CHAPTER ONE
CHARLOTTE
Midwestern weather was like a toddler who refused to nap or eat—out of control and untamable. Sixty degrees one day, twenty the next—it was like it was trying to win a competition of how many seasons can we fit within seventy hours. Well, you won, Illinois. Congrats. Hats off to you, you temperamental toddler.
My fingers ached from gripping the steering wheel so damn hard. My knuckles were white and my palms sweaty as I held on for dear life. Snow covered the road, secret patches of ice underneath it threatening to off me. My heart leaped into my throat as I skidded to the left, then right, and then straightened.Breathe. Focus. Remain calm.
Needing someone to blame for this, I gritted my teeth and cursed my brother. I would be at home, in sweats and preparing for my head coaching interview. This was my dream job, and even though the athletic director insisted I wastoo young, I was hell-bent on proving him wrong. But instead of preparing my pitch on how I would run the Prairie StateHigh School girls’ softball team, I was driving to a ski resort for my brother and his stupid pre-wedding trip.
He refused to call it a bachelorette or bachelor party, but that’s what it was. We all knew it. Yes, I loved him and his fiancée. They were my best friends. Yes, this was a fun idea in theory. Yes, I’d probably have a good time once I got up there—if I made it alive. Everyone else had headed up yesterday while I finished up the workweek because my students had a huge project due this morning, so carpooling hadn’t been an option. Hence me driving alone in terrible weather, risking my life to go skiing. I also did it to appease the nagging feeling that my brother and his fiancée needed this trip.
Wedding planning was getting to them, and I worried that it was becoming too much. It wasn’t my place to speak up, but driving in this blizzard of death to support them was my way of helping. If they wanted this weekend of fun, then they’d have it.
Gah! A drift at least five feet tall crept closer and closer, and I yanked the wheel to the left hoping to avoid it, but there was a semitruck coming in hot behind me. I didn’t want to die. Not like this, on I-55 in the middle of nowhere. I had things I wanted to do! People to meet! Food to try! Wine to drink and ultimately regret! “Please, please stop,” I cried, panic flaring in my chest to the point it ached.
No one answered, not even the voice in the back of my head. I swore my soul left my body as the semi got closer in my rearview mirror. The drift grew closer ahead of me. The car couldn’t slow down. There wasn’t a way out. It wasa snowdrift-semi sandwich with my car in the middle. I closed my eyes, praying it’d be quick, andoof.
My head jerked forward, smacking the wheel with the force of a tornado. Pain exploded throughout my forehead and neck. Something sputtered. A loud thud.Please let me pass out.The screeching of tires blurred while my own heart rate pounded in my ears. This was it. My parents would find me in a stained crewneck sweater and mismatched socks. They’d be so proud of me.
Wincing, I waited for darkness to take over, but after thirty seconds, nothing happened. Did I survive the sandwich? I blinked one eye open, and then the other. My face got to know my steering wheel very well, and I rubbed a finger over my nose.Sonofa.That hurt. Pain was good. That meant I was still among the living.
At least, for now. My car had wedged itself into the snowdrift so far that light only streamed from the back window. Did I live here now? In my Mazda Igloo?
Incoming call.
I jumped in my seat at the loud intrusion of my car stereo. The number danced across the dash, and my shoulders sagged in relief. My brother. My fingers trembled as I hit the answer button. “Christian, hi.”
“Where the hell are you? I want to ski but Penny insists on waiting for you.” Loud music blared in the background, and I squinted at the stereo. Eleven a.m. Only my party animal brother would be this energetic and probably intoxicated this early.
“Uh, no, go ahead without me.” I cleared my throat, my eyes welling up as the adrenaline gripped me from head totoe. I almost died. I didn’t. But almost. One didn’t just get over that in two minutes. I used my left hand to rub the back of my neck and willed myself to take a deep breath. Christian didn’t need to worry about me. He deserved fun. “Go skiing.”
“What’s wrong?” Just like that, his tone changed. “Turn that music off. Char, what’s going on?”
No more loud music, only my brother’s angry breathing.
“N-nothing, why?”
“You’re a shit liar, and your voice is off. Are you okay?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I got into a little accident.”
“Are you hurt? Where are you?”
“What happened? Oh my, is Char okay?” Penny’s voice carried over the phone, and I could picture her little pixie face and bright red hair. I loved my brother’s fiancée, almost more than him. She was about the only human on the planet capable of being with my brother forever, and God bless her for that.
Hearing her concern caused my tears to spill over. There was no way to avoid the truth now. I sniffled. “I’m fine. Just skidded into a drift.”
“You’re crying. Younevercry.” Christian’s voice softened. “What mile marker are you at? We can come help you.”
Great question. I should’ve looked at my surroundings before becoming a permanent part of an igloo. Snow covered each door, and even though I knew what would happen, I tried opening my side. Nothing. Cool. I was stuck. “I don’t know.”
“Are you able to walk and look?”
I swallowed. “I can’t… get out of the car.”
He sucked in a breath, and I could almost hear his mind whirling. Christian might be a party boy, goofball, and general menace to society, but he was the most loyal and caring person I knew. We rarely fought and had remained close as we grew up, and now he was in full-blown fix-it mode. “Okay, you’re snowed in your car, somewhere on the highway, without a way out or to tell me your location. Shit, Charmander, this is bad.”
“I’m sorry.” My voice broke again. The use of my nickname made the tears come harder.
