Chapter 1
The days are short; nights longer. This was Kelsie’s favorite time of year. Warm, fuzzy socks with a large cup of pumpkin spice tea were how she loved to spend winter nights at her family’s cabin in Tennessee. The wood in the fireplace crackled and popped, creating beautiful harmony with the whistle of wind and snow outside.
From her corner spot on the sofa, Kelsie watched through the floor-to-ceiling windows- the flakes fall from the sky, only to blanket the tops of distant cabins and trees. She could see the white-tipped mountains in the distance and absently wondered what lay beyond them. Of course, she had no desire to find out but someone would, and whomever it was would end up at her doorstep-bloody and bruised-looking for help. At least that’s what her family believes.
The family’s winter cabin came with a story passed down through generations of the Andrews women. Kelsie’s mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunts, great aunts…you get the point, all met the love of their life at this very cabin during the winter season. Most, not all, the men in her family told the story of their moonlit mountain adventures that resulted in them at the doorstep of a beautiful woman who saved their life. The women in her family swore by it. So, of course, a tradition was created. Every year, one or more of the single girls in the family had to spend winter at the cabin in hopes of finding their “true love”.
Kelsie snorted, causing Gingy-her Mainecoon cat- to cut his beady eyes at her before laying back down at her feet. She reached down to stroke his head.
“You’re the only man in my life, Ging.” He purred in response.
Despite what her mother thought, Kelsie didn’t believe in fairytales. Did she believe that true love existed? Sure, for some, but what she refused to believe was that some old logs and snow-capped mountains were the magical solutions to finding it. Kelsie wasn’t as love-scorned as her grandmothers, aunties, and sisters assumed. In fact, Kelsie was a romantic at heart. Everything about love made her soul light up. No, Kelsie was a hopeless romantic who knew that real, true, and genuine love was the type that you had to work at, not wish for. Real love was the kind that stood the tests of time and the tides of life.
Finishing her mug, Kelsie swung her feet from the couch and stood, stretching her body from sitting so long, before shuffling to the kitchen. The jingle of a bell signaled her four-legged follower in tow. A small smile twisted her lips at the sound. Placing the mug in the sink, she sat down with her computer to get some work done. She may be on vacation but shit still has to get done. She was just rounding up the last project meeting of the day when her phone rang.
“Hey ma,” she answered.
“Hey Kels’,” her mother greeted cheerfully. “How are you? How’s the cabin? Oh! I bet it’s just beautiful there, Kelsie. Dave, we should’ve gone up this year!” Her mother chided.
Kelsie heard her father grumbling in the background before he was close enough for her to make out the words.
“I keep telling you, Paloma, we’s gettin’ too old to be going up to them mountains. We had our time, baby. Give the youngins a chance,” her father cooed.
“Oh, you shut up, David! I ain’t old like you. I’m seasoned, like vintage wine.”
Kelsie could hear the smacking of their lips over the line and rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help the smile on her face though. Her parents loved each other dearly. And they loved to chomp at each other’s heels just as much. They’ve been together for 45 long years and have been a beautiful example to their 4 girls. They were her example of what love should be like in life and Kelsie- unlike some of her friends- was proud to say that she wanted to grow up to be like her parents.
“Hey Daddy,” Kelsie greeted, closing her laptop knowing that she wouldn’t get anything else done with them on the line.
“Hey, my sweet girl. How’s the snow treatin’ ya’?”
“It’s good, Daddy. I went out yesterday to stock up on some groceries. The guy at the market said there was a storm blowing in, so I’ll be locked up for a few days. I plan on finishing the budgeting plan for my birthing centers during that time.” She got up to pour herself a glass of wine. “That way, when I get back in town, I can take it to the family board to ask for funding.”
David sighed. “Kelsie, baby, all you do–all you think about is work, work, and more work. You’re supposed to be re-”
“Relaxing. Yes, Dad, I know, I know,” she drawled with an exaggerated eye roll. She had heard this same thing her whole life it seemed. “Daddy, I am relaxing. I went ice skating last week and I went to a nice dinner with the Stevens on Monday. I still have work to do. I can’t just sit around waiting for some prince ch-”
“Don’t you even dare finish that sentence, Kelsie Marie Andrews!” Paloma cut in.
