Some places close. Others wait.
When feasibility analyst Nora Callahan arrives in Prospect, Colorado, her assignment seems straightforward: evaluate the long-shuttered Prospect Mountain Lodge for a potential acquisition. The property is structurally sound, the paperwork appears routine, and the mountain has been dormant for nearly two years.
But nothing about Prospect is ever that simple.
Former ski patrol director Owen Hartwell never left after the resort closed. While everyone else moved on, he stayed behind, maintaining trails, equipment, and emergency systems for a mountain that officially no longer operates. What began as a caretaker's responsibility slowly became something else-a private investigation into the sudden closure that changed the town forever.
As Nora works through her assessment, she discovers inconsistencies buried beneath official reports and forgotten records. An undeveloped parcel on the mountain's eastern slope. Water-board concerns that never appeared in acquisition files. A pattern of decisions that suggests the closure may have served a purpose no one publicly acknowledged.
Together, Nora and Owen begin following a trail of documents, meetings, and missing records that leads deeper into the history of the mountain than either expected.
Yet the longer they work together, the more difficult it becomes to separate professional obligation from personal connection.
Set against the quiet beauty of the Colorado Rockies, Closed Season is a thoughtful mystery about stewardship, community, second chances, and the people who refuse to abandon what matters. Blending small-town atmosphere, investigative intrigue, and a slow-building clean romance, this companion novella returns readers to the world of Prospect, where every record tells a story-and every story leaves a mark.
Perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries, mountain settings, community-centered fiction, and uplifting romantic suspense without graphic content.
