Frostbite (BearPaw Resort Book 3)

by Cambria Hebert

  “I think I might,” he murmured, brushing the hair away that was sticking to my tears.

  I kissed the side of his neck and pulled back. “I love you.”

  He chuckled. “I love you, too.”

  “What about me?” Alex cut in. “I’m the one that went and picked her up.”

  I pulled away from Liam to hug him. “Thank you, Alex,” I said. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

  “I gave you a baby, but whatever,” Liam muttered under his breath.

  I laughed.

  “Some people be so greedy. Can’t share the spotlight.” Alex tsked.

  “You hugged my girl long enough,” Liam deadpanned. “Time’s up.”

  I stepped back from Alex and smiled. “I’m going to make you breakfast.”

  Alex’s light-blue eyes lit up. “For reals? You got any biscuits and gravy? I could go for some of that.”

  “You can have Raisin Bran,” Liam intoned.

  Alex made a face. “That’s just mean.”

  “You’ve been with these two these last few months?” Mom asked.

  I turned around and nodded dramatically.

  “You poor girl. Come tell me all about it.”

  “But you making them biscuits, right?” Alex called behind us as we went to the kitchen.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” I exclaimed as we went.

  “I could hardly believe it when your beau called me and invited me to come to BearPaw. He even sent that nice young man to make sure I made it here safe.”

  I stopped partway to the coffee maker and turned. Liam was just stepping into the kitchen. “You did all that for me?” I whispered.

  “You missed her, and there’s no reason she can’t be here with you.”

  When I rushed him, he rocked back on his heels but managed to hold us both steady.

  “There they go again,” Alex cracked. “They do this kinda thing a lot. It makes everyone uncomfortable,” he told my mom.

  She laughed.

  Stepping back from Liam, I took his hand and led him over to where my mom was standing. “Mom, this is Liam. He’s…” I didn’t know what to say. I mean, how did I sum up in a single sentence how much he meant to me? “He’s the one.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Liam.”

  “Ma’am,” Liam said. “I appreciate you coming all this way.”

  “There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” Mom said, linking her arm with mine.

  I still couldn’t believe she was here. I could see her and talk to her, all without having to be afraid.

  “So is breakfast still happening?” Alex wondered, hopeful.

  “There’s cereal on the table.” Liam pointed.

  Alex grimaced. “You were serious? What is happening here, Liam?” His eyes widened. “Are you constipated?”

  Liam put a hand to his chest. “That is a very personal question.”

  Alex dropped a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “You can tell me anything, bro.”

  “Maybe we should let them catch up.” Mom offered, steering me farther into the kitchen while I giggled. “I’ll help you make breakfast. We have catching up of our own to do. Lots of it.”

  “We definitely do.” I agreed, sweeping my eyes over her face one more time. “I missed you.”

  “Oh, honey. Me, too.”

  Behind us, Liam and Alex were still bantering as I pulled out all the ingredients for the breakfast Alex requested.

  “I want to hear everything, Bellamy. Starting with the baby.” Mom encouraged.

  “Everything.” I promised, feeling so full inside I could burst.

  I glanced over my shoulder at the same time Liam did.

  We did that thing where we had a conversation without any words.

  He was happy.

  I was happy.

  It was a good day.

  Liam

  The sound of a board cutting through snow was unmistakable and so was the thrill of being out in it. I was flying. Not even the cold temps could deter me. The bitter wind parted as I cut through.

  Being back on a board, back on a halfpipe, taught me a few things:

  1) There was no giving this up. Thinking I could was stupid.

  2) My God, I fucking loved this.

  And

  3) Snowboarding came as naturally to me as breathing.

  The second Joiner touched down in the chopper and his eyes took in this beautiful mountainside pipe, we were off and running. The chain inside me broke. I couldn’t keep this part of me on a leash any longer.

  I had to do this.

  I had no idea how it would turn out. I just knew I had to try.

  I eased into training, though adrenaline pounded in me, creating urgency that left me frustrated. Joiner was a hawkeyed hard ass who insisted on doing everything with the pace of a granny.

  Learning to walk before I ran was the equivalent of sitting in a traffic jam on the way to claim a million in cash when, before, I won marathons.

  Weeks began to pass. The near-full-time commitment I put into recovering the ability and strength I’d lost was paying off. Two months in and I was resembling the boarder everyone dubbed Extreme.

  Granted, I wasn’t twinning with the old me yet. But I would.

  “I’m going again!” I shouted to Joiner, who was watching my latest run, who nodded with approval.

  Before I could set up, the phone in my pocket started vibrating. Using my teeth, I pulled off the gloves I was wearing and answered without glancing at the screen.

  I always had this phone with me. I might be committed to boarding and making another run with the Olympics, but it still took a backseat to Bellamy and my son.

  My son, confirmed by her recent ultrasound.

  Yes, I hogged all those pics, too.

  “Yeah?” I said into the line, hunching down a little so the wind didn’t muffle the sound.

  “Liam Mattison?” said a voice I didn’t recognize.

  I straightened. “Who’s this?”

  “You should turn on the TV,” the voice answered. “There’s something you should see.”

