Ice (21 page)

Engrossed in Alex’s story, Maggie blurted anxiously, “What?”

Smiling at Maggie’s impatience, Alex explained. “I notice things, things that other people miss sometimes. I guess that’s part of what makes me a good cop, I don’t know, but as I stared at your necklace, I remembered seeing something that I thought seemed a bit out of place.”

“Such as?”

“A crucifix.”

“I don’t understand. Why would that be out of place?”

“Even with the limited light I had that night, it was fairly easy to see that this place is quite rustic. Log walls, wood railings and all the hardware
except
for the padlocks was black iron.”

“So?”

“When I trudged around the cabin the first time, I noticed that there was a white cross hanging over the door to the small storage shed. I thought it was a bit odd that it was there and not over the front door, but at the time I was more concerned with finding a way inside, so I paid it no mind. It wasn’t until I saw your necklace when I remembered the crucifix, and the fact that it didn’t belong...at least not there. So, I went back and took it down, and that’s where I found the key.” Lightly fingering Maggie’s necklace, Alex said, “So you see, you saved our lives, because if you weren’t wearing this, we wouldn’t be here.”

Processing what Alex had just told her, Maggie said, “By what you’ve said, you believe in God – yes?”

“Yes, I do. There’s been a few times in my life when I found it hard to believe that there was one, but I just can’t grasp that there’s nothing or no one out there. Why?”

“Maybe God saved our lives, so we could finally be together.”

With a snort, Alex said, “Nice thought, but there are a lot of homophobes in the world that would dispute your theory, vehemently.”

“I don’t care about them.”

Raising an eyebrow in disbelief, Alex asked, “What happens when we get back to London?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maggie, I don’t live behind doors anymore.”

“I know that, and I don’t want you to.”

“So what happens when we go out on a date and some creep says something, or we run into an old friend of yours? How are you going to handle that?”

“To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought about it,” Maggie said, relaxing against a pillow. “If someone says something stupid, I don’t know how I’ll react, but
when
we run into someone I know, I’ll introduce you as my partner. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Some wouldn’t,” Alex said, thinking back to a time when another woman broke her heart.

“Sweetheart, do you really think that I’d be here with you like this and say the things I’ve said to you, and then return home and act like none of this has happened? I’m not going to pretend that I don’t feel the way I feel about you, Alex. It’s taken me three years
and
a plane crash to finally come to terms with this, and I have no intention of changing my mind. You’re stuck with me, so you sure as hell better get used to it!” Maggie said, flashing Alex a toothy smile.

Surprised at Maggie’s tenacity, Alex couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s not all I need to get used to. I seem to keep forgetting that you have a temper.”

“And it’s a Scottish one at that,” Maggie replied in her best Scottish brogue.

The thickened accent brought a smile to Alex’s face. They hadn’t spent a lot of time talking about their return to London, but now that the subject had been brought up, Alex had a few other things on her mind. “Okay, so I have another question.”

“Jeez, I think I liked you better when you
weren’t
talking.” Although Maggie had meant it as a joke, when Alex’s face fell, she quickly added, “I was just kidding, sweetheart. What do you want to know?”

“What about your father and…and your boyfriend?”

“
Ex
-boyfriend,” Maggie said firmly. “Remember?”

With a nod, Alex said, “Right, I stand corrected, but what about your dad? How do you plan to hide this from him?”

“I don’t.”

“What?”

“When we get home, I’ll tell him,” Maggie said matter-of-factly.

“Darling, look…um…this isn’t like you found a new dress or got a new puppy—”

“You think I’m moving too fast, don’t you?” Maggie asked, hearing the hint of worry in Alex’s tone.

“Maybe…well…yeah, I do.”

“I thought you liked it when I moved fast,” Maggie said with a twinkle in her eye.

Rolling her eyes at the innuendo, Alex said, “I do, but you’ve got to be sure—”

“Why do you keep thinking I’m not?” Maggie asked as she sat up and faced Alex. “Sweetheart, I’ve been in love with you since the day we first met. Yes, we’ve only just found each other, but I don’t see a point in denying what I feel anymore. I’ve wasted enough time, and when we get back home, I have every intention of telling my father about us." Cupping Alex’s chin in her hand, Maggie continued, “Look, I’m not stupid. I know he’ll be upset, and probably worried that I’m making some huge mistake, but if I tried to hide this, which I wouldn’t, that would hurt him more than anything. For so long, it was only just him and me, and we’ve never had secrets, and I’m not going to start now. I can’t do that to him. He loves me and I love him, and he’ll be okay with this. I promise.”

Unable to come up with a counterpoint, Alex leaned over, and kissed Maggie lightly on the lips. “I hope you’re right.”

“I am, sweetheart, trust me,” Maggie replied, followed quickly by a tremendously long yawn.

“I think someone needs some sleep,” Alex said, reaching over to turn down the wick of the oil lamp.

Alex had no way of knowing that sleep was the last thing on Maggie’s mind until she rolled onto her back and found herself being quickly straddled by the naked Scot. Laughing at Maggie’s playfulness, Alex said, “Hey, I thought you were tired. What the hell are you doing?”

