Chapter 73
Joni stumbled on, exhausted. She was shivering hard, her teeth chattering with cold.
When she raised her head, she saw a solid structure emerging in the distance. At first, she thought it was just another boulder, large and square, but as the fog billowed, she made out the shape of the DNT cabin.
She imagined Liz was already inside, telling the others about what she’d done. She pictured Maggie’s shock. Helena’s outrage. They would band together, arms around Liz, protecting her.
There were a thousand things Joni needed to say to Liz—and they all began with the word sorry.
The worst truth was that Joni’s mistake didn’t only affect Liz, and her marriage, but would affect her children, too.
The twins would feel the shock waves because it would linger in the fabric of their home—and that would haunt Joni.
She wanted to turn, leave, but some deep instinct told her that alone she’d never make it off the mountain alive. She needed water, food, but mostly, she needed them.
As she sat there, sheltered in the lee of a boulder, she had to decide whether to keep walking or face them.
All Joni knew was, without her friends, she had nothing.