Free Promises to Keep by Vanessa Devereaux Page A

frightened about.”
    “Easy for you to say.”
    “I’m going to let go, so hold onto the poles and
give it a try.”
    She panicked and knew she shouldn’t have. She went a
few feet and then down she went, snow covering her face and head, her hat now
lying by her side.
    “Hey, you okay?” he asked, rushing to her aid.
    She spat out a mouthful of ice.
    “I’m fine, just a bruised ego.”
    “Better than a bruised butt?”
    They both laughed. He had such a nice laugh and it
caused dimples to appear in his cheeks.
    She reached up and touched the left one, leaving a
wet mark. They looked at one another for a few seconds and then he leaned over
and kissed her.
    She thought it was going to be a lingering one, but
it was a quick peck on the lips. Despite its brevity, she’d remember it
forever.
    “So you feel like watching me do some skiing?” he
asked.
    ****
    Cole let the wind and spray from the snow kiss his cheeks as he skied down the slope. He’d left Hayley at
the café at the bottom of the mountain. It had a large glass viewing panel so
she could see all the action.   She’d done
okay her first day out here. She hadn’t given up like a lot of people did when
they went face down.
    He pushed closer to the base, thinking that his mind
would be a bit clearer when he got there. It wasn’t. In fact, he was more
confused.
    He’d kissed her. It had come out of nowhere. He’d
pulled away like she had some tropical disease. He hadn’t apologized for the
kiss, or the sudden movement away from her.
    Cole moved his skis to the left and came to a halt.
He leaned over to get his breath back. Amanda had loved to ski. Was that the
reason he’d encouraged Hayley to come out here to learn? In the back of his
mind was he thinking if he got involved with Hayley, she’d need to be a replica
of his late wife?
    He took off his hat and coughed where the cold air
had traveled down into his lungs.
    No, that wasn’t it. He just wanted to be with Hayley,
but he had those promises to keep. The one that said he’d never love another
woman like he’d loved her.
    Someone grabbed him from behind. It was Hayley.
    “You are a great skier,” she said.
    “I’ve been doing it since I was Nina’s age, so I’ve
had lots of practice.”
    “You want to come into the café, because I’ve
ordered us two hot chocolates with whipped cream?”
    He removed his gloves and stepped out of the skis.
    “That sounds too hard to resist.”
    In
fact , a bit like you.
    ****
    If only she had a guy like Cole around the inn. She
watched as he lit the logs in the main fireplace on the first attempt.
    “The key is to get the kindling fired up nicely
before you put a large log on top,” he said.
    Both of them put their palms toward the flames.
    “Nothing more welcoming than a roaring fire,” said Cole.
    “Yeah, even if I only have the
one guest who’s had to light it.”
    “You mind if I sit and read my book here instead of
up in the room?” asked Cole.
    “You’re the paying guest, so treat it like your
home.”
    Hayley straightened up the travel brochures at
reception as Cole returned and sat in the armchair, crossed his leg so his
ankle was resting on his knee, and dived into his book.
    “Can I get you anything to drink or even some
popcorn?”
    “Only if you’ll join me.”
    Ten minutes later, Hayley had returned with a bowl
of buttered popcorn and two sodas.
    She sat down on the chair opposite Cole, loving the
warmth of the fire on her cheeks.
    “So how far do you have to drive to work?” she asked
him.
    “It’ll be about forty minutes from here.”
    She nodded, scooping up a handful of popcorn and
popping a piece into her mouth. “Have you always been a cowboy?”
    “Cowboy…I like the sound of that. Yeah, I guess I
have. My father and grandfather before me. I thought
about buying a ranch but Amanda, that’s my late wife, wasn’t really the ranch
sort of girl.”
    “Seems like you’ve done a
wonderful job for with your