Chilled by Death (5 page)

For everyone’s sake.

*

Really? Stacy was
coming? Finally, after all these years. A dream come true. Something he’d worked for, toiled over, waited anxiously for – and now it was happening. He wasn’t sure if he should be screaming for joy or remorse.

He knew she was ready for this.

Hell, he was ready for this.

But did she realize how important this trip was going to be?

T
he morning of
the trip came too early. They weren’t leaving until almost noon as the journey was only a couple of hours, but crossing the border could hold them up. They also had to shop on the other side before driving the last hour to the cabin.

Stacy was still trying to gather the necessities of life, remembering at the last moment that her brother had said to bring extra thermals. George had all the gear and equipment. She just needed to bring enough clothing and cold weather gear for the week. And books. She was looking forward to a few hours of skiing but found that sitting in front of the fire with the nice rich aroma of a pot of stew simmering beside her, a book in hand, to be just as appealing. And maybe spending time with her camera.

Books. Damn, she hadn’t packed any books. She raced back to her room and snatched up two mysteries she’d picked up last week. She couldn’t wait to dive into them. While trying to stuff them into her already-f bag, the doorbell rang. “Shit.” She ran out of her room and pulled the front door open, not even looking at her brother. “I’m almost ready. Just need another couple of minutes.”

“Not a problem. We’ve got a little leeway.”

Royce’s voice. She stopped and turned. “Where’s George?”

“Downstairs reshuffling gear to make room for your bag.” He surveyed the room. “Have you got much more?”

She ran back into her bedroom, checked her list, and realized she had it all. “No, I think I’m done. It’s just this bag.” She picked it up and groaned. “Damn it. When did this get so heavy?”

“As we’re not flying, weight doesn’t matter.”

“It does if I have to lug it very far on the other end.” She carried it out to the front door and dropped it, then took one last look around while she pulled on her coat. “Okay, I’m good to go.”

He picked up the bag easily and walked out ahead of her. She locked up the door, a pang of fear zinging through her as she did so. This was her first trip away since that avalanche had ripped her life apart.

She could do this.
She had done this many times before.
Remember, Stacy, you leave every day before you go to work.

But in the past three years, she’d never left her home overnight. She’d never risked it. She’d lost so much on the last trip, she hadn’t been able to.

Not until now.

What if this time,
she
never came home?

As she got into the back seat of the Land Rover her brother favored, Stacy realized Royce had taken the passenger seat up front. Good, it was crowded enough with six of them travelling in this rig without having to deal with Royce next to her. Thankfully Stevie was travelling with Mark in his truck and they were taking up much of the gear and provisions. They’d stop at a store on the other side of the border for fresh produce for the week.

Stacy smiled at Kathleen, George’s current girlfriend, one who’d actually lasted longer than six months. “Good morning, Kathleen.”

Kathleen grinned at her. “Can’t believe you’re here. This is going to be great.”

“I hope so, especially after George hollered so much about me coming.” She closed the door and turned to see another woman on the other side of Kathleen. “Hi, I’m Stacy, and George is my obnoxious brother,” she said by way of an explanation.

“I’m Yvonne,” the tall redhead said with a big smile.

The other two women laughed while George protested the insult from the driver’s seat.

“Who else is coming, George?” Stacy asked.

“Geoffrey, Stevie, and Mark you already know about, and Kevin and Christine are also last-minute additions, but they won’t be arriving until the end of the week.”

“Really?” Stacy said in delight. “That’s great. I haven’t seen Geoffrey in such a long time.”

“Actually, I think he’s coming because you are coming,” George said with a big grin. “I’ve been trying to get him to come along with us forever. He’s boarded this region several times a year, but rarely with us and the last time was quite awhile ago. We’re picking him up on the way out of town.”

“He’s also a spelunker, isn’t he?” Kathleen asked. “This area is hugely popular for ice caves too.”

“Yeah, Geoffrey’s first love is caves. There are some in this area that never thaw. There was talk of opening a few of them up to the public in a touristy kind of way.”

That elicited groans from everyone in the vehicle. “That would be horrible,” Yvonne said. “If people want to see those caves, they should be doing it the hard way.”

