Free Snow Angels by Fern Michaels, Rosalind Noonan, Marie Bostwick, Janna McMahan

she walked out the door. And he would never know, he realized.
    At the top of Powder Rise, which was at best a decent blue run, Max shoved off the top, Ice-D and Cliff running on each side.
    The snow made a soft swishing sound as his skis cut through it. The mountain trail narrowed to a catwalk. Large pines towered above him, an occasional gust of snow from the branches dropping in his path as he maneuvered his way side to side down the hill. Traveling at a slow and steady pace so that both dogs could keep up without becoming tired, Max realized for the first time in many long months just how lonely he was.
    Yes, he had friends, but they’d stopped coming around a long time ago. They stopped coming around because he’d turned into another person after Kayla’s death. Max had crawled into a cocoon of grief. He remembered the guilt he felt just for being alive. Day by day, he’d cursed Kayla for the choice she’d made. And day by day his grief had changed him, turning him into the hard, bitter man he was today. For the first time since Kayla’s death, he didn’t want to be that bitter, hateful man. He wanted to be the man he used to be in spite of what he’d said to Grace.
    He remembered all too well the minutes that led up to the exact moment when his entire universe tilted. Max didn’t like reliving the memory, but today he would. Because today he was going to put the past behind him and move forward.
    It was Christmas Eve, and Max was looking forward to spending the next week pampering his wife. Excited didn’t describe what he felt when he learned they were pregnant. A child of his own. Being an only child, Max wanted at least three, if not more. Kayla said two would be her limit. He didn’t care if they had just the one or a dozen. Max couldn’t wait to give Kayla her Christmas gift, a brand-new fire-engine red Jeep. She’d been driving a Datsun pickup given to her by her father ever since he’d known her. He wanted her to have a vehicle that was a little more reliable, something that wouldn’t break down on her all the time. She’d be angry that he’d spent so much money, but he knew she would get over it. Heck, he had enough money to live like a king for the rest of his life .
    Glancing at his watch, he noticed it was after midnight. Kayla was working the three-to-eleven shift, so he expected her anytime. For the next week she belonged to him and no one else. No work, no calls in the middle of the night to come to a crime scene. In fact, he thought they might take a trip to Denver to look at a crib, something for the baby. How he loved thinking about his child!
    Damn, he was getting sappy-eyed! It was the holidays. They always did that to him. He loved the bright cheerful red and green lights that twinkled on their Colorado blue spruce, the smell of pine, clean and sharp. He’d finished his Christmas shopping. There were dozens of brightly wrapped packages beneath the tree that hadn’t been there when Kayla left for work. Yes, she would be surprised. He laughed. That was an understatement.
    Looking at his watch seeing that it was quarter to one, Max jumped when the phone rang .
    Most likely it was Kayla calling to let him know she was going out for breakfast with a few friends from the department. She did that about once a month, and it was fine with him. She needed the time to unwind .
    Max answered the phone on the third ring .
    “Max Jorgenson?” a male voice inquired .
    “Yes, this is Max.”
    “We’re sending a cruiser to pick you up. Officer Jorgenson has been involved in a shooting…”
    Both she and the baby died before they made it to the hospital.

Chapter 9
    Sunday, December 21, 2008
The First Day of Winter
    Grace tied the bright red ribbon around the last package, then added a matching bow. She surveyed the mountain of gifts she’d spent the morning wrapping. This was truly going to be the best Christmas Stephanie and her girls had ever had.
    She’d bought both girls the latest