“Can I get you more Sprite?” a waitress asked him.
“No, thank you.” He pushed his half-empty glass aside and laid his head in his arms to cry. He was suffering such extreme exhaustion and pain.
“Aw, it’ll be all right, Mister Donavan. The police’ll find your daughter.” She stood there for a moment, giving him a chance to respond. The only thing she heard was the sound of him sobbing, so she left him alone.
Minutes ticked by. Zachery remembered the precious nights he’d spent rocking Lilly to sleep, the sweet disposition she always possessed. Death would’ve been kinder than this, he decided. He couldn’t figure out how life was supposed to go on without his water lily.
When Rachel died, Lilly had provided the distraction he needed and filled his time and heart with love. Now he was full of excruciating emptiness.
The bell above the restaurant door rang when someone walked inside, but he barely heard it. Running footsteps approached him. “Dad?”
He couldn’t believe his ears. It sounded like Lilly. When he lifted his head and saw her, he fell out of his seat getting up so quickly.
“Are you okay?” Lilly asked, helping him to stand.
“Where in the world have you been?” He grabbed her head to examine it. “Did someone hurt you?”
“No, Dad, I’m fine. I found your note. I was going to the Arctic Center, but I saw you through the window.”
“So you were in Harrowing?”
“Well bless my stars. Is that her?” asked the waitress from across the room. The handful of customers turned to stare at Lilly and her father. Zachery nodded with a tearful smile. “Good gracious. I better call the police right now and tell them she’s all right.”
“Tell them to call my dad’s practice, too,” Lilly said. “He’s shutting down, and we’re moving away.”
“Shutting down and moving way,” the waitress mumbled as she wrote it down on her little notepad. “Got it.”
“Moving away?” Zachery said. “Perhaps you need a doctor.”
“No, you have to come with me. I need to show you something.” Lilly grabbed her father’s hand and began pulling him toward the door.
“Wait, it’s freezing outside, and I need to pay my tab.”
“Don’t worry about it,” the waitress called. “I’m just glad your daughter’s all right.”
“Thank you.”
Then they were outside. Zachery couldn’t see his wife floating above him and his daughter, surrounding them with pleasant springtime air. He felt it, though, as Lilly continued pulling him across the empty street toward the forest. “The temperature must have risen fifty degrees since this morning,” he said.
Lilly giggled. She slowed down when they reached the trees, but kept moving forward.
“Where are we going?” her father asked. “Were you lost out here somewhere?” It was a comforting thought after all the horrifying images of someone hurting her that had played through his mind.
“No, just wait. We’re almost there.” She could see the small clearing ahead, and the three spirits standing in the middle of it.
They entered the opening in between the thick trees. Lilly stopped beside Frost and turned to face her dad. “What if you could have Mom back? Would you leave your practice and Harrowing to be with her?”
Zachery looked stunned, his raw emotions becoming even more painful. His voice sounded hoarse. “Of course...But she’s gone.”
“No, I’m not,” Flora willed her voice to carry to him. She took his hand in hers, and he yanked it away, falling back.
Lilly leaned over to grab his arm and help him up. “It’s all right, Dad. It’s only Mom.”
“Like, like, like an angel?” He was trembling, she realized.
“Sort of. She’s a spring spirit. She’s been keeping us warm.”
“What?” It was the craziest thing he’d ever heard. He stood up, shaking his head. “We need to get you to a hospital. I need a hospital. This is making us both insane.”
“Zachery.” Flora took his hands, her voice coming out deep and full of love. “It’s all right.”
“Rachel?” he wept, wanting it to be true.
“It’s me, Button.” She placed both hands on his cheeks and leaned forward to kiss him. Lilly smiled and leaned against Frost’s side as he put his arm around her. She could hardly believe her mom and dad were together again.
Zachery reached around the invisible woman, heaving great sobs as he kissed her. He knew that embrace, that sweet rose and lemon scent, that kiss. She even called him by the old pet name she’d given him decades before. It was her. After all these years. He wondered for a moment if he was dreaming, but the feelings of pure happiness and ecstasy were all too real.
Then he was falling asleep, slipping away. Flora grunted when Zachery collapsed on the ground, strings of silver light drifting from his lips.
“Dad?” Lilly asked. She and her mother knelt beside him. “Dad!”
Flora put a hand over his heart, then turned to Flint. “He’s dying.” It was the worst possible reaction a mortal could have to that sort of kiss, and also the rarest.
Flint took Isolda’s hand and kissed it, sending a wisp of white smoke away from where their skin met.
Then he leaned over and took Zachery’s hand, his orangey glow becoming faint as the mortal rose a few feet. Flint leaned his head up and closed his eyes. Deep red smoke began swirling around him, creeping over his legs and then his torso. A hot breeze blew against the others.
“Are you ready?” Frost asked Lilly nervously. He wanted her to become a spirit of winter, but still hated the way it would have to happen.
Lilly looked at her dad. The red smoke was now churning around him. Bursts of flames and sparks flared up here and there. She hadn’t planned to back out, but it wasn’t even an option now. Not without her dad.
