Page 42

“I’ve got a fire going,” I said. “And Amma made Stella stockpile some food. That won’t last too long, considering the fridge won’t stay cold forever, but Amma also has shelf-stable food. We’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ve done so many camping trips with less, even in the cold.”
“All right, then. Stella, you have your survival buddy. No trying to get away from him—even if the roads look okay.”
“I don’t even have my car,” she said. “Nick dropped me off.”
“Where’s your car?” Melody asked with a frown.
“Um, Nick was supposed to pick it up, but with the storm ... I don’t know.”
“Pick it up from where?” Melody continued to frown.
“Reed’s apartment.” She lowered her voice as if she didn’t want me to hear. I was too close to her for it to work. “I broke it off with him.”
“Oh. What happened?”
“He proposed and I said no.”
My eyes jerked to her. Heproposed?Seconds later, I diverted my gaze, knowing Melody would catch my reaction.
I didn’t need to let my feelings show. Unfortunately, I was bad at it when I was near Stella.
“I’m sorry, honey. Did you not see yourself with him forever?”
“No. I didn’t even see myself with him throughChristmas.”
“You’ll find someone,” Melody said. “And it might be good that you’re away for a bit, then. It will be a good distraction.”
Stella sighed. “Sure. Distraction by being stuck with ice. That was my first choice.”
I huffed out a laugh. It had been far too long since I heard her sarcasm. She adopted a certain tone whenever it came out that never failed to make me smile.
“You’ve at least got Alden smiling,” Melody said. “But you should have some fun, Stella. Take lots of pictures.”
“I don’t know if being in a snowstorm will befun.”
“Fair. Maybe just try to stay alive, yeah?”
“Yeah, I’ll try. I should go. My phone is only at thirty percent, and I should save the battery.”
“Of course, honey. Be safe. Hopefully, you’ll get power back soon. Stay warm, and don’t let Reed get you down too much!”
She said her goodbyes and hung up. I resumed working, pretending I didn’t hear anything.
“You have thoughts,” she said. “I know you do.”
“It’s not really my place to share them.”
“Yeah, but we’re stuck together. We might as well get everything out in the open.”
I pressed my lips together in an attempt not to talkabout her ex with her. It didn’t work. “I just can’t picture you engaged.”
“Neither can I. It’s why I said no.”
“You couldn’t see yourself marrying him but you were with him?”