After lunch, Sandy turned to Chloe. “Do you want to pick what we do next?” she asked.

Chloe tried not to show her surprise. She’d been ready to let Sandy make all the decisions, as long as she didn’t insist on leaving early. It would be a small price to pay to keep their trip on track.

“It’s only fair,” Sandy was saying. “I got to do snow tubing in the morning, so in the afternoon, we can—go skiing, right? You still want to hit the slopes?”

“Actually… not really,” Chloe replied. “I’m still kind of cold from tubing. Maybe we could do something inside, where it’s nice and warm?”

“That sounds good to me,” Jessica said. “There’s a few cute stores in town. We could check them out.”

Chloe thought of the allowance she’d saved up and smiled. “Shopping could be fun!”

The town was just a short walk away; from the moment Chloe spotted it, she thought it looked like a picture on a Christmas card. The lampposts and stores were decorated with garlands and lights, while the streets were crowded with last-minute shoppers still searching for the perfect present. Everyone was smiling and laughing, and their cheer was contagious. When they passed by some people caroling on the corner, Dad even paused to join in. If they had been home, Chloe probably would’ve died of embarrassment—but here, it seemed like a totally normal thing to do.

Sandy suddenly grabbed Chloe’s arm. “I know where we’re going,” she said, pointing at a store across the street. The cherry-red awning read PET PALACE.

“Is that some kind of fancy pet store?” Chloe asked. “Lead the way!”

“Mom, can we go check it out?” Sandy asked Jessica.

“Sure!” Jessica replied. “Let’s all meet back here in half an hour.”

“Have fun, girls,” Dad added. “And stay together!”

Inside the Pet Palace, there were glass cases filled with freshly baked dog bones and fish-shaped cat treats. Chloe and Sandy cracked up as they read the different flavors.

“Salmon Supremes, Tuna Treats, Marrow Morsels—mmm, delicious!” Chloe joked.

“This is the grossest bakery case I’ve ever seen,” Sandy whispered to Chloe.

“But Charlie and Elsa would love it,” Chloe replied. “Too bad Charlie can’t enjoy any of it.”

“That is too bad,” Sandy replied. “At least he doesn’t know what he’s missing! I might get something for Elsa, though.”

“You totally should,” Chloe said. While Sandy waited in line, Chloe wandered around the rest of the store. There was a tall Christmas tree that was covered in all sorts of animal ornaments—from peacocks, zebras, and giraffes to cats, dogs, and parakeets. While Chloe was searching for a dog ornament that looked like Charlie, something else caught her eye: an ornament of a gray cat curled up on a pillow. The cat had a long, fluffy tail and bright green eyes. It looked exactly like Elsa!

Chloe didn’t even have to think about it. She knew right away that she had to buy the cat ornament for Sandy. She was certain that Sandy would love it!

Chloe glanced around to make sure Sandy wasn’t nearby. Luckily, Sandy was still busy in the bakery section, so Chloe hurried over to the register. Just before she paid for the ornament, Chloe noticed a packet of adorable catnip mice in bright colors. It was a total impulse buy, but once Chloe pictured beautiful Elsa pouncing on them, she couldn’t resist. When Chloe finished checking out, she slipped the presents into her backpack and wandered over to a display of dog collars. Sandy didn’t notice a thing.

“Hey!” Sandy said a few minutes later as she approached Chloe. She held up a pink bakery box tied with gold ribbon. “Wouldn’t this be the funniest prank ever? I mean, it looks like real bakery treats.”

“Just think, you’re expecting chocolate cupcakes—but you get Salmon Supremes instead,” Chloe said, laughing. “I love this store. Check out this dog collar!”

Chloe showed Sandy the blue-and-green collar, which had embroidered letters that read DON’T FEED THE BEAST.

“That is hilarious,” Sandy said. “Are you going to buy it?”

“Oh—no, I don’t think so,” Chloe replied. The truth was, she’d spent almost all her money on the presents for Sandy and Elsa.

“Let’s go back and meet the parents,” Sandy said. “My mom almost never lets me go off by myself. I don’t want to be late and give her a reason to say no next time.”

“I hear that!” Chloe replied. They were almost back at the lamppost when Sandy suddenly gasped.

“My wallet!” Sandy exclaimed. “I left it on the bakery counter!”

“Uh-oh! Let’s go back and get it,” Chloe replied.

“You stay here,” Sandy ordered. “That way you can tell my mom where I am.”

“But they told us to stay together,” Chloe protested.

Sandy shot her a look. “Just stay here, okay? I’ll be fine on my own. And I’ll be right back!”

Then she dashed back across the street before Chloe had a chance to argue any more. Chloe sighed in frustration. Just when she thought she and Sandy were getting along, Sandy’s attitude shifted back to awful. It was so weird, too, because there were times when Chloe really liked Sandy. Times when she thought they might actually become friends.

