Mountain Hostage. Hope White

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       ONE

      Zoe Pratt lost her footing on the icy trail and gasped. Stabbing her hiking stick into the snow for balance, she peered over the steep drop below into the vast, white blur of nothingness. A shudder ran down her spine.

      Maybe a winter hike hadn’t been the best idea.

      “Shannon, slow down!” Zoe called, recentering herself to keep up with her friend.

      “I can’t,” Shannon said. “Wait till you see the view from Prairie’s Peak!”

      “Do we have to risk our lives getting there?”

      “You know I’d never let anything happen to you.”

      Zoe adjusted her red scarf to cover her mouth and nose. It was cold in the Cascade Mountains, and Zoe wasn’t an experienced hiker. She’d come to the charming town of Mt. Stevens, Washington, to hang out with Shannon, her childhood best friend. Zoe thought they’d spend time relaxing, catching up on their lives, maybe even laughing a little. She eyed the steep drop to her right. Nothing to laugh about there. One wrong step and—

      “Pick it up, pokey!” Shannon teased.

      Zoe glanced at the gray sky. Light snow began to fall. “You sure it’s safe out here?”

      “What, you’re not afraid of a grizzly, are ya?”

      “A grizzly as in a bear?”

      “They’re probably more afraid of you than you are of them.” Shannon continued her enthusiastic pace and Zoe struggled to keep up.

      Shannon had always been the one to challenge Zoe out of her funk when things seemed desperate. Well, things weren’t exactly desperate, but Zoe did need a break, both from her challenging job as a social worker for adolescents and teens, and from her dismal personal life. She still couldn’t believe how badly she’d misjudged things with her ex-boyfriend, Tim.

      Shove it aside, Zoe. This was supposed to be a rejuvenating getaway, not a depressing one.

      Zoe СКАЧАТЬ