in the seven years since she had last been here. The iconic five-star Moose River Hotel still had pride of place on the hill overlooking the village but there were several new buildings as well, including a stunning new hotel that stood at the opposite end of Main Street from the bus depot.
The new hotel was perched on the eastern edge of the plaza where Main Street came to an end at the ice-skating rink. There had been a building there before, smaller and older. Jess couldn’t recall exactly what it had been but this modern replacement looked perfect. The hotel was too far away for her to be able to read the sign, although she could see the tiny figures of skaters gliding around the rink, twirling under the lights as snow began to fall.
She lifted her face to the sky. Snowflakes fell on her cheeks and eyelashes, melting as soon as they touched the warmth of her skin. She stuck out her tongue, just like she’d done as a child, and caught the flakes, feeling them immediately turn to water.
But she wasn’t a child any more. She was twenty-four years old, almost twenty-five. Old enough to have learned that life was not a fairy tale. She didn’t want a fairy-tale ending; she didn’t believe in those any more but surely it wasn’t too late to find happiness? She refused to believe that wasn’t possible.
Seven years ago she’d had the world at her feet. She’d been young and full of expectation, anticipation and excitement. Anything had seemed possible in that winter. In the winter that she’d met Lucas. In the winter that she’d fallen in love.
Sometimes it seemed like yesterday. At other times a lifetime ago. On occasions it even seemed like it was someone else’s story but she knew it was hers. She was reminded of that every day. But as hard as it had been she wasn’t sure that she would do anything differently if she had her time again.
She could still remember the first moment she had laid eyes on him. It was less than two hundred metres from where she now stood. She’d been seventeen years old, young and pretty, shy but with the self-assurance that a privileged lifestyle gave to teenagers. In her mind her future had already been mapped out—surely it would be one of happiness, wealth, prosperity and pleasure. That was what she and her friends, all of whom came from wealthy families, had been used to and they’d had no reason to think things would change. She’d been so naive.
At seventeen she’d had no clue about real life. She’d been happy with her dreams. Her biggest problem had been having parents who’d loved her and wanted to protect her from the world, and her biggest dream had been to experience the world she hadn’t been allowed to taste.
To her, Lucas had represented freedom. He’d been her chance to experience the world but the freedom she’d tasted had been short-lived. And the real world was a lot tougher than she’d anticipated. Reality had slapped her in the face big time and once she’d been out in that world she’d found there had been no turning back.
Reality was a bitch and it had certainly killed her naivety. She’d grown up awfully quickly and her clueless teenage years were a long way behind her now.
She was still standing in the car park, mentally reminiscing about that winter, when an SUV pulled up in front of her at a right angle to the bus. The driver put down his window. ‘Jess? Jess Johnson?’ he said.
Jess shook her head, clearing the cobwebs from her mind. ‘Sorry,’ the driver said, misinterpreting the shake of her head. ‘I’m looking for a Jess Johnson.’
‘That’s me.’
The driver climbed out of the car. ‘I’m Cameron Baker,’ he introduced himself as he shook Jess’s hand. Cameron and his wife, Ellen, owned the Moose River Medical Centre. He was Jess’s new boss. ‘Let’s get your gear loaded up. Is this everything?’
Jess looked down at her feet. The bus driver had unloaded her belongings. Three suitcases and half a dozen boxes were piled beside her. All the necessities for two lives.
‘That’s it,’ she replied. ‘I’ll just get Lily.’
She climbed back into the bus to rouse her sleeping daughter.
She scooped Lily up and carried her from the bus. She was keen to introduce her to Moose River but that would have to wait until tomorrow.
This was Lily’s first visit to the mountain resort. Jess had avoided bringing Lily here before now. She’d made countless excuses, telling herself Lily was too young to appreciate it, but she knew that was a lie. Jess had been skiing since she was four and Lily was now six and there were plenty of other activities here to keep young children entertained for days. Lack of money had been another excuse and even though Jess hadn’t been able to afford to bring her that was still only part of the truth. The reality was that Jess hadn’t wanted to return. She hadn’t wanted to face the past. She’d thought the memories might be too painful. But it was time to give Lily a sense of where she had come from. It was time to come back.
Cameron loaded their bags and Jess climbed into the back of the vehicle, cradling a sleepy Lily in her arms as he drove them the short distance to their accommodation. The job came with a furnished apartment, which had been one of a number of things that had attracted Jess to the position, but she hadn’t thought to enquire about any specifics, she’d just been relieved to know it had been organised for her and she was stunned when Cameron pulled to a stop in front of the Moose River staff apartments.
She picked Lily up again—fortunately Lily was small for her age and Jess could still manage to carry her—and followed Cameron inside the building, counting off the apartment numbers as they walked down the corridor. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Cameron’s steps started to slow and Jess held her breath. It couldn’t be. Not the same apartment.
‘This is you. Number sixteen.’
She let out her breath as Cameron parked the luggage trolley, loaded with boxes and bags, and unlocked the door. There’d been a brief moment when she’d thought she might be staying in apartment fifteen but she might just be able to handle being one apartment away from her past.
She carried Lily inside and put her on the bed.
‘I’m sorry, they were supposed to split the bed and make up two singles,’ Cameron apologised when he saw the bedding configuration.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Jess replied. ‘I’ll fix it tomorrow.’ She couldn’t be bothered now. She had enough to think about without fussing about the bed. She and Lily could manage for the night.
‘Ellen has left some basic supplies for you in the fridge. She promised me it would be enough to get you through breakfast in the morning,’ Cameron said, as he brought in the rest of Jess’s luggage.
‘That’s great, thank you.’
‘I’ll let you get settled, then, and we’ll see you at the clinic at eleven tomorrow to introduce you to everyone and give you an orientation.’
Jess nodded but she was having trouble focusing. She was restless. There were so many memories. Too many. More than she’d expected. Thank goodness Lily was dozing as that gave her a chance to shuffle through the thoughts that were crowding her brain. She paced around the apartment once Cameron had gone but it was tiny and in no more than a few steps she’d covered the kitchen and the dining area and the lounge. All that was left was the bedroom and a combined bathroom-laundry. There wasn’t much to see and even less to do as she didn’t want to disturb Lily by beginning to unpack.
She crossed the living room, opened the balcony doors and stepped outside. Night had fallen
