“Everyone writes about the ghosts of Bearwater,” Brooke replied. “It’s nothing new.”
“Where’s Kelsey?” Gina asked, glancing around as she slipped out of her backpack, motioning for Brooke to do the same. “Line them up along the wall so they can dry out.”
“Kelsey was right behind me,” Joe said, looking toward Brooke.
“Hey!” Brooke lifted her hands toward her eyes, blinking, as the headlamp caught her in the face. “Watch the light, Joe.”
“Sorry. I was just checking for Kelsey.”
“Well, I’m obviously not her.” Brooke set her pack down with a thump. “Though I appreciate being noticed.”
Gina sighed. It wasn’t a surprise that Kelsey wasn’t with them. She’d been acting off all morning. Kelsey had joined their running group around this time two years ago, not long after moving to Irma. She’d been a runner since high school, sticking with it through college and law school. Now she was a junior partner at a small firm in town that handled commercial contracts and said she kept running to clear her head.
Gina understood. That was one of the reasons she ran too. Unlike Brooke and many of the others in the club, she rarely competed, choosing the joy of the process over earning medals.
“Maybe she went to the car?” Brooke suggested.
“I have the keys.” Joe set his backpack beside the women’s, then pulled the keys from a zippered pocket.
Nick was already heading for the door. “I’ll find her.”
“I’m coming too,” Gina said. “She was poking around one of the other buildings this morning. Hopped out of the car and went straight over. Said she needed to...um, you know. She was looking for a bathroom.”
At the time, Gina hadn’t thought much of it. The drive up, over the rough roads, had her needing to use the facilities too. Not that there was anything but trees and brush, which is whereGina went. Kelsey, though, went to one of the old buildings first and spent several minutes there before finally moving to the tree line.
As they reached the door of the hotel, it rattled in its frame. The wind slammed against the heavy wood, barely making it move.
“The wind’s really picking up,” Nick said.
“Hey!” a voice called out. “A little help!”
“It’s her,” Gina said, pressing against the door. The wind fought against it, and only when both Gina and Nick leaned in did it finally start to give.
The door opened just enough for Kelsey’s thin figure to slip inside, followed by a rush of cold air.
“Where were you?” Gina demanded.
“I had to, uh . . . I needed a tree.”
“You should have said something.”
“Sorry,” she muttered. “It got bad out there fast. With the wind and the snow, I could barely see the building. Then I wasn’t exactly sure which one you guys went into.” She motioned back at the door. “Why does it open outward like that? The way the wind hits it makes it almost impossible.”
“Outswing doors are common for commercial construction,” Nick said, motioning about the building. “Probably smart for the winds they get here.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem very smart,” Kelsey huffed. “It’s stupid if you ask me.”
They joined Brooke and Joe farther away from the door. “We need to assess what we’ve got,” Gina said, thinking about what resources they had. “Food, water, emergency gear. If this storm doesn’t clear soon...”
“The road out may not be passable,” Brooke interrupted. “But we can’t just sit here. I’m losing training time. Maybe, if the weather clears in an hour or two—”
“Brooke.” Gina’s voice carried the firm tone she’d learned from years of managing her mother’s crises. “We’re not going anywhere until this storm passes and the river goes down. You saw how fast the water was moving. We can’t drive through it with the way it is.”
Nick was shining his light around the hallway. “Building seems fairly solid,” he said. “Roof looks intact, but it’s a little creakier than I’d like. We could do worse for shelter. Let’s check the rest of it.”
“No,” Brooke said. “I’m not going any farther than this hallway.”
Nick raised his hands. “Fine. Stay here...for now. I’m going to go out to my rig and grab a few things that will make us more comfortable.”
