Ice (16 page)

“I thought it would,” Maggie grinned as she carefully removed the pot of water from the hearth. “But it gets cool rather quickly, so once I add this, you’d better hop to it.”

***

After washing away four days of grime and sweat, Alex emerged from the bathroom with her black hair shining, and her legs, once again, silky smooth. Assuming that Maggie would want to replace the bandage around her leg, wearing only a green and brown flannel shirt and a clean pair of black bikini knickers, Alex padded to the kitchen carrying an armful of dirty clothes.

“I’ll take those,” Maggie said, grabbing the wadded up clothing and adding them to the clothes already piled in the sink. “We’re running out, so I thought I’d wash a few."

“Sounds good to me,” Alex said. “Need any help?”

Shaking her head, Maggie added some more soap and swished around the clothes. Glancing in Alex’s direction, and making a concerted effort not to allow her eyes to wander lower than the scantily-clad woman’s shoulders, Maggie asked, “How’s the leg?”

Deciding that her bravado was no longer necessary, Alex replied, “It hurts a bit. More sore than anything else.”

“Why don’t you go lie down, and I’ll change that wet bandage,” Maggie said softly, appreciating the woman’s honesty.

A few minutes later, Alex lay on the sofa and waited in silence to hear Maggie’s prognosis. After what seemed like forever, her patience finally ran out, and she blurted, “Well? How is it?”

Her intention had only been to examine the wound, but Maggie found herself, again, marveling at the sight of Alex’s body. Jumping slightly when Alex’s words interrupted her thoughts, Maggie stammered, “Oh…um…it…it looks good.”

Grinning, Alex let out the breath she had been holding. Feeling something cool being applied to her thigh, she looked over her shoulder. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

Smiling, Maggie held up the small tube of antibiotic cream. Alex’s expression morphed from curiosity to anger in a split-second, but before she could say a word, Maggie quickly said, “I found it in the bathroom. My cut is healing fine, and there’s no way I can put back in the tube what I just put on your leg, so just shut up and let me finish.”

***

Later that night, as Alex set about making some tea, Maggie began draping the clean clothes around the cabin to dry, but when she pulled a black bra from the pile, she stopped in her tracks. Plunging low in the front with underwire to add lift, it was obvious that the shimmering spandex was meant to make an impression, and it had. Feeling like silk between her fingers, as much as Maggie tried not to, she couldn’t help but imagine what the brassiere’s owner would look like wearing it, and the more she thought, the longer she stared.

Several feet away, Alex stood silent, thoroughly amused at the expression on Maggie’s face. Appearing to be mesmerized by the high-end undergarment, Maggie hadn’t moved a muscle in well over a minute. Pleasantly intrigued by the woman’s apparent infatuation with her bra, Alex debated whether to interrupt the love affair unfolding before her eyes. Finally, unable to control her mirth any longer, a snort of laughter escaped as she called out, “I think that one’s mine.” It was all Alex could do not to laugh even louder when she saw Maggie’s cheeks flame crimson. 

Her trance broken, Maggie dropped the bra as if it was on fire and then instantly winced at her own reaction. Embarrassed, and blushing like she had never blushed before, she angrily snatched it from the floor, trying her best to ignore Alex’s non-stop cackling. Rummaging around the pile of clothes until she found the matching knickers, as well as her own set in white, Maggie stomped down the hall to hang them in the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she sat on the edge of the tub and put her head in her hands.

Maggie had never been attracted to a woman before, but that changed the minute she had met Alex Blake. The introduction was simple and standard; one Detective Inspector meeting another in the middle of a police station as phones were ringing and officers were bantering back and forth over their coffee and donuts. No one took notice of the casual handshake or the smile that Alex offered Maggie upon meeting her, but in that moment, in that flicker of newness and coalition, Maggie became enamored with Alex Blake. She had never met anyone as confident as the tall, dark and handsome Detective Inspector, nor as sexy. From her long-legged swagger to her expressive eyes, Alex exuded charm and Maggie found it impossible to keep her eyes or her mind off of the woman.

