What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 9) Read online

  “Merry Christmas.” Shayla rolled over, settling into the now familiar moldings of his torso, feeling safe, happy and loved. Her fingers keyed rhythmically across his collarbone. “What’s your favorite Christmas memory?”

  “This is my favorite, right now.” He stroked down her back, the tip of his finger barely connecting with her skin, making her giggle and squirm.

  Shayla knew John’s life was filled with fond family memories, but she noticed he kept quiet while his sisters told story after story, reminiscing Christmases past. She crawled on top of him, stretching out flat on the length of his body. He closed his eyes as he tucked his hands behind his head. She shimmied up his chest so she could kiss his chin.

  “John, I want to hear you talk about your life, your family, and all of the wonderful memories you have. I grew up thinking those bonds weren’t possible. I love you, and I love your sisters and your mom, too. Hearing those stories and being around your family, makes me feel good inside. Not jealous. Okay, maybe a tiny bit envious, but it makes me have faith in that kind of love, knowing it’s possible.”

  “Honestly, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven right now, Shay. At this moment, with you lying all naked and warm across my body, staring up at me with your big beautiful eyes.” He fingered through her tussles of hair. “The Christmas sun is shining through the shutters, casting pieces of light over your bare shoulders. Baby, I’ve never had a better moment in my life than the one I’m having right now.”

  Her chest grew tight and her nose tickled.

  The heat between them turned blistering.

  “My family isn’t perfect, Shay, but you’re right, I have been holding back. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” He rolled, pinning her beneath him, his firm thighs anchoring her to the mattress. “And we have a lifetime of wonderful memories ahead of us.”

  A smile lit up Shayla’s face. “John, this is my first best-Christmas memory.”

  “I’ve got a better one for you.” John kissed her, hungrily and open-mouthed. Caught in a ray of morning sun, they stared keenly into each other’s faces, indulging in the joy of pure pleasure, making love and savoring, in that precise moment, the making of a memory that would last a lifetime.

  Christmas day was spent gathered around the beautiful tree and massive rock fireplace. Everyone relished in a day of relaxation, appreciating the down time with family and good friends.

  John and Shayla lounged in their pajamas all day shooting pool, playing cards, eating, sleeping and making love. Christmas took on a whole new meaning for Shayla. It would no longer be a day she dreaded that stirred up ugly memories from her past, it was a day filled with love and family. A day that she would look forward to every year.

  Tommy and Tess snuck out early the morning after Christmas for their official honeymoon in Bora Bora and the Levi’s left that afternoon for Germany to finish filming a movie.

  The week that followed was undoubtedly the best time of her life. According to his sisters, John’s acquired most of his looks, habits and mannerism from their father, Richard, including the life motto work hard, play hard. And he showed it. He talked passionately about his work and gave thorough inspections to each and every structure they entered. One evening as they enjoyed dinner at a slope-side resort, John stared up at the thirty-foot ceiling, pointing out enormous rafters and huge saddles made from black iron, screwed together with twelve-inch lag bolts.

  Shayla took interest, listening intently, but the terminology sent her thoughts straight to the gutter. The man had the uncanny ability to make her break out in a misty layer of heat that spread crimson over her cheeks with the mere curl of his smile.

  “Stop. You’re seriously turning me on,” she snickered and he smothered a laugh into the curve of her neck.

  As vacation came to an end, they spent their last day on the slopes. A large snowstorm kept them inside for two days after Christmas, and they wanted to make the most of their last day boarding. They started the day with Tracy and JC, catching the hopper Gondola and zig-zagging their way to the top of peak seven. After hitting a black diamond called The Abominable Snowman, the foursome turned into a twosome, losing the girls—or at least JC—to some hot snowboarders.

  John and Shayla packed the glorious day with run after run, crisscrossing their way to peak nine, where they stopped and ate lunch. Making their way back across three mountain peaks, they found the girls and two very handsome men from ski patrol waiting at the base of the super chair.

