Chapter 3
Gina
Gina entered the heavy wooden door of the old Bearwater Hotel, grateful to escape the driving snow. The interior was dim and musty, but it was shelter. Behind her, the others filed in, stomping snow off their boots and shaking ice from their light jackets.
“Well, this is cozy,” Joe said, his voice echoing. He was still breathing hard from the trek down, his face flushed with cold and exertion.
She’d hold off for a few minutes before running another med check, counting on getting out of the weather to improve his condition. When she’d checked him earlier, he didn’t seem to be in any real danger, but she knew he wasn’t accustomed to the altitude or the weather.
The hallway of the hotel stretched before them as the wind picked up outside. “We made it just in time,” Nick noted as the building shuddered around them.
“This is as far as I’m going,” Brooke said with a shiver.
Gina rolled her eyes, not that her friend could see the gesture in the darkened area. “It’s fine, Brooke.”
“Look, I know I’m being difficult about this,” Brooke added, softer. “I just . . . these buildings mess with my head.”
Gina understood; her friend had good reason to be spooked about Bearwater’s old structures, even if the ghost stories seemed far-fetched.
“I’ve been wanting to check this out,” Joe said as he flicked on his headlamp. “Figured maybe I could write an article about it.”
“Everyone writes about the ghosts of Bearwater,” Brooke replied. “It’s nothing new.”
“Where’s Kelsey?” Gina asked, glancing around as she slipped out of her backpack, motioning for Brooke to do the same. “Line them up along the wall so they can dry out.”
“Kelsey was right behind me,” Joe said, looking toward Brooke.
“Hey!” Brooke lifted her hands toward her eyes, blinking, as the headlamp caught her in the face. “Watch the light, Joe.”
“Sorry. I was just checking for Kelsey.”
“Well, I’m obviously not her.” Brooke set her pack down with a thump. “Though I appreciate being noticed.”
Gina sighed. It wasn’t a surprise that Kelsey wasn’t with them.
She’d been acting off all morning. Kelsey had joined their running group around this time two years ago, not long after moving to Irma.
She’d been a runner since high school, sticking with it through college and law school.
Now she was a junior partner at a small firm in town that handled commercial contracts and said she kept running to clear her head.
Gina understood. That was one of the reasons she ran too. Unlike Brooke and many of the others in the club, she rarely competed, choosing the joy of the process over earning medals.
“Maybe she went to the car?” Brooke suggested.
“I have the keys.” Joe set his backpack beside the women’s, then pulled the keys from a zippered pocket.
Nick was already heading for the door. “I’ll find her.”
“I’m coming too,” Gina said. “She was poking around one of the other buildings this morning. Hopped out of the car and went straight over. Said she needed to . . . um, you know. She was looking for a bathroom.”
At the time, Gina hadn’t thought much of it.
The drive up, over the rough roads, had her needing to use the facilities too.
Not that there was anything but trees and brush, which is where Gina went.
Kelsey, though, went to one of the old buildings first and spent several minutes there before finally moving to the tree line.
As they reached the door of the hotel, it rattled in its frame. The wind slammed against the heavy wood, barely making it move.
“The wind’s really picking up,” Nick said.
“Hey!” a voice called out. “A little help!”
“It’s her,” Gina said, pressing against the door. The wind fought against it, and only when both Gina and Nick leaned in did it finally start to give.
The door opened just enough for Kelsey’s thin figure to slip inside, followed by a rush of cold air.
“Where were you?” Gina demanded.
“I had to, uh . . . I needed a tree.”
“You should have said something.”
“Sorry,” she muttered. “It got bad out there fast. With the wind and the snow, I could barely see the building. Then I wasn’t exactly sure which one you guys went into.” She motioned back at the door. “Why does it open outward like that? The way the wind hits it makes it almost impossible.”
“Outswing doors are common for commercial construction,” Nick said, motioning about the building. “Probably smart for the winds they get here.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem very smart,” Kelsey huffed. “It’s stupid if you ask me.”
They joined Brooke and Joe farther away from the door. “We need to assess what we’ve got,” Gina said, thinking about what resources they had. “Food, water, emergency gear. If this storm doesn’t clear soon . . . ”
“The road out may not be passable,” Brooke interrupted. “But we can’t just sit here. I’m losing training time. Maybe, if the weather clears in an hour or two— ”
“Brooke.” Gina’s voice carried the firm tone she’d learned from years of managing her mother’s crises. “We’re not going anywhere until this storm passes and the river goes down. You saw how fast the water was moving. We can’t drive through it with the way it is.”
