“In all honesty, we’ll need some melting to find it. It was mostly buried.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I’m glad I saw it. That’s why I started looking for the driver.”

A deep sigh left my lips. “It’s a rental car. I can’t tell the rental company I lost their car in a snowbank.”

Van scoffed. “You could tell them you ran it off the road, but the good news is you didn’t hit a tree.”

My mind went back to the car. “All of my things are in the trunk. I even left my purse in there.” I tilted my head toward the bed. “All I took with me was my phone.”

He nodded. “That would be why I couldn’t find anything to identify you.” He tilted his chin toward the phone. “That’s not going to do you much good here. Once the snow stops, you may be able to go up the hill and get a signal. I recommend you save whatever battery you have.”

My shoulders slumped as I shook my head. “It figures.”

“And what is that, Julia?”

“I finally decide to do something for myself and look at me.” My lips came together.

The tips of his lips curled upward as his green gaze scanned me. “I’m looking.”

Setting down the coffee mug, I stood again, pulling the quilt tightly around me and took a step toward the small table and kerosene lamp. A million things swirled in my head, not unlike the snow beyond the window. I didn’t know Van. That meant that I could keep quiet or maybe take the opportunity to vent. I decided on somewhere in between. “My whole life has been planned by others, and the one time I decide to take charge of it, I mess that up.” I pulled out one of the chairs from the table and sat. As I did, I ran my hand over the table’s surface. “Do you live here?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

“No.”

My chin snapped up. “Who does?”

“No one, to my knowledge.”

“Are we trespassing?”

“This cabin is used during hunting season. I thought, given the weather, that it would be empty. With as cold as you were, I didn’t want to risk trying to get into town and also driving off the road.”

“Are you from around here?”

Van nodded. “But you’re not.”

“No,” I said with a sigh. “I thought I could...” My head shook. “It doesn’t matter.”

Van reached for my coffee and brought it to me, placing it on the table. “Are you hungry?”

“Famished.” I looked around. “Is there...food besides the old cans of soup?”

He scoffed. “I see you’ve searched.”

“There isn’t much to search.”