’Cause it shows you’ve been through something horrific, yet here you are, getting out, enjoying life. Not everyone bounces back like that.”

  Amber huffed at the absurdity of her comment. She had not bounced back. It’d been more like crawling through a pit of sewerage, bumping shit at every opportunity. But…she had made it through the medical miracle and, despite all the odds against her, she’d learned to walk again. Maybe there was some truth in Kelli’s insight. She glanced over at the stunning young woman. “It’s embarrassing,” she finally said.

  “Why? Bullshit. If you’d done it to yourself, that’d be embarrassing. But what happened to you wasn’t your fault.” She paused and frowned. “Was it?”

  Holly’s heart spiked. For years Victoria and her tribe of ardent followers had blamed her for Milton’s and Kane’s deaths. And it didn’t matter how many times Dr. Andrews had assured her she wasn’t responsible; the poisonous seeds of guilt needled their way in anyway. Realizing Kelli was expecting an answer, she faked a chuckle. “Of course not.”

  “Right. Then, so like I said, be proud of that scar. Oh, here we go, we’re coming up to the top now.” Kelli lifted the safety bar and explained the process for disembarking the ski chair.

  The steep incline leveled out and the ground rose up fast. Amber’s skis touched, the chair slowed, Kelli stood, and Amber forced her body to do the same.

  Seconds later, she became a tangle of arms and legs. One ski snapped off and she sprawled face-first across the trampled ice. An alarm sounded, the lift shunted to a halt, and the chair swung over Amber’s head. Kelli chuckled and glided over to help her stand. She grabbed her wayward ski and led Amber aside, out of the chairlift’s path.

  “Yay, you’ve got your first stack out of the way! Now you can relax because you know it doesn’t hurt. The first one’s always the scariest, right?”

  Amber rolled her eyes. She’d never met anyone as painfully positive as Kelli.

  “Clip your ski on, we’ve gotta get down this mountain now.”

  “Great,” Amber groaned.

  “It sure is.”

  Kelli glided over to the side and turned to watch Amber. “You’re doing so well.”

  “Yeah right!” Amber cocked her head and gave a you’ve-got-to-be-joking look.

  “You are.” She chuckled. “Are you always such a Negative Nelly?”

  Once again, Amber had no idea how to respond. In a heartbeat, the young woman could flit from insensitive to blindingly insightful. And each one was as shocking as the other.

  She made it to Kelli’s side and they stopped to admire the view at the edge of the slope. Spruce trees loaded with white powder lined the sweeping slope and the sun was a giant white ball high in the sky. Amber remembered she’d forgotten to apply sunscreen, and she didn’t know whether the biggest problem with that was getting sunburnt or Kelli learning of her mistake. She decided not to mention it.

  Kelli stepped in front of Amber. “Okay, get your feet into the snowplow position, just like I showed you.”

  Amber slipped her heels apart, forming her skis into a triangle, and they tilted over the edge. It was awkward and uncomfortable but thankfully slow. Backward and forward they went, working on Amber’s technique. Kelli was very patient and as the sun crept slowly over the towering trees, they progressed from one ski lesson to the next. Amber was surprised when the village center came into view; she hadn’t realized they’d made it down the ski run.

  Her body did, though. Her muscles were aching as much as her bones were by the time she clipped out of her skis for the last time that day.

  Kelli helped Amber back to her locker, and after arranging a time to meet again in the morning, she hugged Amber in a way that indicated they’d become inseparable. The warmth of her embrace had Amber choking back tears. She hadn’t been hugged by a person who’d moved her so much in years.

  Kelli placed her hand on Amber’s arm. “Remember, be proud of that scar. It shows how strong you are. Oh, and don’t forget how impressed Erik was. Guys dig scars.” She winked and spun on her heel, leaving Amber to watch the young blonde bound away, waving at anyone who caught her eye.

  Kelli’s parting comment had her both confused and elated, and a smile simmered on her lips.

  Amber had brought enough food with her to eat alone in her chalet. It was her preferred choice of eating. Alone. In private. But capitalizing on the good vibes coursing through her, she let the aromas of coffee and melted cheese lure her to the restaurant.

