Page 17 of Stuck With Mr. Frosty

Rosie bites her bottom lip before pulling up the scarf over her mouth. “I don’t know. There was a trail her mom used to go to when she wanted to be alone. It’s possible that Mia went to hike it, but it’s a hard one.”

“What trail?” I don’t know if she’s out there, but after everything I said to her last night, it’s more than likely that she wanted to be alone.

I never should’ve said those things to her.

If I had been nicer, Mia might be back at the cabin right now instead of spending an entire day out in the cold and the storm. This is all my fault, and I’m not going to forgive myself if anything happens to her.

Rosie rocks back and forth on her heels. “Devil’s Pass.”

“Of course.” I let out a deep breath again before looking between her and Ryder. “The two of you are going to go back to the cabin, and you’re going to wait for her there just in case she was able to turn back.”

Ryder scoffs. “No, we’re not. You’re going to need help if anything’s happened to Mia, and you shouldn’t be going out that way on your own in weather like this.”

“I know what I’m doing. I’ll be able to move faster without the two of you slowing me down.” I gesture to the sled I’ve got trailing behind me, the harness tight on my chest. “And I can pull her back if I need to, but there’s a cabin on that trail we should be able to get to if she did go that way.”

Rosie sniffs and reaches up to wipe her eyes. “Fine, but you better bring her home. If you don’t, then, well, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but it’s probably going to be miserable for everyone involved.”

I nod and turn, not feeding into her dramatics as Honey and I set off on our own. I’ll make better time without the other two holding me back and without Rosie driving me insane. I don’t think she’s stopped talking since I stormed into her room earlier and asked where Mia was.

The look on Rosie’s face made my blood freeze in my veins.

And now I’m out here searching in the middle of a storm. I know the outlook isn’t good. When people get lost in storms like this, they’re often found with severe frostbite, or they’re not found at all.

I don’t want Mia to become another statistic.

“Find her,” I say as soon as Honey comes bounding back to me. Honey sniffs at Mia’s hairbrush in my hand before she takes off again.

I stuff the brush back into the pocket of my backpack, my chest tightening.

The night only gets darker as I check the map, the headlamp shining bright against the lamination. I check the compass I have before heading out in the direction of Devil’s Pass.

It’s a hard hike. I don’t know how experienced Mia is, but if she isn’t hiking all the time, I would’ve told her to change her hiking plan. Even I’m struggling, and I spend most of my days out in the snow.

Honey barks and charges through the snow, the red light bouncing. I move a little faster, hoping that she’s found Mia. It’s still going to be a long hike, and when a wolf howls in the distance, I move even faster.

Just hold on a little longer wherever you are, Mia.

Honey’s bark fills me with equal parts hope and dread. She’s found something, but I don’t know what she’s found. It could be Mia, or it could be a glove she dropped.

I take a deep breath and trudge through the growing mounds of snow, following Honey’s red light until I reach her.

“Mia!” I drop to the ground beside the body, pulling back the top of the sleeping bag, hands shaking. “Mia, are you okay?”

She blinks up at me, her lips tinged blue and the tip of her nose a bright red. Blood is still flowing. “What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I was worried when you weren’t home. What the hell are you doing out here on your own?”

Mia stares at me for a moment before a small smile tugs at the corner of her lips. “That’s what you want to say to me right now?”

I nod. “You’re out here in the cold, and you’re in a sleeping bag?—”

“And thermal blankets. I have two thermal blankets on too.” She shuffles, sitting up a little, the sleeping bag and the blankets falling away. “But my ankle is caught.”

The last words come out as barely a whisper. They’re so soft that I don’t think I hear them at first, but once they process, I shuffle down to her ankle and push everything to the side.

Her boot is wedged deep between two rocks. She shakes it a little, hissing between her teeth as she shows off how wedged it really is.

I pull my goggles down to get a better look. “Stop moving it if it hurts that much.”

---