Samantha grabbed her coat and her evening bag and waited outside. A black stretch limo pulled in front of Samantha. Her friend had the window pulled...down.“Samantha, do you love our sweet ride?” Joanna said.“What a great surprise!” Samantha answered her.“Get in here girl! Joanna remarked.”Samantha got into the limo and Joanna and her boyfriend Mark were sipping champagne and having a great time. Sadly, there was no friend of Mark’s sitting in the limo for Samantha. Samantha tried not to. He and their son Jacob had left early one morning to hunt. Kiley and Abigail spent the morning baking and preparing side dishes for supper. Jacob was leaving Christmas Day to report to basic training before the New Year began. They’d agreed to have Christmas early. Their celebration was planned for the following day, two days before Christmas. The tree stood majestically in the corner of the living room, framed by the woodlands beyond. Already the scents of Christmas floated about the air. "For your safety and protection, our armored vehicles are available to take you back to your hotels whenever you are ready. Please let your server know and your transportation will be ready when you are. Thank you."He stepped down off his little platform and disappeared off to one side."Armored air cars?" Jake asked, raising his eyebrows. Béla looked at him and blinked. She hadn't ever noticed him do that before. "Somehow, I expected Seattle to be like Portland – with the main thoroughfares. The first Wednesday of the month would be ideal.The day arrived and they set off when the sun was barely up, heading north for the Higgan’s Lake area of Michigan. It surprisingly felt liberating to be off on another day without their families.The euphoria lasted for only a couple of hours as it began to snow heavily well before they reached their destination. The further north they progressed the thicker the snowfall became. Upon reaching the southernmost edge of Roscommon County they decided.