  “Who is this?” I demanded again. “What do I need to see?”

  No one answered because the call went dead. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I looked down at the screen, which went dark.

  “What the fuck?” I muttered, calling up the number on my history. Unknown.

  My first thought went to Bellamy and my unborn son. The board wedged beneath my arm fell into the snow, and I hit the screen a few more times.

  After a couple rings, her voice filled my ear. “Liam, is everything okay?”

  Everything inside me relaxed. She’s okay. Thank fuck. “Why wouldn’t everything be okay?”

  “Because you’re calling me in the middle of the day, at work.”

  I frowned. I called her at work. Oh shit. I barely ever called her at work. At least since I’d been hitting the training hard. I used to call her all the time.

  “Can’t I just call my best girl to see how she’s doing?” I asked, putting on the charm.

  She giggled lightly, and I smiled to myself. A wave of homesickness slammed into me, catching me off guard. I’d just seen her this morning.

  It wasn’t enough.

  “Of course you can,” she purred into the line. The loud sounds of a kitchen and Chef D’alessio’s voice filtered behind her.

  “He better not be yelling at you.” I growled.

  “Chef’s on the war path.” Bells sighed. “But not at me.”

  I made a sound.

  “How’s training going?” she asked.

  “Gnarly.”

  Bellamy paused. “Is that good or bad?”

  I laughed. “I miss you.”

  Her voice dropped a little, and it turned me on. “I miss you, too.”

  “You’re sure everything is good with you? Baby okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. Baby, too.” She hesitated, and some anxiety came through the line. “Why?”
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  I felt like an ass for making her worry. She’d finally started settling in, finally started feeling safe, and here I was calling out of the blue and making her second-guess herself.

  “No reason.” I soothed. “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

  More commotion sounded in the background. Bells sighed again. “I have to go.”

  “I’ll see you in a bit, sweetheart.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.” I confirmed.

  When I pulled the phone away, Joiner approached. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said, mulling over the call I’d received.

  In my hand, my cell went off again. I glanced down, half expecting to see Bellamy’s name on the screen. It wasn’t her. It was Alex.

  “Alex?” I answered.

  “You seen the news?” he asked. The tone of his voice made my heart rate skyrocket.

  “No. I’m on the mountain.”

  “You better go turn on that rigged-up TV you got up there.”

  “Hang on,” I said and jogged to the small cabin near the pipe. It had a small TV with limited channels. I left the door open when I strode inside, flipping the power instantly. “Turning it on,” I told Alex. “What am I looking for?”

  “You’ll know,” he said cryptically.

  The screen and sound came on. The red “Breaking News” banner at the bottom of the screen caught my eye and then the journalist’s voice filled the silence.

  “Welcome back. If you’re just tuning in, we’ve interrupted your usual programming to bring you coverage of what some are calling the biggest criminal justice upset in decades.

  “It has been announced that modern mobster and well-known criminal Perry Crone, who was sentenced to life in prison nearly two years ago, has been granted early release from the state prison where he has been serving his sentence.”

  “What the fuck?” I roared.

  “While many people are scrambling and confused as to how this could happen, our sources tell us that a high-level judge signed off on the release due to Crone’s good behavior and prison crowding. Crone is said to have agreed to several stipulations upon his release and—”

  “This has to be a joke,” I spat. “There’s no fucking way the FBI would let him out of his cage.”

  Alex whistled. “He buttered someone’s biscuit with those deep pockets of his. Can’t help but wonder how much his freedom set him back.”

  His freedom could cost Bells her tentative grip on normalcy and safety.

  Fuck.

  Crone’s freedom could cost Bells her life.

  “No!” I shouted and shoved at everything on the small counter nearby. Shit scattered everywhere, and the sound of shattering glass filled the space my heavy breathing didn’t.

  “Where’s Bellamy?” Alex asked, his voice calm but not complacent.

  “Work. I just talked to her. She’s safe.” I growled. “For now.”

  “What do you wanna do?” Alex asked, knowing damn well we couldn’t just let this happen.

  “Meet me out front of The Inn in twenty,” I said brusquely.

  “Will do.”

  I cut the call and turned to leave. My steps stuttered as Joiner came inside. “What the hell happened?” he asked, taking in the mess.

  “I’m done for the day. Something came up.” I started past, and he put a hand on my shoulder, restraining me.

  I glanced down where he touched and back up.

  Joiner pulled his hand away but didn’t step aside. “What happened?” he repeated.

  “We’ll talk later,” I answered and started forward.

  “Call if you need anything!” he yelled out the door.

  I kept going, hopped on my snowmobile, and fired it up.

  Bellamy

  For a while, I thought I was winning over most of the kitchen staff. I did actually win over a few. However, it seemed what acceptance I’d gained during my weeks working at The Inn was somehow lost during my time off following Ren’s death.

  I couldn’t really understand why.

  I mean, as far as everyone knew, I was the victim of a brutal robbery and present when Ren was shot. Not to sound callous or even that I wanted it, but one would think that might get me more acceptance, if only due to sympathy, rather than the opposite.

