Page 47 of Lodged

“Ohhhh, the River has frozen,” I say laughing as I run away to find another hiding spot. From the corner of my eye, I notice Rain and Merlin in a monumental face-off. This is exactly what I needed—goofing off with my siblings.

“Freeze, in the name of the law,” Miles says as I come closer to his hiding spot; he’s behind the barn where we keep our horses.

“I don’t see any law here,” I say as I run across the field, getting closer to where Mama grows her vegetables during summer.

“Guys, I found Miles! Behind the barn!” I yell, hearing the sound of heavy steps approaching.

“You snitch,” Miles says as he runs behind me, throwing one snowball after another. I slow down, not being able to contain my laughter. I go down on the ground and try to make a snowball as quick as possible. By the time Miles is right behind me, I have made a huge snowball. I turn around to throw it, and Miles starts cackling. I throw it directly into his mouth, and he chokes on it. It’s hilarious to see his face going from pure joy to shock. All of the snowballs he was carrying fall to the ground unceremoniously as Miles goes down, too. By the time he starts to recover, all my siblings have caught up with us, and we all start throwing snowballs at Miles.

“Oh, how the mighty has fallen,” River says as he places his foot on top of Miles’ snow-covered back. We all melt in a fit of laughter, with Rain wiping tears from her eyes.

“Ok, ok. You all got me. Yay,” Miles says as he gets up from the ground. “Last one to make it home has to cook breakfast!” He takes off, and we all run behind him. Surprisingly, Merlin is inching close to Miles, but as he gets to the first step, River shoves him into the mountain of snow that he cleared from the front and Merlin ends up getting home last.

“Not fair. You all ganged up against the youngest of the family,” Merlin pouts, taking off his frozen jacket and boots in the mudroom. We laugh at his dramatics. When he realizes no one is feeling sorry for him, he storms toward the kitchen as he shouts, “Fine! Cereal for everyone.” A collective groan echoes around us. I had a hot and tasty breakfast in mind—not cold milk and cereal.

“Come on, little one. I’ll help you,” I say as I grab the back of his neck in a comforting touch.

“Thanks, Ru.” He hugs me, and right at this moment, the pain of missing Gio subsides—it feels right to be home.

After breakfast and helping River clear the driveway all the way to the gate, I decided to brave the roads and head to Pine Shores, the town next to ours, to try and find a cute souvenir for Gio. I’ll be going back to Raleigh in three days, and I can’t wait to see him again. From what he has told me, he’s been buying a ton of presents for me, and even though I can’t buy him a lot or something expensive, I want to get him something that makes him think of me when we’re not together.

The roads are clear but slippery, so I’m hoping by the time I have to go back home, the black ice will have melted with the sun. I park in one of the few spots available in downtown Pine Shores—most of the parking is occupied with snow piles. I fire off a quick text to Gio to let him know I’m thinking about him.

After pocketing my phone, I make my way to Main Street to see which stores are open. The bakery, hair salon, and trinket store all have their lights on. I head toward the trinket store, Highland Treasures, and as soon as the door chimes above me, I feel at home. Country music plays in the background, and a balsam scent invades my nostrils. I look around to see where the smell is coming from, and I see a big candle burning by the cash register.

The store is arranged into sections: handmade crafts, blown glass vases and ornaments, books, and candles. I wander through the store, looking for something that makes me think of Gio. When I get to the blown glass section, I spot a collection glass animals—and sure enough, there’s a wolf. It’s not too big, so it’d be perfect for him to keep in his office. Just like he gave me Cobalt, I can get him this little wolf, and we both will have something similar that’ll remind us of each other. After paying and getting it wrapped in pretty handmade paper, I head back to my car, but not before stopping at the bakery to see which goodies they have.

“Good morning,” a nice lady greets me as I stomp my boots on the doormat by the door. I don’t want to leave snow marks all around the bakery that will become puddles later.

“Good morning. Is there anything that has just come out of the oven?” I ask her, approaching the main display case. “Everything looks delicious,” I murmur to myself as I see muffins, several kinds of cookies, donuts, and pies.

“These cranberry and orange muffin tops just came out of the oven.” The lady points at a huge muffin.

“A muffin top?” I ask her as I frown in curiosity.

“Yes, to most people, the top part of the muffin is the most delicious since it’s the crispiest. So I decided to make muffin tops—same delicious flavor, but instead of a tall muffin, we have a wide one,” she says, beaming.

“That’s genius,” I say as I get a whiff of the warm goodness she’s describing, and my mouth waters.

“I’ll take one to go and a Fruit of the Forest pie, please.” She nods at me with a smile. I look for my wallet to pay and notice my phone is bright with a notification. A huge smile forms on my lips.

Gio: Hey, beautiful. Vicente and Gabo are leaving for Europe tomorrow, so we’re having a boys' day. I think we’re going car racing and then dinner at a country club or something. I’ll send pictures. I love you and miss you.

My goodies are ready, so I quickly pay and put my phone in my bag as I make my way to my car. I’ll text him back once I get home. When I get outside the bakery, I notice it’s snowing again, but it isn’t heavy yet.

Placing the baked goods on the passenger seat and my bag on the floor, I turn on the radio and slowly make my way onto the highway. A song by Turner fills my car, and my mind goes to that magical night when Gio brought Turner to his beach house to sing for us.

I’m going down the mountain, and the black ice hasn’t completely melted yet. I press the break gently, trying to avoid sliding, but somehow, the car starts gaining speed instead of slowing down. Panic rises in my chest as I press harder on the brake, but nothing happens.The brakes aren’t working!My heart pounds, and my hands grow sweaty against the steering wheel.

When I feel the car sliding toward the precipice, I panic and veer hard toward the other side of the road. Luckily, that lane is empty.

“Don’t panic, Ruin. You got this,” I keep telling myself as I try to slowly make it back into my lane. I’m completely focusedwhen a loud horn blares, startling me. My eyes bug out, and I’m blinded by the brightest lights I’ve ever seen. I swerve, but it’s a sharp curve, and I lose control.

The car spins, and then there’s a violent impact. My body leaves the seat as the car tumbles down the mountainside.

Chapter 21

River MacAllister

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