“Yeah, I'm not so sure. I've been rethinking the plan. It might not be so bad to stay here a while.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Theresa’s voice was shrill. “You don't want to go back to New York! You don't want me to do my job! What exactly am I supposed to do for you then...shovel your God-forsaken driveway?”
“Actually, I need your car.”
* * * *
Sam got back to the chalet well after sunset. Every inch of her body ached with exhaustion, and she practically fell into Jake's arms when he opened the door.
“How'd it turn out?” he asked.
Sam lowered herself onto the leather sofa. “It's beautiful. I'm really happy with it.”
“Is it done? I know you were worried about having enough time.”
“Almost. I flooded the lot. I just need to go over everything with my propane torch to clear it up before judging... how’s your piece?”
“I'm really proud of it. You inspired me.”
“I did?” Sam asked, smiling at him. She yawned. “Sorry,” she said. “I'm completely drained. My whole body hurts.”
Jake got to his feet and reached out a hand to her. “I've got just the thing for that.”
Sam struggled up to her feet and then screamed as Jake scooped her up and flung her over his shoulder. She loved how easily he picked her up; it was as if she weighed nothing at all.
“You hungry?” he called up to her.
“Ravenous.”
“Let me just grab this then.” He snatched a pizza box off the counter with his free hand. “You get the wine.” Then he climbed the two flights up to the deck where the hot tub awaited.
Sam sat in front of Jake while he rubbed her sore neck and shoulders. She leaned back against his bare chest and ate her pizza, while the warm water dissolved the discomfort in her muscles and tendons. She turned her body to face him. “I could stay here forever,” she admitted.
Jake kissed her damp hairline. “Maybe you should,” he whispered. His voice was gravelly as he pulled her onto him. Sam said nothing; she only threw her head back and let the intense pleasure of their union flow over her like the water from the jets.
After they had both brought each other to the brink of ecstasy and beyond, they retreated to the warm throw in front of the fire in Jake's room.
“I was serious earlier, you know.” Jake's hands were tucked behind his head and he looked at Sam where she rested her head on his chest. “I want you to stay with me. I don't want to be away from you.”
Sam lifted her head up. “Really?”
“Today was torture for me. As much as I was focused on my piece, it hurt. It hurt being away from you.”
A thin line of moisture formed in Sam's eyes. The intensity of her emotional response to Jake's words caught her off guard.
“That surprises you?”
“It's nothing. It's just that, that's the kind of thing I've been waiting my whole life to hear. I guess until this moment, I never really thought I would.”
“You have no idea how amazing you are do you?”
“I'm starting to get one. You’d better watch out, if you keep being so nice to me, I'll move in here and get very comfortable and full of myself,” Sam said.
“And I might not mind.”
Sam closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. What would’ve been the point? Real life felt better than any dream.
Chapter Nine
“Have a fun night?”
Sam spun in her robe to face Theresa. She was model gorgeous, except that she was so thin she almost bore a greater resemblance to a stick figure. Sam realized it was a miracle she had squeezed into her clothes the other night. She dropped a chunk of the muffin she was biting into onto the counter awkwardly.
“Oh, hi. You must be Theresa.” Sam brushed the crumbs off her hand and then extended it, but Theresa only eyed it warily.
“I hope you know what you're doing,” she said in a singsong voice.
“Excuse me?”
“You know he'll drop you like a bad habit as soon as he can climb his way out of the mess he left behind in New York.” Theresa picked up a muffin, eyed it, and then set it down on the counter as if the very thought of consuming that amount of carbs repulsed her.
“Mess?”
“A string of bad shows, a string of jilted women. Just embarrassing. If I weren't so loyal, I'd have left him long ago. You should get out now before he drags you down with him, or leaves you for whatever skinny model he meets next.” She picked up an apple and tossed it up in the air before taking a ferocious bite out of it. “Have a good day!” she added, her voice syrupy sweet.
Jake walked into the room. “What was that about?” he asked as he poured a coffee.
“Oh...nothing,” Sam muttered.
He kissed Sam on the cheek. “Good morning, Babe. Did you sleep well?”
“Fine,” she said. “I'm just going to go get dressed.”
“Sure...I'll be ready to go when you are.”
Sam tried to put Theresa's words out of her head while she dressed, but she couldn't quiet them. On the drive to the contest, she was quiet, but her insecurities screamed at her. She turned toward the window and trained her eyes on the scenery outside.
“Nervous, huh?” Jake said finally.
“A bit.”
He squeezed her thigh gently and gave her a reassuring smile, but her effort to return it was unconvincing. At least, she thought, I will know in a few hours if it's all over or not.
* * * *
Sam looked at her destroyed entry in disbelief. Her propane torch lay next to the couple, its tank empty. The smaller figures had been destroyed completely, melted by the heat. Only the couple remained and they too were ruined. Someone had pushed them over and melted their legs so they looked almost like they had fallen on the ground. The carnage of her creation lay in a frozen pool around the couple. She felt panic rising in her chest. She spun and glared at Jake, her eyes boiling with fury.
“Did you do this?”
“Are you crazy? I can't believe you'd even think that!”