  After JC exchanged numbers with one of the young men, they all caught the lift for one last run. JC filled the ride with chatter about the boys she’d met, seeming hopeful to have dinner with the one she’d just given her number to.

  John remained somewhat quiet regarding his sister’s harmless flirting, uttering a few scoffs.

  Shayla was thrilled to see a blue sign reading Spruce Alley, thankful their last ride wasn’t another black diamond. Most of the skiers and boarders had already packed it in, leaving only a few catching the last runs of the day. Massive green spruce trees bordered the narrow pass. The echoes of their voices and the carving of their boards carried through the trees. Shayla relaxed back into her heels, squeezing every ounce of enjoyment out of their last run.

  Halfway down the mountain, they paused at the tree line to take in the gorgeous view of the city below.

  John pointed to a double chair lift at the intersection of the main run.

  “Hey, we’ll meet you at the bottom. Shayla and I are gonna take one more run,” John called out to his sisters. The tone in his voice gave a warning that wasn’t an invitation.

  Shayla started to tire and sighed, glancing toward the chair.

  A soft smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “It’s Lover’s Lane.”

  “In that case…” Shayla smiled and pushed off, meeting him at the chair.

  They were the last riders of the day. The chair bumped the back of her legs and she sat back, snuggling in beside him. The chair gradually lifted them high above the snow-covered ground, carrying them through a cut channel of tall trees. The sun set behind the larger peaks to the west, casting a grey shadow over the snow.

  She peeled off a glove and unsnapped her helmet. Sticking to her chair routine, she blew her nose and applied a minty balm to her dry lips, kissing him softly to share the creamy relief. “What a great day.”

  “What a great week.” John closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then blew out his breath in a cloudy whisper of air.

  The tension of the cable hummed and creaked, transporting them higher toward the peak. Bows of the spruce trees whispered and groaned as a gust eddied between them, swirling the snow from the branches.

  Shayla let her head fall back, leaning against his shoulder, taking in the still sounds of Mother Nature.

  “Shay?” He reached for her bare hand, clasping it in his.

  “Hmm?” Her lashes remained shut and she smiled, happy in her moment of solitude, thankful he’d suggested the ride.

  “Do you ever just know when something is right?” he asked softly.

  Shayla opened her eyes, peering up into his handsome face. Her hand crept up, brushing the snow crystals from the short hairs of his beard above his lip. “You mean that tranquil feeling of calm inside?”

  “Umm hmm.”

  “Feelings of an emotion you just can’t put your finger on, or give a word to?” She let out a tiny chuckle. “That feeling that might make you cry for no apparent reason.”

  His eyes held a small smile, but his mouth held firm. “Yes.”

  “There’s a possibility I might have acquired this capability recently,” she teased, gazing up at him, wanting him to kiss her.

  He let go of her hand and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. Pinched between his fingers, he held a ring. John stared at the white gold band, topped with a gorgeous diamond.

  Shayla’s heart stopped as she stared at the beautiful stone glittering in the setting sun. A warm feeling of adoration and prot
ection fell over her like the hushed silence blanketing the forest that surrounded them.

  John shifted his intense focus back to her. Shayla stared back, mesmerized by the love swirling in his green eyes.

  “This is the ring my father gave to my mother over twenty-five years ago.” Pools welled in his eyes.

  She watched his chest rise and fall beneath to open zipper of his ski jacket. Hot tears streamed down her frigid cheeks.

  John cleared his throat. “This ring represents a lifetime of a great love, a magical love that I only hoped to know and understand one day. Today is that day, Shay. I don’t need time to decipher if you’re the one. You are the one.” He smiled as tears gathered at the corner of his lashes. “My dad used to tell me the story of the very first time he saw my mom. God, he loved her. I’d heard it so many times that I always wondered if it was just a silly story, until I walked onto that airplane.”

  “I was so mad at you for beating up Tommy.” Shayla’s chest jumped as she giggled. She saw a flash of his white smile though her tears.

  “Shay, you are the woman of a lifetime. My lifetime.”