  She ordered a vegetarian risotto and a glass of wine and found a table at the window. Alone with her thoughts, she replayed
Kelli’s parting comment. Should she be proud of her scars? That was a new one. Not once had she considered that anyone would find it impressive. Although Erik had certainly seemed impressed. Either that, or he was an exceptional actor.

  She’d never considered herself strong either. Surviving that crash had nothing to do with strength—if it had, Milton and Kane would’ve survived. Her survival was dumb luck.

  In fact, Amber was the epitome of weak. A reclusive, twenty-eight-year-old, single woman, who changed her name rather than face her fears.

  She was light-years away from being strong. Kelli had misjudged her.

  Sighing, she studied the view that spanned the entire southern face of the mountain. Four chairlifts snaked their way upward, and she followed the one she’d traveled today from bottom to top. At the top, the blue sky was dotted with a few fluffy white clouds and the sun bounced off the snow, making it glisten like crystals.

  It was a perfect postcard setting that could fool anyone into believing it was harmless.

  She had firsthand experience at how quickly that could change.

  Chapter 11

  Oliver glanced at the clock and noted Amber was ten minutes late. Two minutes later she entered his office. “Oh, hey, Amber.” He glanced at the clock for emphasis. “You’re a bit late today.”

  “Actually, I’ve been waiting out front.” She blinked a few times and he had a feeling she wanted to retract the statement.

  “Huh? Why?”

  She lowered her eyes. “I was waiting for everyone to leave.”

  “Oh right.” He clicked his fingers. “Absolute secrecy.”

  “Are you mocking me, Mr. Nelson?”

  “Of course not.” He cleared his throat and stood. “You ready to climb?”

  “Yes.”

  She’d remained standing in the doorway, but as he approached she backed away. Amber was either incredibly nervous or she was terribly afraid. Either way, it wasn’t pleasant to witness. He offered her what he hoped was a comforting smile. “Okay, let’s get started.” He turned and aimed for the beginner’s wall at the back of the gym. “Did you practice the climbers knot?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, let’s see how it went.” While she put her bag down and zipped out of her jacket, he went to fetch a climbing harness from the equipment room. By the time he returned she’d pulled her hair back and was tying a rope into a climber’s knot. When she finished, she held it up for inspection.

  It was perfect. “Hey, well done.”

  A small smile curled at her lips. Progress.

  “Okay, let’s see if you remembered the harness details.” He handed her the harness and she loosened the clips, but as she went to step in she winced.

  “Oh, are you okay?”

  “Yes.” She clenched her jaw, and he was certain she was fighting back pain as she stepped into the leg loops. Amber pulled the harness to her waist and tugged the belt tight. He handed her the belay rope from the wall, and within a minute she’d tied a perfect figure eight climbers knot. When she glanced up at him, her expression was a baffling mixture of uncertainty and pride.

  “Fantastic, let’s get you up that wall.”

  He stepped into his own harness and passed the opposite end of her rope into the belay device. “Okay, I want you to see this.” He explained how the belay device worked. “So trust me, no matter what happens once you’re on the wall, you can’t fall. Okay?”

  She nodded and her eyes traveled from him to the wall. He not only sensed her nervousness, he noticed her trembling. Once again he questioned her motivation. She wasn’t anything like his usual demographic. Amber was tiny, not just in height but in body mass too. He’d say she was undernourished. She seemed feeble. Her wrists and fingers were delicate. Her frame was slender. But none of that mattered. It was her obvious anxiety that was concerning.

  Nobody needed to learn rock climbing.

  He cast the troubling observations aside and demonstrated the basic technique by climbing a couple of the holds on the wall himself. “Okay, your turn. Now remember, if you fall, I’ve got you.”

  Again she nodded without saying anything.

  He stepped back and shortened the slack on the rope as Amber approached the wall. She paused there for a moment, sucked in a huge breath, and then let it out slowly. When she went to reach up for her first hold, he heard her flinch again.

  “Are you okay?” He repeated his early question.

  “Yes, I’m good.” She put her other arm up and again winced when she raised her foot to the first hold. But whatever the pain was that’d evoked the groans from her, it didn’t stop her progression up the wall.

  “You’re doing so well, Amber. I’m impressed.” He meant every word. He’d seen many, many clients fly up these walls without any thought to what hold they’d reach for next. Amber, on the other hand, paused often and studied the way before she made her next choice.