“You knew about the torch. And Theresa told me that your last shows in New York were total flops. You came up here with your tail tucked between your legs, looking for some gimmick that would let you redeem yourself. Admit it—you needed this win as much as me.”
“That's not true.”
“You're a liar.”
“Sam—I wouldn't—”
“And—and I'm an idiot. I can't believe I trusted you. I'm just another notch on your belt. A little taste of the local flavor...not a model, like you prefer, but still kind of fun for the time being. How could you keep all this from me?” Sam dropped to the bench, her head in her hands.
“I didn't tell you about the shows because it's embarrassing. I didn't want to look bad in front of you.” Jake sunk down to the bench next to her. “Maybe I was hoping to redeem myself, as you say. I had been working on a piece for the Guggenheim—. You're right that I wanted to win this.”
“I knew it!”
“But not like that. Not like this,” he said, gesturing toward the rubble of her skating rink. “I want to win because I am the best.”
“So you destroyed my entry because it was better than yours.”
Jake shook his head sadly. “Is that really what you think? Will you please sit down?” he asked. Sam crossed her arms in front of her and shook her head. Jake continued, “Your piece wasn't better. It was the best. It’s what you are. Everything you make is better. I thought you deserved to win when the judging finished this afternoon.”
Sam dropped down onto the bench and rested her head in her hands. “I don't know what to think anymore.”
“Please tell me that you believe me.” Jake reached out for Sam's hand, but she withdrew it from him, tucking it into her pocket. When she looked up, her eyes were full of tears.
“Sam...” Jake reached for her, but she stepped back. “I swear I would never do anything to h
urt you. I'm in lo—”
“I have to go.” Sam leapt to her feet and started toward the parking lot.
“At least tell me you're going to enter something,” Jake said finally. “This can't be the end.”
Sam said nothing. The only sound she made was a loud sigh as she stood and walked away from him. His eyes followed her hoping she'd turn around, but all he saw was her hair—the color of the last moments of setting sun—flowing out behind her, before she disappeared from view.
Jake took a step toward the couple. He'd never seen such realistic faces made out of ice. They were so detailed and expressive, but more than that, they were vibrant and full of life—it was uncanny.
“Tsk. Tsk. What a shame.” The voice beside him dripped with sarcasm. Jake turned to see the voice's owner. Instantly he recognized the face. He'd seen it on Sam's desk. Same pinched features and shocking blonde hair that fell over beady eyes—it was Sam's ex, Kevin.
“It is a shame,” Jake shot back. “It was an amazing piece of art.” He took a step toward Kevin and looked down at him, his expression scathing.
“It's just ice, man.”
“She would have won, you know. She deserved it,” Jake said, turning to look at Sam's ruined piece again.
“Nah. She got exactly what she deserved.”
“How's the ice hotel business, Kevin?” Jake's words were razor sharp.
“Sam must've upped her game in bed if she's got you defending her already,” Kevin snarled. He cackled like an eighth grader. Jake pulled back and slammed his fist into Kevin's nose.
“Argh!” Kevin shouted. His hands surrounded his nose, which was spouting blood. “You hit me!”
“Well, scumbag, that is what you deserved.”
“You have a lot of nerve, buddy!” Kevin shouted his voice muffled from behind his hands. “You should be thanking me after all the business I sent you.”
Jake looked at Kevin, crouched there like a schoolboy, cradling his broken hemorrhaging nose. He was the cause of all of Sam's problems. But crumpled like that, squealing about his evil machinations only served to make him look more pathetic, if that was even possible. Jake took a step toward him and gave him a shove with his boot, which caused him to topple over into the snow. He screeched, but Jake didn't pause to look back. He had somewhere to go—he had to find Sam and get her back.
Chapter Ten
Sam stood frozen behind the pine tree, her eyes transfixed on the exchange between Jake and Kevin. Her mind raced. She thought Kevin had been in Stockholm for months. What was he doing here? And why did Jake just punch his face? She'd accused Jake, the man she loved, of sabotaging her contest entry with a blowtorch and stalked off in a rage, but she realized how insane the idea was. They'd spent the whole night together again. He never had a chance to destroy her work.
A newfound clarity filled Sam—Jake had promised he wouldn't hurt her, and he hadn't. He'd been there for her every step of the way. And what had she given him in return? Her heart? No, instead, she refused to trust him, and then she let her own insecurities ruin everything. She had two options—she could keep walking and lose everything, or she could get her act together and fix things. Sam knew one thing: she was not about to give up without a fight. She'd taken a few deep breaths and turned around before she broke into a run.
Sam's hand trembled against her hiding tree's rough bark as she realized the truth that was revealing itself before her eyes. It had never made sense how she lost all of her old clientele in such a decisive and dramatic fashion. Her logbook had been missing—now she knew; Kevin must've taken it with him when he left. Sam bet that if she called her former clients and grilled them long enough, they would admit that Kevin had called them and somehow sent them searching for a new ice sculptor. She didn't even want to think what he had told them to make them drop her so easily. It couldn't have been good.
