1
Candace drove up the pass toward Wintervale, Montana, and leaned forward to stare at the sky. She could barely make anything out with how hard the snow was falling. Thick white blankets covered everything, even gathering on the hood of her car as she made the sharp turns up the hill. Her car crawled along as it became harder and harder to tell where the road ended and the ditch began.
She clenched the steering wheel and tensed up as she drove, holding her breath at every turn and hoping she wouldn’t meet a car on its way down. There was no way for her to know if she was in the middle of the road, and she assumed anyone else crazy enough to be driving wouldn’t be able to tell either.
Who was she kidding? No one else was crazy enough to be driving right now.
Several tense hours later, she finally breathed a sigh of relief as the resort came into view. A rush of emotion came over her at the familiar building, one she hadn’t been to since she was a teenager.
She pulled into the first open spot she found, not actually knowing if it was a parking spot due to the excessive amount ofsnow, and shut the vehicle off. She leaned back and let out a sigh, prying her fingers off the steering wheel and finally allowing her body to relax.
A knock on her window had her whipping her head toward the sound. A man leaned forward and peeked through the window.
Brent. Her future brother-in-law’s brother. She rolled her eyes before she could stop herself and opened the door, letting it tap him on the chest when he didn’t get out of the way in time. The snow came halfway up his calves. Her car door pushed through the top layer, and she marveled that she hadn’t gotten stuck pulling into the parking lot.
She patted the hood of her car as if to tell it “good job” when she stood and then stretched her arms over her head, attempting to loosen the tight muscles in her shoulders from being coiled like a snake the entire drive.
“Rolling your eyes already, Candace? That must be a record. Normally, it takes me at leastsayingsomething first,” Brent said, opening his arms for a hug.
He wore a pair of jeans that were soaking through with snow. She couldn’t see his shoes, but suspected he wore boots. A dark coat covered his large chest and looked far warmer than what she brought. She reached back into her front seat and pulled out her red winter coat that had faux fur around the hood and tugged it on.
She gave him one last glance before walking to the trunk and pressing the button to let it open on its own.
“Hello, Brent. What brings you outside during the storm? Hoping to find a damsel in distress who doesn’t know your playing ways?”
He pressed a hand to his chest and winced. “Oh, you wound me. But it seems I have found a damsel.”
“If you’re referring to me, you’re sorely mistaken. This woman doesn’t need a man’s help… especiallyyours.”
Brent took the rolling suitcase from her by the handle, which no doubt wouldn’t roll in the several feet of snow, and carried it toward the lobby entrance. “Regardless, I’ll take that bag.”
She almost complained, but remembered she still had her maid-of-honor dress hung on the clothing hook in the backseat. The last thing she wanted to do was risk dropping it in the snow and getting it dirty before the big day. She didn’t know if the resort offered dry cleaning, but she highly doubted it. And making two trips to the car to get everything seemed even less appealing when the snow was already soaking through her pants.
Besides, her suitcase had to weigh close to fifty pounds with the amount of things she brought for the wedding. Brent carried it as if it weighed nothing.
She grabbed the dress and cradled it as she trudged through the snow, which was already at her knees. By the time she got into an area that was plowed, she was breathing heavily. Brent waited just inside the lobby doors for her and gave her a megawatt smile she could only associate with Chucky. With his brown hair, he looked nothing like the red-headed killer doll, but she disliked him as much as she disliked the creepy doll.
He brushed his straight, dark hair out of his eyes. The white flakes of snow slowly disappeared as they melted into his hair, which was already damp.
“I’m glad you made it safely,” he said.
She searched his face for the sarcasm she expected, but it wasn’t there. She tilted her head.
“Why? Afraid you’ll have to take on all the wedding duties on your own?”
He laughed. “Well, yeah. But also because I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Um. Okay. Thanks, I guess.”
“Candace!” a female voice rang out.
Candace turned to find her sister running through the lobby.
“Oh, my God. I was so worried,” Jessica said, wrapping her arms around Candace’s neck.
Candace hugged her younger sister. “I told you I’d make it.”
Jessica stepped back. “Yeah! But at what cost? You shouldn’t have driven up in this weather!”
