Page 1 of Light My Fire Three Times
CHAPTER ONE
Olivia
OCTOBER 24TH
The cabin is perfect.
Or, at least, it's exactly what I imagined it would be.
Cozy, quaint, the kind of place you see in vacation brochures with the taglineEscape the Chaos.
Too bad it smells of pine, cedarwood, and, if I’m being sincere, probably a bit of my own self-doubt lingering in the air.
But hey, it’squiet. For now, that’s the most important thing.
I’m halfway through trying to decide if I should fire up the fireplace or binge-watch some bad reality TV when my phone buzzes.
I almost don’t pick it up. I mean, it’s not like I’m in the mood for a conversation that involves explaining to someone how exactly I managed to screw up my life to the point of needing to escape to the woods.
But it’s Ivy, so I pick it up.
“Liv, I’m so sorry!” Ivy’s voice comes through, panicked and frazzled. “Max woke up with a fever, and it’s bad. I don’t want to risk it, so we’re heading to the doctor’s.”
I blink at the phone in my hand, trying to adjust to the disappointment smacking me in the face.
Of course, Ivy’s life is falling apart right when I finally get to see her. But if her baby boy is sick, I understand. There is nothing more important than that.
“Ivy,” I say, trying to sound breezy. “It’s fine. I get it. Max needs his mom. I’m not going to compete with that.” I pause, then add, “I can always just hang out here withme, myself, and my existential crisis.”
She sighs, sounding guilty enough that I want to hug her. “No, I swear, Liv. I wanted to take you out. I wanted to show you around town. I wanted to eat something that isn’t a leftover chicken nugget.”
I snort. “Honestly? Same. I was really looking forward to something other than microwave popcorn, but we have two weeks for that. I’m not going anywhere. Coyote Glen is where I’m staying for a whole fortnight.”
There’s a small, tired laugh on the other end. “We will get to dinner. I owe you big time. I swear.” She pauses. “It’ll be awesome. You’re going to love your vacation.”
I can almost hear her rolling her eyes.
“Take care of Max. I’ll be here. Doing my best to remember what ‘relaxing’ looks like.”
“Promise me you won’t get murdered by some mountain serial killer?” she teases.
“Only if you promise not to turn into a momzilla,” I counter. “I’ll send up a flare if anything weird happens.”
She chuckles. “Deal. I’ll check in later. And I still owe you dinner. Big time.”
“Yeah, you do,” I say, a playful grin tugging at the corner of my lips. “Take care of Max. I’ll be here, enjoying calm.”
I hang up and stare at the cabin around me. I feel a wave of loneliness wash over me like a bad romcom montage, completewith dramatic music in the background. Not that I'm a sucker for those, of course.
I'mtotallya sucker for those.
I throw on my jacket and step outside. The crisp mountain air hits me immediately, sharp and refreshing, filling my lungs with that kind of cold that makes you feel alive.
The sun is low, casting a gorgeous golden glow over the snow-covered ground. The type of scene you’d frame in your living room, if you wanted people to think you had it all together.
I take a deep breath and start walking. The trail leading from the cabin is quiet, the only sounds are the crunch of snow under my boots and the occasional rustle of the trees.
I’m still trying to clear my head when I step on a patch of ice, and my foot slips.
