“Why don’t you get Noelle and I’ll take you up there?” I offered.
“You’d do that?”
I didn’t like the surprise that laced her voice but tried not to be hurt by it. She didn’t know me from Adam, and she wasn’t from around here. Based on her shock at my offer, I’d say she was from a big city where people didn’t look out for each other. Evergreen Lake wasn’t like that. Around here, everyone knew everyone’s business. Something I loved and loathed about the place.
“Sure. But we should probably hurry. The storm is moving in fast,” I told her.
A few minutes later, with everyone bundled up again, we rushed out to my Tahoe. Keeping our heads down, we huddled close. I tried to use my body to shield them from the wind, but no matter where you were standing it was freezing.
I helped Noelle into my truck while Holly climbed into the front. Once they were in, I raced around the other side and slid behind the wheel, firing up the ignition and pumping up the heat.
“It’ll warm up in a minute,” I assured them, embarrassed by the state of my car.
For someone who spent all day every day keeping the cars of town in tip-top shape, mine had seen better days. It ran fine and there wasn’t a scratch on it, but inside was another story. The floor in the back was littered with empty crisp packets, chocolate wrappers, and soda bottles. There were spare clothes on the seat and God knows what else.
I pulled out of the parking spot and focused on the road.
“Thank you for this,” Holly said, barely loud enough to be heard over the stereo.
I glanced across at her. She was knotting her fingers together in her lap and staring out the windscreen. “You’re welcome.”
We drove towards the ski resort, and as the roads started to wind, the wind picked up and the snow fell even harder.
“It’s really coming down now,” Holly remarked, stating the obvious.
I’d driven this road a million times but never like this. It was starting to worry me, but I didn’t want to freak them out, not after the scare they’d already had tonight.
Five minutes later, I had no choice but to stop.
A tree had come down, blocking the road completely.
“We’re going to have to go back,” I told them.
I wasn’t dealing with a tree blocking the road in the middle of a snowstorm. That was stupid and dangerous and although I’d once been both, life had knocked that out of me.
“Can you turn around?” Holly asked, worried.
No. Not a chance.
The road was buried under the snow. On one side, there was a drop twenty feet deep and a cliff face on the other. Turning around wasn’t an option.
“We’ll be fine.”
I kept my voice firm and my own fears under control.
For two miles I reversed down the mountain at a snail's pace. I could barely see, and it wasn’t smart, but I didn’t have a choice. If we got stuck out there for the night, we’d all freeze to death. Eventually the road widened enough that I could turn and make our way back to town.
Holly kept trying to call someone, but it wasn’t connecting.
“It’s the storm. It’s probably knocked a tower out somewhere,” I offered as she stared down at the phone in her hand that was about as useful as those fancy boots she was wearing.
“I was trying to call my father. He’ll be worried,” she explained.
“Mom?”
“Yes, Noelle,” Holly replied, the day’s stress seeping into her voice.
“I’m cold,” she complained.