How they all went over to Jake Pane was still a mystery, but it didn't matter. From the way Jake's hand had crunched into Kevin's jaw, she figured that Jake had put all this together. Maybe Kevin even admitted what he had done—ruined her business and destroyed her work.
Kevin was writhing on the ground still, and Jake was stalking toward her, his face determined. Behind him, a familiar slim woman with short blonde hair had pulled Kevin up and was practically dragging him away.
Sam stepped out into the light blocking Jake’s path. His eyes widened with surprise.
“I thought you were long gone by now.”
“Me, too. But then I had a thought...”
Jake poked at the ground with his boot. “What was that?”
“I should've trusted you. I don't know why I even thought...” Sam's head fell forward. “Actually, I do. I've been let down a lot, by people I thought I could count on. And then this morning when Theresa said all those things about you, I panicked. It seemed like you screwing me over was inevitable.” Sam pushed her hair back away from her face. “Then I got here, and I saw my work...”
“Theresa said something to you?” Jake's face darkened.
Sam nodded. “It wasn't good...for either of us.”
Jake was quiet, his only reaction was the balling up of his fists at his sides. Sam continued, “Wasn't it Maya Angelou who said, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. You showed me who you are...someone I can depend on and trust. I should have guessed that all my misfortune was Kevin’s doing. I already knew he was a selfish jerk who cared nothing about me.”
“It all makes sense,” Jake said at last. “Kevin was Theresa's contact. He took you out and then fed her your clients.”
Sam nodded in agreement. “I'm so sorry I accused you. I know I've probably ruined everything, and maybe you can't forgive me for being so unfair, but I just couldn't leave things like that between us. I wanted to tell you that so at least you knew.”
“You didn't let me finish.”
Sam flinched, but Jake smiled. “I meant, you didn't let me finish earlier, but I'll get to that. Listen, Sam, we both had snakes in our houses; there wasn't much we could do about all the things coming between us. But now they are gone...it's just you and me. As far as I am concerned, all of that...Kevin, Theresa, the argument....that’s all in the past.” He reached his arm around her waist and drew her toward him. “I really only want to think about our future.”
“Is that what you didn't finish?” Sam asked quietly.
Jake shook his head slowly. “No. What I was saying, before some wild woman interrupted, was I'm in love with you, Sam. I have been since you slipped off that icy ladder and fell on top of me.”
Sam gazed into Jake's eyes and pressed her hand to his chest. “I love you, too, Jake. I might have tried my best not to admit it, to myself or you, but I've known it since that morning when I slipped on the ice, and you caught me underneath the frozen hemlock tree.”
Jake's eyes widened and he stepped back.
“What?” Sam asked, her voice rising with concern.
“That's it! I know how to fix it!” Jake grabbed her hand and dragged her back to the site of her ruined piece. “What do you see?” he asked.
“A disaster.”
“Look again. Look at it as if you never saw it before. Like you have no idea what you are supposed to see.”
Sam narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side as she looked again. “Okay...I see a man and a woman sitting down.”
“And what does that melted child look like?”
“A melted child?”
“No.” He took Sam's face gently in his hands. “It's a campfire.”
Sam looked back. “Okay, I see it, sort of. But it's a stretch.... I guess I still don't see your plan.”
“I never told you what I sculpted.” Jake paused dramatically. “I made a tree. Our hemlock, from that morning.”
“You did?”
“You weren't the only person having revelations that morning. Anyway, I think we should combine our pieces. No one has figures with as much life as you've put into that man
and woman. If we put our entries together and work a little magic with color, we could win this thing.”
Sam's face brightened. “Let's do it.”
Chapter Eleven
Sam reformed the lower halves of the couple to make them appear seated. Beneath her adept hand, the melted mass morphed into wild flames. Jake found a forklift and a couple of guys to help move the tree. It was a singular sculpture. Sam got chills when she saw it. Somehow, Jake had found a way to recreate the effect of the icicles off of the needles. It was the best work she'd seen at one of these in a long time—so much energy and care and emotion in something as seemingly mundane as a tree. When their works were combined, Sam was instantly transported back to that morning. The love there was undeniable. Then Jake took out his paints and brought the whole scene to life with a few easy brush strokes. They were so natural and subtle that they made the colored uplighting of their competitors seem like a cheesy high school prom.
Sam and Jake’s collaborative piece entitled “Falling on Ice” was magnificent—everyone said so—a totally unique melding of different styles and techniques. One judge said that their portrayal of the pure joy of falling in love made her remember meeting her late husband, and she was moved to tears. Not one other competitor stood a chance.
* * * *
Jake's Jeep was practically bursting with the giant cardboard check. Cold air rushed in through the open back, and Sam could barely see him over it as they drove back to Sam's place to get her things, but it didn't matter. Everything was different. Sam's money problems were over. She and Jake were 50,000 dollars richer. The client issue—that was done or would be soon after word spread. And she was in love with an amazing guy who loved her back.
Jake glanced at her over the cardboard check. “Big day.”
Sam let her head fall back on the headrest before she looked over at him. “I can't believe we won! I'm still in shock.”
Frozen: A Winter Romance Anthology Page 45