  She nodded blindly. “Our lifetime.”

  “Marry me, Shayla?” He stroked the tears from her face. “Come home with me, we’ll get a place, get married, start a life together, travel, get a dog”—he pressed his forehead to hers—“make babies. I want to do it all with you.” John cradled her face with the ring still in his fingers. Throwing his head back, he yelled through the canyon, “Shayla Clemmins, will you marry me?”

  “Just so you have a great ending for our story when you tell it to our kids,”—she raised her chin to the sky—“yes! I will marry you, John Mathews!”

  John slipped the timeless engagement ring on her finger and took her mouth in a toe curling kiss. They remained lip-locked until it was time to get off lift.

  As they slipped off the chair, the ski attendant standing at the warming hut waved with a big smile. “Congratulations! Have a great run!”

  “Thank you!” John and Shayla waved back, beaming with pride as they dropped off to one side of the slope to strap their boots into their boards.

  He brought her face to his, smiling and kissing and crying at the same time. “Let’s get out of here.”

  A loud, thunderous crack followed by a whumpf startled them.

  Time turned in slow motion as John’s lashes closed and opened. His green eyes, swathed in terror, locked to the loud sound of snapping trees coming from behind.

  “Strap in, Shay. Strap in, baby.” His desperate commands muffled as her pulse turned wild, rioting through her veins. Each of them bent, fingers working desperately to get her boot locked. “Fuck, strap in!”

  Shayla’s head twisted and she caught sight of the fear in his eyes. Her perception of time slowed, stretching out the scene hurtling toward them. “I can’t! Just go! I’m trying—”

  The snow moved, collapsing beneath them, and suddenly John was gone.

  Shayla was swept away in a wall of white and darkness with no time to react. The wave of white bore down, leaving them at the mercy of the avalanche. Thrown to her belly from the force of the snow, her instinct to swim kicked in. Her arms paddled, trying to find the surface, but her movements flailed aimlessly in the heavy slabs and dense powder.

  Her board broke free from her boot. Shayla’s brain kicked into survival mode masking the pain with adrenaline. She lost a glove, floundering to grab at what she thought was a tree. Chunks of sliding snow, rocks and debris from branches washed downward with her. Shayla tumbled through the dark, searching, struggling, fighting for air.

  The slide slowed. She frantically fought to stay with the daylight. As the heavy snow came to a stop, the only part of her body that would move was her right hand. Terror sharpened her perception, and Shayla spastically scooped snow away from her mouth. Adrenaline and fear jolted through in waves of panic. She managed to scoop enough snow from her face, creating a small opening. There was no escape, her movements restricted, she was locked in place.

  She screamed toward a small hole of sky. “Help!”

  For a split second she was overcome with joyous gratefulness, able to breathe and be alive, but then Shayla was hit by a second wave, a wave of fear.

  John.

  All of the thoughts of a happy family that flashed before her just moments ago on the chairlift turned to fear. Dreams of a lifetime of love felt lost to fate.

  Shayla had stopped praying for divine intervention at fourteen after her father broke through her locked door and beat the hell out of her mother, but without hesitation she prayed now.

  Please don’t take him. Oh, God, please don’t take him. Not now.

  Sick fear coiled in her stomach. Her shrilling voice tore through the air as she screamed for him. She couldn’t hear anything with snow packed tight around her.

  A shadow moved across her speck of sunlight. She heard a muffled voice calling for her.

  “John! I’m here!” she cried as the shadow blinded her view of the sky. She felt him digging frantically to free her from the freezing tomb.

  The garbled voice became more coherent as the hole got bigger and the snow came away from her ears. “We’re gonna get you out. Hold on, lady!”

  Lady?

  The bitter cold snow cleared from around her head, as a man shoveled desperately around her.

  “Where’s John? I’m with a man. Where is he?” Her head thrashed as she shrieked. “John!”

  “Stay calm. Ski patrol is on the way. We’ll find him. I’m going to get you out.”

