Snowed In

Annie grinned as she stepped inside the warmth of the lodge. Her reflected glasses fogged up as she took them away from her eyes and stowed them in the pocket of her thick winter jacket. She loosened the plaid scarf from around her neck and glanced around.

People carrying skis and snowboards pooled by the door as she shook the snowflakes from her choppy red hair. Her bangs fell in front of her brown eyes as she stamped her feet welcoming carpet at the front door.

It was any normal day for Annie McCloud at the ski lodge where she’d worked for years ever since she was young. Her parents owned a small cafe within the lodge confines and since she was thirteen years old, she’d been selling hot chocolate and lattes to anyone who walked through the doors. Her brother, Austin, would be manning the hot chocolate station near the entrance, handing out small samples of the family hot chocolate recipe. The zest of an orange, some ground cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla extract, and the McCloud family had the best hot chocolate in the entire country.

Annie scanned the lobby, saw the familiar faces of the other people who worked in the ski lodge. The face of her brother, with his unruly curly brown hair and his brown eyes stood out to her. She walked over to him leisurely and slapped him on the shoulder. “Alright, little brother. Move your butt so I can flirt with the guests, alright?”

Austin rolled his eyes. “Have you no shame?”

“Nope,” Annie replied. “But seriously, I saw some attractive men outside and I’m looking forward to getting acquainted with them, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re disgusting,” Austin mumbled as he turned around and left the little stand.

Annie took his place and immediately started pouring the hot chocolate into the little tiny paper cups, handing them out the guests of the lodge. “Welcome. Would you like to sample some hot chocolate? There’s a small cafe inside the lodge that my family owns. We make our own apple cider and hot chocolate. Feel free to sample some.”

As she handed an elderly couple their hot chocolates. there was suddenly shouting and screaming coming through the entrance door. Annie peeked around the table after excusing herself from the table. A crowd of people came in, half carrying, half supporting a blond haired man in a ski uniform. A grimace creased his pale skin and Annie immediately ran to his aid. The group of people around him helped him onto the chair in the lobby, propping his left leg up on the small table covered in magazines and fake flowers.

The man grimaced and hissed in pain as the people around him took off his ski boots. He tilted his head back and shut his eyes. “You can’t be a bit more gentle?”

“The boot has to come off, mate.”

The man groaned again and Annie squeezed by his side to hold his hand. “Squeeze my hand when it hurts, alright? It’ll help you focus on something else.”

The man held hers tightly, squeezing when the other people tried to gently pull off his thick wool sock. “Dear God in fucking heaven, that hurts like a fucking bitch.”

Annie grimaced at the strength in his hand. “What happened?”

“I was teaching a ski course and I skied through a patch of soft snow. The tip of my skis got stuck in it and I fell even though I was still stuck to the skis,” he said through his teeth. It was obvious he was in extreme pain and when Annie peeked at his ankle, she gasped. The bone was twisted and broken through. His ankle was obviously broken.

Annie swallowed. “I think we need to call the medic.”

“Why?” the man hissed.

She squeezed his hand tightly. “I’m pretty sure that your ankle is broken, sir.”

The man shook his head. “No, it can’t be broken. It can’t fucking be broken, dammit.”

Annie swept his blond hair away from his forehead with her free hand and frowned. “You’ll be alright. We’ll take you to the medical center, they’ll set your bone, and then you’ll be healed. Good as new.”

He turned his head to her. “You don’t understand, alright? I’m the ski instructor and I can’t instruct people on how to ski if I’m laid up with a fucking broken ankle.”

Annie frowned as the medics lifted the blond haired man onto the stretcher. She stood up and made her way back to the hot chocolate stand where Austin appeared again, wearing a frown and his favorite black beanie. “Did you see that? His ankle was completely broken.”

“How he broke it with the ankle support in his boots is beyond me,” Austin muttered. “Poor bloke. Ski instructor and he can’t even ski for a few months. Kind of sucks, doesn’t it, Annie?”

Annie nodded as she absentmindedly handed cups of hot chocolate to cold guests. “I wish I could help him out. That’s really unfortunate for him.”

Austin turned to face her, his frown deepening. “Don’t get into trouble with him, Annie. I know you and I don’t think you should get involved with him. Leave him alone, alright?”

“I just want to help him.”

“I don’t care.”

Annie shook her head. “I don’t care what you say, Austin. I feel bad for him. I think I’m going to go give him some hot chocolate. I’ll even pay for it myself, Austin. Just please, let me go make him feel a little bit better.”

Her brother rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Annie smiled in victory, making her way to the cafe. Hot chocolate always made everything better.

And as she found herself in the staff infirmary, she saw the blond haired man with tears in his eyes as the medics fit him with an orange cast. She held out the tall cup of McCloud hot chocolate, his frown dissipated just a little bit. “I’m sorry about your ankle.”

“I’m sorry for getting angry with you,” he whispered as he gingerly took a sip of the hot chocolate. “Your hot chocolate is always the best. Whenever I have extra money, I always go visit your parents there.”

Annie shrugged off his apology. “You’re fine. You were angry and upset. I’ve got a tough skin, I can handle some profanity.”

The man took another sip of his hot chocolate and sat up. “I’m Niall, by the way.”

“Annie,” she said as she shook his hand. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

He shrugged. “Obviously not instructing.”

“Do you need a place to hang out?”

Niall nodded.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He smiled at me in gratitude before he leaned back against the pillow. Annie threw the paper cup away before she turned, smiling one last time at him. “I’ll come find you tomorrow, Niall. In the meantime, don’t forget to laugh.”