Thursday, January 07, 2016
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Rocky Mountain Christmas
by Leigh Smith
Published: Oct 30, 2015
Words: 23,342
Category: western, romance, xmas
Orientation: M/F
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OPENING EXTRACT
The Christmas Cowboy
Sarah couldn't wait; she needed this vacation and by damn, she wasn't going to let anything like a snowstorm interfere. While loading the ski gear in the car, the first snowflakes began to fall and stick to her hair and eyelashes. When she was a little girl, she used to try catching them on her tongue. It looked beautiful; she loved watching the flakes, such delicate works of art - no two the same. She closed her eyes and pictured herself shushing down a mountain trail covered with fresh fluffy white powder. She shivered, and she wasn't sure if it was the cold or from excitement.
A few more trips back and forth to finish loading the car and she was ready to set forth on her ski trip. Planned over a year ago, the trip was supposed to be for her and Dan. They hoped for a white Christmas and knew a ski trip was just the answer. Unfortunately, Dan was no longer around, but it didn't mean she couldn't go. One more stop at the gas station to fill up, and she was off on her Christmas vacation. There wasn't much traffic on the interstate at this hour so leaving early had been a good decision. If all went well, she would be ahead of the traffic, and settled and on the slopes by early afternoon. Turning on the radio, she kept humming along and living in her daydreams.
As the elevation began to increase, so did the snow. The windshield wipers that had been swishing back and forth on the lowest speed were no longer doing their job. She inched up the lever, and the slip sliding of the wipers across the window had her mesmerized until she felt the car slide a little. Fully aware now, she noticed the snow was sticking to the road, no longer just melting as it hit the ground. The outside temperature gauge showed it had dropped since she last looked and soon the road would turn to ice. She let her foot up off the accelerator and lessened her speed. Better to arrive safely, she said to herself.
Turning on the radio to keep herself company, she was searching for a clear station when out of nowhere, an animal crossed in front of her. Tapping her brake to avoid a collision, the car began spinning and she wasn't able to recover control. When the car finally stopped, she was no longer on the road.
It took her a few minutes to get her bearings. Scared silly and shaking, she thanked the powers that be she was upright and not overturned. With the exception of a bump and cut on her forehead, she had no other apparent bodily injuries, and she began to calm down. Her breathing returned to normal and she started to assess her situation.