Abi was elated to go snowshoeing with Stone on Tuesday morning. It had been a long weekend keeping all the different convention-goers happy. She loved being around people, and most were pretty reasonable and content, but there was always something that needed doing—the coffee maker was broken; there weren’t enough pens or pads of scratch paper; there was an issue with the overhead projector; or the room was too hot or too cold. She was the master of little details and of making sure that every conference attendee, organizer, speaker, whoever was involved was pleased.

She did a great job, and she did it with a smile on her face, but she could hardly wait to spend the day outside with Stone. He knew her so well, and she could be her crazy, funny, loud self around him. Not at all the professional persona she pasted on for the rest of the week. She worked Thursday through Sunday or Monday, depending on when conventions and seminars were scheduled at Deer Valley.

Pulling her Cherokee into the parking lot at the base of Empire Pass, she jumped out and searched for Stone. She was usually the late one. She stretched her arms out wide as if to embrace the crisp morning and smiled at the stretch of blue sky. The sun was shining, which always made her happy. Yet there were dark clouds resting on the mountain, and living in Utah, she’d learned a storm could always come up. They’d better get moving to beat the next snow dump.

Her phone beeped, signaling a text. Stone. She smiled. Until she opened it up.

No sleep last night. Rain check?

No! This was their time. He couldn’t back out. She typed quickly. You’re a machine. You don’t need sleep. There are no rain checks on quality time with your favorite person.

She waited, but there were no little dots showing he was typing. Pacing around her red Cherokee, she held her phone up and waited and waited for an impossibly long time, maybe twenty seconds. Then she pushed the button to call him.

“Abi, don’t do this” was what he led with, his deep voice almost gravelly.

“Don’t do this? Are you still talking to me? You’re the one standing me up, my friend.” She tried to keep her voice light. The lack of sleep was an excuse. She’d seen him run a half marathon, demolishing her finishing time, after coming off an all-night shift. Something had happened. Something had flipped him. He was thinking about Virginia, probably about the baby too. She couldn’t just let him wallow in pain all by himself. She understood how hard it must be for him, but that’s why she’d never given up on him. Well, one of the reasons.

He pushed out a long breath. “I’m sorry. Maybe on my next break.”

“You want me to wait six days before we hang out?”

She gave him the opportunity to say he wanted to be with her, but he said nothing.

“You don’t just ditch me for no reason.”

“Abi, please.”

“Come on. We’ll go snowshoeing. Then I’ll let you take me to Pineapple’s and buy me fried pickles. I’ll beat you at bocce this time, my friend. Maybe we’ll see your buddy Nikola, and I can flirt with him. He’s pretty cute, and you know I’m a sucker for a good accent.”

“I’m sorry.” And he hung up on her.

“Sto—” She pulled her phone away and stared at it. No. This wasn’t happening with him today. She’d seen him shut the world out and just hunker down too many times. She hated it. He didn’t need to be alone and miserable, and she wasn’t going to allow him to just hang up on his best friend. She didn’t care that he supposedly had ice in his veins.

She dialed his number again. It rang and rang before going to voice mail. Then she got mad. She’d learned over the years how to control her passion, and it was becoming more infrequent that something brought the rage to where she could hardly see straight, but the injustices in the world and Stone going through so much pain was really upsetting her. To think she couldn’t help him about killed her. He needed her to get him out of this funk. He needed to experience life, with her, and he’d just ditched her and hung up on her? Nope. Not happening.

She leapt into her Cherokee, started it, and roared out of the parking lot. Stone wouldn’t be at his condo. He hated that place and was remodeling a house in Midway near her gram so he could sell the condo in downtown Park City that had been Virginia’s choice. As cold and detached as he’d sounded, she didn’t think he’d be working on his house, which was usually great therapy for him at times like this. She’d bet anything he was at his family’s cabin. It was only a couple miles up Pine Canyon Drive. The road wasn’t plowed in the winter, but her Cherokee would be fine getting up it. If only she could guarantee Stone would be fine once she found him. She was going to get him to open up to her if it killed them both.