Chilled by Death (10 page)

S
tacy stopped, stabilized
her breathing, and then climbed up another rise. Ski boots were not made for walking. It was an easy climb. Her movements were strong and steady. She’d been more overwhelmed by the extreme beauty of the frozen waterfall than the physical exertion. She’d forgotten the sheer joy of feeling the fresh air fill her lungs and the burn of her muscles, but her heart was full of laughter.

The scenery was spectacular.

She was glad she’d come. She crested the top, and damn if Royce wasn’t waiting for her there. She did a quick step and laughed out loud. Life was good. She dropped her skis and clicked her boots in the bindings.

“You aren’t as out of shape as I thought you’d be,” Stevie crowed at her side, giving her a big hug. Their helmets clanged against each other.

She let him. It went with the day and the scenario. She’d have stomped him if he’d tried that at work.

“You’re doing great out here, you know.” He gave her a big grin.

She rolled her eyes at him. “I haven’t been that bad.”

He gave her a serious look. “Yes, you have.”

Startled, she took a closer look and realized from the deep dark troubled look in his eyes that he cared, like really cared. And she was touched.

“I’m better now.”

“Now,” he muttered. “Finally. It’s been a rough couple of years watching you fall apart then put yourself back together again, as if the new model was made of steel, fortified so you’d never be hurt again.”

“Wow, does everyone know about that?” Being a private person, it was disconcerting to think that others knew of her breakdown. “I thought I’d hid it much better.”

He rushed to reassure her. “You did a great job, but for those that knew you and loved you, it was hard to watch.” He shrugged sheepishly. “We couldn’t help you besides being friendly and supportive. And hope you pulled out of it.”

She nodded. She tilted her helmet back slightly and rubbed an itch along her forehead. She didn’t know what to say. She’d been unaware of so much back then. Now that she was pulling herself back into line, she regretted not knowing. Maybe she’d not have fallen into such a downward spiral if she hadn’t been alone.

But she had. And here she was today. Realizing she had more friends than ever. “Thanks, Stevie. I hadn’t recognized much around me back then. It was a difficult time. Thanks for standing by me.”

“Always. We’d tried to get George to do something…”

She shook her head, a startled laugh coming out. “Good try. George loves me dearly, but he’s not yet been able to force me into doing anything.”

“And yet,” Stevie threw his hand wide, pointing to the wide expanse of frozen beauty all around them, “here you are.”

With a shout of laugher, she reached out and slugged him lightly on the shoulder. “I hate to disappoint you or to knock George off a pedestal, but I’d already decided it was time to face this. I came because George requested that I come, but if I hadn’t come this time, then I’d have asked to come on another time.”

At his look of dismayed astonishment, she laughed again. “At the risk of really ruining your mood, I’d also like to find new inspiration for my photography.” She motioned to their surroundings. “I need to heal myself and get back to living life like I used to.”

*

Oh, look at
that. The ice princess deigned to come out and play. He hid his smirk and waved at her. Bitch. He smiled brightly. “Hey, nice you came out.” He buckled up his belt. “You’re just in time to have some fun.”

Then I’ll have fun with you later. Whore. After Royce, are you? He watched her smile at the man in question, a burning sensation in his gut. They were all whores. Women. The scourge of the earth.

Royce slugged him on the shoulder. “You’re next.”

“Ha. Race you to the bottom,” he responded. “You’ll never beat me.”

“You’re on.”

He put all thoughts of Stacy into the back of his mind as Royce took off. There was no way that was going to happen. “Like hell, prepare to get your ass whupped.”

That started the laughter, the cheers and jeers from everyone around as they urged the racers on.

And he laughed. Damn, he was good. He grinned. Soon, he’d make sure everyone else knew it, too.

T
he rest of
the morning passed in a blur of runs. They skied and boarded and took the lifts to the top. It was fun and bloody cold. Stacy opted out after several runs. She was sore and tired but thrilled to be there.

She pulled to a stop by the frozen waterfall. “Go on,” she said, waving them past. “I’m going to stay here for a couple of runs and rest. See you on the next pass.”

And the others whooshed by with hoots and hollers. They’d be close to forty minutes before returning to where she waited.

She laughed, watching them race down in front of her. It was a stunning day. As the silence descended, she tilted her head skyward, letting the warmth of the sun land on her face. She opened her eyes and turned to look up at the frozen waterfall. Such beautiful ice forms. Who said white was white? This was so much more than that.