She looked at Frost and nodded. “I’m ready.”
His smile couldn’t even begin to portray his feelings. This was a day he’d dreamed about for ages. Lilly would finally be his.
He placed his hands just under her ears, leaning forward to kiss her tenderly on the forehead. Then her cheekbone. Then her lips. “I love you, Lilly,” he said so softly only she could hear him.
“I love you, too, Jack.”
Her thoughts ran wild with fear and excitement for everything that was about to happen. She would soon be with the man who’d been by her side her whole life, who she loved and trusted always, who filled her with all the best sort of feelings. She would get to know her mother, and her parents would finally be together. It was a crazy wonderfully overwhelming kind of feeling, one she hoped she would never forget.
She shut her eyes tight when Jack held his hands up in front of her. She felt a stinging throbbing cold, intense nausea and then blacked out completely.
Chapter Twelve
Zachery stood up breathing heavily, flames washing over the ground away from his body each time he exhaled. He felt dizzy as he struggled to remember anything.
Flint stood in front of him, the color of fire nearly all gone from his skin. His eyes would soon become mortal as well, and he wouldn’t be able to see the newest fire spirit anymore. “You will be called Inferno from now on,” Flint told him. “You should already feel the need to fly southeast. Follow that instinct, and it will take you to your new home.”
Lilly let out a shrieking gasp as she fell to the forest floor. Frost took her arm and helped her stand as she blinked rapidly in total confusion. Her long black hair, now sparkling with thin silver streaks here and there, fell over her shoulders into her face. She seemed to be just as winded as her Father was.
“What shall I call her, Frost?” Isolda asked from Lilly’s other side.
“Could we call her Snow Lilly? I love her mortal name, and I think Mother Nature would approve of that one.”
“All right. You will be called Snow Lilly from now on,” she said to the young winter spirit, who lifted her head and struggled to focus her eyes. �
��Frost will take you where you need to be and teach you what you must learn.”
“Frost.” Snow Lilly nodded, her eyes still squinting slightly. She looked at Frost and cocked her head to the side. It pounded as the rush of every memory that had just been erased returned. “Jack!” She smiled and reached out to hug him. Then she took a step back. “You’re not cold anymore.”
“Of course I am. You’re cold, too, now.”
Snow Lilly smiled even wider as she remembered the plan for her to wake up a winter spirit. She looked down at the long white dress draped around her. Holding her hand up at her side, she thought of the most beautiful thing in the world—snow. Immediately, flurries flew away from her palm, twirling in circles as they sailed through the trees. “Jack, this is amazing!”
“I know.” He took her snow-blowing hand and kissed it.
They both turned to Inferno and Flora to find them holding each other close. Obviously, Inferno had had his own memories restored to him.
He looked up and saw his daughter. “My little water lily.” He came to hug her. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
“That’s okay. This is Jack. He’s the one responsible for all this.”
Frost put an arm around Snow Lilly as he reached out to shake Inferno’s hand. “Everyone except Lilly calls me Frost, but what you call me is up to you.”
Inferno shook his hand firmly, grateful to Frost beyond measure for bringing him and his wife together again. Instinctively, he felt a hint of revulsion for the two winter spirits before him, but he pushed the feeling aside. “Thank you, Jack, from the bottom of my heart.”
“Thank you for Lilly.” Frost smiled lovingly at her. “Perhaps Flora will guide you to the fire lands. I need to get Lilly to The Wintry Woods.”
“Flora?”
“That’s what the other spirits call me,” Flora said.
“But I will be able to see my daughter again, won’t I?” Inferno suddenly looked worried.
“The night of Christmas Eve is scarcely more than a week away,” Flora said. “We could all meet outside our home in Harrowing.”
Inferno couldn’t imagine leaving his daughter for that long, but he felt an overpowering need to be somewhere. He could see the way Frost loved her and felt a surprising assurance that he would look out for her the way he would. “All right.”
Flora took his hand and tugged on it lightly. He let her lead him away, glancing back over his shoulder repeatedly.
“Will he be all right?” Snow Lilly asked Frost. She and her father had depended on each other for so long it was hard to watch him go.
“Of course he will. Your mother will explain everything to him and get him where he needs to go. What about you? Are you all right?”
He put a hand on Snow Lilly’s side. She stared into his icy blue eyes. “Of course I am, Jack. I can’t wait to see The Wintry Woods.”
“Let’s go then.”
Chapter Thirteen
Frost and Snow Lilly soared through the cold, winter sky toward The Wintry Woods. Snow Lilly had visited her assigned area in eastern Canada a couple of times to cover it with snow and loads of cold air. Frost had done the same in his Minnesota regions. Now it was Christmas Eve morning, and they were going to celebrate with the other winter spirits. They would both fly to Harrowing later in the day.
“Are you happy with your new life?” Frost asked her as they neared the secret woods. “Do you miss the old one?”
“No way.” She reached out to hold his hand. “I love my new life with you.”
Frost smiled. “And I love you.” He slowed them both down enough to kiss her.