What will I tell Dad if he and Jessica get here before Sandy comes back? Chloe wondered.

Luckily, Sandy returned in just a couple minutes.

“Find your wallet?” Chloe asked.

“What? Oh, yeah. It’s all good,” Sandy said just as Dad and Jessica walked up to them.

“What’s good?” Jessica asked as she wrapped her arm around Sandy’s shoulders.

“Everything,” Sandy replied. “Everything’s good. Everything’s great! Can we go back to the lodge now? I’m starving.”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed when Sandy said that everything was great. Did she really mean it?

Back at the lodge’s restaurant, Jessica snagged a table by the fireplace again and checked her watch. “I think we have just enough time for a cup of cocoa,” she said.

“Oh! Can we order the cocoa cart?” Sandy exclaimed, pointing at the menu.

“Pleeeease?” Chloe added.

“Why would we order anything else?” Dad teased them.

“This looks amazing!” Chloe squealed when their server wheeled the cocoa cart to their table. The gold cart was covered with a crisp white tablecloth; on top of it was a tall pitcher of steaming hot chocolate. But the best part was all the little bowls of toppings: whipped cream, marshmallows, miniature candy canes, chocolate shavings, rainbow sprinkles, edible gold stars. There were even tiny glass bottles of different flavored syrups to add—everything from peppermint to hazelnut.

“The custom cocoa of our dreams,” Jessica said with a laugh. “I don’t know where to begin!”

“I do,” Dad replied. “With a little of everything!”

After they had passed around all the different toppings, everyone grew quiet as they sipped their mugs of cocoa. Across the table, Sandy grinned at Chloe, and for a moment, Chloe felt so perfectly and completely happy that she wished she could stop time.

“Oh, it’s going to be a doozy!” There was an older man sitting a few tables away from them, and his voice grew louder and louder the more he talked. “I can already tell. There’s a certain quality in the air, a frosty foreshadowing, if you will. I don’t expect they’ll get the roads plowed for a week. Maybe more.”

“You’ve got to love the lodge,” Dad said, chuckling. “They even have old-timers who can predict the weather.”

Jessica laughed, too, but Sandy’s smile disappeared, and she looked away from Chloe as she stared at her phone.

“Mom,” Sandy said in a low, urgent voice. “Look at this! The storm is getting worse. Now we might get six to eight inches overnight!”

“Let me see,” Jessica said, frowning as she reached for Sandy’s phone. “Hmm. That is more snow than they were predicting this morning.”

“We have to leave today,” Sandy announced. “We can’t get trapped here!”

“Okay, let’s not overreact,” Jessica said. “It’s not exactly a blizzard. I think we’ll be fine.”

“I bet they’ve already salted the roads,” Dad added. “The plows will be lined up, ready to go as soon as it starts to stick.”

“But this morning, I heard somebody saying that the roads get really bad up here,” Sandy said. “What if they get all icy and dangerous and the plows can’t get through and we can’t get out?”

“I really don’t think that’s going to happen,” Jessica said. “Besides, I can think of worse things than getting snowed in at the lodge!”

“Are you kidding?” Sandy exclaimed. She sounded even more upset now. “We can’t risk it! We need to leave today!”

Now Chloe was starting to get upset. So far, Sandy had gotten her way almost every time. What if she got her way now, too? She had to speak up. She had to say something.

“But what about the party?” Chloe said.

“Who cares about the stupid party?” Sandy snapped. “We can’t get snowed in here!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Dad said soothingly, trying to calm Sandy. “They’re used to snow in the mountains. They get big snowstorms all the time up here. They can handle it.”

“You don’t know that!” Sandy shot back. Her words sounded rude, but from where Chloe was sitting, she could see how worried Sandy looked.

Unfortunately, Jessica couldn’t.

“Sandy,” she said sharply. “That is enough.”

Everyone turned to look at her, but Jessica’s eyes were locked with Sandy’s. When she spoke again, her voice was lower—but to Chloe, it almost sounded worse than if she had yelled.

“Since we arrived, your behavior has been appalling,” Jessica told her daughter. “Tom and Chloe might have limitless patience for your attitude, but I don’t. It stops now, Sandy.”

“But—”

“Now,” Jessica repeated. “Let me be clear: We are not leaving early for a snowstorm that hasn’t even started yet. You can either fix your attitude, or you can spend the rest of the trip in your room before we leave tomorrow, as planned. Understand?”

Sandy slouched so far down in her seat that her head was barely visible above the table. “Yes,” she muttered.

Then Jessica turned to Chloe and Dad. “I’m very sorry about that,” she said. “If you’ll excuse us, Sandy and I are going to go back to our cottage to get ready for the party.”

“Of course,” Dad said. He leaned over and gave Jessica a kiss on the cheek. “See you later.”

“Bye,” Chloe said in a soft voice as Jessica and Sandy walked away from the table.

But she wasn’t sure if they even heard her.