From Found by the Loner

CHAPTER ONE

NORA

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.” The repetitive chant floats on the air as my booted feet track through a landscape of falling snow. Earlier, the forecast had predicted an inch or two of fluffy white flakes, which to my mind meant trekking up Black Mountain for a magical winter photoshoot—the kind I’ve dreamed about creating since moving to the small mountain town of High Ridge three months ago.

As a Southern woman, the experience of snow thrilled and terrified me at the same time, but letting fear stop me from doing what I wanted was a thing of the past.

A dose of fear can be healthy. Stop you from making dangerous decisions.

The errant thought pushes through my litany of reassurances. “I’ll be fine. I’m okay. It’s just a bit of snow.” More than a bit.

Icy air swirls around my bare legs as I continue forward, determined not to turn back until I’ve gotten what I came for. After starting therapy for issues dealing with my weight, I began a body-positive social media account that blew up in a matter of weeks. Now, I’m officially a body-positive influencer known for ethereal photos, proving how curvy girls are beautiful, too.

Which is why I find myself on a wild mission up the mountain in freezing temperatures.

Dangerous temperatures.

Shaking off the persistent worry niggling at the back of my mind, I keep walking for another fifteen minutes when a vision of white-dusted evergreens behind a boulder elicits a smile of glee. This is it. Whipping off my backpack and coat, a shiver wracks my thinly-gowned body—the sheer chiffon gorgeous but not practical for the weather—as I hurry to remove my snow-covered boots. Thank goodness no one’s around to see how crazy I must look, but it won’t take long to get the shots I need.

Setting up my camera equipment in the deepening snow, I chance a live video for my followers. “Hey, guys! I’m out on Black Mountain today for my Fairy in an Enchanted Forest shoot. As you know, I’ve been waiting to do this one while it snows, and today I got my wish!” Panning around the small clearing, giant flakes flutter to the ground. “I’ll tag the gown and gold makeup I’m wearing later because it’s freezing at the moment. But anything for the shot, right?”

After a flirtatious wink, I end the video and climb onto the boulder. My feet slide on the slick stone, and the warnings in my head get louder.

Turn back now.

But I ignore them. “No big deal, just a few quick shots…” I mutter, situating myself towards the camera, the tiny remote for the timer in my fist.

An ominous cracking shrieks from above, and my head jerks up to see a large bough breaking from one of the trees, heading on a collision course for me. “Fuck!” Scrambling to avoid impalement, my hands slip, causing my body to tumble off the boulder and back down the mountain.

A brief scream echoes in the quiet before I slam into something hard, and everything goes black.

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