1. Chapter 1

Ice crunches beneath the car’s tires as it slips and slides across the road, narrowly missing careening into a rocky mountainside. Snow-covered pine trees glare at me in the distance, as if whispering a silent warning. A gust of wind slams against the car, sending snow swirling around, clouding my vision. The mountains can be treacherous this time of year—that was a close call. It’s not just freezing to death I have to worry about; any small impact from the car could trigger an avalanche of snow to come sliding down the mountainside. I tighten my grip on the steering wheel and take a deep breath before accelerating slowly into danger, continuing my climb up the snowy road to the exit. Inside, I’m a turmoil of emotions. The radio station cut out miles ago, leaving me alone with nothing but my thoughts while my phone charges in the cup holder—safety tip 101 from my father. I can’t risk a dead battery if anything should happen while I’m driving.

Thinking about him makes me smile. It’s been years since I visited the cozy little mountain town where I’m headed. I vaguely remember summer vacations—days were spent splashing in the cool lake water and evenings we gathered around a bonfire toasting marshmallows while swapping wild, scary stories. But after my grandfather passed away, everything changed. My dad and uncle stopped speaking, unless it was to shout over grandfather’s estate and who was to blame for his sudden death. Grief tore their relationship apart. Years later, when my aunt died in a boating accident, they finally made up. It would prove to be too little too late, or just in the nick of time, depending on who you asked. Of course, by then, I was no longer a child. My imagination had been traded for a cell phone, and my toys for a diploma. The thought of spending summers in a small town with spotty reception held no appeal. Exploring the world with my friends—falling in love with a man I thought was the one—consumed all my time. As a result, my relationship with my uncle was fractured at best. I never had the chance to grow up knowing him the way I should have. I squandered my second chance to really get to know him. If I could take it all back now, I would. But Uncle Dex would want me not to be too hard on myself. After his diagnosis, I spent as much time as possible with him, trying to make up for all those years we lost together. Maybe that’s why I convinced myself to drive up here, just ahead of a blizzard. A small part of me still feels like I’m making up for lost time. Uncle Dex must have felt the same way—or he wouldn’t have left me the cabin in his will. There’s just one stipulation to my inheritance of the cabin: I must spend an entire week there in order to establish residency as the new owner.

The attorney for his estate called a few weeks ago to inform me, and the timing couldn’t be better. I’m too ashamed of my failed relationship to spend the holidays at my parents’ house, and the townhouse just isn’t the same without Tyler. Everything feels wrong. The space is a constant reminder of my failure as a partner. But it wasn’t me who failed—it was him.There’s no coming back from what he did. My heart shattered into a million irreparable pieces, and now I feel numb to the world. A tear rolls down my cheek and I swipe it away. Now is not the time to get emotional. The last thing I need is to make my eyes all puffy and drive the car into a ditch—or worse, off the side of the mountain.

A knot forms in my throat at the thought, and I blink, straining to see through the whirling white wisps of snow. Inheriting this old cabin is the gift of space I need this year. I need to get away—to clear my head and really think about how to move on. I’m ready to fall in love, but I refuse to be anything less than his entire world. I want to be adored. I want to wake up every day and know that he’s thinking of me because he’s just as in love with me as I am with him. I want my happily ever after, goddamn it. And right about now, I’d do just about anything to get one. I’m not above admitting that I secretly hope to find myself in one of those ooey-gooey, mushy holiday romances where the main characters meet and fall in love by Christmas. I may have even planned my entire holiday escape around this delusional fantasy.

In the cup holder, my phone vibrates. I chance a glance at the glowing screen to see who dares to interrupt my holiday alone time so soon. I can only think of one person. My suspicions are confirmed when Mom flashes across the screen. Of course, she’s checking in. Both she and my dad were worried I didn’t leave early enough to beat the storm—and they were right. Now, I’m just hoping I can survive the final fifteen minute stretch of this drive. My exit should be coming up soon, but I can barely see two feet ahead. The phone vibrates again, pulling my eyes from the road. I must be getting better service, which means I am definitely getting close to the exit. When I look down to check the new message, I look up just in time to scare myself senseless. I slam on the brakes, harder than I should. The car fishtails, skidding to a stop with the brakes grinding against the ice. Flashing lights blink right in front of me. Please don’t let the road be closed. I pray silently, dread creeping in. If the roads are closed, I’m not sure what I’ll do. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.

Since I’m stopped for a moment anyway, I snatch up the phone. His name flashes on the screen, sending my heart into a spiral. It’s been weeks since he moved to Florida without me—my decision, not his. I toss the phone back into the cupholder, refusing to deal with him right now. I’ll be lucky if I make it to the cabin tonight. Whatever he needs has waited weeks, so it can wait a few hours… or even days, if I really feel like it. Resuming my drive, I creep the car forward inch by inch, the car barely crawling as I edge closer to the flashing lights. I flip on my hazards—visibility is awful, and even though I haven’t seen another car for miles, the last thing I need is to be rear-ended. At last, I pull up to a police barricade. A single SUV cruiser sits at the bottom of the exit. Fuck.

