This is the first in a new series. I hope you like it. I'm looking forward to how this story will continue but since it has taken me over half a year just to write this first part, it may take awhile. Enjoy.
*****
She'd said it would take about an hour or so to get there.
They stood arm in arm on the empty terrace overlooking the bay, her head on his shoulder, listening to the gentle sigh of waves on the shore. Moonlight sparkled on the surface of the water. It was a beautiful place, ideal for a wedding, and Claire's luck had held; it had been a gorgeous late autumn day - clear skies, warm sun. Perfect. She turned to him, took his hands in hers, "Ryan, again, thank you so much for being here. I know it was a lot to ask, especially right now. Mom was willing to walk me down the aisle on her own but having you there, that meant a lot to both of us. Thank you." She looked back toward the open doors, then quickly rose up on her toes and gave him a lingering kiss, a very un-sisterly kiss, her breasts and hips pressed against him, her hand on the back of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, his hand slipping down to where a brother's hand shouldn't go, as the memory of their first time ran through his mind...
They separated, he held her hands. "Crossing that many time zones was a small price to pay, Claire. You know I wouldn't have missed it for the world. My own sister's wedding? No way. And thank you for letting us use your place next week. I think Mom really needs this right now. It'll be good for her."
"I made sure the kitchen was well-stocked before I left; you shouldn't need a thing. Oh, and I had them clean and prep your skis, yours and Mom's. They're holding them at the club. Rumour has it you'll see lots of snow up there, lucky you. And listen, I know it's not all that far from here but if the weather turns, wait it out, okay? They'll let you stay here. Don't try to drive up that road if it's snowing. Promise me?"
"I'll be careful, Claire. I promise."
In the background, the muted sounds of laughter and music fell quiet. The emcee had the microphone, telling the crowd that the bride and groom were about to leave. She turned to see her new husband waiting at the broad French doors, silhouetted by the light from the dining room. She picked up her bouquet from the low parapet that bordered the terrace and sighed, "I guess that's my cue. I'd better be going." Her eyes glistened in the dim light. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, wrapped her arms around him and squeezed hard. "I miss you already, my darling big brother. I love you so much. Take good care of Mom. I'll be home soon." With a twinge of jealousy, Ryan watched them disappear together into the old mansion. By the time he walked round to the front entrance, everyone was gathered beside the limo waiting to take the happy couple to the airport. Farewells and rose petals surrounded the newly-weds as they skipped down the broad stone steps. His mother followed them to the car for one last kiss and hug, then came and stood beside Ryan as they waved good-bye. They watched the car lights fade into the darkness. He felt her squeeze his arm. She looked into his eyes, smiled and without a word turned back toward the house.
He held back, just beyond the light of the open doors, and watched Diana move through the dispersing crowd. The way she handled herself, the way she put people at ease, making each one feel special - she seemed to have an endless supply of grace. He was so proud of her. Even after all that had happened this year, even after such a long, difficult day she still had a smile for everyone she spoke with. He headed off again to the terrace overlooking the water. The last of the guests were gathering their things, finishing the final glasses of champagne, saying their farewells and thanking him for the wonderful time. He made sure Claire and Diana got all the credit. Really, all he'd done was show up. Finally alone, he looked out at the night sky and saw that the stars on the horizon were beginning to disappear. The predicted storm was gathering. He went looking for his mother and found her with some of the few remaining guests, an older couple, long-time family friends who'd flown in from Monaco just for the wedding. He joined them, laughing and chatting for a few minutes, then turned and touched Diana's elbow. "Mom, I'm sorry to cut this short but it looks like we ought to be on our way. Claire heard there might be some bad weather coming soon. We should try to get there before it hits." There were a few continental kisses, a few hugs and then they bid farewell.
