Page 54 of Dark of Winter (Wild Haven 1)

“What?” My brows knit as I look back at the page. Lena points to a word on the page and sure enough, Axis is penned in her elegant script.

“Holy shit. Do you think she wrote about what happened?” Fearful, nervous energy simmers beneath my skin and my fingers twitch as I clutch the book tightly.

Lena shakes her head and shrugs “There’s no way of knowing unless we read them.”

These journals might be my mom’s words, but did she write about what happened to the fake Axis they formed and what happened? Why my mom ran away from here? What happened to Lena’s dad, Davis’s dad and the rest of them? If that’s the case, then these words don’t just belong to me, they belong to all of us.

“I’ll start with this one. Why don’t you grab one and see what you can find out?”

I feel Lena’s relief like a physical touch, even though all she does is nod before she grabs a book of her own. The possibility of answers, even if it doesn’t change a thing, is something I understand. I’ve always wondered why my mom sent me away with Davis, why we were running in the first place. I don’t know what questions Lena has, but maybe they weigh on her like my own. There’s no telling if the answers we seek will be found in these pages but hope sparks somewhere in the depths of my mind.

It’s almost dark out by the time we stop reading. My mom’s handwriting is neat but sometimes hard to read and she wrote really freaking small, so there’s a lot of information to go through. The journals aren’t just a recounting of her day-to-day happenings. Sometimes there are poems or recipes, both of the food and magical kind, and suggestions for the garden. I have to get up at one point to grab some post-its to mark more than one of those passages.

She also wrote about her personal life. I have to set the book down and take a breather every so often. Her writing style is just like how she spoke and it’s so familiar that I can hear her voice reading to me. It’s surreal because I’m not sure I remember exactly how my mom’s voice sounds until her words bring it back to life. It touches off a painful ache in the center of my chest that I haven’t felt in a while. Bittersweet feelings of loss and love swim to the surface.

“I need to take a break.” I sit up, rolling my neck and arching my back until it makes a satisfying pop.

“We should probably get going anyway.” Lena frowns as she looks down at her watch. “I have a committee meeting for the Plunge party this weekend.”

Dropping my journal into my seat, I stand and raise my hands overhead to stretch some more, groaning loudly.

“Please tell me the plunge isn’t some weird community party where we all have to fix plumbing issues for the entire town. You know, like raising a barn but for toilets.”

Lena stares at me for a solid minute before her eyes squeeze shut, and she laughs. “What?” Her nose crinkles as her laughter grows louder. “No.”

“Do not recommend that at your meeting Lena, we have enough flipping festivals in this town.” Ruby pipes up and I glance over at her. I thought she was asleep.

“Well now, I feel dumb. What is it?”

Lena stands and brushes off imaginary creases on her skirt. How she sat for so long without wrinkling her clothes is beyond me.

“It’s a charity event. People race into the Atlantic and dunk their head under the water in order to win a medal. All sorts of tourists come to town to watch and take part. There’s food and vendors set up all along Aspen Street. It’s essentially a street fair during the day. Then the plunge happens just before the sun goes down and after there’s a huge bonfire and beach party.”

“That actually sounds fun. Not the freezing your ass off in the ocean part, but the rest of it.”

Lena’s mouth forms an oh, and her eyes widen. “How about you volunteer? You can help me out. I’m manning the drink booth. We just need to be there during the plunge part. We can head to the bonfire after.”

I hesitate for a second. Thinking it sounds fun to stand around in the cold while people jump in the ocean is one thing, actually following through is an entirely different one. Still, I am trying not to be a complete shut-in and it probably will be fun. “You know what, sure. I can help.”

“Ha! Sucker!” Ruby points as she hops off her spot on the chaise.

“Excellent. Ezra will be there to help as well.” Lena smirks at her purple haired friend. “The rest usually do the plunge.”

I want to ask if the rest includes Davis, but I don’t want to be that transparent or sound like the desperate chick who craves any glimpse of the guy she likes. God, I feel pathetic. “Good. Cool. Just let me know when and where.”

Lena still has one of the journals clutched against her chest. “Do you mind if I keep reading through this?”

“No, go ahead. When you’re done with that one, come get another. Let me know if you find anything important in there.”

“Same.” Lena nods to my discarded journal as she makes her way to the door. “I’ll text you the info on the plunge.”

“Can’t wait,” I call after her.

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