Stacy withheld her comments. She understood both sides. Tourists brought in big bucks to the smaller communities that generally surrounded the wilderness areas, but at the same time, that type of tourism brought other problems with it. It needed to be managed carefully so as to not damage the delicate balance of the ecosystem. However, she knew better than to get into a discussion with raised tempers on both sides of the debate.

Feeling eyes on her, she looked up to see Royce staring at her in the rearview mirror. She remembered he’d been on her side on some of those discussions. And that warm gaze invited her to share in those memories.

She flushed and turned her gaze out the window.

What the hell was she doing here? And why was she suddenly feeling like she’d made the right decision in coming?

*

George kept a
wary eye on his sister. He loved her dearly, but like any siblings, they’d done their share of fighting. Both artistic and active, they’d had their problems, but they’d stayed close regardless. She was the brain. He was a jock. Somehow they’d still found enough common ground – maybe just love – to work through all the problems. When her friends had gone missing, she’d gone a little crazy. He’d tried to help. So had the police. Hell, she’d badgered them hourly then daily for news, leads, any tidbit to help her sleep at night.

When there’d been nothing, she’d died a little bit inside. As time went on, instead of picking up the pieces and getting on with her life, she’d pulled inside – a turtle-like shell growing on her back – in a state of waiting. As if she knew the answers would come. Eventually. And until then, she couldn’t get on with her life.

It had been beyond sad. Depressing and debilitating for everyone around her.

Then something had changed. Now he realized it was due to Royce. Too bad he didn’t know what had gone on between them, but Stacy had suddenly turned a corner. She’d started to return to life. More reserved. More afraid. More damaged. But alive and living once again.

For that, he was grateful to Royce.

Stacy was still tottering on the edge. At this point, she could go either way. That’s why this week was so important. He didn’t want anything to set her back. That she’d come was already a wonderful surprise. He’d been expecting her to cancel every day since she’d agreed. But she’d stuck it out and here she was. Now it was just as important that she have a great week. Deal with a few ghosts and move on even more. He’d do everything he could to make that happen.

His sister was special. The work she did was difficult and yet so important for everyone else. And no one was there to make her feel special. To hold her when her world collapsed. He’d hoped Royce would be the man to take that place, but apparently not. Royce had always been in the background, keeping a watchful eye on his sister.

He sneaked a quick glance over at Royce sitting in the passenger seat beside him. He was busy staring out the window. George looked back at this sister in the rearview mirror and smiled.

Maybe there was more there than he thought. She stared at Royce like she didn’t know what to do with him. But her gaze was intense. Interested.

That was always a good sign.

Seeing that, he felt much better. He barely hid his grin. It could be a great week after all.

*

An hour later,
Royce knew he shouldn’t have come. Damn. Behind him, he heard Stacy’s laughing response to Geoffrey’s teasing comment. Those two had been getting along famously since Geoffrey had joined them. Who knew she’d actually tease and play like she was doing right now? And why not with him? He held back a shudder as he suddenly realized that he had no idea if Stacy had a boyfriend or not. The atmosphere between her and Geoffrey said not. But she was lighter, more playful. So maybe she was open to the concept.

And that just pissed him off. He wanted her to be open to a relationship with him. No. One. Else.

“Hey, Royce, what are you frowning at so heavily? Geez, you look ready to kill someone.” Geoffrey called out, his comical tone of voice eliciting laughter all around.

Except from him.

“Nope, just thinking about life.”

“Wow, that’s deep, man. Sounds like your last girlfriend ditched you. Sorry. I know how much you loved her.”

Again, that overly mocking solicitous voice brought on more laughter and pissed Royce right off. He’d broken it off months ago and it had been casual at best. Another attempt on his part to fill his life with companionship. What could he say? He’d been lonely. In a casual voice, he said, “Not a biggie.”

“That’s all right. There are lots more where she came from,” Stacy said coolly. “Right, Royce?”

Royce turned to look back at her, caught something hard in her gaze, and felt a pain deep inside. But he’d be damned if he’d show it. He snorted and joked, “There always is.”

As she turned away, a curl to her lip, he repeated, “There always is.”