Page 74 of The Holiday Swap

But Charlie couldn’t wait, her only thoughts were about getting to Cass as soon as she could.

•••

Charlie drove back to the bakery faster than she should have, given the state of the roads, the blizzard making it nearly impossible to see anything. A few minutes later she’d arrived at the bakery and raced inside, quickly throwing on one of Cass’s down feather ski jackets, along with a pair of heavy-duty snow boots and waterproof gloves. She was on her way back to the car when another car pulled up to the front of the bakery.

A dark-haired man jumped out, handsome and vaguely familiar. Charlie couldn’t quite place him, but he seemed to think he knew who she was. “Cass!” he shouted, turning up the collar of his jacket against the snow and wind as he moved quickly toward her.

“No, it’s Charlie,” she shouted back. Then he was in front of her, and she suddenly recognized him. The physician assistant who had treated her the night of her concussion. What was his name? Her mind went blank.

“Oh. Hi, Charlie. It’s Miguel. From the ER, when you came in with your concussion last week? Wow, is it ever cold here.”

Charlie didn’t have time to figure out how Miguel knew Cass, or why he was here in Starlight Peak looking for her. She opened her car door. “Miguel, I’m sorry, but I have to go. It’s an emergency.”

“Oh, of course! Don’t let me keep you. I’m just wondering... do you know where Cass is?”

Charlie paused, her hand on the car’s door handle. “She’s my emergency.”

Miguel’s face dropped. “What happened? Is she alright?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie said, her voice quavering. The wind whipped at her cheeks, the snow sharp against her skin. She opened the car door and got inside.

“I’m coming with you,” Miguel shouted, before sprinting around to the passenger side. He was in the car and buckling his seat belt before Charlie even registered what was happening.

“Let’s go,” he said, his mouth set in a grim line, and Charlie—no longer trying to hide her tears—nodded and put the car in drive.

•••

“Cass!”The three of them, Charlie, Miguel, and Jake, shouted her name over and over as they made their way up onto the mountain from the trailhead, their flashlight beams crisscrossing the snow-covered trail. Charlie had made Miguel call Jake as they drove, filling him in on what was happening. He promised to meet them at the parking lot at the base of the trails, and was bringing flashlights and some gloves and a hat for Miguel, along with first aid supplies. The rest of Jake’s crew was out on a call—apparently someone had overcooked a turkey, causing a small kitchen fire—but Jake had told the chief he had to go help Charlie. She was grateful, not only because of the three of them he was the only one with actual rescue experience, but because she felt better about most everything whenhe was nearby. With him there, Charlie felt sure they could find Cass. That theywouldfind Cass.

Charlie wanted to throw up every time she thought about her sister’s pitiful, pained voice. She had to be okay. Whatever had happened during the past week with Cass in L.A., Charlie no longer cared about any of it. She just wanted to hug her sister.

“Cass!” Charlie’s throat was raw, the cold air making it worse every time she took in a breath. “Cass, where are you? Oh!” She tripped then, falling forward so quickly she didn’t even have time to do much aside from get one arm under her to break her fall.

Jake, who had been ahead of her, turned around and, seeing her on the ground, sprinted back down the trail. “Charlie!”

“I’m okay,” she said, as he helped her up. He held her arms, shook her gently so she looked at him. “Charlie, hey, it’s okay. We’re going to find her. I promise.” She nodded and wiped at her cheeks, where tears fell and froze almost instantly.

They had been on the trails for about fifteen minutes, and it was getting more bitterly cold with every passing minute. With each step they took, Charlie started to lose the tiniest bit of hope. It had been almost forty-five minutes since Cass had called. The snow was coming down so hard she could barely see three feet in front of her even with the flashlight. And it was deep on the trail, making it hard to move quickly. If Cass was hurt and unable to walk, it wouldn’t be long before hypothermia set it. Charlie had never been this scared.

“Over here!” Miguel shouted from farther up the trail.

Charlie broke into a run, bounding up the trail as fast as she could. Her lungs burned and she couldn’t catch her breath. Jake was beside her, one hand holding his backpack straps as he ran, the other hand keeping the flashlight beam as steady as he could on the path.

A second later Charlie and Jake saw a beam of light pointing up, and found Miguel on his knees beside an inert Cass. Charlie dropped to her knees as well, quickly putting her hands underneath her sister’s head to cradle it against the snow. Cass’s hair was matted with blood on her right temple, where a nasty-looking gash had opened. Charlie touched her own right temple, remembering the sharp pains earlier at the fire station. Cass’s blood had dripped down her face into the snow, the ice crystals an alarmingly deep pink. Her sister was unconscious, but as Charlie put her cheek to Cass’s lips she felt a puff of warmth. “She’s breathing! Oh my God. Can you hear me? Cass! Please wake up. Please!”

Jake had taken off his backpack and was pulling out the first aid kit. He handed Charlie a survival blanket, which looked like a large piece of tinfoil. “Get this on her.” With shaking fingers Charlie laid the blanket across Cass’s torso and legs, doing her best to keep it on her sister despite the wind. Then Jake asked Miguel to move aside so he could treat Cass’s head wound, but Miguel wouldn’t budge. Instead, he held out a hand for the first aid kit. “I’m a physician assistant. I’ve got this. But can you get us help to get her out of here?”

Jake nodded and crouched on Cass’s other side to help block the wind and pulled out his emergency radio, requesting an ambulance. He also called the station, asking dispatch for a rescue crew to come with a stretcher to get Cass off the trail.

Charlie leaned over her twin, her tears dripping onto her sister’s face. Cass remained unconscious. Charlie squeezed her eyes closed, only one wish circulating through her mind.Please let her be okay.

Miguel worked fast, getting a compression bandage onto Cass’s head to stop the bleeding. He was trying to wake her up, but when calling her name did nothing, he ran his fist back and forth over themiddle of her chest, against her sternum. “Hey, Cass, wake up. Come on,” he said. Cass moaned, her eyelids fluttering. “That’s it, Cass. Open your eyes for me.”

Charlie gently cupped her sister’s face as Cass blinked, slowly coming back to herself. “You found me,” she whispered. Charlie’s relief was immense. They still had to get Cass off the trail, and clearly she was badly hurt and near freezing, but she was alive.

Charlie reached for Cass’s gloved hand and squeezed, murmuring, “You’re okay. Don’t move. I’m here. I’m here.”

“I’m sorry, Charlie. It was stupid for me to come out here by myself.” Cass sounded weak but shifted her head slightly, trying to see who was holding the bandage to her head.

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