Page 57 of Abdominal Snowman

“Of course. What do you want me to do?”

“Can you look up the weather forecast for Berrysburg for the last ten days?”

Gabi hummed, and the clicks of keys came through from the background. “Okay, I’ve got it here. Any particular day?”

Sage took a deep breath. “Just give me a rundown.”

“Uhm… okay. So, there was the storm from Monday to Tuesday. Then it’s been... well, mostly sunny. And then besides a few snow showers, it’s supposed to remain sunny for a while. What, Sage? Did you bring the sun with you from Florida?” She chuckled.

But Sage couldn’t laugh. She couldn’t even breathe at the moment.

How the hell had it been snowing nonstop for the past five days if the weather forecast and the man inside were correct? She’d never even thought to consult the weather app on her phone, taking the word of the weatherman on TV and Soren as gospel. Why the hell would she suspect otherwise?

There was no way it could have snowed just on the mountain… right?

At least not naturally.

“Thanks, Gabi,” she murmured, voice coming out quieter than she intended.

“What’s going on? You okay?” Gabi asked, voice sweet and concerned.

Sage’s throat tightened. “Everything’s fine.”

“You wanting a ticket out of there? Is the cabin man not living up to our expectations?”

Sage laughed. “You could say that.”

Gabi hummed. “Well, I could intervene more, but I won’t because I know you can’t stand it. So just… let me know if there is anything you do need, yeah? I can be there in a heartbeat, or I can book you an early flight. Anything.”

With a forlorn chuckle, Sage said her goodbyes and hung up the phone.

“There you are!” Soren’s hushed voice called out to her. She popped her head up and turned to the right to find him cutting between the poles to come to her side. “What are you doing out here in the cold? Are you okay?”

“Can we go?” Sage asked. She didn’t want to have this conversation in front of all these townspeople.

But Sage couldn’t walk around and pretend everything was okay either.

His brows dipped, but he didn’t even try arguing. “Of course. Stay here, I’ll pull the Jeep closer.”

Soren took the bags from her hand without asking and took off. His long legs ate up the distance of the lot in a heartbeat, and the rumble of the Jeep came not long after he disappeared in the maze of cars.

The ride back to the cabin was silent as Sage’s mind churned over every conversation they’d had. Every touch, every look.

He’d lied to her.

Why?

To keep her here? He’d joked about the FBI coming for him, but really?

However… he’d given her phone back, so he couldn’t be worried about that, right? Enough to create a snowstorm and keep her in his cabin like some lunatic?

Shaking her head, she sucked in a silent breath. No. She’d get to the bottom of this, even if her heart shattered in the process.

Soren parked, and Sage quietly grabbed her things before going into the house, barely shutting the Jeep door behind her.

“Sage?” he called behind her. His pine and snow scent wrapped around her as he joined her in the kitchen. The door shut behind him and it seemed… final.

Sage turned to him. “Soren, I need you to be honest with me,” she said, holding his gaze captive. He didn’t even blink as he nodded. “Your answer to this is… just, tell me, okay?”