Читать книгу Wilde Thing - Jannine Gallant - Страница 6

Tripp Wilde stood at the top of the glistening white cliff and paused to savor the moment. Despite thick leather gloves, the frigid air chilled his fingertips and stung his cheeks beneath goggles tinted to give the world a rosy glow. When he shifted his weight to survey the panoramic vista, snow squeaked beneath his skis. Nothing was finer than a bluebird morning on the mountain after a three-foot dump of powder the night before. To his right, Lake Tahoe, in all its natural splendor, shimmered in the early light. Below him, the cliff face dropped away in a dizzying fall to the valley below. He blew out a puff of breath as he studied the line he would ski. A line none of his competitors in the Big Air event had attempted. Probably because they weren’t as crazy as he was. He stood alone on the granite peak…just the way he liked it.

Squaw Valley. He knew every rock and crevice of the vast mountain. Today, conditions were perfect to put on a show for the diehard supporters who’d come out to watch the morning’s televised competition. If—no, when—he pulled off this run, it would make all the highlight clips on the sports channels. Exactly what his sponsors expected.

A gust of wind sent up a swirl of powder. His gaze narrowed on the overhanging cornice. Had the snow creaked, or was it just the branches of the scraggly pine clinging to the rock behind him bending in the stiff breeze?

“Wilde Thing. Wilde Thing. Wilde Thing.” The chant echoed off the cliffs and drifted up the vertical face on the wind.

His hometown fans showing their love filled him with pride. He’d give them the thrill they wanted…and then some. Adjusting his stance, he faced forward with a grin, clicked his poles together for luck then jumped, hurtling a good twenty feet through the air before landing in the chute. His knees flexed to absorb the impact before he made one quick turn then another. Air rushed over him as his speed increased before he flew off a snow-packed boulder to lay out a back flip. He struck the ground with a whoop of elation and skidded ever so slightly on his left ski before regaining control.

Halfway down and tasting victory.

A rumble sounded from the cliffs above. Tripp cast a quick glance over his shoulder just as the cornice of snow broke away with a tremendous crack. The avalanche roared down the mountain straight toward him. Nowhere to turn. Nowhere to hide.

Tucking low, heart pounding, he eked out every possible bit of speed as he flew down the steep pitch. He couldn’t panic, couldn’t give in to the fear threatening to eat him alive. In front of him, the chute opened outward, offering an avenue of escape. If he could reach it in time. The ground shook as the massive wall swept downward, gaining momentum.

He careened left just as the monster swallowed him whole, to send him tumbling in a freefall into oblivion…

* * * *

Hannah Ryder’s heart stopped then rushed onward in a crazy rhythm. She held her breath along with the rest of the people in the crowd as the edge of the white wall closed in on Tripp…then buried him with a thunderous roar. A hush silenced the onlookers as the avalanche slid into the giant boulders and trees at the base of the mountain before rumbling to a halt. In all the blinding white, she searched for a neon green helmet, a ski, any indication that her best friend’s brother was somewhere in the rubble field left behind. Nothing. Pressing a gloved hand to her mouth, she held back a cry.

Concerned voices sounded around her, stretching her nerves with endless speculation.

“Looked like Tripp went under over to the far right.”

“He could have been swept farther down.”

“There goes ski patrol out to find him. I wonder if he carried an electronic beeper.”

“Damn, didn’t they blast that area for avalanche control this morning?”

“I’m sure they did…”

Tamping down rising panic, she pushed her way through the spectators crowding the village then headed up toward the accident site a good hundred yards away at a run. Ski patrol was already out on the snow, using probes to push deep through the surface from the place where Tripp had disappeared down the trajectory path of the avalanche.

“Stay back, lady. Emergency and medical personnel only past this point.”

She stopped when the uniformed employee clamped a hand on her arm. With a nod, she shaded her eyes from the blinding sun reflecting off the snow and squinted toward the area where the emergency crew worked frantically.

Please find him.

“I’ve got something!”

When the shout went up, half a dozen men converged on the designated spot with shovels. Hannah prayed it was Tripp and not just a rock. When her phone rang, she pulled the cell from her jacket pocket and glanced at the display. Eden. Way out in Wyoming. How the hell had Tripp’s family heard already?

“Hello.”

“Did you go out to watch the competition?” Eden’s voice was filled with panic. “Is Tripp okay?”

“I’m at Squaw. They’re searching for him now. I don’t know anything yet.”

A siren wailed from the road leading to the village. Hannah glanced back as an ambulance pulled up, lights flashing.

“Then he did get caught in the avalanche?” Her friend’s voice rose another notch. “Oh, my God!”

Hannah tried to keep her own fear at bay and spoke in a steady tone. “How did you hear?”