  When I’d come back a couple months ago, people smiled tentatively and avoided my stare. I’d never been one they included in the “kitchen gossip,” but it was less so now.

  Then the bump happened.

  You know, my little baby boy stopped torturing me with all-day sickness and Liam started plying me with food.

  Feed my son. Feed my son. The man acted like I wouldn’t know to eat if he wasn’t hounding me about it.

  As a result, I began showing. Because that’s what happens when you’re pregnant. According to Liam, I wasn’t big enough. He seemed to think I needed to grow to the size of a house. Personally, I think he equated the size of my stomach to his success at making a baby.

  He was utterly absurd.

  He made up for it, though, by being unbelievably sweet. He still carried around a pocket full of pictures, every single day. He touched my stomach more than I did and let me eat Raisin Bran in bed.

  So far, I was mostly a small, round belly, but I was only halfway through my pregnancy. I knew that would change soon enough.

  The undeniable proof I was carrying Liam’s baby seemed to put me on a pedestal. The very one I’d worked tirelessly for weeks upon weeks to get off of in the beginning. It seemed as though just when people were starting to see me as a person, not just Liam’s girlfriend, Ren died, and I became a walking reminder that I was linked to the Mattison family.

  And all that kitchen gossip? I was pretty sure most of it was about me.

  It didn’t bother me. Okay, it bothered me a little. I still subscribed to the fact that this stuff was small considering everything I’d been through and, therefore, didn’t matter.

  Guess my feelings were a little harder to convince because, I admit, sometimes coming here gave me a stomach ache. I tried to tell myself that was the baby, but when the daily sickness wore off, it was kinda hard to keep lying to myself.

  I was just emotional. It was a pregnant woman’s right. Right? That was the lie I was telling myself these days.

  Truth was things were finally starting to settle down. At least for us. No one had tried to kill me or Liam. No one was leaving me creepy rubber toys, the FBI wasn’t breathing down my neck, and we were doing our best to adjust to life without Ren.

  Liam was in his element and seeing him without so much weighing him down was honestly the best part of it all. Well, that and my mom.

  Having her back in my life was a dream come true. I teared up thinking about her even now. She was staying at Holly’s house with us, which made it so easy to spend all my extra time with her. Even though she’d been here two months, it seemed we were still catching up. We were able to do all the things I missed so intensely after my father was murdered, and it was all because Liam found her and brought her to BearPaw.

  I had my life back. A full life right down to my dream job.

  Except… honestly?

  This job wasn’t so much a dream anymore.

  And more honestly?

  I was still sort of holding my breath that something would take away all this happiness.

  I squeezed my eyes shut because even thinking like that made tremendous guilt assail me.

  “Hey, Jess?” I said, glancing up from what I was doing. The girl working nearby made a sound and kept on working.

  With a suppressed sigh, I walked the short distance between our stations and stopped beside her. “Jess.”

  “Yes?” she said without looking at me.

  I mean, really, how hard was it to look at someone when they spoke directly to you?

  “Are you almost finished there? I need all this prepped so I can start tonight’s specials.”

  “I’m not done yet.
”

  “You knew I needed this stuff hours ago. You should have had it done already.” It was accusatory. I admit it. It was also authoritative because, technically, I was her boss.

  And she was being a disrespectful bratty turtle on purpose.

  Jess glanced up, giving me a surprised side eye. Usually, I just asked for stuff fifteen thousand times and never got testy about it.

  “What are you going to do, call baby daddy and tattle?”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “What did you just say to me?”

  “Nothing.” She feigned innocence.

  “Insulting your superior is not nothing,” I snapped.

  “You wouldn’t be my superior if it wasn’t for who you slept with to get here.”

  “You’re right,” I tossed out. “My culinary experience has sooo much to do with my sex life.”

  “Someone’s hormones are working overtime,” one of the other girls quipped.

  “No.” I said. “I’m just tired of being surrounded by jealous bitches.”

  I was fuming. Like the tolerance rope I’d been gripping the past few months was frayed and about to snap.

  “I wouldn’t worry too much, Jess.” The girl who spoke before walked up behind me, making me the middle of a mean girl sandwich. “There’s no ring on her finger, which means as soon as she pops out that kid, Liam will get bored and kick her to the curb. Then you can have the job that should have been yours.”

  Wow.

  I was stunned speechless for a moment because I was surprised at the big ol’ balls these girls had. I mean, of all the nerve!

  My brain scrambled to catch up, to push back the fierce anger and shock, and come up with a scorching reply.

  “Aw, don’t have much to say now, do you?” she taunted.

  “I sure as fuck do.” The low, angry voice cut through the kitchen and silenced everything.

  You could have heard a pin drop for several seconds, which felt like minutes. My eyes fell closed briefly for two reasons:

  1) I loved the sound of that voice.

  And

  2) He was royally pissed.

  I glanced around just in time to see Liam move gracefully through the kitchen. He was dressed for the slopes and had a dark-blue beanie pulled down over his head. Intensity and fierceness rolled off him in waves. So much so people actually stepped back as he moved, even if they weren’t in his path.