“Don’t freak out?” her voice rises. “What the fuck are you talking about? Callum is here? Where is he?”
“Kenz, wait.”
But she's already tearing through the house. “CALLUM!”
I follow her. This is bad. This is so bad.
She's shouting now, checking rooms. “CALLUM!”
The bedroom door opens and he emerges, fully dressed now. Jeans and a henley, his hair still messed up from sleep. From me.
Our eyes meet for just a second.
Mackenzie whirls on him. “What the hell? Does Dad know you’re here?”
“No.” His voice is calm, controlled. “And nice to see you too, sis.”
“Don’t.” She points at him. “Don’t you dare act like this is a casual visit. What are you doing in our family’s cabin?”
“Needed a place to stay. Figured no one was using it.”
“So you just, what? Broke in? Squatted here?”
“I have a key.”
“That doesn’t give you the right.” She stops, her eyes darting between us. “Wait. You two have been here together? Alone?”
I swallow down the guilt. She turns her attention to Callum.
“You better have been nice to my friend,” Mackenzie says.
Oh God. This is so awkward.
“He was fine,” I say. “More than fine. He took care of me when I fell. He probably saved my life.”
Mackenzie's jaw tightens but she doesn't respond.
I glance outside. The storm has finally passed, leaving everything buried in white.
“Is the mountain safe to drive on?” Callum asks.
“No. A ranger brought me up, but he was in an emergency vehicle. Roads are still closed to everyone else,” she says.
Callum exhales through his nose. “So we’re all trapped here. Together.”
We all stand there, not quite looking at each other.
The restof the day is excruciating.
Mackenzie goes straight for the wine. She doesn't say a word to me, just pours herself a large glass and settles on the couch with a magazine.
“Kenz,” I try. “Can we talk?”
“About what? About how my brother is squatting in our family cabin?” She takes a long drink. “Sure. Let’s talk.”
“He’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? Piper, he nearly destroyed our family.”