It was well known that they approached their police duties from opposite ends of the spectrum; however, both were determined to find the little boy who had been kidnapped from a neighborhood park, and their doggedness had not gone unnoticed. Peers and supervisors alike recognized how well the two women worked together, and the station scuttlebutt suggested that after the case was closed, Maggie Campbell and Alex Blake would become partners…permanently.

On the day of the kidnapper’s arrest, Maggie spent almost the entire afternoon sitting in a parked car outside the suspect’s home with Alex by her side. Their conversation was light and friendly, but when Alex smiled or lightly touched her arm to get her attention, Maggie felt her body react. Thoroughly annoyed by her body’s refusal to listen to the orders her brain was screaming, by the time they climbed out of the car, Maggie was livid. She was straight. She wanted a husband. She wanted a house full of children. She did
not
want Alex Blake. Subject closed!

In Maggie’s opinion, the method of interrogation that Alex used that night was excessive, but when the man broke under the intimidating pressure which Alex had applied, Maggie was duly impressed. As they walked from the kitchen after learning the location of the boy, Maggie found herself being pulled into Alex’s arms. It was a hug of friendship and of a job well done, but when Maggie felt her body betray her again, she knew that if she wanted to live the life she had planned for herself, she needed to get as far away from Alex Blake as possible. They could never be partners. They could never even be friends.

Standing on the sidewalk, Maggie did the only thing she could think of to ensure they would never become partners. She criticized Alex’s police work, fully aware that if there was one thing that Alex Blake took pride in, it was how she did her job.

After sequestering herself in the bathroom for almost thirty minutes, by the time Maggie went back to the kitchen for her tea, it was barely tepid. With a sigh, she gulped it down, and then noticing a new bottle of scotch sitting on the coffee table, she walked over and poured herself a healthy splash. Sitting on the chair by the fireplace, she lazily propped her legs on the ottoman and stared into the flames. Lost in the same thoughts that had kept her locked in the bathroom, Maggie sipped her drink, totally unaware that the woman sitting on the sofa was staring at her.

In the shimmering light of the fire, Maggie’s auburn hair had turned golden, and watching as she pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear, Alex grinned. It was something that she had grown accustomed to seeing Maggie do when they had worked together, and Alex was convinced that the unconscious habit could never possibly grow old. Captivated, she wondered if Maggie had any idea how beautiful she was…any idea at all.

Startled from her thoughts when Alex stood up, Maggie watched as she grabbed her coat and walked toward the door. Having already brought in enough firewood to last the night, Maggie asked, “What are you doing?”

Guiltily, Alex reached into her pocket and pulled out her cigarettes, holding them up so Maggie could see.

“You don’t have to go outside. You can smoke in here,” Maggie said. Seeing Alex raise an eyebrow and tilt her head, Maggie grinned. “There’s no
law
against smoking in
here
.”

“Oh, I see,” Alex said with a smile, tossing her coat on the chair. Getting another cup from the kitchen to use as an ashtray, she returned to her spot on the sofa. Noticing that Maggie was again staring into the fire, Alex said, “Can I ask what you’re thinking about?”

Taking a deep breath, Maggie took a sip of scotch. “My father. He probably thinks I’m dead.”

“Maggie, you can’t think like that.”

“No?”

“We’ve both been on cases where a person’s gone missing. The parents never give up. It’s not in their nature. Until someone can bring him concrete proof that you’re dead, he’ll keep thinking you’re alive. He doesn’t have a choice. He’s your dad.”

“I suppose you’re right. He is quite stubborn.”

Amused that the daughter apparently didn’t fall far from the father’s tree, Alex took a quick drag of her cigarette to hide her grin before asking, “What about your mother?”

“She died when I was born.”

“Oh, sorry,” Alex said quietly. “That must have been tough. Not knowing her, I mean.”

Whether it was the scotch heating her blood, the fireplace warming her body, or the comfort she felt being alone with Alex Blake, Maggie took another sip of her drink and then began to talk.

“I never knew her, but I know everything about her. I don’t think a day went by when my dad didn’t tell me a story about her, or how she did things a certain way. I know how she looked, how she folded clothes. I know her favorite color and flower, her favorite book. I know that she liked simple things, and hated fancy clothes and makeup, and all she ever wanted to be was a good wife and mother.