Kelsie took a sip of her wine before setting her phone on the counter and pressing the button for the speaker. This was going to be one of those conversations. As she started pulling the ingredients for dinner from the fridge, her mother began her rant.
“Kelsie, sweetie, the whole point of going to the cabin is to-” Kelsie opened her mouth. “Let me finish, child.” Kelsie’s lips snapped shut. She did a quick glance around to make sure she wasn’t on Facetime. She knew she wasn’t but somehow, her mother always knew when she was about to deny something.
Paloma continued. “The point of sending you girls to the cabin isn’t just to find love. That’s one of the main reasons, but the cabin has always been a wonderful place for our family to escape the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day lives. It’s the space where we can forget about all the plans and to-do lists just for a little while and simply surrender to life.”
Kelsie’s nose scrunched up before she took another sip. She didn’t like the idea of surrendering to anything, let alone something as unpredictable as life. Kelsie preferred to grab Life by the balls and make it kneel before her.
“You’re always so pessimistic, Kelsie. Remember when you were younger, and you used to dream about meeting your future husband up at the cabin.” Paloma chuckled wistfully. “Oh, Kels, that’s all you would talk about. I still have the designs you made for your wedding dress with the gumdrop buttons and string cheese veil.”
Kelsie’s lips ticked up in a smile, remembering that drawing. “I’m not that little girl anymore, Mom. You know how I feel about the family lore.”
“Yes, I do know and I think it’s just sad. Do you know how many women would kill to be in your shoes? To even have the slightest chance at the thing that billions of people long for every day? We’re blessed, our family. And you need to learn to embrace your destiny, Kels. It’s going to happen and you need to be ready to accept it when that man shows up at your doorstep.”
Kelsie snorted into her glass then drained it and began chopping the carrots, onions, and potatoes. “It hasn’t happened in the past four years that I’ve been coming here, Mom. I doubt it’s going to happen this year. But hey, if it makes you feel any better, whenever this mysterious man shows up at my door, I’ll be sure to give him the first aid kit and send him up for Doctor Stevens to check him out.”
Paloma gasped. Kelsie could hear her father’s guffaw in the background. What Kelsie just said could be constituted as treachery in her family’s eyes. Her ancestors were probably rolling in their graves. Kelsie couldn’t help but giggle at the thought. She shouldn’t provoke her mother, but she couldn’t help it. I mean seriously, what sense does it make for her, a lone woman in the mountains, to welcome a potentially dangerous stranger who’s covered in blood, into her space with hopes of falling in love with him? The rest of the Andrews women may be riding the crazy train, but Kelsie…was not.
“I can’t believe you, Kelsie! Just wait until your sisters hear about this…”
Kelsie filled a crockpot with water and turned the temperature up for it to heat. She waited a bit before dumping the chopped vegetables, peas, corn, green beans, and diced tomatoes inside. “I’m sure you guys will get together and have a nice time chatting about how I’m such a disappointment to the family. Make sure you add Auntie Janice to the conversation too, I’m sure she’ll have much to add.” She mixed together a bunch of seasoning before dumping them in the water too.
“You’re not a disappointment, honey.”
“No, I’m just the one woman in our family who doesn’t want to place my hopes for love in the hands of chopped trees, severe weather, and questionable male choices.” Kelsie sighed as she stirred the pot. “Mom, you and Dad have been married for longer than I’ve been alive, and while you may have met here, this cabin isn’t the thing that made your marriage last. You guys put in the time and effort to make it work. I don’t want to surrender my chances at love to luck. I’ll tribute my love’s longevity to the trial and error, to the failures and successes, to the determination that my partner and I have to make it last. And I won’t settle for anything less.”
“That’s my girl,” her dad exclaimed.
“Oh hush, David. Don’t encourage her. You’re just as bullheaded as your father, Kelsie. And just like him, one day you’ll learn that you just can’t control everything.”
“Until that day comes and forever more, we’ll continue to love you regardless.”
“I love you guys too. I’m about to finish cooking so I’ll talk to you guys later, okay?”
“Okay, honey,” Paloma replied. “Call us with updates on the storm so we know you’re okay.”
“I will.”
“We love you, sweet girl. Stay safe.” Then they hung up, leaving Kelsie to finish making her soup. She set the timer for two hours and decided to watch a movie while she waited.
