Ice

by Lyn Gardner

  “That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have done it.”

  “It’s highly unlikely.”

  “Unlikely doesn’t mean impossible.”

  Snorting at the man’s determination, Harper said, “I see where your daughter gets her tenaciousness.”

  The comment brought a grin to Gregory’s face. Motioning for Harper to sit down, Gregory said, “I know that you probably think me a fool to believe that my daughter is still alive, but I can’t yet imagine her any other way. She’s my little girl, and as long as there’s a glimmer of hope, one minuscule chance that she could have survived and found shelter, then I must beg you that as soon as humanly possible you begin your search.”

  “Why would you think I wouldn’t?”

  “Because you believe you’re looking for a body, and I believe you’re not.”

  ***

  “Don’t bother,” Maggie said as she weakly tried to push away Alex’s hand.

  “The bandage is wet. I need to change it,” Alex said, reaching for the soaked gauze.

  “I said, don’t bother,” Maggie repeated, pulling the quilt over the bandage.

  With a sigh, Alex said, “Why are you being like this?”

  “I don’t want you to waste your time on me. You need to take care of yourself.”

  “What makes you think I’m not?”

  Through half-open eyes, Maggie looked back at her. “Because you look like shit.”

  Raising one eyebrow, the tiniest of grins appeared on Alex’s face. Thinking for a moment, she said, “I’ll attribute that remark to the fever.”

  “I’m serious. You’re exhausted. You need to get some sleep.”

  “I’m fine, and when you sleep, I sleep.”

  “But fairly soon, I’m not going to wake up, so do yourself a favor and stop fighting a losing battle,” Maggie said feebly.

  “I don’t think of it as a losing battle,” Alex stated as she raised the bedspread and quickly removed the wet bandage. “And I refuse to sit back and just watch you die.”

  “You don’t know what you’re up against.”

  “Yes, I do,” Alex said firmly, glaring at Maggie. “It’s a fever, Campbell. A bloody fucking fever brought on by the flu. Your body goes into overdrive to fight it, and your fever spikes. I get that! But what you don’t get is that what I’m doing is working. It’s been almost two days since we crashed, and you’re still here!”

  “How long was I asleep this last time?”

  “What?”

  “How long was it before my fever spiked, and you had to carry me back into the bathroom?”

  Shrugging her shoulders, Alex said, “I don’t know. Maybe three or four hours. Why?”

  “And the time before that?”

  “I wasn’t really keeping track. Maybe five or…” Alex stopped for a moment. “It’s happening more often, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, and soon it won’t come back down, no matter how much snow you pile on top of me.”

  “You don’t know that!”

  Struggling to keep her eyes open, Maggie replied, “Yes, I do, and since I don’t know if I’m going to wake up again—”

  “Stop staying that!”

  Shutting her eyes for a moment, Maggie fought the urge to fall back into darkness. Taking a long, deep breath, her eyes fluttered open. “Please…I…I need to ask you a favor. Please…please just listen to me.”

  Steadfast in her belief that the woman would not die, Alex rolled her eyes at the sound of Maggie’s whispered plea, and in a huff, crossed her arms. “Fine, what’s the favor?”

  “When it…when it happens, find someplace safe for me.”

  Confused, Alex wrinkled her brow. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “We’re in a forest, right?”

  “Yeah, out in the middle of nowhere as far as I can tell. Why?”

  “I don’t want…I don’t want the animals to find me.”

  Alex’s mouth dropped open, and looking toward the ceiling, she fought to restrain her temper. Taking a deep breath, she snapped, “Jesus Christ! You have got to stop—”

  “Please, just promise me.”

  “You are not going to die!” Alex said, rising to her feet.

  Teary-eyed and whimpering, Maggie begged again. “Please…just promise me…oh, please…my father…my father—”

  Maggie’s tears were Alex’s undoing. In an instant, her anger disappeared and compassion took its place. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she took Maggie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Sshhh…sshhh…it’s okay. It’s okay, Maggie.”

  “Just promise—”

  Alex’s eyes filled with tears, and in a ragged breath, replied, “I promise, Maggie. I promise the animals won’t get to you.”

