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“Yeah?” I said, knowing exactly what was about to come out of her mouth.
She rushed into the room and showed me her phone which was displaying the same alert as mine was.
Severe Weather Alert: Blizzard Warning! Expect 12-24 inches of snow in the next six to twelve hours. All roads closed effective immediately. Please remain indoors.
I stared at her phone while holding mine up so she could see that I had the same message.
“It was on the radio, too,” she said.
Dean and Lexi had to be on their way back. Surely, they’d be here in minutes, ready to bunker down with me and Jenna.
Jenna clearly had the same thought, because she turned toward the living room and said, “Come on.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what she expected to find or what she expected was going to happen, but when I got to the living room, I saw her in the foyer pulling on her coat and some boots.
“I bet,” she said in a frantic voice that she was trying to disguise as nonchalant and failing, “that they’re right up the road. We’ll be able to see them if we go outside.”
“The alert said to stay indoors,” I said, showing her the phone again. “If they’re on their way back, they’ll be here soon. If not…”
“If not,” Jenna said with a dry laugh, “then I was right and this is officially going to be the worst Christmas ever. Snowed in without my brother, on Christmas, with the most miserable, cantankerous old—”
“Hey,” I said. “Let’s not make snap judgments before we know for sure. They could be right outside. And I’m not old.”
“Then let’s go check,” she said, like I was being slow and ignoring my protestations. “They’ll need help bringing in the groceries if they’re here, so we can reassure ourselvesanddo them a favor.”
It was clear from the way she was talking that she was panicking, and there was going to be no convincing her to stay inside. I could have let her go out alone, but I was trying to show her that I wasn’t the “miserable, cantankerous, old” whatever she was going to call me. So instead of arguing more or watching her walk out into a blizzard alone, I pulled on my coat, which was still damp from the snow that had fallen while I was cutting wood, and my boots, which were even more so.
Sighing, I waved at her to open the door, as she gave me a look that seemed unsure.
“You… you don’t mind going first, do you?” she asked, her voice trying to remain annoyed but failing in light of how nervous she was.
I looked at her for a moment, frowning. This could be one of those moments where I could be a decent person and begin to bridge the gap I’d opened between us.
“No,” I said, stepping forward. I turned to her before I opened the door. I put a tentative hand on her shoulder, which she didn’t shake off. I turned to see she looked about as sure as I felt, which was not at all. I walked outside and looked hard through the sea of white, but knew what I’d see before I did. I knew there would be no lights, no sound of a car coming down the road. I knew there would be exactly what there was.
Nothing.
Chapter Seven
Jenna
Seeingtheemptyroad,without a hint of light coming from any kind of car, let alone that huge truck Dean rented, filled me with dread.
“They’re not going to make it back,” I said quietly, then turned to go back inside, stripping off my coat and boots. I began to pace the kitchen floor, sighing heavily and picking at my fingers. It was a bad habit from childhood that still came out when I was really stressed.
“What?” Gabe asked, closing the door behind him and stripping off his outerwear as well.
“They’re not going to make it back,” I repeated, a little louder this time so he could hear me. “I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid. I know how long it takes to get into town. There’s no way they did the shopping and got back on the road yet. They’re going to be stuck in town with no way to get back.”
I fought the urge to panic, choosing instead to sit down by the fire and try to breathe. Dean was smart. He’d know exactly what to do. He wouldn’t let the two of them get hurt. No, my real concern was how long could I deal with Gabe before I went crazy.
It was bad enough when it was the four of us, but at least then, I could count on Lexi and Dean to act as a buffer. Without them, with just me and Gabe, who I didn’t even know, in this tiny cabin, things had just gone from bad to worse.
He seemed to be contemplating his phone, typing out a text and then holding his phone up in the air, trying to get a signal.
Miraculously, at that moment I got a text from Lexi.
Can’t make it back. Roads are too dangerous.
