Page 1 of Frozen Play

Chapter 1

Stuck in a ditch

Phin

My knuckles showedwhite as I wrestled with the steering wheel, desperately fighting to keep my vehicle on the road. The headlights illuminated little beyond blowing snow, while the whistling wind drowned out the sound of my SUV’s engine. The wipers were on high but losing the battle.

Shit.Weather was always more extreme north of Toronto, but it wasn’t forecast to bethisbad. My shoulder twinged with another jerk of the wheel. Getting away for a few days was supposed to help me rest up that injury, not make it worse. The Toronto Blaze holiday break this year gave me four days without hockey games or practice. Enough time to ice the shoulder and get rid of that annoying stab of pain.

My stepmother had plans for the family for the holidays. I had no desire to be a part of them. She didn’t like hearingno, so I’d slipped away without telling anyone where I was going. Just a text to say I needed a break and would be back on December twenty-seventh.

Missing Christmas with them didn’t bother me. When I was a kid, my mom went all out: decorations, baking, gifts, a big tree. It had been one of the highlights of our year. After she died, it wasn’t the same. The celebrations my dad and brother Quin and I put together were sad. Then Dad remarried, and Lina went all out too, but differently. She had money, and in her family, Christmas was about parties and dinners and socializing. I didn’t want to wear a tux—I had to wear a suit to games as it was. And with the team struggling, and now our top scorer out for the rest of the season with an injury, I had no desire to stand around making polite talk about the team.

I wanted something that was family oriented, not meant to impress others. I’d spent several Christmases with teammates and that had been fun. But they were coupling up, and I wasn’t ready to be a fifth or seventh wheel. Ducky might be injured, but he’d gotten back together with his high school tutor, Katie. Our captain, Cooper, had found someone as commitment-phobic as he was and convinced her that meant they belonged together.

Even our team Eeyore, JJ, had his twin sister to celebrate with. Crash was spending the time off with his sister and mother. Oppy, one of the top line wingers, had offered me a swinging single Christmas that sounded as bad as staying with my family.

That less than joyful thought distracted me sufficiently that the car skidded on the slippery pavement, and I pulled it back, grimacing as the movement stressed my sore joint. It wasn’t much farther to the cottage where I’d planned to hole up on my own. If I could just stay on the road for another couple of miles…

The wind came up again, buffeting the car. I wrenched the wheel the other way and thought I was good, but the tires hit black ice. The back end whipped around in a one-eighty, and then slid, inexorably, into a ditch. There was a crunch and a jerk as it came to stop against a utility pole.

It took several minutes for me to realize just how fucked up my situation was. I put the SUV in forward, reverse, accelerated gently, and then with more force. It didn’t budge.

What was supposed to be a few inches of snow had turned into a snowstorm, and I was stuck in a ditch. This area, north of Toronto, was cottage country. In the summer, and even late spring and early fall, there was a constant stream of traffic as city dwellers escaped the city. But not two days before Christmas.

I pulled out my phone, relieved I at least had some bars. This section of the region was quiet, and as I remembered, reception at the cottage was almost nonexistent. The closest town was small, as were the cottages around here. All except ours.

I called CAA, the Canadian Automobile Association, and they promised to send a tow within the hour. The unexpected weather had hit more people than me, so they appreciated my patience.

I glanced around, seeing nothing but snow in my headlights. I’d better conserve fuel in case the tow took a while. Wishing I’d dressed more warmly, I pulled on my gloves, turned off the vehicle and set the timer on my watch.

Skye

“Why doesthis have to happen now? I was looking forward to seeing my favorite nephew perform.”

My brother shrugged. “You’re the one who said we can’t afford to lose our CAA contract. And if I’m not at that damned concert, Christine will have my balls.”

I looked out the garage window at the blowing snow. It sucked, not having the money to pay for extra help. It was pointless to argue, but I tried anyway. “Rowan is only three. He won’t even notice if you don’t make it.”

Riley grinned at me. “He’s not the one I’m worried about. Plus, knowing my kid, he’s going to do something epic that will blow up the whole show. I’m not missing it.”

He was right. My nephew was a magnet for trouble. A case of flu that had gone through most of the town’s population had postponed the concert from the beginning of the month, and on the next scheduled date, a week ago, a pipe had burst, shutting down the water supply. Tonight, two days before Christmas, was the last chance to get this done before the big day, which was why the weather wasn’t canceling the event. It was now or never.

“I’m on office duty. What if someone calls for help while I’m out there?”

“Forward it to your cell phone.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Mine? Why not yours?”

“Because even if Christine doesn’t confiscate mine, you’re going to have the truck. Oscar is tied up with that crash on 35. No point in calling me if I don’t have anything to tow with.”

The storm, blowing up from a bit of snow to the next thing to a blizzard, was messing with everyone’s plans. This close to Christmas there was more traffic on the major roads than usual for winter. There’d been a collision with a tractor trailer on Highway 35, and Oscar had taken the big truck to deal with that.

Our town was quiet in the off-season. We locals knew how to drive in snow or were smart enough to stay home when conditions were bad. Riley could walk from the office to the church for the pageant, and then home again more quickly than he could drive.

I stood up reluctantly. “Maybe if I’m lucky, this will be quick and I can get back to see Rowan bring the house down.”

“Christine’s recording it if you miss. But it shouldn’t be a problem. Honda SUV on Hopper’s Lane. If the car’s damaged, just bring it here.”

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