  ***

  Alex stared at the empty bottle of the aspirin in her hand. She had managed over the past day to spoon-feed four bottles of aspirin-laced water to her unconscious patient, and between coughs and sputters, Maggie had swallowed it all, but now the over-the-counter medicine was gone. Alex hadn’t beaten the odds; she had just prolonged their arrival.

  While the cold baths had worked to cool Maggie’s temperature, within a few hours of being placed back in the bed, her fever would rage again. Over the past twenty-four hours, Alex had carried the woman into the bathroom six more times, and each time it had taken Maggie longer to return to consciousness.

  Grabbing the old, dusty blanket that had been draped over one of the chairs, Alex fingered the thick, woven fabric as her thoughts returned to the promise she had made to Maggie. Her eyes filling with tears, she tossed the blanket aside. Appalled that she had just allowed herself to think about how best to store Maggie’s body, Alex threw the empty water bottle across the room.

  Setting her jaw, Alex growled, “She is not going to die! You have never given up on anything in your life, and you’re not going to start now. Now, think, Alex…think!”

  All of a sudden, the sound of Maggie’s moans came from the bedroom. In an instant, Alex was on her feet and running down the hall. Stopping in the doorway, her heart sank. Fighting invisible demons, Maggie flailed on the bed. Her body was covered in sweat, and her face had turned deadly white.

  As she had done so many times before, Alex gathered Maggie in her arms and painfully limped to the bathroom. Mindless of the frigid water sloshing over the sides, Alex placed her inside, and when the woman didn’t even flinch at the temperature, Alex rushed to get more snow. Bucket after bucket she carried through the cabin, but no matter how much snow Alex piled on her, Maggie remained motionless. Mindless that the socks on her feet were now covered in ice, and her own clothes were soaking wet, Alex refused to give up until the painful throbbing in her leg forced her to stop. Collapsing to the floor, she sat in a puddle of snowy slush and began to cry.

  Staring at the floor, Alex sat there listening to the sound of Maggie’s ragged breathing as it slowly grew fainter. Minutes ticked by, and even though she was shivering, Alex refused to move until finally the room grew quiet. It was over.

  Choking back her tears, she looked up and when she saw Maggie’s hazel-green eyes staring back at her, Alex’s face lit up.

  “Hey,” she said, as she sniffled back what remained of her tears. Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, she grinned. “I thought for a minute, I’d lost you.”

  Exhausted and freezing, Maggie was unable to speak. Shivering in the water, she merely shook her head slightly to acknowledge what Alex had said.

  Rising to her feet, Alex reached into the tub and lifted Maggie out, groaning as the strain caused her back to twinge and her leg to throb. Icy water dripped from Maggie’s soaked clothes, drenching Alex in an instant, but Alex couldn’t have cared less. Quickly returning to the bedroom, she placed Maggie on the floor, and even though she had always tried to allow the woman a certain amount of privacy, now was not the time.

  Feeling as if she had just prevented death from claiming another victim, Alex practically ripped the wet clothes from Ma
ggie’s body, and disregarding the woman’s nudity, placed her back in the bed and covered her with the quilt.

  The room was warm, but under the blankets, Maggie shivered uncontrollably. As another chill trembled its way through her body, she stuttered, “I’m so…c—c—cold.”

  “I know,” Alex whispered, tucking the blankets in around her. “I’m going to put some more logs on the fire and get something dry to wear. I’ll be right back.”

  As Maggie watched in silence, Alex tossed more wood on the fire and then opened the trunk at the foot of the bed and rummaged inside.

  “How you doing?” Alex asked, looking up as she pushed her sweatpants to the floor.

  “I—I—I can’t stop shaking.”

  Frowning at the response, Alex pulled a white t-shirt from the trunk. Turning her back to Maggie, she quickly changed her shirt.

  Maggie knew that she should allow Alex some privacy, but as hard as she tried, she simply could not look away from the woman’s well-muscled physique. Sinewy without being overt, it was clear that Alex took pride in her body, and at that particular moment, so did Maggie. However, when another shiver ran down her spine, Maggie groaned loudly as she pulled the blankets up to her nose.

