Chapter 2
Brody
‘Be careful,’ Mom says.
‘Mom, I’m in a truck with a snowplow,’ I remind her. ‘If anyone’s safe, it’s me. And besides, there’s nobody out here. The roads are empty.’
‘Yes, Sawyer just called and said he’s not opening the brewery. Gina’s not opening hers either, knowing how bad the storm’s going to be.’
‘It’s a lot worse than they predicted.’ I slow down as I feel the truck slide on a patch of ice. ‘Mom, I gotta go.’
‘Okay, but remember, be safe.’
‘I will.’ I end the call as a gust of wind slams into my truck. Snow blows over my windshield, blinding my view. I get the wipers going faster, but the cold air instantly freezes the snow, frosting up the glass and making it even harder to see.
Turning up the radio, I hear the beeping sound of a weather alert. ‘We are currently under a winter weather emergency,’ the automated voice says. ‘Roads are one hundred percent snow and ice covered. The state patrol is asking that all vehicles stay off the roads at this time.’
I slow down as a gust of wind dumps more snow on my windshield.
My phone rings. It’s Sawyer, my older brother, calling.
‘Hey, what do you need?’ I say, answering the call.
‘You out on the roads?’
‘Yeah, but I’m heading home. I can’t see a damn thing out here.’
‘I was just calling to tell you they want everyone off the roads.’
‘Yeah, I heard.’ I feel my truck fishtail as it goes over a patch of ice. ‘I gotta go. It’s really bad out here. I need to pay attention.’
‘Yeah, be safe.’
I grip the steering wheel, peering through the sliver of windshield that’s not covered in snow and ice.
‘What the hell is that?’
There’s something in the road just up ahead. I squint, trying to see it better. It’s moving up and down, which is odd because the wind is blowing everything sideways. Maybe it’s some kind of animal. A dog? It looks too tall to be a dog. Maybe a deer?
I slow down as I get closer.
‘Holy shit,’ I say, noticing the thing jumping up and down in the road is a woman. And it kind of looks like she’s wearing a wedding dress. ‘What the hell?’
Pulling off to the shoulder, I leave the truck running as I get out.
‘Oh, thank God!’ the woman yells as she runs over to me .
‘What the hell are you doing out here?’ I shout over the howling wind.
‘My car went in the ditch.’ She points to it, but all I see is snow with more swirling above it.
Looking back at the woman, I see her lips are turning blue and she’s shivering like crazy.
‘You need to get in the truck,’ I say, taking her arm so she doesn’t slip on the ice. I can’t see what kind of shoes she’s got on under that dress, but I’m guessing it’s not snow boots.
‘You’re not going to kill me, are you?’ she asks as we walk to the truck.
‘If I was, you really think I’d tell you?’
I was just joking, but she’s looking at me like she thinks I’m serious.
‘I’m kidding,’ I tell her as we reach the truck. I get the door for her, holding it open so the wind doesn’t blow it closed.
She hikes up her dress to get in, but she’s shivering too much to pull herself into the seat.
‘Let me help.’ I scoop her up and drop her in the seat, then shut the door and fight through the wind to get to the other side. ‘This wind is insane,’ I say, getting in.
‘I’m so cold,’ she says, still shivering.
‘The heat’s on high,’ I tell her as I get my wipers going.
She nods. ‘It’s warm in here. I’m just really cold.’
I drive slowly down the highway, not able to tell if I’m in a lane. The snow’s coming down so hard I can’t even see the road.
‘How long you been out here?’ I ask.
‘Almost an hour. I tried to call for help, but I couldn’t get a signal.’ She looks around. ‘Where are we?’
‘Just outside Haydon Falls. ’
‘Haydon Falls. Is that the place with the apple orchard?’
‘Yeah, that’s it,’ I say with a smile. ‘You been there?’
‘No, but I know people who have. Don’t they have some big festival in the fall?’
‘Yeah, people come from all over to go to it, even as far as Chicago.’
‘That’s where I’m from.’
‘Oh, yeah?’ I glance at her. ‘So what are you doing here?’
‘I needed to get away for a few days. I was on my way to my grandpa’s cabin when I got stuck in the storm.’
I glance at her. ‘What’s with the dress? Doesn’t seem like something you’d wear to a cabin.’
‘I was at a wedding earlier.’
‘Your own?
She clears her throat. ‘Yes.’
‘And what happened? You change your mind?’
‘It’s a long story. I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘Why not?’
‘I just don’t,’ she says, sounding annoyed. She looks behind her at the back seat. ‘Can I use that blanket?’
It’s an old wool blanket I keep in the truck in case I get stranded in a storm like the one I’m in right now.
‘Go ahead, but just so you know, the thing’s covered in dirt. I dropped it in the mud last fall and never got around to cleaning it.’
‘Forget it.’ She faces forward again. ‘I don’t need it.’
I’ve got the heat on high, but she’s still shivering.
‘You plan on wearing that again?’ I ask, motioning to the dress.