“One of his buddies called the ranch. Jake was up on the mountain, waiting for his run, and didn’t see it happen. I guess word of the accident spread faster than a virus, and he felt we should be informed before we saw it on the news or something.”

“I was watching Tripp’s run. Wait!” She ran a few steps closer as they pulled his limp body up out of the hole they’d dug and laid him on the snow. “They found him.”

“Thank God. Please tell me he’s all right.”

“I hope so.” Her voice cracked a little. “The doctor’s working on him now. They’re putting him on a stretcher.”

Hannah glanced toward the employee who’d stopped her minutes before. He was talking to one of the cameramen who’d been filming the competition. If the raised voices were any indication, the reporter with him wasn’t getting any closer, either. Heart pounding, she took off at a run.

“Damn it, lady!”

Ignoring the shout, she sprinted another twenty yards up the slope to the stretcher and stopped a few feet behind the doctor bent over Tripp. His green helmet and goggles lay on the snow next to him. Long, dark lashes fanned against colorless cheeks.

One ski patrolman dropped his shovel and scowled at her. “Hey, you don’t belong up here.”

“Someone notified Tripp’s family. I have his sister on the phone, and they deserve to know what’s happening.”

Tripp’s lashes fluttered, and he let out a moan. Eyes the color of moss opened slowly. His head turned to the side as comprehension dawned in his confused gaze. “I guess the beast got me.” His voice croaked, and a shiver wracked his body.

The doctor depressed a button on his radio. “He’s coming around and is responsive. I don’t expect head trauma, but his right shoulder is dislocated. Possible fractures to his legs and probable hypothermia. You can call off the medevac helicopter. We’ll take him to the hospital in Truckee by ambulance.”

Two ski patrolmen lifted the stretcher and strapped it to a sled behind the waiting snowmobile.

Tripp’s pale lips pressed tight on another moan. He blinked twice then met her gaze. Recognition brightened his eyes, and his brow knit. “Hannah?”

Her grip on the cell tightened. “He’s conscious, Eden.” Relief flooded through her. “He said my name.”

“Thank God.” Her friend’s voice faded. “Don’t cry, Mom. Hannah says he’s talking.”

The snowmobile started with a roar.

Hannah raised her voice. “I have to go. I’ll call you when I know more.” She slipped the phone into her pocket then bent to touch Tripp’s arm as the sled slid past her. “I told your sister you were fine. Don’t make a liar out of me.”

His smile looked more like a grimace. “Takes more than an avalanche to keep me down, but, damn, it ruined my near perfect run.”

She rolled her eyes as the snowmobile headed down the slope to the waiting ambulance then let out a long sigh. Tripp might not be her favorite of her old roommate’s three brothers—or so she tried to tell herself. He acted like he was a god in the extreme skiing world. Probably because the media portrayed him as one. Women fawned all over him everywhere he went. Those green eyes with their impossibly long lashes made even her cynical heart flutter. But he was too vibrant, too alive to imagine him crushed beneath the snow he loved so much.

Hannah hadn’t meant to come out to watch him when she’d woken up that morning. After all, her days of crushing on her best friend’s brother were long past. But somehow she’d ended up at the base of the mountain with the crowd of onlookers there to support the Wilde Thing. She’d swear every female in the crowd had sighed when his name was announced over the loudspeaker. Tripp Wilde, favorite to win…on and off the slopes.

She released some of her pent-up tension on a long sigh. He’d been lucky to escape without major injuries. Beyond fortunate. Not that Tripp would necessarily look at it that way.

Turning, Hannah walked back to the village, shivering as she hurried off the mountain and through the parking lot. With her head down, she nearly ran into a woman who stepped out from behind a luxury SUV.

“Oops, sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Dark eyes widened beneath streaked blond hair as the woman rocked back on a pair of impractical leather heels. “Hannah?”

She hesitated a moment before something in the woman’s eyes sparked a memory. “Monica? It’s been a long time.” Her mother’s old work pal had been a brunette the last time Hannah had seen her, but the same sense of supreme self-confidence surrounded her like an impenetrable aura.

No fake hugs required. Hannah stood her ground without moving.

“I think you were still in high school the last time we bumped into each other. I’ve been living in Los Angeles for quite a while now. How’s Vivian?”

“Same as always.” Hannah winced. “Mother’s working on acquiring husband number five.”

“Par for the course. I only have one ex under my belt.” Monica gave her an up and down survey. “You look…good. Success must agree with you. Last time I spoke to your mother, she told me you were the go-to physical therapist for sports stars. Congratulations.”

Hannah gave her a quick smile. “Thanks.” Hard to believe my mother actually mentioned me in a conversation. Even harder to believe I dated this woman’s ex, no matter how briefly…

“It amazes me you grew up so normal, considering…” She shrugged. “You’re obviously a survivor, or maybe my concern was misplaced, after all.”