  Her arm came completely free and he dug on the other side.

  She lay twisted sideways. “Did you see him? Can you hear him? Leave me! Go find him!”

  The man’s voice remained firm, talking in labored huffs as he dug. “We’ll find him.”

  Shayla heard snowmobiles getting closer. Commands and orders yelled between several men and a woman. Where did you last see him? Over there, get your poles! The rumble of the engines started and they took off down the hill, toward the trees, flanking the run they were getting ready to take.

  “Go find him! Leave me! Save him!” she shrieked. Hysteria frayed at the edge of her voice. Frustration turned to desperation as she wept small cries of fear. “Please! Please, go help them. I can dig myself out! I need him.”

  “The sun is going down and I’ve got to get you out of here before you go into hypothermia.”

  Her vision blurred with freezing wetness, all she could see was the flash of his red jacket, each time he shoveled. His voice remained flat. “You need to stay calm. You’re bleeding from somewhere. Where do you hurt?”

  Her mind slowed. Red snow fanned behind him as he shoveled. She tried to process and locate any pain. There was no pain, only numbness. She shook her head.

  Another snowmobiler arrived on scene and he began digging around her. Shayla recognized him from the bottom of the hill. She reached for him, but searing pain shot through her left arm. Shayla wailed in agony, cradling her arm. Her heart worked in frantic beats. The echo pounded in her eardrums, robbing her of sound.

  “My name is Scotty. We’re gonna get you to the hospital. You’ve got a compound fracture. What’s your name?”

  “Shayla Clemmins.”

  Overcome with fatigue and weakness, her pulse slowed. They freed her from the snow, but her limbs wouldn’t work. Within seconds the arm of her jacket was cut off and a splint covered her left arm. They strapped her to a toboggan and covered her with blankets.

  “I know you. Call JC.” Shayla pleaded in a hushed voice as they worked over her methodically. “The girl you were talking to…at the bottom of the hill…it’s her brother. Please call her.”

  He took her pulse. Scotty scanned her face. She saw a muscle twitch near his eye. “What’s his name?”

  “John Mathews. Call her please.”

  He gave a quick nod. “I’ll call her on the way down.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Shayla didn’t r
emember much of the ride, only the smell of fuel from the snowmobiles and the bitter cold claiming stake to her body. An ambulance waited, and so did Tracy and JC.

  Light headed and dizzy, Shayla slipped in and out of consciousness, only able too make out bits and pieces of the conversation. She heard the words she’s in shock and we’re still looking.

  Fearing the worst, Shayla sobbed in anguish. “I’m so sorry. I told him to go.”

  Tracy came to her side as the paramedic took her blood pressure.

  “I couldn’t get my strap on. He was trying to help me.” She swallowed against the nausea.

  “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare think like that, Shayla. He needs you to stay strong right now.” Tracy got right in her face. Her eyes welled with fierce devotion for her brother. Tracy’s hot tears dripped on Shayla’s face, stinging her freezing cheeks. “My brother loves you more than life itself. All he cares about, right now at this very minute, while he’s buried under the snow, is if you’re alive!”

  Shayla nodded, her head listing against Tracy’s as to hug her. “I’m so scared.”

  “Don’t you dare give up on him. He needs to come home.”

  “You’re right. I know he’ll make it.” Shayla’s mouth trembled. “He has to come home. We’re getting married.”

  “He mentioned it a dozen times.” JC appeared at her side, forcing a smile through tears of utter devastation. “My brother won’t let you down. Ever. He’s alive. They’re going to find him in time. I just know it.”

  The paramedic ushered them out, slipping an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

  Tracy backed away, climbing out of the ambulance.

  JC took her place for a brief moment, her eyes glimmering with wetness. She spoke to her real quietly, like a small child. “He’s alive. I can feel it. But you need to believe it, Shay. You need to talk to him,”—JC tapped her temple—“in here. Talk to him. I know he’ll hear you and he needs you right now. Let him know you’re alive. Tell him to fight.”