  She was halfway up the wall when he called up to her, “Okay, Amber, I want you to let go.”

  “What?” She pressed her body against the wall as if trying to hug it.

  “I want to demonstrate how you get down, before you get too far up.”

  “Why?” Her voice was borderline shrill.

  “Because I’ve had many clients who get to the top easily enough, but then they’re too petrified to let go once they get there. Many of them opt to climb down instead. Trust me, climbing down is much harder than going up, because you can’t see the holds properly.”

  She squealed and released without warning. Oliver caught her in the belay and she bounced lazily as he lowered her to the mat. Most people announced when they were going to let go. Her decision to jump showed a dangerous recklessness that he hadn’t expected.

  She placed her feet on the padded mat. “I made it.” For the first time, she was smiling. It changed her appearance dramatically, and Oliver saw a truly stunning woman beneath the troubled facade.

  She beamed. “Can I do it again?”

  “Of course.”

  This time she approached the wall with zero hesitation. She did, however, wince again as she raised each limb to climb. Just like her first time, each step was taken with measured control. She studied each move, and once she seemed to have made her decision, she committed to it fully.

  He let her get right to the top this time. “Hit the bell.”

  She didn’t just hit the bell, she slammed it with her fist. Again she let go of the wall without warning and Oliver silently admonished himself for not instructing her on the safety protocol.

  He lowered her to the ground and her beautiful smile was even broader.

  “Again?”

  “Sure. Hey, this time, just let me know before you let go.”

  “Why? You going to drop me?” The twinkle in her eyes was the first sign of mischief he’d seen from her, and he liked what he saw.

  “No, but it’s a good safety step to follow.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “Makes sense.”

  Amber stepped to the wall, and as she crawled up this time, he noticed that she took exactly the same holds as the previous two times. She’d memorized the route. There were dozens of different options to take a climber to the top, and memorizing wasn’t an easy task. He was so impressed that all the original apprehension of taking on Amber as a climber had now vanished.

  Her one-hour lesson went quickly and Oliver was disappointed when it came to an end. When he lowered her to the ground for the last time, he touched her shoulder. “Okay, that’s it for today.”

  She seemed as disappointed as he was.

  “You did fantastic. We’ll move along the wall tomorrow night.”

  She nodded. “Okay, sounds good. Is there anything I can practice at home?”

  He frowned at her. This sense of urgency was as mysterious as it was strange. “Um, I gues
s you could watch a few YouTube videos on climbing techniques.”

  “Okay, I’ll do that.” She stepped out of the harness, handed it to him, then pulled her hair from the band and tousled it forward. “Would you like to charge my credit card now?”

  He snapped his fingers. “Good idea.” He’d completely forgotten about that, which was strange. Getting money from people was usually one of his main business focuses.

  After they finished the payment process he walked her to the door. “See you tomorrow night.”

  “Thank you.”

  Oliver watched her walk up the street and was surprised when she didn’t get into a car. He locked the door, returned to his office, and pulled her paperwork from his folder.

  Amber Hope. He checked her address. She lived right in the center of town. Again he questioned who she was. He was pretty certain she was new to Brambleton; he would’ve recognized her if not. Oliver was a social guy, and there weren’t too many parties he missed. She’d never been to any of them.

  He fired up his computer and typed “Amber Hope” into Google. Besides an interior designer in New Zealand and an Amber Hope in Illinois who looked nothing like the Amber he knew, there was no record of her. He didn’t know whether that was normal or not; he’d never googled anyone before.

  Out of curiosity, he typed his own name into the prompt. He was listed several times. His business was detailed, and he was mentioned for being coach of his kid brother’s baseball team, which won the championship last year. There were plenty of photos too, most of them rock climbing related. None of it was surprising, but still…he was visible.

  He typed in her name again, just to be sure. But there was nothing.

  It gave him a terrible feeling she was hiding something. Or from someone.

  Chapter 12

  It had been two weeks since Holly had first walked into Upper Limits, and she realized that the mental battle to leave her apartment was no longer nauseating. Between Oliver and the staff at the ski resort, Holly had met more people in the last two weeks than she had the entire year.