She and Chloe were about the same height, around five foot four, but Chloe had a more feminine frame than Lara, curves that most men enjoyed. Lara noted the distress in Chloe Colter’s gray eyes as their gazes met.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have injured your fiancé.” Even though the bastard deserved it. “Is he okay?” Not that I care. Lara plastered a concerned look on her face as she really hoped James was at home in bed, still whining over his probable damaged nose, sprained foot, and sore back.
Chloe fidgeted nervously. “He’s all right, but pretty angry right now. He’s mad all the time lately. I don’t understand what’s wrong with him. He’s been acting strange since I got back to Rocky Springs last year.”
He’s an asshole. More than likely, he’d always been that way, but Chloe hadn’t seen her fiancé enough to recognize that he was a jerk while she’d been busy with college. The veterinary program had to be intense. “Did you go to the same college?”
“No.” Chloe lowered her eyes. “He’s four years older than I am, and he was already done with his undergraduate work when I graduated from high school. We were in separate states after that summer. He was in med school the same year I started undergraduate work at college. We dated during the summer before we both had to go our separate ways for school. We saw each other when we could.”
“People change,” Lara said cautiously. “Maybe it’s time to re-think marrying the guy.” It was none of her business, but Lara didn’t want to see Chloe Colter married to an abuser. She didn’t want to see any woman married to an abusive male.
“He apologized. He says he’s under a lot of stress,” Chloe explained hesitantly.
“That’s no excuse. Dump him, Chloe. You’re educated, beautiful, and young.”
Chloe sighed. “Tate said the same thing.”
“I’d listen to him,” Lara said emphatically, surprised that she and Tate Colter were actually in total agreement on something.
“I’m definitely giving up trying to learn any martial arts with him,” Chloe told her adamantly. “I was wondering if you’d teach me.”
Lara cursed the pleading look in Chloe’s eyes. She wasn’t a teacher. “I don’t instruct, Chloe—”
“Please. I’d like to learn,” Chloe pleaded.
She opened her mouth again to refuse, but gut instinct slammed into Lara. Maybe teaching this woman some basic moves might someday save her life. “I won’t be here very long, but I’ll teach you some basic self-defense stuff before I leave.”
Chloe looked relieved. “Thank you.”
“Are you headed out?” Lara nodded at the winter gear in Chloe’s arms.
“Yeah. I want to see if I can catch a few runs on the slopes before the blizzard gets here. We’re supposed to get pounded later this afternoon. Once the winds get too high and the visibility starts to suck, they’ll close the slopes.” Chloe looked Lara up and down. “You look dressed for the outdoors. Do you want to come along with me?”
“I actually don’t ski,” Lara confessed. “I rented a snowmobile for the day. The trails look awesome.” Not that she had any intention of following all of the trails, but the snowmobile paths were pretty extensive around the resort property.
If Marcus Colter won’t come to me, I’ll go to him.
“Be careful,” Chloe told Lara in a warning voice. “There’s a blizzard coming in later. Do you know how to handle a sled in mountain terrain? The trails are pretty easy, but it’s a little tricky on some of the steeper areas.”
“Absolutely.” Lara lied through her teeth. It had taken her a minute to realize that the “sled” Chloe was talking about was actually the snowmobile. Is that what they called them here? “I’ll be cautious, though,” she added to make Chloe feel better.
“Good. Have fun.” Chloe beamed at her. “Stick to the novice trails and come back before the storm hits.”
Lara hadn’t even known there was a storm coming in. She’d been too involved in her research and finding the exact location of Marcus Colter’s home. A snowstorm might actually work to her advantage. Obviously, she couldn’t drive onto Marcus’s property for no reason. But she could go out on a snowmobile and get accidentally lost, right? A storm comes in and covers the trails, and she ends up at Marcus Colter’s home without suspicion. Just a lame, ditzy tourist who gets lost in the mountains.
Perfect.
Lara smiled and waved at Chloe as they exited together and parted ways. Heading straight to her rented snowmobile, she yanked on her outerwear, anxious to finally accomplish the job she’d come here to Rocky Springs to perform. She had to. She was very quickly running out of time.
A few hours later, Lara found out that the challenge of actually riding the snowmobile on mountain terrain wasn’t a problem. It had been the unknown, the lack of knowledge of the area that had found her lying on her ass in the snow. Although she hadn’t been riding very fast, the pine tree had come out of nowhere when she came up over a slope, and she slammed right into the trunk of the massive obstacle.
“Dammit!” She rolled to her feet, annoyed with herself for rendering her only mode of transportation at the moment disabled. On impact, one of the skis on the front of the transport had broken, and she’d only veered off the trail a mile or so back, meaning she was still several miles from Marcus Colter’s home.
“Shit. Shit. Shit,” she muttered irritably to herself as she stared at the unfixable ski. “I guess I’ll be walking.”
The wind speed had increased, and the visibility had started to suck, which was one of the reasons she hadn’t been quick enough to avoid the tree. Snow came down heavily now, and her boots were already covered in snow nearly to her knees since she was off-trail.
Find my way back to the trail or continue on to find Marcus’s home?
Tearing off her helmet, she took a step toward the snowmobile that she’d flown off of only a few minutes ago. The muscle in her right thigh protested; she winced. She’d hyperextended her leg, the limb getting caught up on the snowmobile and stretched before she had finally been thrown off the vehicle. As she rubbed at the painful, large muscle without relief, Lara knew her safest option was to head back to the trail before it was covered in snow so she could find her way back to the resort.