The sunlight was perfect. It bounced and echoed, a soundless splash of color across the scenery.

And she saw it. That face. A hidden gem of perception. A head…mostly a profile, hidden in the crags above her. Her heart pounded with the excitement of discovery. She studied it for a long moment, trying to mark the spots that defined the nose and eyebrow, the chin so she could find them again from the other side of her viewfinder. The longer she looked, the more intense the spark grew. This was truly special.

She removed her backpack and dove in, searching for her camera. Her hand closed around it and she sighed with relief. She’d been sure it was in here but in the joy of the moment, there was that fear that she’d somehow forgotten it or worse – lost it. She pulled it out, pulled off the cap, and lifted it all in one movement. The sun was changing. She needed to grab as many shots as she could.

She peered at the ice wall. Where was it? She studied the area looking for the markers she’d set in her mind. Where? She took several shots anyway, knowing that just because her mind might not have seen it right now didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to find the image markers later when she had prints of the pictures.

There.

She caught sight of the tip of the nose. From that point, she looked back to find the eyebrows and the jaw. Beautiful. Like seriously beautiful. She started clicking, trying to catch it in its entire splendor. As the light changed, she saw several long waving columns of frozen ice rolling down the cliff like locks of curly hair. Mesmerized, she quickly became lost in her panic to get her shots before the light changed again.

Click.

Click, click.

There. She shifted. Click. Click. Click. She could hardly breathe for fear of missing something. As the sun shifted, the rays brought yet another image into focus. Oh God. Stunning.

“So beautiful,” she murmured. The icy beauty locked into the mountain was something she’d never seen before. Ice maiden, she’d instinctively called her. Frozen in time. So appropriate given her friends’ snowy graves here. Maybe she’d do this series as a memorial. What a wonderful way to say goodbye.

Potential titles for the series just rolled off her lips as the camera never stopped. She walked closer and then stepped to the right. More shots from the left. At one, she swore the sun had picked up a tear on the woman’s frozen features. A big fat dewdrop-shaped ice ball hung delicately on her cheek. “So gorgeous.”

“What is?” Royce asked quietly behind her.

She gasped in shock. Lost in her world, she hadn’t heard anyone else approach.

He reached out an arm to steady her, for the first time making her aware of her body, now cold and tired. She was swaying on her feet.

“I think it’s time you came back to the cabin,” he said in a harsh voice.

She frowned and then glanced up at the frozen waterfall to see the clouds had moved in. Her frozen lady was barely visible. Now there was a gloomy sinister look to her.

And just as powerful. She lifted her camera, lost once again.

“That’s enough, Stacy.” He reached out and grabbed her elbow, forcing her to turn around. Dragging her gaze to his face, she looked back at the waterfall and realized her frozen lady was asleep once again.

She turned to look down at her pack. Only it wasn’t there. Her pack was somehow hundreds of yards away from where he found her. Surprised at the distance, she turned to study the path she’d taken in her need to capture her frozen lady and realized she’d indeed walked that far away on her own. The path was churned up from the effects of the warming sun and her movements, the twisting, crouching, positions she’d used to take her shots.

Bizarre.

As she put her camera away, a sense of having touched something special filtered through her. If she’d caught what she’d hoped to catch, this could be her best series ever. They were simple yet stunning. At least she hoped they were. The sky darkened even more. She stood up and motioned to the cloud cover. “I thought the weather was supposed to be good all week?”

“That’s life in the mountains. Storms blow in and out without warning. At least today was great.”

He smiled and adjusted her pack on her shoulder, having caught the corner of her coat. He had her skis in his other hand.

“Now, back to the cabin.”

She went without protest, casting one long last look at the lady sleeping in her frozen home.

With the sun completely obliterated, there was no sign of her at all.

Stacy could only hope she’d caught the image she needed to prove to the others that she’d ever existed in the first place.

*

Royce had been
watching her for the last hour. Several times he’d moved to say something only to realize what he thought was a break in her concentration was actually just a shift. Not enough for her to be aware of her surroundings either. He’d watched the cliff behind her with worried eyes several times. She hadn’t seemed as aware of it as he was. And that bothered him. Hell, everything about her concerned him. She was something else. Her focus was so intense, so complete.