“My dad was in the Royal Air Force, and we moved around quite a bit when I was young. I had just turned thirteen when we moved to Leuchars, and while my father was at work, I started unpacking some of the boxes. I came across one that was all dusty and beat up, like it had been moved around a lot. Well, being quite the inquisitive teenager, I opened it, and inside I found a collection of books on how to raise a child. On the very top was one called
Naming Your Baby
, and on the cover the name
Margaret
was written in big, loopy letters. When my dad came home, I asked him about the books, and he said that my mum had bought all of them the day she found out she was pregnant with me. She wanted to make sure that she did everything right, even down to my name. It had to be perfect.

“He told me that she had spent hours reading the books, learning everything she could, but up until the day I was born, she couldn’t decide on a name.” Stopping to take a sip of her drink, Maggie went quiet for a moment. Finally, she said in a whisper, “Dad said that she picked it out minutes before they left for the hospital. It was the last word she ever wrote.”

Seeing the sad look on Maggie’s face, Alex said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”

“It’s not…not really. It was a long time ago, and I never knew her, but I know I have the name she wanted me to have, even though I never go by Margaret.”

“Why not?”

“Because my dad hates it,” Maggie said, laughing out loud. “He loved my mum, and wanted to abide by her wishes, but apparently he thought the name was too formal for a little girl, so he always called me Maggie. Actually, he called me Magpie when I was a kid, but when I reached puberty, he changed it to Maggie.”

“Magpie, eh?”

“Don’t go there,” Maggie warned playfully.

“It sounds like you and he have a great relationship.”

“We do. I’m sure it was tough on him raising me –
a girl
– alone, but it never seemed that way. He was a Group Captain, and I used to watch him through the window at school shouting orders at his men, but when we came home at night, he’d lie on the floor with me and play with my dolls. I can’t remember a time when he ever raised his voice to me…or his hand. It’s funny. I didn’t have many friends growing up since we moved so much, but the ones I did have always thought that he was so strict, but to me, he was just my dad. If he wanted me in bed by eight, then I was in bed. If I had chores to do, I did them.”

“It sounds like he was very…formidable.”

“No, not at all, it’s just that whenever he talked about my mum, he’d get this big smile on his face. He would absolutely light up, but then he’d get sad. I never liked seeing him like that, so following his rules seemed a small price to pay to make him happy. That was, until I told him that I wanted to go to university.”

Puzzled, Alex asked, “Why?”

“I think he wanted me to be like my mum, content with just getting married and having children, but I wanted more. Don’t get me wrong, he never stood in my way, but the day I left home, even though he tried to hide it, I could see that same sadness in his eyes like after he would talk about Mum, but luckily, he came around,” Maggie said with a grin.

“How’d you manage that?”

“I was always a good student, and university wasn’t any different. Before too long, I was top in my class, and his sadness disappeared. One of his greatest worries was that I hadn’t chosen a career when I had first entered school, but all that changed after I took a class in law. I was hooked. So, after I graduated, I applied to the Met, and by that time he was used to me making my own decisions. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of me living so far away, but he never tried to stop me.”

“So he still lives in Scotland?”

Nodding her head, Maggie said, “Yeah. He’s retired now,
and
remarried. Her name is Jean, and they met shortly after I left for school. It was funny, every time I went home for a visit she’d be around, and Dad would insist they were just friends. I don’t know
who
he thought he was kidding,” Maggie said with a laugh.

“That must have been odd though. I mean, all those years it was just you and him.”

“Yeah, a bit, but it was clear they were in love.”

“Then why'd he try to hide it?"

“I think he was just worried that I’d be jealous or angry, and to tell you the truth, at first I was, but the more I saw them together and how happy she made him, the less threatened I felt. I guess I realized that he’d always love me, and he’d always be there for me, and so would she.” Pausing to pour more scotch in her cup, Maggie said, “And right now, I’m glad that Jean’s there for him, because I’m sure he’s crazy with worry.”