Tension fled down her shoulders as if some inner sense warned he might be close. Soaking wet, she couldn’t stop shivering.
Abby forced herself to pick up the pace, struggling to peer through the darkness. Something about the countryside looked different. Was this the same road as the one that ran in front of her property?
What if she’d stumbled onto one of the forest service roads around the area? There’d be no one coming along to help her.
The thought threatened to collapse her legs.
Stop it. It felt as if the road might be paved beneath her numb feet and not just covered in gravel.
She couldn’t feel her toes or her fingers anymore.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to rest for just a second.
Her thoughts scattered and trying to focus was impossible. She took a few more steps then stopped and sank down to her knees. She’d rest just a little while.
She imagined seeing Charlie’s relief that she was safe and smiled.
“I’m coming.” The words rolled through her mind. Did she speak them? She had no idea.
A warmth she hadn’t expected spread through her limbs. She snuggled into a ball. It was going to be okay. Maybe she’d wait here until they found her. That’d be okay. She’d wait here in this warmth until the police came for her.
“Get up!”
Abby’s head jerked up. “Who said that?”
Maybe just the wind and. . .
The world around her imploded. The person following her was here. She struggled to see the person. The flashlight beamed in on Abby’s eyes. She tried to stand but her feet were numb. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t scream.
Couldn’t do a thing to change her fate.
Chapter One
December 2025. . .Fifteen years later
Tension coiled throughout Charlotte “Charlie” Wells’s body like a spring wound too tight as each small mountain town disappeared from her rearview mirror.
Winter in the mountains used to be one of her favorite times of the year. Snow skiing, ice skating, sledding. She’d once adored everything the mountains and winter had to offer.
But that was before. . .
Now, everything about winter and the town of Pine Haven, Colorado, reminded her of loss.
Winter weather continued to worsen the farther into the mountains she drove. Before leaving Washington D.C., she’d known there was a predicted blizzard lurking on the horizon in the mountains. She hadn’t cared. Charlie needed this time to prepare for what lay ahead.
The only good memory she had left of Pine Haven wouldn’t be here waiting for her. Uncle Pete. He’d been there to catch her when her parents died in the house fire that would later sendher fleeing Pine Haven forever. For a year following their deaths as her world crumbled, Pete took her to his cabin and treated her like his daughter. He did his best to help her recover from their loss. But Charlie had known, if she ever stood a chance of moving on, she’d have to leave Pine Haven.
Now, Uncle Pete was gone. The call came from the last person she expected to hear from again. Ryan had found Pete slumped over in his favorite chair. Dead from an apparent heart attack.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come home sooner, Uncle Pete.” Charlie whispered her regret into the darkness of the cab of her Nissan Pathfinder. It’d been seven years. Though she and her uncle talked several times during the week, Charlie used the excuse of work keeping her away. They both knew the truth. Too many ghosts claimed Pine Haven as their home in Charlie’s mind.
As a wildlife photographer, Charlie had barely been home a day from one of her trips when Ryan called. Uncle Pete didn’t want a funeral. Ryan told her they’d wait to have Pete cremated until she had the chance to say goodbye. It would be her job to scatter her uncle’s ashes across the land that he loved so much.
Snow continued to fall heavy, forcing the wipers into overdrive to keep up.
The knot in her stomach twisted as Charlie rounded the final curve leading into Pine Haven. The sleepy mountain town spread out before her blanketed in snow. The Rocky Mountains were backdropped behind the town like silent witnesses to the events taking place there. All the secrets, the truths hidden in the dust of time were waiting to pounce.
Charlie braked hard. The SUV skidded in response, the brakes caught before she slid off the side of the mountain.
