“What? What does it mean?” The concern in her tone isn’t lost on me.
“Basically, we need to take it slow so we make it there safely. Looks like it might be like this the rest of the way.”
She sits up straighter and glances at the GPS. Worry washes across her face, but I stay calm. Her reaction is almost predictable because she doesn’t typically leave her precious castle unless she absolutely has to. Kendall’s the kind of woman who wouldn’t risk breaking a nail or getting her designer shoes dirty.
“Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you. We’re only an hour away, so I think it’s best we continue instead of turning around.”
“I agree. One hour this way is better than two hours the other with a storm chasing us back to the city.” She keeps her eyes focused on the road that’s barely visible.
“And this is the only time I have off before the wedding activities start so it’s kind of a now or never thing.”
For the next half hour, I hold the steering wheel with white knuckles as I navigate down the winding one-lane roads. While driving conditions aren’t ideal, I’m happy we left when we did or we could’ve possibly had to pull over and wait it out. Not something I ever want to do because the conditions can turn very quick. The last thing I want is to be stranded in a car for hours.
When we’re ten minutes away from the cabin, our phones alerts buzz.
“What’s it say?” I ask.
Kendall unlocks her phone and reads it to me. “Basically, there’s an arctic blast, and they’re predicting a lot of snow. Roads are closing too.”
When I finally turn into the driveway, relief floods through me because I was growing more concerned. I open the garage and pull in so we don’t have to unload in this weather.
“I’m so happy we’re here,” she admits and gets out. The wind howls, and a shiver runs through me. It’s much colder here than it was in the city.
“Guess we should start unpacking,” I tell her as I unlock the cabin door and turn on the lights and heat.
When I walk back to her, she’s wheeling her suitcases toward me.
“You get the heavy stuff,” she snickers. “It’s why you’re here.”
I pop an eyebrow at her but keep my thoughts to myself as she passes me, and damn she smells so good. We make several trips back and forth until everything is unloaded. As we put the ridiculous amounts of groceries she bought where they belong, I bump into her several times.
“Sorry,” I say, grabbing her arm to keep her steady. For a moment, I think her breath hitches, but then she smiles.
“I got this,” she tells me, brushing her body against mine before walking into the pantry again. “You weren’t lying when you said there was a ton of food here, but I’m glad I grabbed what I did. Cami won’t eat half of this,” she explains.
I lean against the doorframe and watch her with my arms crossed over my chest.
Kendall points at the jars of caviar and oysters. “She’d rather starve than eat any of this.”
“If she were hungry, she’d eat it. Anyone would.” My parents always keep the house stocked with their favorite things and since Cami loves visiting so much some of her staples are here too, but not enough to last for as long as her and Eli plan to stay.
“Hey, instead of standing around, do you think you can get the Christmas tree from the basement? Cami mentioned it being stored there.”
I glare at her. “Do you have any idea how old that tree is? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s dry rotted.”
“I don’t care if it’s covered in dust bunnies. We’ll make it work or you’ll be going out in the snow and cutting me a fresh one. I’m not kidding.” Kendall gives me a pointed look.
“Don’t forget that I’m not one of your parents' workers that you can just boss around,” I warn. “I’m here for my sister and best friend, that’s it.”
She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Whatever you say, Ryan.”
Kendall finishes stuffing the shelves then goes back to the kitchen and packs the freezer and fridge. Though I don’t want to go down there, I do because the quicker we get everything set up, the faster we can leave. Instead of wasting any more time, I take the stairs to the lower floor two at a time.
Once I’m in the storage area of the basement, I click on the light switch and glance around. It’s like a time capsule in here with old holiday decorations and old furniture. There’s a thin layer of dust that I’ll need to mention to my parents so their cleaning company can make sure they take care of this the next time they're out. The last time I was down here was over a decade ago.
After I find the gigantic tree, I search around for the old ornaments. When we were kids and dad wanted to get away from the business, we’d escape to the cabin. Cami and I always loved it here because it was different from what we were used to. After mom decided she wanted a newer, more updated place, we started visiting there more often, but Cami still comes as much as she can.
There're at least four giant plastic tubs full of ornaments and considering I have no idea what Kendall has in mind, I only bring the tree because that’s all she asked for. As soon as I set it down by the couch, Kendall walks in with her hair pulled up into a ponytail.
“Oh wow,” she says after she unzips the tree bag. The lights flicker, and Kendall turns and meets my eyes. “Uhh.”
Immediately, our phones buzz and we both look at another weather alert.
WIND CHILL WARNING: VERY COLD AIR AND WIND WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS ACROSS WARNED AREA. PLEASE BE ADVISED OF ROAD CLOSURES DUE TO EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF SNOWFALL DUE TO THE ARCTIC BLAST. TEMPERATURES COULD PLUNGE FROM 10 TO -30 BY TOMORROW AND RECORD-BREAKING AMOUNTS OF SNOWFALL PREDICTED. TAKE PROPER PRECAUTIONS.
“Fuck,” I mutter then walk to the large windows in the living room and notice how bad it’s gotten outside. The lights blip off then come back on.
“Will we lose power?” Kendall asks.
“As long as the winds don’t get any stronger, I think we’ll be okay.”
“We better be. I’m not prepared for a camping trip.” Kendall continues scrolling through her phone.
“I can’t imagine you camping, ever,” I say.
She groans. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re just not the type of person to do outdoor things. I’m sure your version of camping is staying at the Four Seasons.”
Her jaw clenches. “Sometimes you’re such a dickhead.”
“But am I wrong?” I push.
Kendall shakes her head and storms into the kitchen. I get my duffel and go upstairs to the room I typically stay in. Since Kendall is such a queen, she can have the master bedroom with the amazing bathroom. I’m fine in my peasant quarters.
When I enter my room, I try to remember the last time I was here. It’s been a while, though Eli stayed in this room when he quarantined with Cami. When I think back to that time, it makes me sick. Watching so many people suffer fucked me up and while a vaccine has finally been approved for mass distribution, what I saw during that time never left me. I’ve always loved my job, but I wasn’t trained to deal with something of that nature. I lost a lot of patients, some colleagues, and I felt like I didn’t sleep for weeks. Hell, months even.