“Mom had her moments, that’s for sure.”

“Not what I meant, but I guess it doesn’t matter at this late date.” When her cell dinged, Monica pulled it from her coat pocket to glance at the display then frowned. “Sorry I don’t have more time to chat, but I prefer not to keep my associates waiting. I doubt I’ll see you again since I’ll only be in town for a week or two. Unless this deal gets sticky. Tell Vivian I said hello when you speak to her next.”

“Sure. Nice talking to you, Monica.”

With a nod, the woman hurried away. Hannah shook off unpleasant images from her childhood. Memories of her mother and Monica—who’d probably barely been legal to drink at the time—getting bombed together on cheap wine at the dining room table.

Can my morning get any worse?

She wouldn’t let those old memories bother her. They were nothing but ancient history stuffed away in a corner of her mind. Hannah let out a long puff of breath in the cold air. She’d grab a cup of coffee before the physical therapy session with her current patient, a local boy who’d torn his Achilles playing basketball, then head to the hospital to get the inside scoop on Tripp from one of her friends on staff.

I’m not checking up on him because I care.

She gave a headshake, her hand a little unsteady as she dug the car keys out of her purse. She’d make sure he was okay only because she’d promised to report back to Eden. Glancing at her watch as she reached her car, she winced. Not even nine o’clock yet. The day promised to be a long one.

* * * *

When the door to his hospital room opened, Tripp didn’t bother to glance up from the text he was trying to send one-handed. He fumbled the phone and swore then tossed it down on the bed. “Damn it. This sucks. I feel like a freaking invalid.”

“Problem?”

His chin came up as his gaze shot toward the doorway. Not Jake, who’d left to get something to eat and promised to come back later to drive him home. Hannah Ryder. His little sister’s old college roommate. Once in a while, when he was actually at home and not traveling to the far corners of the world, he caught sight of Hannah around town, but they’d never been anything but casual acquaintances at best. From the way her golden eyes narrowed on him, Tripp got the feeling she could take him or leave him…and would prefer the latter.

“I guess I wasn’t imagining you were on the hill this morning when they hauled me out of the avalanche.”

“No, you weren’t.” She advanced into the room and stopped a yard short of his bed. Hands tucked into the pockets of her down jacket, she regarded him steadily. “How’re you feeling?”

. Those golden eyes reflected intelligence in their depths along with a mental toughness. Model tall but without the scrawny angles, this woman looked capable of taking down any man stupid enough to mess with her without permission. Not that he’d ever try.

Tripp let out a breath. “Uh, I’m feeling okay. A little loopy from the pain meds. I imagine my shoulder will hurt like hell when they wear off.”

“Probably, but they’ll give you more drugs to manage any discomfort. I ran into a friend on the nursing staff out in the hall and got the basic facts. No fractures. That’s great.”

He scowled. “The dislocated shoulder is bad enough.”

“And only a mild concussion. You were extremely lucky. You could easily have been killed.”

He rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you Miss Glass Half-full. Lucky would have been not getting caught in the avalanche. Really lucky would have been finishing my run before the cornice broke free.”

Her golden cat eyes darkened to the color of her tawny-brown hair as she tucked a stray lock behind one ear. “I’ll report back to Eden that you’re not going to drop dead anytime soon…unless one of the nurses gets fed up with your bad mood and kills you. Your parents were concerned you might be holding back because you didn’t want to worry them.” She pivoted on one heel and headed toward the door. “I’ll let them know you aren’t that considerate.”

He winced, temples throbbing. “I’m sorry. Hannah, don’t go.” When her steps slowed, he rushed on to plead his case before she reached the door. “I let frustration get the better of me. Please stay. I was going to call you, anyway.”

Pausing, she turned. “Oh?”

He blinked a couple of times and tried to focus. Between the meds and sheer exhaustion, putting coherent thoughts together was a struggle. “Uh, the doc told me I’ll need therapy on my shoulder. I’m looking at six to eight weeks before I can compete again, depending on how fast I heal. That’s pushing into March. I’ll miss most of the ski season unless I can cut into that timeframe.”

“I’m sure being sidelined won’t be easy for you.” Some of the frost thawed from her tone. “You want me to work on your shoulder?”

He nodded then leaned back against his pillows. “You’re the absolute best with sports injuries. Believe me, your reputation in elite circles precedes you. How’s your schedule?”

“Right now, I’m wrapping up some intensive therapy with a local high school kid who tore his Achilles. I was happy to take on a patient close to home for a change, but a hockey player with the San Jose Sharks left me a message—”

“Call him back and tell him you’re already booked.”

She frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know if I want you for a client. My guess is you’ll be a total pain in the ass.”

He couldn’t hold back a snort of humor. The woman was nothing if not direct. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Pretty please?” He gave her a wide-eyed look from beneath the long lashes his brothers teased him about. A look that generally turned women into putty he could bend to his will.