  Hanging the wet clothes near the fireplace, Alex walked to the bed. Without saying a word, she climbed under the covers, wrapping one strong arm around Maggie as she gently pulled her toward her. Fully expecting the ill woman to balk at her presence in the bed, when Maggie snuggled against her warmth, Alex let out the breath she had been holding.

  “I’m scared,” Maggie confessed as she continued to shake.

  Rubbing her hand briskly over Maggie’s back, Alex whispered, “So am I.”

  Chapter Ten

  When she opened her eyes, Alex became aware of three things. Her nose was cold, her leg was throbbing, and she was holding a warm, soft woman in her arms. Reaching over, she placed her hand lightly against Maggie’s forehead and grinned. For most of the night Alex had held her, rubbing her back and arms to try to fight off the chills that had ravaged her body. In the early hours of the morning, Maggie had finally fallen asleep, and Alex had quickly followed. For the next twelve hours, they slept soundly…and fever free.

  Stealthily slipping out from under the sheets so as not to wake Maggie, Alex grabbed a pair of sweat pants and crept from the room. Visiting the bathroom first, she emptied her bladder, brushed her teeth courtesy of the packaged toiletries she had found in the cellar, and grabbing a pair of dry socks from the towel bar, covered her feet and shuffled to the kitchen.

  Returning to the bedroom a short time later, she was surprised to find Maggie not only awake, but looking better than she had in days. Her skin was no longer a ghostly white, and her eyes were bright and clear.

  “Hi there! How you feeling?” Alex said, trying her best to hide her limp as she walked to the bed.

  It should have been an easy question to answer; Maggie was clear-headed for the first time in days, and while she felt as if she had run a marathon, her fever was gone. She was thirsty. She was hungry, and her powers of observation were rapidly returning. The fact that Alex wasn’t wearing a bra was more than evident, and having a hard time keeping her eyes off of the woman wearing a gauze-thin white t-shirt, Maggie quickly sputtered, “Better…I…I…I think the fever broke.”

  Totally unaware of her appearance, Alex handed Maggie a bottle of water. “Yeah, it broke last night, but I still think you need to drink this.”

  Nodding her head, Maggie began to gulp the water until Alex pulled the bottle away.

  “Slowly, remember?”

  “Sorry,” Maggie said, her eyes once again finding their way to Alex’s chest.

  Watching as she sipped the water, Alex asked, “You hungry?”

  “Actually, I am.”

  “Good. Drink your water. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  As Alex headed for the door, Maggie called out, “Alex, can you…um…can you find me something to wear?”

  “Oh, right,” Alex said with a chuckle, remembering that Maggie was naked under the blankets. “Hold on.”

  Grabbing a flannel shirt and a pair of sweat pants, Alex placed them on the bed.

  “You going to be all right with this?”

  “Yeah, I think I can manage.”

  “Right, well then you get dressed, and I’ll scrounge us up some food,” Alex said, leaving the room to give Maggie some privacy.

  When she came back a short time later, Maggie was not only thankful for the breakfast she was carrying, but also for the fact that the slight chill of the cabin had forced Alex to put on an oversized corduroy shirt. Sitting quietly as she sipped her tea and ate some peaches, Maggie listened as Alex told her about the root cellar and its contents.

  “So we’ll be okay, then?” Maggie asked.

  “Yeah, we’ve got food, water, toiletries…all the comforts of home, except home, that is.”

  Noticing that Maggie seemed to be fidgeting in the bed, Alex grinned, already knowing the question before it was asked. “You need the loo?”

  A hint of blush crossed Maggie’s cheeks. “Yes, please.”

  Helping Maggie to her feet, when she began to sway, Alex wrapped her arm around her shoulders and walked her slowly to the bathroom.

  “You can handle this yourself now – yes?”

