Chapter One
Blair
“Five miles to your destination.”
I squint through the thick falling snow, trying to find a landmark I’d recognize but coming up short. Hell, I’d settle for spotting the roadway. I can’t see anything. My windshield wipers are moving at maximum speed, the rapid thump of the blades angrily filling my little car. I knew better than to ignore the weather report, yet here I am trying to drive through snow much deeper than my Kia can handle.
If only I had left earlier in the day, I would be safely tucked away in my hometown of Pine Village, Wisconsin, by now, probably sipping on a glass of wine, not still trying to get there on snow-covered roads that clearly haven’t seen a plow in the last few hours.
This is what I get for trying to surprise my best friend. We haven’t seen each other in two long years and even though she’s expecting me this weekend in Pine Village, she thinks I’m coming tomorrow.
Brilliant idea, right?
Now I’m going to get stuck in the snow just outside of town. I’ll probably freeze to death either trying to walk to civilization or trapped in my car in a ditch, wishing I had packed that blanket my mom always insisted I carry and grabbed a venti mocha with an extra shot of espresso on my last bathroom break before I left the interstate.
“Come on, come on,” I insist, willing my car not to stall as I hit a drift.
Unfortunately, my two-year-old Kia doesn’t care about my begging and comes to a complete stop on what I can only pray is the side of the road.
“Shit, shit, shit!”
I slam the gearshift into reverse and press the gas, only to feel the wheels digging a rut. I throw it into drive and carefully try to rock out of the hole I’m in but after several attempts, realization settles in.
I’m stuck.
“Son of a bitch, whore, asshole!”
My mom would be so proud.
“Think, Blair, think,” I mutter, reaching for my cell phone. I only have one bar of service, and I try not to consider it a sign from the universe.
I’m usually a much more positive person, but today has not been my day. Even the Christmas music hasn’t helped cheer me up. The pediatric clinic I work at decided to close at noon, in light of it being a Friday and tomorrow being Christmas Eve. Of course, throughout the morning, I slowly started to run behind with my patients, which I hate, thanks to the weather. By the time I got out of the office, all I wanted to do was grab some Chinese takeout and a bottle of wine and settle in for cheesy Hallmark movies. I wasn’t scheduled to leave for Pine Village until tomorrow morning, but the thought of surprising Hallie a day early started to grow, and before long, it was too exciting to pass up.
Now, it’s almost ten at night and I’m still five miles out, with not a light or a person in sight, and no one knows where I am.
Brilliant.
I find her name in my contacts and press call, praying it goes through despite the shitty signal. I start to worry about calling her at this hour, but what choice do I have? There’s really only one other person left in this town I could call, and I’d rather have a bikini wax from a blind woman than call him.
No way in hell.
“Hey, Blair!” Hallie bellows into the phone. “I can’t believe I’m going to finally get to hug you tomorrow!”
I cringe a little, hoping she’s happy about this surprise. “So, there’s been a slight change in plans.”
“Do tell,” she insists.
“Well, surprise! I’m in town!”
I’m greeted with silence. “Wait, what? You sort of cut out. It sounded like you said you were in town.”
Well, not yet, but I hopefully will be as soon as you come pick me up.
“Yeah, uh, that’s the thing. I’m sort of stuck. In the snow.”
“Seriously? No, Blair! I’m not home. Curtis and I went to Saint Paul to finish our Christmas shopping, but then the snow started to get really bad. I heard they stopped running the plows, so we got a hotel,” she says, near panicking.
I close my eyes, realization settling in.