Page 51 of Winter’s Teeth

I jutted out a hip and planted a fist on it, the fork still clutched between my fingers. “Fox. We don’t have time for recreation.”

“This isn’t for recreation. The places I’m going to take you, we can either hike for days and camp out in the freezing cold, or we can save time and use gravity.”

“I—” Well, I couldn’t argue with that. “Are we really going that far?”

“Do you know how big Bald Eagle forest is?” he challenged, then strode past me to sift through the coats and other winter gear hanging along the wall on mounted antlers.

“Over one-hundred and ninety-three thousand acres,” Riss said at the head of the hallway.

I whirled around to face her.

She rubbed her face. Dark bags under her eyes offset her fair freckles. “It’s a huge forest with elevation peaks over one-point-five-thousand feet. You’ll have lots of chances to use gravity, but where are you going?”

Fox tossed a pile of coats, gloves, scarves, and goggles onto the growing mountain already teetering in my arms, then walked past Riss without a word.

As I followed, I whispered, “GPS on my phone, remember?”

She nodded, teeth grit, and grunted her admission. “We’ll go into town for internet service and track your phone the whole way.”

I nodded. “I’ll keep it in battery saving mode, so it stays on as long as possible.”

She grabbed my bicep. “Please be careful,” she whispered furtively.

I nearly dropped all the gear from her tugging, but I promised as I said in a wobbly voice, “I will be.”

I rejoined Fox in the living room just as he emerged from what I thought was a locked basement. He carried a snowboard—his winter traveling mode of choice.

“There’s a cabin deep in the forest that doesn’t show up on any map because of the tree coverage, and because no one else knows about it. I’ll mark it down for your friends if it’ll make them feel better.”

I glanced over my shoulder to Riss as she hawkeyed us in the doorway. “Yeah. That would be good.”

“It’ll probably take most of the day to get there, so we’ll have to stay the night. If Everly isn’t there, there are a few places around the cabin we can check.”

Riss brushed past me, standing between me and Fox, getting right in his face. “I don’t usually trust anyone, but I need your word. You need to swear you’re going to look after her. That you’ll protect her if you have to.”

He met Riss’s gaze, and for once, he didn’t scoff at her domineering tone. He didn’t shy away from her burgeoning demands either. With a flexing jaw, he ungrit his teeth long enough to say, “I swear it.”

It wasn’t good enough, but it was all Riss was going to get. Her head bobbed once in understanding. “Good. Because we aren’t going to let this go either if anything happens to her.”

“I believe you, and I hope for everyone’s sake...” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Never mind. Come on, Rae. We need to get going. Did you eat enough?”

I shoveled down a few more bites, then raced upstairs to brush my teeth, wrangle my hair into a low ponytail, and don all the winter layers to keep me warm in the woods. With the ski boots strapped to my bag, along with my poles, I donned hiking boots for the main part of the trek. They were a little tight around my swollen, achy ankle, but better to have support than too-loose shoes that rubbed blisters into my feet all day.

Fox waited for me at the door, along with Angie leaning against Riss, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Ben had yet to wake up, but I didn’t feel like having a prolonged sendoff. It was just a “till later” situation.

After quick hugs with the girls, I hurried to catch up and followed Fox into the woods.

Chapter 24

The weather was uncharacteristically warm despite the season. Icicles dripped continuously through the forest, making their own unique melody as we trekked along through the melting snow. Wherever sunlight managed to break through the sugar-dusted pine boughs, I resisted the urge to stop and soak up the warmth.

I didn’t imagine the sun would stay for long. Spring was still a few months off, so I would simply be grateful for the chance to hike without my fingers and toes falling off.

Fox blazed the trail a few paces ahead, holding his snowboard on his shoulders with his arms hanging over it to keep it steady. His winter coat flapped open at his sides, for he had grown too warm on the hike already.

As much as the forest felt like a winter wonderland, a nightmare lurked at the edges. Mud soaking through the snow looked like blood, and mushrooms peeking through the brush reminded me of bones. I willed my overactive mind to slow down as much as possible, not wanting to exhaust myself before we were in any real danger.

“Will we still be able to use the skis and snowboard where we’re going?” I called ahead.