The Best of Us (Love in Isolation 2)

“How long has it been like this?” she asks, looking at me.

“About twenty minutes. It’s progressively getting worse, but I’m not pulling over because I don’t think we can wait it out. Want to look at a radar for me?”

She sarcastically laughs. “Uhh.”

I hand her my phone and unlock it then tell her which app to open. She does and shows me the screen once it’s loaded. All I see is pink and blue which means heavy snowfall. “Great.”

“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.