Forever Wild (Wild 2.50)

There was a moment of sheer terror as I gripped the useless steering wheel and we slid down the steep embankment; I was bracing myself for a flip or a crash into the tree line. Thankfully, we spun just enough to slide in backward and my Jeep landed in the snow with a thud and a crunch, leaving us with nothing more than racing hearts. After a nervous chorus of “Is everyone okay? I’m okay. Are you all okay?” and reassuring a panicked Diana, who listened in horror to the entire ordeal, we

tested our doors.

Escaping the vehicle was a challenge. Climbing out of the gully in knee-deep snow was an almost comical level of hell—one that has left my mother in a sour mood over her ruined suede ankle boots.

“If you had just listened to me—”

“Stop.” I hold up a hand. “Give me a minute to think, okay?” I feel like an idiot. I was going too fast around that bend given the snow cover. I was distracted. And I made a rookie mistake, hitting the brakes the way I did.

And I am never going to hear the end of this from Jonah.

Mom takes a deep, calming breath. “You know what? No one’s hurt. We’re only a couple miles from home. It’s Christmas Eve. We’re going to laugh about this later.” She sounds like she’s trying to convince herself.

I leave her to it. “How bad is it?” I call out to Agnes, who’s trudging around in the ditch, her short legs disappearing with each step as she surveys the situation.

“We won’t know until we pull it out of here, but we’re definitely not gonna be able to drive it out. Does Jonah have a winch?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. What’s a winch?” Phil left so many tools in the workshop.

“I doubt it’d be strong enough on that old truck of yours, anyway.” She looks much like a child, packed in that oversized parka and using her mitt-covered hands to climb out to the road on all fours.

“Kelly’s coming to get me,” Mabel announces. Her thumbs fly over her phone’s screen, sending a response to her new best friend, a fourteen-year-old girl she met at the farmers’ market this past summer. “Her house is, like, two minutes from here.”

Agnes’s brow furrows. “Don’t you want to spend time with—”

“I’ll be back for dinner.”

After a moment, Agnes simply nods. She may be frustrated with her daughter, but she’ll never outright scold her. That’s never been Agnes’s way. It also could end up being her downfall, raising a headstrong teenaged girl on her own.

Agnes shifts her attention back to me, blinking against the flurry of snowflakes that even her deep cowl can’t shield. “Do the McGivneys have a winch?”

“Maybe, but I feel like I’m asking them for help for everything lately. I don’t want to drag Toby out on Christmas Eve, into this.” It seems to be getting worse, the wind picking up to the point that the only relief from snowflakes in my eyes is looking down at the ground. I groan. “I’m sorry. This was my fault.”

“We’ll figure it out.” She pats my arm. “But we might as well get back to your place. It’s getting dark, and I’m guessing it’ll be awhile before any truck makes their way out here.”

“I guess I can’t avoid him anymore, can I?”

Agnes offers a sympathetic smile. “He can be a pain in the butt, but it’s only because he cares about you so much.”

With a resigned sigh, I reach into my pocket for my phone.

“Hello, Simon?” My mom’s voice carries. “I need you to come get us. We’re down the road. Calla put her Jeep in the ditch …”

“Ugh. Great.” Jonah’s going to be pissed that he didn’t hear about this from me. This keeps getting worse!

Agnes nods toward something in the distance. “Someone’s coming.”

I follow her line of sight to the set of headlights. It can’t be Kelly, who will be riding a snowmachine. Jonah and Simon are at home with our only other vehicles.

There’s only one person who lives beyond us on this road, and he doesn’t get any visitors.

We edge to the side as the big black truck crawls forward, coming to a stop beside us.

“Do you know him?” my mom asks.

“That’s Roy.”

“The Roy?” My mom gives me a look.