Page 4 of Snow Balled

“I still say she’s pretty. Winston called her girlie.”

“What does that prove?”

“He wouldn’t have called her a girl if she weren’t pretty.”

Skirting the table, I flopped down onto the sofa, putting my feet up on the coffee table. Drew joined me, but then we both looked around as Carter pushed back from the table.

“I’m going to take Zeus out.” The collie was already dancing around excitedly, his nails clicking on the wooden floorboards.

“Be careful out there.” Yeah, it was a mom thing to say, but I couldn’t help it. Ever since my parents died, Carter and my grandfather had been my only family.

With a nod of acknowledgement, Carter moved to the door and started pulling on his winter gear. He sat on a bench to lace his heavy boots, and once those were tied tightly, he fastened the crampons—metal spikes that could cling to the ice—over them. He’d been the only one of the three of us smart enough to bring those.

Silence filled the cabin after they left, slamming the door shut before much of the swirling snow could slip inside. Then another loud crack filled the air, followed by a bark from Zeus. If the snapping tree limbs were this loud inside the cabin, they must’ve been far worse outside it. None of us had spent much time out there since the ice storm.

It was nice, sitting by the fireplace, relaxing, drinking, and talking about nothing of importance. Drew had been right. We’d do better after a break.

Or so I thought.

The loudest bang yet penetrated the cabin walls, followed by several smaller ones. Zeus barked again, and then the front door burst open. Carter’s tall form filled the doorway.

“Get your gear on,” he said roughly.

The urgency in his voice had me on my feet and headed his way before Drew even got up. “What is it?”

“The cabin down the way got hit hard.”

Drew hurried over and hastily pulled on his boots. “Did a branch break through the roof?”

“Not a branch,” Carter said, tension in his posture. “Looks like a whole damn tree crashed through it.”

Our eyes met, and my gut clenched. Carter knew more about being out in the woods than Drew and I put together.

If he thought it was bad, then it was bad.

3

SIERRA

No matter how much I twisted and turned, I couldn’t get out from under the tree branches. They were everywhere, and they were heavy. The ice made them slippery, and I was so damn cold. My body was horizontal, squashed flat by the weight on me. I tried with all my strength to get to my hands and knees, so that I could push up with my back, but I could barely move.

From somewhere beneath me, I could hear my phone buzzing, but I couldn’t reach it.

And so I was stuck here—who knew for how long. The only way to measure the passing of time was by the bad thoughts that came every few minutes. What if I couldn’t get out from under this? What if I starved to death under here? Except that wouldn’t happen. Freezing was the more immediate concern.

I pushed those thoughts away and tried to look at the positive. Though the weight on me was heavy, I could breathe. That was a definite plus. And I didn’t seem to be bleeding.

And if I died, I’d never have to watch myself in the sex scene I’d filmed inThrill of the Chase. I was already planning to close my eyes during that part at the premiere. Filming it had been one of the most stressful things I’d ever done.

Still… even with the unpleasant thought of the publicity tour and the premiere hanging over my head, I wasn’t ready to go.

But how in the hell was I going to get out of here?

I forced myself to breathe deeply. To calm my mind. To rid it of panic and fear so I could think.

Maybe if I couldn’t push my way up through the branches, I could move sideways. The damn tree had to end somewhere. But it wasn’t just the tree; the roof had caved in, too. There were boards and beams and ice and snow everywhere.

Still, I tried to wiggle to my right. Maybe there would be a little more space under the desk.

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