Gianna tentatively wiggled her toes, welcoming the lightning that flashed up her legs. “I can walk. Be careful in there.” She wondered how stable the cabin was. All four walls were still standing, but the outside was well scorched and the roof looked like a cheese grater. A strong wind could knock it over. She couldn’t see the far side, where according to Violet the kitchen had been in flames.

Did I start the fire with the propane oven?

Gianna shook her head and inhaled deeply to slow her heartbeat; she was never careless. Any fire had to have been a result of a malfunction of some sort. Chris plowed a path toward the cabin, stomping to break through the ice. Gianna glanced at Violet, who watched Chris with worried eyes, and a dark thought crossed her mind: she’d caught Violet with cigarettes twice in the past few months.

Had Violet been smoking?

Gianna hadn’t found any recent evidence of cigarettes, and she had looked. Thoroughly. Snooping through her daughter’s things and checking her cell phone had become necessary evils in her home.

Chris gave a hard shove on the handle of the front door. The door opened and he paused, studying the ceiling. He disappeared inside and Gianna held her breath. He reappeared seconds later with a pair of sooty boots, dusting them off with his gloved hand. A small shower of black dust floated to the white snow. He set them down and went back inside. He stepped out with her heavy ski jacket. He shook it and wiped it clean as he walked back to the women.

He handed the smoke-scented items to Gianna, and she thanked him profusely. He brushed aside her thanks, and she wondered if she’d embarrassed him. His face gave away nothing, and she recognized he was highly skilled at hiding his emotions. He’d briefly lit up while talking about his son, but that was the exception. He’d been calm and direct since she’d woken. Unlike his, her face revealed everything she thought, and Violet had inherited the trait. Or curse.

“I hope there’s nothing else you can’t live without for a few days,” Chris said. “I’m not going back in there. The roof looks ready to fall in.”

“My cell phone and purse are still in there, but I don’t care,” stated Gianna as she slipped her feet into her boots. “There’s no cell service up here, and I’m not risking our lives for some possibly melted credit cards.”

“I have my cell,” said Violet. “It’s been useless. I tried to call out all night.”

“No one else was in the cabin, right? No pets left behind?” Chris asked, glancing at the cabin, his expression inscrutable.

“No,” said Violet. “We don’t have any pets.”

Gianna laced up her boots and stood. A wave of nausea rolled through her as the clouds decided to release another round of snow. Not soft lovely flakes. These were tiny sharp flakes, almost more ice than snow. She pulled on her coat and winced at the overpowering stench of smoke. She turned and gathered up the thin silver blankets, hooking one around her neck. Gianna had always kept a small stash of emergency supplies in the vehicle and she wondered now if that forethought had saved their lives. “I’m glad you remembered the kit in the back,” she said to Violet as the girl and dog trudged around to her side of the SUV.

“I forgot,” Violet confessed. “I was desperate and digging through all the compartments, looking for a flashlight, and found them.”

“Good girl.” Gianna draped the other blanket over her daughter’s shoulders. Violet’s eyes filled. She flung her arms around her mother and hugged her tight.

“I was so scared,” she choked out. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

Gianna held her daughter, treasuring the heartfelt hug and the glimpse of the affectionate child that usually hid inside her maturing daughter. Hugs had been scarce for a long time, and her own eyes watered.

“Ready?” asked Chris. He’d written a note saying that everyone had survived the fire and giving his name and address, and set the piece of paper carefully on the dashboard. He’d stood back as she’d put on her boots, but she’d felt his careful gaze on her every move, weighing whether she was well enough to walk through the forest.

“Ready.” She lifted her chin and met his gaze, ignoring the pain that pounded inside her forehead. She had a daughter to get to safety, and she needed to rely on this stranger. He turned and followed the broken trail she assumed he’d made when he arrived. She gestured for Violet to follow the man and she brought up the rear. Walking was slow. Their boots sank twelve inches into the soft snow under the ice. At first Gianna had to stretch her legs to follow his steps, but soon the holes grew closer together. She was touched that he’d noticed and shortened his stride.

Within sixty seconds she was exhausted and the sharp snowflakes stung her face.

They’d nearly passed the burned cabin when Chris stopped, staring at tracks that led to his left. Gianna looked past him and noticed that the path they were on headed in a different direction. He glanced back at Violet.

“Did you make that path during the night?”

She shook her head.

Gianna stared at the broken ice and snow that led off to the east. Chris didn’t make the path? Her gaze tracked the new path, which led straight to her cabin. She swallowed hard. “That’s not the way you came from your place?”

“No.” He pointed ahead to a break in the woods. “I came from this way. Have you seen anyone in the area? Who knows you’re staying here?”

“No one knows except the rental agency,” stated Gianna. “And we haven’t seen a single person since we’ve been up here.” The sight of another trail that led to where she’d slept with her daughter last night made her skin crawl. “Who could have made that? Violet, are you sure?”