They wove their way through the quickly thinning crowd, kissing cheeks and shaking hands, back into the house to make sure the event crew had everything in hand. They followed the last of the guests out to the car park, the security detail standing discretely in the near distance. Diana held Ryan's arm and leaned into him as they walked. "Take me away, Hon. I'm completely shattered. I don't think I can survive one more minute in these shoes." He watched her slide into the passenger seat as he held the door for her. That familiar wave of pride washed over him again, plus a brief thought that was a little less appropriate.
My god, she's gorgeous. And that body, those legs...
And so there he was, in the dead of night, driving his sister's car up a narrow winding road deep in the Rockies, not really sure of where they were. In his hurry to get to the wedding he'd managed to leave the charging cable for his cellphone at the hotel. Diana tried to navigate using her phone but frequently lost the signal. She'd finally given up and was now doing her best with a map she found in the glove box, at the same time trying very hard to keep the jet-lag at bay. They thought they'd been lucky, dealing with only a heavy rain squall as they approached the steep hills but it was now past one o'clock in the morning, the temperature had plummeted and they were trapped in a full-on blizzard. He'd been driving white-knuckled for the last half hour, crawling along, barely able to see beyond the hood of the car, the swirling snow hypnotic in the headlights. It was getting harder to drive the low-slung sports car through the deepening drifts, impossible to do more than edge their way along without the risk of going off the road or smashing into an unseen vehicle. In these conditions, they'd never make it to his sister's place that night.
Claire had said the drive would probably take about an hour or so. If it weren't for the sudden snow storm, they would have already been there.
He nudged the sleeping woman beside him. "Mom, this is getting pretty bad. We should look for somewhere we can wait this out 'til morning. I can barely see anything out there."
Diana moaned, sat up straight and held the map to her reading light. She pointed to a tiny dot. "There's a little town here - looks more like a village really," she yawned as she held it up for him to see. "It's a bit of a wild guess but it looks to be just a little way up the road."
Ryan nodded, "If we're lucky, maybe there'll be a coffee shop or something. At this point, I'll settle for anything that gets us off this road."
They crept along for another twenty hair-raising minutes. Ryan thought, prayed, they must be getting close. Almost as if on cue the headlights picked up a road sign just as they passed it: 'Pine Haven - Next Left'. He was about to tell her they'd made it but he saw her eyes were closed again; she was leaning heavily against the side window, fast asleep. He turned onto the narrow sideroad and drove another hundred feet or so toward the small collection of structures that were drifting in and out of sight. To his right he caught a brief glimpse of light barely visible through the window of a long, low building. He pulled over and inched his way toward it. By now he didn't care if it was a biker bar; they needed to get out of this storm, somewhere they could get some rest and wait it out. He reached behind his seat to retrieve his suit jacket, regretting they hadn't taken the time to change from their wedding clothes into something more appropriate for the trip.
The blast of freezing wind and snow hit him like a body-blow as he stepped out of the car and headed for the building. He found a railing, stumbled onto a low porch to a door with a rustic sign nailed up beside it: Pine Haven Lodge. Surprised and relieved it was open at this hour he quickly stepped inside, shivering, shaking the snow from his hair and clothes. The door slammed shut behind him. A couple of old kerosene lamps flickered in the dim, tiny lobby. Two men were staring at him.
"Sorry. The wind..."
"No problem, man. It's a tough night out there, 'specially for a guy only wearin' a suit." The voice came from the big bear of a man leaning on the counter. He looked like a character straight out of The Call of the Wild. "C'mon in. We don't have much light, power's out but there's a fire goin' and we have coffee." He pointed to another small room off to the left, a sort of pub where a handful of other people were sitting. The light he'd seen earlier was from a roaring fire in the giant stone hearth. "Go on in there, warm yourself up. What in hell possessed you to be out on a night like this?"
"Better question," Ryan replied, "is how is it you're open at this time of night?"
"Oh, I live just out back; I'm here all the time. This storm brought a few stragglers to my door." He jerked a thumb toward the other man, "And as usual, this guy is keeping me up all hours." He turned to him. "George, I swear, someday I'm gonna leave you out there to fend for yourself. I'm gettin' too old for this."
