I was far too stubborn to give up high school, and my grandma supported my brother and me the whole time. Until her dying day, she pushed us to do more, to be more. We did, and we survived.
So why are we moving?
“I heard skiing is fun.” There’s no way I’m telling my very analytical preteen any of those thoughts.
“You don’t fool me, Mom. I hear you talking to Uncle Robin.” What did I say? She can see right through me.
“It’s an adventure. Think of all the coffee shops we can find.” Maybe I should have purchased a recreational vehicle and traveled the United States in search of the very best coffee shop. That sounds like the best idea I’ve had in a long time, if I’m being honest with myself.
“What’s that?” Lark asks.
“What’s what?”
“That!” Lark points out the windshield.
“There’s nothing there.”
“Mom!” she screeches.
In the back, I hear Cooper, our pet skunk, chirp, but that isn’t what has me slamming on the brakes. Oh no, it’s the moose casually strolling across the road.
Bad idea. Very, very bad idea.
Black ice.
The wheel jerks right out of my hand and I slam my arm across the seat, trapping Lark against the worn leather cushions. The tires spin, and with it, my pulse jumps into my throat. My little bug spins out of control. I can’t even scream as the car slides onto the side of the road and right into a ditch.
I don’t know how many times we mimicked an ice skater before we stopped, but I’m thankful the car now sits motionless. My bug faces the giant moose, who I swear stares at us as though we are mere pests bothering him on his afternoon stroll. He peers at me from fifty feet away, his head slowly lowering as he watches us.
Heart thundering in my throat, I find my voice. “You good?” I can’t remove my eyes from the road, or rather the very large, scary moose.
“I’m good.” I hate hearing the slight hitch in her voice.
Dragging my eyes away from the moose, I scan Lark from head to toe, taking in her insanely curly red hair that frames her pale freckled face, her large brown eyes, and her jeans and simple green sweater. Everything looks as it should be. There’s not a hair out of place or a single cut, scrape, bruise, or broken bone.
Instant relief rushes through me, and with it, an adrenaline crash that I know only massive amounts of caffeine will counteract—or a good sixteen hours of sleep. Few things aremore terrifying than the threat against a child, especially when that child belongs to you.
“This is the strangest moment in my entire life,” I murmur as I peer out of the windshield at the gigantic moose with more attitude than my grandma had.
“This is what you label the strangest moment of your life?” I glance at Lark and the incredulous look on her face, and she shrugs with indifference.
“There’s a creature I didn’t know existed staring me down in the middle of the road.”
“What do you mean you didn’t know it existed?” Lark blows out a heavy breath, shifting the frizzy red curls from her face.
“I mean, look at it!” I wave my hands frantically in front of me. “It’s one thing to see and hear about them on the little talking smart device, but an entirely different thing to see it staring you down.”
“It’s not a mythical creature.”
“It may as well be,” I grumble just as the engine lets out a low hiss. The car rumbles and dies. “What are the odds it’ll turn on?”
“Ten percent.”
“So a good chance?”
“No, Mom, those are not good odds at all.”
Regardless, I turn the key in the ignition and listen as the car starts with a volatile rumble. Preening, I give Lark a smile of triumph.