Nick was shining his light around the hallway. “Building seems fairly solid,” he said. “Roof looks intact, but it’s a little creakier than I’d like. We could do worse for shelter. Let’s check the rest of it.”
“No,” Brooke said. “I’m not going any farther than this hallway.”
Nick raised his hands. “Fine. Stay here . . . for now. I’m going to go out to my rig and grab a few things that will make us more comfortable.”
He stayed cool and focused, moving with ease and seeming perfectly in control. Gina normally kept her guard up around people without stable lives, yet Nick’s competence was impossible to overlook.
Where had that come from? She intended to ignore him.
Completely. She was not looking for a relationship.
Her life was nearly perfect already, with working at the hospital, volunteering at the blood bank, being a member of the Basin County Search and Rescue, and participating in the Basin County Running Club.
All of it kept her busy enough without adding a man to the mix.
Though, if she was being honest—and trapped in a blizzard seemed like a good time for honesty— perfect wasn’t quite the right word. Safe was closer. Controlled was even more accurate. She’d built a life where she didn’t need anyone, which meant no one could disappoint her.
Watching Nick organize the group made her wonder if safety and loneliness were maybe two sides of the same coin.
“There’s a lot of snow and wind out there,” Kelsey said, a tense edge to her voice. “We should just stay inside.”
“A few supplies will make us more comfortable,” Nick replied. “I have things in my car. Joe? You have anything in your truck?”
He shook his head. “Not much. A blanket under the seat. Maybe another jacket or two. Gina and Kelsey have coats in there too.”
“Let’s go ahead and grab those. Bring your headlamp.” He looked toward Gina. “Will you help us with the door if needed?”
“I’ll go with you.” The words slipped out before Gina fully thought them through.
She could have stayed inside where it was warmer, could have let the men handle the supply run.
But she wanted to be near him. Working with someone who evaluated and acted instead of panicking or complaining, it felt like she finally had a competent partner.
She glanced at her friends. Brooke was staring at her GPS again, muttering about a lost opportunity. Kelsey had moved to the far end of the hall, peering through the cracks of a boarded-up window at the white world beyond.
“That way we can grab everything in one trip,” she added, trying to sound practical. “Kelsey and Brooke can make sure we get back inside.” She glanced at Brooke. “Right, Brooke?”
“Yeah, sure. We’ll get you back inside.”
Gina followed Joe, and Nick followed her as they trooped back outside into the swirling snow. The wind had picked up, driving the flakes horizontally across the abandoned mining structures.
Gina pulled her hood tighter. As the wind pushed against them, she leaned instinctively toward Nick’s solid frame. For once, she didn’t second-guess it.
Joe’s pickup sat next to Nick’s SUV, both already accumulating serious snow.
“Let’s start them while we’re here,” Nick said. “Give the batteries a chance to charge.”
While the men started the vehicles, Gina dug out the jacket she’d worn earlier. With the pickup running, Joe rummaged through the backseat, pulling out a large coat, a thin blanket, and the coat Kelsey had worn earlier.
“Let’s leave everything in the truck so it stays dry while we check Nick’s supplies,” Gina suggested. Joe was already slipping into the coat he’d worn earlier that morning.
At the back of Nick’s vehicle, Gina stopped short. The entire cargo area was packed with boxes, duffel bags, camping gear, and what looked like every possession he owned.
“Wow,” Joe said, staring inside the trunk. “You live out of this thing?”
Nick’s jaw tightened slightly. “Just keeping my options open.”
Someone obviously living out of their car should set off major alarm bells. But even as they rang, she noticed the order in the chaos. Labeled bins. Secured equipment. Organized tools. Not running from responsibility—just making it portable.
The distinction mattered, even if she wasn’t ready to examine why.
Nick sifted through his equipment, pulling out essentials with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what was needed: a camp stove, food, a couple of mugs, warm blankets, and first aid supplies that went far beyond basic requirements.
“Good thing you’ve got all this,” Joe said, awe in his tone.
“Yeah,” Nick replied as he shot a glance at Gina. “Some advantages to living light.”
As their eyes met, something flickered across his face. Not defensiveness exactly, but awareness. He knew how it looked. Knew what assumptions people made about a guy living out of his car.