Page 92 of Love Under Snowfall

“Apology accepted. Now, about my sister.”

“That’s actually the main reason I came out here.”

“You cut me deep,” Johnny groaned, pressing a palm over his heart and leaning back in mock agony. “I thought you came to see me.”

“I did, but mostly, I need to make things right with Francesca. And I need your help finding her so we can talk things out. How I left—without saying goodbye—well, I doubt it went over well with her.”

“Why not call or text her?”

“I tried, but she must have blocked me because I never heard back.”

A knowing smile played along his friend’s lips, the kind of smirk that said that the reunion wouldn’t be as easy as that.

“Is she in town?” Benjamin asked.

“Yep.”

“And you know where she is?”

“Oh-ho yeah.”

“Then let’s get going.”

“Hold on, buster. Let’s go finish our sandwiches first.” He turned and took the wooden steps two at a time.

“I’d rather get this handled—”

“You’re going to want to eat first. Trust me.” Just as Johnny turned into the door, he chuckled and said, “You’ll need the calories.”

Chapter forty-nine

Frankie

Why did she insist on doing this to herself?

There were dozens of other snowshoe routes she could have taken that didn’t conjure feelings beyond awe and the standard appreciation of Mother Nature’s vast beauty. But no, she had to do things the hard way and twist the knife a little bit more.

At the very least, the weather conditions along Highway 2 were impeccable. Cloudless cobalt sky, no wind, a balmy thirty-nine degrees. The weather was so perfect, in fact, that it made Frankie that much crankier. She wanted a good old-fashioned sulk. One final mope about the last time she’d clomped along Skyline Lake Trail and ended up stranded with the most infuriating asshole she’d ever met.

Convincing herself to move on had been more challenging than she’d anticipated. She’d never been dumped, always the one to break ties when a “relationship” had run its course. She’d also never had sex quite like what transpired between her and Benjamin. And his total disappearance from the college should have been helpful in putting the extremely sexy past behind her. But for whatever reason, this struggle was outside of her wheelhouse, and his eyes and smirk and uninhibited sexual utterances flitted through her mind nightly.

Who was she kidding? They plagued her daily too.

She even took drastic measures and said yes when one of thestudents in her MSW cohort asked her out for drinks at a local trivia night, but then she chickened out. She wasn’t sure if he believed her strep throat claim. Probably not, since she moseyed into class fit as a fiddle the next morning. He hadn’t approached her since then.

Just as well. She should be focusing on her studies anyway.

So she trundled through the winter quarter, acing every exam and paper the professors threw her way. She’d worked so hard that her advisor recommended she apply for an internship with the Community Youth Justice Council, the most coveted placement organization among her peers. Despite being flattered, she couldn’t help but want to spend her time with the family resource counselor at the local Boys & Girls Clubs. Since her goals involved working closely with foster kids, the experience shadowing and assisting the FRC made much more sense long term.

Spring break had snuck up on her, but she was happy to head home and help out at the family business. Focusing so much on school, she’d, again, neglected her ingrained sense of adventure and needed a big hit of the outdoors before the final leg of her program.

And since Jon didn’t need her to lead a group until the following morning, she found herself with a wide-open blue-bird day.

Naturally, unapologetically torturing herself seemed like the thing to do.

Huffing and puffing up the final switchbacks, bursts of cloudy breath erupting from her mouth, she felt like the little engine that could.

I think I can make myself suffer a bit more. I think I can make myself suffer a bit more.

---