Chapter One
Bobbie Walker squinted as the sun reflected off a blanket of pure white that
stretched as far as she could see. Her muscles tensed as she focused on keeping
her pickup truck steady on the road.
Once again she doubted whether it had been a wise idea to accept this
assignment to cover search-and-rescue training from Abigail Dale, her editor at
Newfield News. She wanted to impress her, and she needed the money, but she’d
never expected to be putting her life on the line while driving along some of the
scariest roads she’d ever been on.
It had been a last-minute request, when Matt Smith, the other reporter at the
newspaper, had slipped on the icy sidewalk and injured his leg. With him in a
temporary cast there was no way he could navigate snow, which prompted Abigail to
offer Bobbie the story. She hadn’t thought twice about it when she accepted. Ever
since she’d started driving the winding mountain roads, she hadn’t stopped doubting
that decision.
Bobbie’s best friend, Rachael West, was excited to join her, and the camp had
given Bobbie permission to bring her goldendoodle, Bailey.
“Your truck is perfect for this terrain.” Rachael peered out through the
windshield at the road ahead. “I’d be pretty scared to try to navigate this in my little
car.”
“Please, please, don’t look down.” Bobbie held her breath as she wound
around a narrow mountain pass. When she finally exhaled, she gripped the steering
wheel even tighter. “I’m not used to this kind of driving at all.” Her heart raced.
“You might not be used to it, but you’re doing a great job. Just keep focused
on the road ahead, and we’ll be there in no time.” Rachael glanced up at the sky.
“However, I wouldn’t take it too slow, as it looks like there’s a good chance of snow
heading our way. Those clouds are starting to roll in.”
“Oh, you two worry too much!” a disembodied voice called out.
Bobbie shrieked and clung to the steering wheel.
Rachael gasped and swung around with a fist raised in the direction of the
voice that had come from underneath a pile of blankets in the small back seat of the
pickup truck.
Bobbie rolled to a controlled stop despite the panic that rushed through her.
Rachael lowered her hand as her eyes widened. “It can’t be,” she muttered as
she reached for the blanket. “It’s not possible.”
“Surprise!” Rachael’s grandmother, Daisy Mae Jean, threw back the blanket
as her shrill laugh filled the cab. “I was planning on waiting until we arrived to let you
know I was back here, but I didn’t want to listen to you two bellyaching about the
roads and the weather anymore.” She patted her hair and sent them both a sweet
smile.
“Grandma!” Rachael glared at her. “Did you sneak into Bobbie’s truck?”
“I didn’t really have to sneak. You two were busy with Bailey, and I just tucked
myself in. Then Bailey curled up right beside me.” Daisy ruffled the curly fur of the
goldendoodle, who continued to snore beside her despite the chaos that had erupted
around him.
“Grandma!” Rachael sighed. “You can’t just sneak into cars. You can’t tag
along without telling anyone first. This isn’t safe at all. Not only could you have
scared Bobbie right off the side of the road, but we’re going to search-and-rescue
training on the mountain. The weather will be far too cold for you!”
“Oh? Will it?” Daisy raised her pencil-thin silver eyebrows. “Don’t you think I
can handle myself?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Rachael stared at her grandmother.
“It’s just not a good idea, Daisy.” Bobbie cast a brief look in the rearview
mirror as she willed her nerves to settle.
“I think I can decide that for myself.” Daisy crossed her arms.
“Okay, we need to work out what we’re going to do.” Bobbie admired Daisy,
but at the moment, she felt a surge of frustration. “If we turn back now, there’s no
way we’ll make it there on time. I’ve been assigned a special press pass so that I can
document it, and I’m the only one Newfield News has sent. But once we get up
there, it might be hard to get you back down off the mountain with the snow coming
in.”
“I don’t know what to do.” Rachael took out her phone. “Let me call my
mother. Maybe she can come get her.”
“Excuse me?” Daisy stuck her head forward between the two seats in the
front of the cab. “I’m right here. Don’t I get a say in this?”
“You’re a stowaway!” Rachael huffed, then broke into a wide smile. She
twisted in her seat and reached back to hug her grandmother. “I can’t believe you did
this. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.” Daisy hugged her in return.
Bobbie smiled as she felt a pang of longing. Ever since moving back to the
town, where she’d been born and spent the first few years of her life, she’d been
welcomed by Rachael, and her mother, Kate, as if she were part of their family. But it
wasn’t lost on her that she wasn’t actually related to them by blood.
The uncle who’d raised her from the time she was five and had passed away
quite recently had turned out not to be her biological family, either.
With her parents gone before she could even remember them, she felt
isolated, despite making good friends and even developing a relationship with her
martial arts teacher, Kyle West, who happened to be Rachael’s cousin.
Bobbie’s mind wandered as Rachael and Daisy negotiated what to do next.
She’d only recently discovered she had a grandfather, a man who claimed he
hadn’t known she existed. They had only met once, before he had to leave town
suddenly for business. She was eager to get to know him.
“Bobbie, it’s okay, you can keep going. We’ll make sure my grandmother’s
safe and warm, and contained.” Rachael shot a stern look back at her grandmother.
“Good luck trying.” Daisy chuckled.
Bobbie laughed as she began driving along the road again. For some reason,
under Daisy’s watchful eye, she felt less nervous about the conditions.
Soon they drove through the entrance to a base camp and were stopped by a
woman dressed in full winter gear.
Bobbie rolled down her window as the woman walked up.
“I’m here to do a story on the training.” Bobbie held out her press pass.
Rachael and Daisy handed over their IDs.
“Ah yes, Bobbie.” She looked past her. “And Rachael.” She checked the
clipboard she held, then peered into the back seat at Daisy. “You’re not on my list.”
“I’m so sorry about that.” Rachael stumbled over an explanation. “It was a
last-minute surprise.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I know this mountain like
the back of my hand,” Daisy said, with a hint of pride.
“You do?” Bobbie looked back at her and smiled. “Why doesn’t that surprise
me?”
“I’m Rachael’s grandmother. I used to be part of the team when these
trainings were first getting started.” Daisy gave the woman a quick nod. “I know how
to stay warm, I know how to conduct a search, and I know how to heat up the most
delicious apple cider.”
“Okay then, I’m Rina. I run things around here. We hadn’t planned for an extra
guest, but we can adapt. I always make sure to order some additional supplies. You
never know what’s going to happen on the mountain, and being prepared is key.”
She looked at Daisy. “There’s always plenty to do to help around camp.”
“I’ll make myself useful.” Daisy smiled.
“You can roll on through. You’re in tent seven.” Rina pointed in the direction.
“We’ll meet up after dinner to welcome everyone to the camp. Oh, and just to warn
you, there’s very spotty cell service up here. But we do have camp radios if needed.”
Bobbie cringed. She depended on her phone a lot for doing research for the
articles she wrote.
After parking, they got out of the truck and followed Rina’s directions to their
tent.
They passed a couple of small, bright red tents as they continued on through
the crunchy snow to a larger tent several feet ahead of them.
Bobbie shivered as she wondered if it would be warm inside. ...
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