june
Christmas was alwaysa busy season for the resort. With the snow-capped mountains as their backdrop, it drew a crowd of winter sports fanatics who enjoyed their holi-days on the slopes and their holi-evenings curled up in front of a fire roasting chestnuts. My mom was the brains behind those traditions, and even now that she was retired, she came out of retirement exclusively for the holiday season to run the show herself.
Much to my older brother, Hayes’ dismay.
Mom also had a rule that everyone comes back for Christmas to help out. Which sounds like it was strictly enforced, but I’d spent the last five years working on cruise ships. And that kept me away from home for Christmas five years in a row.
So my anticipated return this year was being met with a barrage of messages regarding itineraries and plans for family-centered activities to make up for lost time.
Since landing state-side, my phone hadn’t stopped pinging as mom led the charge for a Christmas to remember. Based on the shade in the siblings’ chat, I was pretty certain my brothers and sisters were not happy about the fuss my return was causing.
As if he knew I was thinking about them, the screen on my dashboard turned, alerting me to an incoming phone call. Hitting the answer button, my eyes flicked to the mileage sign.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, butterfly, how far out are you?”
I smiled at how predictable he was. “About twenty miles.”
“Good, your mother is really excited to see you—we all are.”
I laughed. “I’m not sure about that. Holly had a few smart-ass comments to share.”
“Holly’s teasing. You know what she’s like.” Even though I knew he couldn’t see me, I smiled and nodded.
“I’m excited to see everyone too. Five years is a long time. And FaceTime doesn’t quite mimic the same experience as being together.”
Dad hummed in agreement, and then a voice in the background distracted him, and he disappeared to have a brief conversation.
Reaching for my cup holder, I lifted my hot chocolate to my mouth and blew through the lip before taking a sip. Notes of caramel and salt drifted across my taste buds as I savored the treat. It was good, but not quite as good as the cup I’d get once I was home and could head to Rhythm and Brews. They made the best candy cane hot chocolate, which didn’t sound like it was different from peppermint ones, but it hit differently, so it was.
“Sorry, gingerbread catastrophe. But tragedy averted.”
“There’s no Christmas quite like a Danvers Christmas.”
Dad chuckled. “Ain’t that the truth.” He sounded distracted, and I was going to see him soon. I opened my mouth to excuse myself when he spoke again. “I wanted to warn you before you got home that I plan on retiring in the new year. After talking it over with your mother, we’ve decided to turn the resort over to your brother. We’ve asked for a contract to be drawn out, outlining that you and your siblings get a share of the company, but the majority will be Hayes’. If he sells it, the profits will be split based on shareholding. So, if you want to be more involved—and I know you’ve made it clear this isn’t where your passion lies—you’ll need to buy other shareholders out.”
“Oh, wow, okay.” I mean, he wasn’t wrong. I had made it clear running a resort wasn’t my passion, but after five years as a chef on a cruise ship, I’d had a few ideas I wanted to run by him while I was home. Some of which would bring me back to Sage River indefinitely, something I thought he and mom would want. “Alright, well, that’s a lot to process. Can we talk about it later?”
“Sure, butterfly.”
Out of nowhere, I hit a bump, and the car lurched forward unexpectedly. It would’ve been fine if not for the fact I landed on a patch of black ice, and the wheels immediately began spinning with no traction.
The car drifted off to the left, precariously moving through the other lane. Lifting my eyes in horror, relief swept through me when I confirmed no incoming traffic and quickly tried to readjust my drift.
But slamming on my brakes did nothing but make the whole thing worse as my back fish-tailed, and the car swerved forward headlong into the ditch.
I screamed, my fingers tightening around the wheel as I lost all my senses to try and over-correct. The car shot forward into the ditch and headed straight toward the trees.
Still screaming and frozen with fear, the car slammed hood-first into the trunk of a massive white pine, and a load of snow landed on top of the car, shielding me from view.
“June? June! June, what is going on? Are you okay? What happened?” My dad’s frantic voice coming through the car’s speakers was the last thing I heard as darkness consumed me.
evan
Evening snowfalls affordedan excellent opportunity to get out on the snowmobile and enjoy a ride. Around Sage River, there were plenty of roads that seemingly led nowhere that made for perfect routes to go sledding. I preferred shredding deep in the woods, which was where I was heading right now.
A weekend away from everyone and everything was exactly what I needed.