Hannah’s lips firmed. “I’ll do it…because your sister would want me to. But you’d better not make me regret going against my better judgment.”

Relief flowed through him. He’d promise her the moon if she could help him get back on the mountain sooner. “I won’t.”

She returned to his side. “How bad is the shoulder? Did you tear your rotator cuff?”

“The doc said I didn’t. They did an x-ray and an MRI then put me in this stupid sling. I guess I can start range of motion exercises in a few days, but right now I can’t use it at all.” He grimaced and shifted against the pillows, aching all over. “I suck at texting with my left hand.”

“Is that why you were swearing when I walked in?”

“Pretty much. I was trying to cancel my date for tonight. I don’t think going to the concert I had tickets for over in South Lake Tahoe is in the cards for this evening.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Maybe the lucky lady will offer to sit by your bedside instead.”

He snorted. “Doubtful. Poppy—or was it Pansy? I know her name was some type of flower…” He frowned. “Whatever. Anyway, the girl didn’t strike me as the nursemaid type.”

“If you tried dating women instead of girls, you might find them a little more compassionate. You have to be pushing thirty…”

“Next month.” He winced and glanced down at his sling. “My body’s too old to take this kind of abuse.”

Hannah crossed her arms over her chest. “Then jumping off cliffs might not be the wisest career choice.”

“I never claimed to be the smartest Wilde brother. Maybe the best looking…”

Her lips curved upward in a smile. “The avalanche didn’t smash your ego, at least.”

“Takes more than a mountain of snow to crush my spirits.” He sighed. “Not that I’m happy about missing the middle of the ski season.” An understatement, but there wasn’t much point in whining about something he couldn’t change. With an effort, he unclenched the hand fisted at his side. “My manager is scrambling to cancel everything I have on my schedule for the foreseeable future. I—” When his cell dinged, he reached for it with his good hand then read the text on the display. “Well, hell.”

Steady bright eyes regarded him. “Another problem?”

“Jake can’t pick me up.” He let out a long, slow breath. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”

Hannah unzipped her jacket then dropped onto the chair beside the bed. “When are they releasing you?”

“After the heavy meds wear off, which could be any time now if the way I ache all over is any indication.” He shifted again and readjusted the sling. Damn, his shoulder throbbed. “I can’t go home alone, though. They want someone to keep an eye on me because of the concussion. Not that I could drive myself with one arm in a sling. My truck’s still at Squaw. Shit.”

Hannah reached for the plastic buzzer draped over the railing on the hospital bed. “Want me to call the nurse’s station to get you more pain meds?”

“No, I just want to get the hell out of here.” He struggled to think who to contact since his buddy had bailed on him. His closest neighbor would still be at work. Maybe his trainer…

“I can give you a ride home.”

He glanced over, hope stirring. “You can?”

She nodded. “You look frustrated and stressed…and exhausted.” Compassion filled her amber eyes. “What you need most right now is rest, so I’m going to help you out. For Eden, if nothing else. Quit worrying about everything since there isn’t a damn thing you can do to fix any of it, and relax. I’ll go see when you’ll be released and discuss your therapy with your doctor, if I can find him, along with pain management protocols. You’ll probably have to sign a form allowing him to talk to me.”

“Sure.” He shifted and winced. “Thanks, Hannah. You’re being really nice about this. I appreciate it. A lot.”

“No problem.” She stood and headed for the door. “I’ll be back later.”

His attention focused on her hips, swaying gently beneath tight denim as she exited the room. When he’d thought of Hannah in the past, which admittedly wasn’t often, he’d pictured her in flowing skirts and baggy sweaters or T-shirts. Not jeans that showed off an extremely fine ass. But then, back when she’d visited their ranch a time or two with his sister, she’d been more…well-rounded. Not fat, but a little on the chubby side. Sometime in the last few years, those extra pounds had disappeared.

His lips quirked in a self-deprecating smile. Eden would no doubt tell him he was a superficial jerk for focusing on a Hannah’s appearance first and foremost. The truth didn’t exactly hurt…maybe just stung a little.

He’d noticed Hannah’s new and improved figure at his oldest brother’s engagement party the previous fall and thought about giving her a call afterward. Settling against the pillows, he closed his eyes. Somehow, he’d never gotten around to it. Probably because he’d rarely been home in the last couple of months, and she wasn’t really his type. The sort he dated—women like Poppy or Pansy or whatever the brunette from the bar’s name was—made him feel like a hero. Hannah was smart enough to know better. Way too smart to be interested in a guy like him.

He couldn’t think of one woman he’d dated recently who’d care enough to visit him in the hospital…and wasn’t that pathetic. Maybe Hannah was right. Maybe it was time to make a few changes.