Free Fall

If she hadn't owned the place, damn it. She wanted to be out there, too! Every time she passed a window, she slowed down, mentally pressing her nose to the glass, pathetic and yearning.

Unfortunately the rest of the day went by without a single chance to get out. That really ate at her because in no time at all, the season would be over and she'd be forced to get her adrenaline fix in other ways, such as on her mountain bike, which, while fun, wasn't the same.

By evening, she still sat at her desk, staring sightlessly at the stacks of work yet to be done, always to be done, and rubbed her temples. For so much of this past year she'd worked night and day like this. It was killing her, absolutely killing her. She needed some time, needed to rejuvenate her spirit. True, she got outside a lot, and on the slopes she loved so much. But much of that time was spent with one ear cocked on the radio, patrolling or fielding calls from her sisters. No just-Lily time.

Her sisters didn't seem to need that.

Yet another example of how she must be an alien baby that her parents had found on their porch one morning twenty-five years ago.

When her stomach growled, it was a reason to wander through the cafeteria. Again, she wondered what Logan was doing. Was he wandering the unique shops and galleries in town? Out with someone he'd met today on the slopes? He'd have had no trouble meeting a woman interested in him. Hell, any woman with a pulse would be interested in him. That gorgeous face and even more magnificent body, topped with an intriguingly sharp mind and wit, not to mention the way he kissed-

Her walkie-talkie rang out and she wished it could be Danny with an emergency on the slopes that she could go help with. Pitiful, wishing for an emergency just to get out, but since the slopes were closed for the day, the odds weren't good.

'I'm going to be thirty minutes late for my shift,' Matt said in a rush.

'But your shift starts-' she glanced down at her watch '-now.'

'I know. Sorry. Can you cover me?'

'Yeah, yeah.' She clicked off and headed toward the bar. She knew Matt was currently working two jobs to pay for a surprise for Sara-his wife and Lily's sister-an addition to their small log-cabin house on the hill above town. He and Sara loved the location, but the house only had one bedroom and bath, and with Sara seven and a half months pregnant and grumpy to boot, they had definitely outgrown their starter home.

Lily's sister had no idea why Matt had been putting in such brutal hours, but the surprise would definitely make her easier to live with, and Lily was looking forward to that phenomenon greatly.

They had a live band in the bar tonight, playing eighties covers and rocking the house. The small crowd was mostly dressed in the winter gear she fondly referred to as 'Sierra Casual,' meaning jeans and fleece-except Debbie, who was dressed to the nines. There was a comfortable air about the place she'd purposely cultivated. People felt at home here, and because they did, the bar was a steady and important source of income for the resort.

As she took Matt's shift serving the guests, she kept one eye on the door, watching new arrivals, hoping for only one.

Didn't happen.

No biggie, she told herself. She'd been disappointed before, many times. At least tonight she wore jeans and a sweater and wasn't cold, wet and hungry. Unfortunately her knee was killing her, and so was her neck, both compliments of the other day's crash. Her shoulders hurt, too, and she thought maybe she'd make a hot-tub stop later before heading off to bed.

'Lily.'

She turned from the margaritas she was mixing and faced Sara. Unlike Gwyneth, Sara did not resent Lily for inheriting the whole family pie. And unlike Gwyneth, she actually liked peace in the family, meaning she was often the one running back and forth soothing the feathers that Lily and Gwyneth ruffled without even trying. But she'd given up most of the family meddling and soothing to do her own, with Matt.

Matt was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who enjoyed people, meaning he was perfectly suited for bartending at Bay Moon. That the hapless cutie had snagged the beautiful but high-maintenance Sara still had heads shaking in bafflement all around town, but fact was fact, and he really did love her. More shocking, she loved him back, ridiculously He always put a smile on her face and softened her edges, which made Matt an absolute hero in Lily's eyes.

'I need to talk to you,' Sara said. 'It's bad.'

Oh, boy. Lily racked her brain and could think of nothing she'd done that would be considered a problem, but Sara's mind worked in mysterious ways. Still, Lily absolutely did not want to do this in the bar-whatever this might be-and tried to direct Sara outside. They made it as far as the double swinging saloon doors.

'I can't believe you're covering for Matt again.' Sara didn't look mad, which was a huge relief for Lily, but the misery in her sister's eyes made the relief short-lived.

'It was a last-minute thing,' Lily said, having promised Matt she wouldn't give away the surprise.

Sara nodded, rubbing the ever-increasing bump beneath her sweater. 'I think he's lying to me.'

'Why don't you sit down and take a load off. I'll make you a hot chocolate.'

'I don't want to sit down. Did you hear me? I think my husband is lying to me.'

'I just think for the sake of this-' Lily pointed to the baby '-you should sit down.'

'It's not a this.' Sara's eyes filled. 'It's a b-b-baby, and maybe he doesn't want it anymore. Maybe it's me and how fat I've become!'

'No, it's not-'

'Then what's keeping him lately? Where the hell is he? Oh, my God.' She clapped her hands over her mouth. 'He's changed his mind about me. That's it, isn't it?'

Matt had warned her that Sara's mood swings were bordering on manic, and Lily glanced at the door, wondering how long he'd be. 'He probably just got held up on the road. Listen, Sara, I really have to serve-'

'It's because I'm cranky, right?'

'Uh…'

'Well, you'd be cranky too if you'd gained enough weight that your scale groaned when you got on it. If it could talk, it'd say, 'One at a time, please!''

'Sara-'

'What if you knew that in six weeks you had to pass a basketball out your vagina? Huh? Wouldn't you feel entitled to a few emotional breakdowns?'

Lily scrunched up her eyes but, nope, no good, the image of a basketball coming out of a vagina stuck.

'Do I look that fat?' Sara asked miserably.

Trick question. Lily knew the rules: never answer the trick questions. Matt had taught her that one himself.

'If he's cheating on me, I'm going to castrate him.' Sara looked serious. 'Slowly. That'll make us even.'

Lily looked over Sara's shoulder at Matt, who'd just come down the hallway and had gone very still and a bit pale. Behind him, Logan came along, looking tall, dark and yummy, and for a moment Lily lost her concentration because her body did a happy-hormone dance.

'You know where he is,' Sara said to Lily, oblivious. 'I can tell when you're lying. Remember that July Fourth when you blew up my toilet with the illegal fireworks you bought from a buddy? You said God was telling me to stop spending so much time in the bathroom, but I knew it was you.'

'That was never proven.'

'Where is he, Lily?'

Matt shot Lily his puppy-dog look and silently begged her not to tell where he'd been. She took one last peek at Logan and then forced her gaze off him before she did something stupid. Like drool. Instead, she rubbed her aching neck. 'I don't know. But he doesn't think you're fat and he wants the baby. He's crazy about you.'

That much was the utter, baffling truth at least. In her life, there'd been a lot of dissent. Her parents had