Her sister nodded. “Go. Take your car and go. Now. Cole and I will bring Mom and Dad back to the house. Just go get Zach.”
Isabelle hesitated. “What if he doesn’t want to be gotten?”
“It’s Christmas Day, Izzy. The most magical day of the year. If ever there was a perfect day to tell Zach how you feel, it’s today. Go.”
Isabelle gave her a hug, then, not quite believing what she was about to do, headed toward her Aunt Claudia’s back door.
“Hey, Izzy?” Sophie called.
Isabelle paused and turned to look at her smiling sister.
“If you end up knocking out Zach and need help getting him back to Pine Hill, call. Cole and I will head that way. I’m pretty sure most of Pine Hill would help you haul him back here. We love you.”
On her drive to the house, Isabelle made a mental list of what she needed to do prior to taking off to find Zach.
Call Sarah and see if she or Bodie knew where Zach currently was.
She could call Zach’s cell, but what she had to say needed to be said in person, not over the phone.
Pack an overnight bag.
Fill up her gas tank.
Surely, there was a station open somewhere because she doubted she’d make it wherever he was on half a tank, especially in the snow.
Figure out what I want to say to Zach.
That last one was the most difficult. If he was at his parents’, what did she expect to do? Show up uninvited when she knew his relationship was strained? Or maybe he’d gone on to the Keys to visit his friend Matt as he’d originally intended. Or back to DC.
She voice-dialed Sarah’s number.
“Merry Christmas, Isabelle,” Sarah answered.
“You, too.” Isabelle’s mouth dried to where her tongue stuck to her upper palate. “Um, do you happen to know where Zach is?”
Sarah hesitated.
“If you know, please, tell me. I need to talk with him.”
“He went to his parents when he left here, but—” There was a garbled background noise. “Sorry, Isabelle, but I have to go. Merry Christmas.”
“Well, that wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped,” she mumbled to herself as she turned onto Main Street, then onto her street. Pulling into her driveway, she rushed into the house, grabbed a bag, and threw a change of clothes into it.
“Meow.”
Isabelle paused in her packing to glance at her cat. “Sorry, Bobbin the Snowman. I’m in a rush.”
But for whatever reason, seeing the cat in the snowman outfit made her think of an old Halloween costume where Sophie had dressed up as Frosty. Her sister had always chosen something happy and Christmasy to wear for the spooky holiday. It had been several years ago, but the outfit was packed in their storage building. Isabelle wasn’t sure which tote, but she had each one labeled, so it shouldn’t take her more than a few minutes to find it.
“Ever heard of a singing snowmanagram?” she asked the cat, who followed her outside. Snow-covered grass crunched beneath her feet as she and the cat headed to the building. “Yeah, me neither, but looks like that’s what I’m going to be today.” She unlocked the door, and although not warm, being in the building blocked the cool wind. “If the costume fits.”
A few minutes later, staring at herself in the house’s hallway mirror, Isabelle snickered at the sight she made. “Yeah, I almost wished this hadn’t fit.”
“Meow.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she agreed, while holding her corncob pipe in the corner of her mouth. “I look ridiculous, but do you have a better idea?”
“Meow.”