A flashlight waves in the distance, signaling me to stop. I lightly press the brakes, gazing into the snow, waiting for the person to appear. A few minutes later, a shadowy figure emerges, walking slowly up to my car. My stomach churns with nerves as he taps on the window with his flashlight. I roll it down, trying not to panic, though. Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?

“Well, hello there, little lady. What’s a sweet thing like you doing out on a night like this—and all alone?” His raspy voice carries a light, awkward chuckle.

My stomach drops. Lie, I think to myself. Lie better than you’ve ever lied before, Hazel.

“I, um,” I stammer, “I’m just going up the road to my uncle’s place. My family’s waiting for me there. It’s a big tradition. If I don’t get there soon, my dad’s going to have the entire mountain out looking for me.”

“The entire mountain, you don’t say?” His tone is skeptical.

I nod feeling the pit in my stomach deepen.

“Look, I’m really sorry, gorgeous, but I’m supposed to close this exit. The roads are getting bad and—“ He pauses, thinking. “I suppose I can follow you to your turnoff. ‘Tis the season, right?” he chuckles, but it feels forced.

Relief washes over me. Something about his suggestion eases the tension. Maybe I misjudged the situation because I’m stressed over the storm.

“I promise to take it slow, sir,” I say, blinking my eyelashes at him, hoping to sway the debate in my favor.

He speaks into his radio, “Sergeant to base.”

There’s a pause as he listens, then he nods, holding a finger to his ear piece. “Copy. I’m escorting a vehicle up the road, then I’ll close the gate behind me. The snow is damn-near impassible. Call in the closure.”

“Go on,” he says, tipping his head, “I’ll be right behind you. Just gotta lock up the gate.”

I start to roll my window up, but he stops me by sliding the end of his flashlight into the gap. He leans in, his smile widening.“Now, you stay safe on my mountain this weekend, little miss… Jane Doe.“ The blood in my veins turns to ice as his eyes lock with mine, boring right through me. His good ole boy smile twists into something sinister, and the small sense of safety I had moments ago shatters.

He removes the flashlight, and I quickly roll up my window, pulling past the barrier to be escorted up the mountain. In the rear-view mirror, I barely make out the shape of him as he moves the roadblock into place and locking it. A shudder runs through me realizing exactly why my mother was so worried about me coming up here alone. I really am all alone. An easy target for a predator with no one to protect me. What if he follows me all the way to the house and realizes I am lying? Shit . I guess I just need to pray the roads are bad enough he doesn’t.

I drive white-knuckled the entire way to the turnoff. He’s keeping a decent distance, but it doesn’t do much to calm my nerves. My mind is racing as I creep along, the GPS ticks down the miles—and the minutes—until I can finally make the turn.

Thankfully, when I turn down the snow-packed road, the soft glow of his lights disappear into the storm. Around me, endless lines of pine trees stand frozen, their snow-capped branches like icing on a gingerbread house. With no radio, the sound of the tires crunching as they roll over the fresh snow is all I can hear. After several nerve-wracking bends in the road, the GPS dings, indicating the turn onto the private driveway. The cabin comes into view through the falling snow—its peaked roof barely visible against the swirling white flakes spiraling endlessly from the sky. The cabin is so far up the mountain, it feels like I could reach out and touch the clouds in the sky, but it’s only a thick layer of fog rolling in with the blizzard. I am surprised to see a soft glow of lights emanating from the front windows when the car tires hit the cement driveway, sliding as I transition from the dirt road onto pavement. If I remember correctly, the driveway is heated. I’ll have to figure that out tomorrow. Right now, all I want is to collapse into a warm bed and sleep. The estate attorney mentioned a caretaker who lives another mile up the road, and seeing the lights on, I’m hopeful everything is prepared for my stay. I pull the car all the way into the driveway, coasting slowly and carefully up the stretching cement drive to park in front of the garage, relieved to have a garage door opener in my purse. I’m grateful I won’t be wrestling a snow-covered door tonight.

I cut the engine and take a deep inhale, letting the crisp mountain air seep into the car. The scent of pine fills my lungs, enveloping my senses, and grounding me. This is it—my first vacation, completely on my own. I grab my overnight bag from the passenger seat, I’m struck by the frigid cold air. The wind whips at my hair, biting at my cheeks as I trudge through the deepening snow drifts to the front door. I climb the wide wooden front steps, holding onto the banister and stomp the snow off my boots with each step. Nestled snugly around the silver handle, there’s a lockbox, just like the attorney said. I spin the number combination and retrieve the gold-colored key from the box, turning it over in my hands a few times, wondering if this was the same key my uncle used. My hands tremble slightly as I place the key into the lock and push the door open wide.