Heat up Your Summer Reading

What's better on a hot summer day than reading a story set in the cold world of a winter ski season?  Well, it might just be a HOT story set on the cold wintery slopes. Either way, you're bound to enjoy the reading.  This week's guest in My Writing Corner is author Stacy Gold and her story, Just Friends. 

Taya Monroe is trying to pick up the pieces of her failed writing career and broken life after walking out on her cheating fiance. The last thing she needs is a serious relationship. The last thing she wants is a fling. Then she runs into an old friend and ski partner--the one man she always wanted who never wanted her. 

Ski Patroller Jordan Wiley is a single dad with zero time or energy for dating. When he reconnects with Taya, his attraction to her is even stronger than before she left him behind for a career in the city. But with a young son to think about, he's determined to ignore his feelings. Again. 

After a magical day on the slopes, a snow storm traps them in an avalanche of chemistry neither can deny. Will their friendship survive the weight of their passion or will they surface as more than friends?

 Well, of course these two characters caught my interest so I wanted a chance to question them personally. Let's hear more from Taya and Jordan:

Taya , it sounds as though you’ve been going through a rough period.   What would make you happiest at the moment?

Honestly, at this point it wouldn’t take much. A new job. A new friend. A sense that maybe I haven’t totally screwed up my life and career. Little things, you know?

All I wanted today was a fun day skiing in the mountains with my family. One day when I could forget about rebuilding my career and my life, and how much I owed my sister and her husband for taking me in. Unfortunately, my ski day was cut short abruptly when my brother-in-law injured his knee.

Then again, if Dan hadn’t gotten injured, I wouldn’t have run into my old friend, Jordan Wiley.

What about this sudden re-connection with your old friend, Jordan? 

I’ve been through a lot lately, between leaving my ex, and moving across the country and into my sister’s basement. I needed to make those changes, but it’s been a lonely journey. I could really use a good friend.

Jordan was a great friend when we both lived in Jackson Hole. We skied countless days together, and stayed up late talking about everything under the sun. We shot pool, cooked dinner, and enjoyed each other’s company.

Of course, when I saw him again, the connection between us still buzzed in me like high-tension power lines. Same as always. So powerful I couldn’t understand how, or why, he never felt it too.

Even if he did, which I doubt, Jordan isn’t some random hot guy I can use as a rebound.

Not that I want one of those either. And crushing on any guy is a distraction I don’t need.

I compartmentalized my visceral attraction to him back then. I can do it again now. Tomorrow is going to be an awesome day skiing with a good friend. Nothing more. And that’s enough.

Do you ever hope to fall in love again?

Again? I’m not sure I’ve ever really been in love. I thought I was in love with my Gabe. But it’s been six months since I left him, and I can’t even remember why I was attracted to him in the first place. Though I definitely remember why I left.

If I ever do fall in love, I don’t expect fireworks and a princess dress. I just want to something real. I want to like and respect them as much as I love them, and I need to know they feel the same about me.

What kind of man would you like?

Right now, I don’t know what I want… Other than to spend time getting to know myself, and getting my life back on track.

But if there’s one thing I learned in my last relationship, I’m never dating another man who doesn’t ski or snowboard. Being in the mountains, floating through powder with nothing but the sound of my skis sliding through the snow, laughing on the chairlift with friends—that is a critical part of who I am, and I ignored it for too long because of my ex.

I won’t make that mistake again. Not with skiing, or anything else that’s important to me.

Let's find out more about Jordan. Tell us a little about your life since you last saw Taya?

Let’s see…About six months after Taya left Jackson Hole, I decided it was time for me to move back to Washington, where I’m from.

I spent a couple seasons on ski patrol full time at Emerald Mountain. Then I had a kid, and things changed. I married his mom and moved back to Tacoma. Got a job as a firefighter. Got divorced.

These days I’m a single dad, full-time firefighter. And I volunteer part-time on ski patrol at Emerald, for free season passes—plus free lessons for Peyton. I don’t have much time for a social life, but he’s an amazing kid, so it’s worth it.

How did it feel to meet up with Taya again? Wow. I don’t know. Amazing. Crazy. Awesome. Confusing. I hadn’t heard from Taya Monroe since she left Jackson eight years ago. But the sound of her voice still made my heart clench. And the sight of her round ass still made me hard.

Not that I have any right to think about Taya that way. I’m not twenty-four any more. And Taya isn’t some ski bum college girl I can screw then never see again. We’re friends. And that’s all we’d ever be. That’s all that makes sense.

Back in our Jackson Hole days, I would’ve loved to have been more. Except I’d been smart enough to know Taya was special and I was a mess after Lexi and I broke up. So I’d been a good boy. Done the honorable thing. Then watched her walk right out of my life. Like a f’ing idiot.

I’m not stupid enough to lose her again, though. That’s why I invited her skiing tomorrow.

Do you hope you’ll see Taya again after tomorrow?  Sure. I’d like it if we could be friends again, ski together, maybe meet up for a beer. It’s been a long time since I spent quality time with another adult outside of work. As much as I love Peyton, a man can only take so much Bob the Builder.

I need a friend, and Taya was a great friend. Game for anything. She always supported me, saw the best parts of me, even when I didn’t.

Would you like your friendship to become something more? 

No. Yes. Maybe.

No. I don’t have time for relationships, and I’m not the kind of guy a woman like her goes for anyway. She’s smart. A writer. Went to college. She’s not interested in a guy like me. With no career. No education.

If I make a move and she rejects me, our friendship will be toast. Not to mention my ego. I couldn’t take either of those. Plus, I have to think about Peyton. He doesn’t need to get attached to someone who might not stick around. Or see me heartbroken and depressed. It’s better, easier, if we’re just friends.

Want to read more? I know I do!  Visit Stacy and her characters at 

Buy link http://www.stacygold.com/books

Thank you, Stacy, for bringing us Taya and Jordan to make our hot summer days even hotter! We've heard from the characters, now do you have any comments or questions for Stacy?