  Maggie’s cheeks flamed instantly. Alex’s words solidifying what she had already assumed, Maggie nodded her head. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m going to get some more wood, so if you need me, just shout out.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  Believing that her trip to the wood pile would be brief, between the ice-laden snow drifts, the heavy winds and the intense pain in her thigh, it was nearly an hour before Alex had enough wood stacked on the porch to last them another day. After transferring the pile inside, she slowly limped to the lounge. About to kick off her boots, she looked over and noticed Maggie standing in the hallway staring back at her.

  “What’s wrong with your leg?” Maggie asked.

  “Nothing. Just a bit sore, that’s all,” Alex said with a shrug.

  Even though Maggie felt as if she could crawl back into bed and sleep for a week, her temper was as healthy as ever. Sensing that Alex was hiding something, Maggie glared at the woman as she walked closer. “Don’t you dare lie to me, Alex. You’ve just spent the last four days saving my bloody life, and if there’s something wrong with you, if you’re hurt, then I think I have the right to know.”

  Letting out a long breath, Alex sat on the arm of the sofa and looked at the woman who had haunted her dreams for over three years. The clothing Maggie wore was wrinkled and several sizes too large, and her hair was tangled and in need of a wash, but as Alex gazed at the auburn-haired Inspector, she couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone more beautiful. Captivated, Alex allowed her chivalry to slip a notch.

  “I got a few cuts on my leg when we crashed,” she explained. “One seems to be doing okay, but the other still hurts like a bugger.”

  “Why don’t you let me take a look?”

  “Because you need to rest.”

  “Alex—”

  “Look, I’ll do you a deal. You take a short kip, and when you wake up, I’ll let you play doctor. How’s that?”

  “No,” Maggie said firmly.

  Raising an eyebrow, Alex said, “Excuse me?”

  “I’ll take a nap after I look at your leg.”

  “Christ, you’re pushy.”

  “You have no idea,” Maggie said with a grin. “Now take off those sweatpants.”

  ***

  As she waited for Alex to return with the first-aid supplies, Maggie sat on the sofa taking in her surroundings. Other than the faded Mohican patterned upholstery covering the sofa and chairs, and several fish mounted in various poses of capture hanging from the walls, the main room of the cabin was identical to the bedroom down to the fireplace encompassing one wall. Noticing a bit of sunlight creeping in around the shutters c
overing the windows, Maggie walked over and removed one of the wooden bars holding them closed. Blinking as sunlight streamed through the frost-covered window, she smiled when she felt the cold radiating through the glass. It was good to be alive.

  Hearing a noise, Maggie looked over her shoulder and watched as Alex limped back into the room carrying the first-aid kit and a bottle of what appeared to be liquor.

  “What’s in the bottle?” Maggie asked.

  “Scotch,” Alex replied, placing everything on the coffee table.

  “Bit early for that, don’t you think?”

  “There’s not much disinfectant left, and if the cut is infected, you might need something else to clean it.”

  “Well, hopefully it won’t come to that,” Maggie said, returning to the couch. “You’ll need to take off your boots.”

  “Oh, right,” Alex said, easily stepping out of the left one. However, when she tried to do the same with the right, she instantly grimaced.

  “Here, let me do that,” Maggie said as she reached down, carefully removing the boot.

  Sitting on the sofa, Maggie looked up at the tall woman now standing in front of her. Swallowing hard at the beauty staring back at her, Maggie suddenly felt as if the past three years had never happened. All the feelings that she had worked so diligently to bury seemed to have come back in force. Taking a deep breath to clear away her thoughts, she untied the string holding up Alex’s loose-fitting sweat pants, and a second later the baggy clothing was puddled around Alex’s feet.

  Alex’s body throbbed in response, and surprised by the intensity of the pulse of awareness between her legs, a small groan slipped from her lips.

  Look up, Maggie asked, “You okay?”

  “Um…yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Just wasn’t prepared for the draft,” Alex quipped, all the while praying that the cool cabin air would help to stifle her overactive libido.

  Flashing a quick grin, Maggie returned to the matter at hand, and lifting the hem of Alex’s shirt, she examined the small cut on the front of her thigh. Running her finger lightly over the rapidly healing cut, she said, “This doesn’t look infected.”