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Her words set off alarm bells. I raced from the kitchen and out to the barn. The rope was gone. I had the oddest feeling she and the horse were headed up the mountain.
Immediately, I went back and pulled Avery into the front room. “There’s no way Sunshine’s prepared for what’s coming.”
“But she grew up there.”
Logic agreed. “But she hasn’t been there in years and her parents are dead. She might not have the provisions if she didn’t know the forecast. I have to go. Keep Zoe safe and be back before afternoon. I wouldn’t mind you staying in Mountainside, but I don’t want to leave Dad on his own if the worst of it comes.”
“No problem. Do you know how to get there?” Avery asked. I had no clue other than the direction, which I hadn’t considered in my frantic need to find her. “She said she left directions in her room.”
I took the stairs two at a time and made it to Sunshine’s room in no time. She’d left the instructions in plain sight. I snapped a picture with my phone and left the paper there in case. Then I packed provisions we had here in case the power went off, like power bars, water, a couple of blankets. I fitted myself with outdoor gear my brother had left. We were about the same size, including boots.
“Where are you going?” Zoe asked when I stopped to say goodbye.
“Sunshine forgot something. I’m going to get it to her.”
“Okay,” she said.
“You have a good time with your aunt Avery.”
Then I was in my truck and driving like a madman to hopefully beat a storm barreling in our direction. Even if nothing came of it, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hadn’t tried.
Though nothing was falling to the ground in the valley, it was snowing in earnest by the time I reached the end of the road on the mountain. I worked out in Chicago, but it did not prepare me for a hike uphill with a heavy pack on my back. The howling wind and snow pelting my face made it tough going. I had to check my phone for landmarks in the picture I snapped of Sunshine’s directions. Otherwise, it was as useful as a paperweight. Good thing I’d brought the compass I’d had since my first year of scouts.
I slipped a few times on the rocky hillside, which was steep in parts. It was growing darker from the heavy cloud cover, and I was coming to terms with being lost. I’d brought a tent just in case. Still, I wasn’t ready to give up on finding her. That was when what looked like a yurt came into view.
“Sunshine,” I called.
The wind practically swallowed my word. I tried again. “Please be here,” I said to myself before calling out her name again.
Sunshine
Was I hearing things? I’d been preparing for the worst as I surveyed what was left of my family home when I heard my name. Clearly, I was overly tired because hearing Mitchell say my name in the middle of the snowstorm was a total impossibility.
After hearing it again, I opened the drape that covered the opening to prove it was my imagination. But there he stood, covered in snowflakes with a walking stick in his right hand.
“Mitchell,” I said. I didn’t quite believe my eyes yet.
“Sunny,” he said and rushed forward.
He stopped a few feet in front of me and we stood there staring as if we both thought the other a mirage.
His teeth chattered, breaking into my thoughts. “Come inside.” I waved him in and held the drape while he bent to come inside. My father was tall, so once in, Mitchell could stand upright in the innermost part of the circular enclosure.
I went to work wiping away the snowflakes so they wouldn’t melt on his clothes. The fire was going now, but it wouldn’t last forever.
“Do you have more wood?” he asked.
“No. It’s long gone.” Along with most of the things I’d left behind. I couldn’t blame anyone. The place had looked abandoned. Anyone could have come in need of Mom’s healing and helped themselves to whatever. Most shunned doctors, but Mom’s herbs and remedies worked on most minor problems.
He surveyed my pitiful fire. “I’ll go out.”
“Most wood is wet by now and useless.”
“I have to try. It’s only going to get colder.”
He didn’t wait for me to answer. I’d checked, but he’d said he had been camping several times as a scout. We would see where that ranked on mountain survival skills. I was still trying to reconcile why he was there.
I hadn’t timed how long he’d been gone, but I was grateful when the drape moved, and he was back carrying a handful of wood.
“Where did you find it?” I asked.
