Intercepted by Love: Part One: A Football Romance (Playing the Field Book 1) by Rachelle Ayala

him, Andie pedaled to pick up speed and headed down a trail marked with a black diamond.
    Cade swung wide in the turn, almost careening off the edge. He pumped hard on the slight rise to catch Andie, before realizing he was on the cusp of a huge bowl-shaped slope downwards.
    “Yahhh!” He gained speed while dodging trees and boulders, wondering if he could stop at the bottom, wherever it was. Did the brakes even work on a bike that could keep sliding?
    His handle bars wobbled, and the entire frame of the bike shook as the wind chill across his face burned and numbed him. Ahead of him, Andie was a tiny dot. How did that chick go so fast?
    He turned to look for Red. The dog had been behind him when he’d gone over the edge of the bowl. Where was he?
    His bike took a dip, and he was airborne, headed straight down the vertical face of the mountain. Cade’s heart just about popped from his mouth. This was suicide.
    A shockwave ripped the handlebars from his grip, and he was tumbling, doing cartwheels as he lost the bike in a blur of snow.
    Everything was white and swirling, and he was falling, hitting branches and stumps. How far down would he go before he stopped? Pain shot through his body, his arms and legs flailing before he face-planted into a wall of snow.
    Woof, woof. He could hear his dog but not see him. He had to get the snow from his eyes. His ski goggles were gone, and he wasn’t sure which way was up or down. Had he fallen into a snow cave?
    The sound of panting and digging oriented him, and he pawed at the snow, clearing it toward the light. Red was above him, barking.
    Andie had been so far ahead, there was no way she’d even know he’d wiped out. He had to get himself out of this hole and quick. He’d never been this cold his entire life. His breath formed icicles on his growing beard and his fingers and face were numb.
    Red whined, and a black nose burrowed into his face, followed by licks from a hot tongue.
    Cade moved aside enough snow to climb up and out. Every bone and muscle ached, but he was in one piece, thankfully.
    “Thanks, boy for sticking with me.” He hugged Red and gingerly stood to his feet. “Guess the only way down is down. Let’s go.”
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    A ndie swung her bike sideways to skid to a stop at the bottom of the bowl. Woohoo! That was great.
    She looked back. Cade was nowhere in sight. What a slowpoke. He was probably braking the entire way down or zigzagging sideways like a skier trying to slow himself down.
    She propped the bike against a tree and waited. He couldn’t have been that far back, could he? And what about Red? Had they both gotten lost?
    It was a long way back up. She shielded her eyes against the sun and studied the mountain top. Clumps of trees dotted the bowl, and a few areas were bumpy with giant moguls. Of course she’d known to stay to the left where they’d groomed the snow for the skiers.
    What if Cade had veered off course?
    Fear gripped her heart and brought her to her knees. He could be hurt or worse. She shouldn’t have left him behind. He’d never done this before. Heck, he probably didn’t even know how to handle snow.
    Andie started walking back up. A few skiers whizzed by, and one guy stopped, spraying her with powder.
    “What’s happened? Did you lose something?”
    “I don’t know. My friend. Did you see him? He was on a fat bike with his dog, an Irish setter.”
    “No, miss. I didn’t see anything.”
    “He was behind me, but I’m afraid he veered off path or something.”
    “Let me get down to the lift and call the ski patrol for you.”
    “Sure, thanks. Please do.”
    The man skied off, and Andie continued to walk up hill. She hadn’t been exercising, so she was soon winded. Her thighs ached, and her breath tore through her throat, but even worse, worry gripped her heart. For the first time in her life, she wished she had a cell phone.
    She cupped her hand and yelled. “Cade, where are you?”
    The roaring of a snowmobile approached