Then they began their descent toward what looked like a snow-covered mountain. They flew through the magical barrier, designed to keep mortals out, and into The Wintry Woods. Immediately they heard the laughter and carolers inside.
Every tree in the freezing forest was dusted with dazzling snowflakes and decorated in its own unique way. One was covered in bells and candy canes while another had a glass bird dangling from each branch. One had been decorated with colorful Japanese fans while little wooden instruments hung from another. Life-size ice sculptures of angels floated through the sky, and the entire place was full of the Christmas spirit.
“Merry Christmas,” Tundra said when the pair landed near him. “We’ll be starting the holiday games soon.”
“Sounds like we made it just in time. Merry Christmas to you, too.” Frost took Snow Lilly’s hand, and they went to listen to the carolers. They stopped at the edge of the spectators. Frost stood against her back and wrapped both arms around her. It was the first Christmas gathering he’d ever truly enjoyed. And Snow Lilly was the greatest gift he’d ever been given.
“Merry Christmas, Lilly,” he whispered into her ear.
She shivered and turned her head to kiss him. “Merry Christmas, Jack.”
The hours slipped away as the winter spirits broke into groups to play Trivial Pursuit, Charades, cards and an immense number of other games, all Christmas-themed for that special occasion.
Frost and Snow Lilly had to leave before the festivities ended, meaning they would miss the fantastic firework show the winter spirits put on every year. However, it was far more important to Snow Lilly to spend the evening with her parents.
She filled Frost in on everything about her father and what she knew of her mother most of the way there. That way it would be easier for him to make conversation with them.
The icy pair approached the house from the back and found Snow Lilly’s parents sitting close together on the porch swing. The snow that had settled all over the patio had melted away because of Inferno’s blistering presence.
“Merry Christmas, Dad,” Snow Lilly said, hugging him.
“Merry Christmas, my little water lily. And to you, Jack.”
“Merry Christmas, Mom.” She hugged her mother.
“Merry Christmas to both of you,” Flora said. “I brought you something.” She handed a fat bouquet of blue and white roses to Snow Lilly. Ice crept over the stem and then the petals when she took them, shining beautifully in the setting sun.
“They’re so pretty. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now tell me all about what your week’s been like.”
“It’s been incredible. I can make it snow or sleet with a wave of my hand. And look, I can fly.” Her little audience of three laughed as she rose two feet off the ground and spun in a circle. “And you’ll never believe where Jack took me last night. We went to Venice to see the lights. You would have loved it, Dad...”
As she told the wondrous tale of their late night escapade, leaving out the most intimate parts, she made a mental note to look in on Rebecca and place a special message on her window before she left town.
For now, she planned to focus on and enjoy her three most favorite things in the world—Jack, her parents, and the perfect weather that surrounded them.
THE END
About the Author
April Marcom works as a substitute teacher of all grades in her local schools, but her true passion is writing. When she's not teaching or creating stories, she's enjoying the country life with her car-obsessed husband and three fabulous children. She also enjoys rainy days, traveling, and her five very rowdy dogs. April grew up a southern bell in Mississippi, but is now a proud Oklahoman.
www.facebook.com/authoraprilmarcom
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Other works by April Marcom
Good Vs. Evil High
Frozen Moments
by Nancy Pennick
Thanks to Nancy Schumacher for loving Kate and Drew
To my Family
“No, Drew, I can’t marry you. I don’t know how many ways to tell you I’m not ready to get married!” Kate couldn’t believe they were having the argument in front of the Christmas tree.
“If I remember correctly you said I could ask you every month, and you’d say ‘yes’ every time.” Drew ran his hand through his dark hair. His
emerald green eyes gave her a wounded look.
Kate couldn’t resist and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you, Drew Kelly. You know I do. That’s what I meant.”
It’s just...” Drew stopped and glanced away. “I’ve waited patiently for two years. I know we were young when we met, but I fell in love with that girl who tumbled over the fence, brushed herself off and marched right up to me to defend herself.” He turned back and grazed his lips against hers. “That girl was you.”
“I was sixteen at the time.” Kate tossed her long layered hair away from her face. “Much too young to consider marriage, but I’m yours, Drew, forever.” She kissed him back with more passion, slightly parting her lips as if to invite him in.
Drew pulled her closer, returning the kiss. His lips slid down her neck where he found her most vulnerable spot, causing a delicious shiver. “I’d like to freeze this moment,” he whispered as his mouth traveled up to her ear. “And save it forever.”
Kate went weak in his arms, melting into his solid chest. “Who’s stopping you?” She pulled back and smiled. Over his shoulder, she could see it was snowing again. “If this keeps up we’ll be snowed in for the holidays.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“Since we live with my parents...yes.” Kate giggled.
“Did I hear someone mention us?” Kate’s dad strolled into the family room as her mom trailed behind him.
“Oops!” Kate’s hand flew to her mouth. “Yeah, I was just telling Drew how much I appreciate you letting him move in here, Dad.”
“Anything for you, Pumpkin.” He winked. “Besides I want both of you to get a good college education. Having you both under one roof is fine with me.”
Frozen: A Winter Romance Anthology Page 14