She looks down at it and sighs. ‘Probably not. ’
I keep one hand on the steering wheel while my other hand reaches to the back seat for the blanket. I grab it and drop it on her lap.
‘What are you doing?’ She rears back, looking horrified, like I just dropped a snake on her.
‘Warming you up. That blanket will have you going from shivering to sweating within minutes.’
She looks at it, her hands raised like she’s afraid to touch it.
‘C’mon.’ I laugh. ‘It’s not that bad. And if you’re just tossing the dress, why do you care if it gets dirty?’
She stares down at the blanket, then slowly and carefully unfolds it and drapes it over her lap.
‘Better?’
She nods. ‘It’s really warm.’
‘It’s wool. Been in the family a long time. Used to belong to my grandparents.’
‘Then shouldn’t you take better care of it?’
‘Nah, it’s old. My parents were just gonna toss it. I took it just to keep in the car for emergencies.’
She smiles a little. ‘Like when you’re rescuing a girl stranded in a snowstorm?’
‘I wasn’t expecting that, but sure.’ I yank my stocking cap off and toss it on the dash. It’s freaking hot in here with the heat on high. ‘You warmed up yet?’ I ask, hoping I can turn the heat down.
‘No, but I’m getting there.’ She pulls the blanket up over her shoulders. ‘I just need to get out of this wet dress.’ She turns to me, so fast the blanket falls off her. ‘My bag! I left it in the car! We have to go back!’
‘We’ re not going back. We’re not even supposed to be on the roads right now.’
‘But what am I going to wear? I have to get out of this dress.’
‘I can loan you something.’
She looks me up and down. ‘Um, yeah, thanks, but I don’t think anything of yours will fit me.’
‘Just throw on one of my hoodies. It’ll be so big it’ll cover you like a dress.’
She sits back and looks at me. ‘Where are we going?’
‘To my house.’
‘I can’t go to your house. I don’t even know you. I still can’t tell if you’re a .?.?.’ She searches for the word.
‘Serial killer?’ I say with a laugh. ‘I’m not. And if I wanted to kill you, I could just do it now and toss your body in the snow. It’d be a lot easier than killing you at my house.’
When I glance at her, I see the frightened look on her face and regret what I said. I was just kidding around, but she didn’t take it that way.
‘Relax,’ I tell her. ‘I was joking. ‘
‘How do I know?’ she asks, eyeing me with suspicion.
‘I live in a small town. Everyone knows everyone’s business. If I was a serial killer, people would’ve found out by now. I’m also a Kanfield, which automatically means I’m a nice guy. If I wasn’t, people would tell my mom and she’d kick my ass.’
The girl looks at me. ‘You’re a Kanfield? The ones who own the orchard?’
‘That’s us,’ I say with a hint of annoyance.
I love my family, but I’m tired of my whole identity being associated with my parents and the orchard.
I want to be my own person, but instead I’m known as the youngest Kanfield.
Sometimes people don’t even use my name.
They just call me the Kanfield boy. It’s freaking annoying.
‘What’s your name?’ I ask.
‘Katelyn, but I go by Kate. What’s yours?’
‘Brody,’ I smile. ‘But I go by Brody.’
She laughs a little. ‘So you work at the orchard?’
‘No. I had enough of that place growing up there.’
‘You didn’t like it?’
‘It was great. I just didn’t want that being my job. That’s my parents’ business. I wanted my own.’
‘So what do you do?’
‘Lawn care and snow removal. That’s why I’m out in a blizzard. I was heading to a customer’s house to clear their driveway but decided it’s no use plowing it when it’s snowing like this. I’ll have to wait for the storm to end.’
I slow down as we come into town. There isn’t a single car on the road. Even the plows aren’t out. Snow’s piled up everywhere, some of it drifted over the road.
‘Where’s your house?’ Kate asks.
‘Near downtown. We’re almost there.’
She gets out her phone. ‘My battery’s dead. Maybe that’s good. I won’t have to hear from my family.’
‘So what exactly happened? You just decided you didn’t want to get married?’
‘I told you I don’t want to talk about it,’ she says, sounding annoyed.
‘Why? I thought girls liked talking about stuff.’
‘We do, but only when we’re ready.’
‘What do you have to be ready for?’
She sighs. ‘Okay, fine. I left. I left my wedding. I couldn’t go through with it.’
‘Why?’
She looks at me. ‘Seriously? We just met.’
‘Yeah? So? It should be easier to tell a stranger than someone you know. There’s no judgment. I don’t care that you left some guy at the altar. The bastard probably didn’t deserve you.’
She smiles a little. ‘Thanks.’
‘For what?’
‘Saying that. Everyone assumes I’m the problem and that Cam is perfect.’
‘Nobody’s perfect.’ I glance at her. ‘Cam’s the guy you were going to marry?’
‘Yes,’ she mutters. ‘It’s short for Camden.’
As we approach the downtown I press on the brakes and feel the truck sliding.
Kate grabs hold of the dash.