“I think it’s called making up for lost time,” Maggie whispered as her hands traveled south.

***

The next morning, Maggie shuffled into the kitchen to find Alex up to her elbows in sudsy water. “Whatcha doing?”

“Thought I’d clean up some,” Alex replied, looking over her shoulder at the sleepy-eyed woman. “I’ve been a bit lax in the housekeeping duties for the past few days. It seems as if someone wouldn’t let me leave the bedroom.”

Maggie’s cheeks reddened instantly. Turning on her heel, she went to get dressed, her blush getting another shade darker when she walked in and saw the state of the bedroom. Socks and shirts were thrown about the room, empty mugs balanced precariously on night stands, and the quilt and pillows were everywhere
except
on the bed.

Giggling at the mess, Maggie quickly straightened the room and got dressed. Grabbing all the empty cups, she went back to the kitchen and plopped them in the soapy water. “You forgot some,” she said, flashing Alex a smile.

“Yeah, well, I knew they were there, but I feared if I returned, you’d accost me again,” Alex said, rinsing another dish and stacking it on the counter.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I didn’t hear any argument a few hours ago,” Maggie said as she grabbed a towel and began drying the dishes piled by the sink.

“What can I say, you give great head.”

Unbreakable dinnerware comes in handy when you have children, clumsy partners or when words are spoken that you’re not expecting. Slipping from Maggie’s fingers, the plate fell to the floor and then, as if trying to escape, rolled out of the room. Coming to a stop in the lounge, it wound down on its rim until still.

Snickering at the embarrassment burning Maggie’s cheeks, Alex glanced at the dish now several feet away. “I suppose you’re going to want me to wash that one again – eh?”

Pursing her lips, Maggie glared back at Alex, but the merriment in Alex’s eyes was Maggie’s undoing. Shaking her head at the woman’s playfulness, Maggie retrieved the plate and dropped it in the sink.

“Let’s try this again, shall we?” she said, snatching another plate to dry. “And no more comments from you.”

Working in silence, casting only winks, grins and the occasional peck on the cheek, before too long, the kitchen was clean. As Alex was putting the remaining dishes in the cabinet, Maggie leaned against the counter, twirling the wet towel in her hands and playfully flicking it in the direction of Alex’s ass.

“You’d best not do that,” Alex warned, glancing over her shoulder at the woman threatening her bum with a rat tail.

“No worries, sweetheart, I’ve never mastered the technique.”

When Alex turned back to finish, Maggie twirled the towel tight, and one last time, flicked it hard in the air. When she heard the loud, wet crack, Maggie’s eyes went wide and in an instant, the only sound that could be heard were the remaining bubbles in the sink, fizzing as they disappeared. The few seconds that passed seemed like an eternity to Maggie, but when Alex finally spun around, the look on her face said it all. Maggie was in
big
trouble.

“Shit!” Maggie shrieked, running from the room.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Alex called out. Grabbing the wet towel, she chased Maggie down the hall with a smile in her eyes. “You are
so
mine right now!”

Laughing, Maggie fell on the bed, quickly followed by Alex, who decided that her punishment would come in the form of tickling. The days and nights of lovemaking had given Alex the opportunity to discover quite a few places on Maggie that were ticklish, so undaunted by Maggie’s giggles and squeals, Alex began attacking each and every one.

“No…no…Alex…please stop,” Maggie sputtered between fits of laughter. “Sweetheart, I will not be held responsible for my actions if you keep this up!”

“You started it,” Alex said, mercilessly allowing her fingers to dance lightly over Maggie’s sides, belly and the backs of her knees. “This’ll teach you to flick me with a wet towel!”

Laughing so hard that she thought her bladder was going to release any minute, Maggie fought against the tickle barrage until she couldn’t take anymore. Using all the strength she had left, she brought her knee up to fend off the attack and met Alex’s face straight on.

“Fuck!” Alex yelled as the force knocked her to the side. Holding her hand to her face, Alex rolled over without thinking and promptly fell off the bed, landing with a thud against the hard wooden floor.

“Shit!” Maggie exclaimed, scrambling off the bed. Running to the other side, she found Alex curled up in a ball with her hand firmly pressed over her eye, moaning softly.

“Oh, Christ, are you okay,” Maggie said with a snicker, believing that Alex was playing on her sympathies. “I
did
tell you I wouldn’t be held responsible if you kept tickling me.”

“I didn’t think you’d try to knock my bloody head off!”

Amused, Maggie reached over, urging Alex to roll onto her back. “Come on, let me see.”

Refusing to remove her hand from the pounding in her cheek and eye, Alex moved from her fetal position to her back and instantly heard Maggie gasp.

“Oh shit,” Maggie said, seeing the blood covering Alex’s face. “I’ll be right back.”

As Maggie ran from the room, Alex tasted something metallic in her mouth, and tentatively opening her eyes, she saw the blood now covering her hand. “Oh, crap. I think you broke my bloody nose!”

Returning with some wet towels, Maggie fell to her knees and tried to stop the blood from flowing from Alex’s nose. “Sweetheart, I’m so, so sorry,” she said, still unable to hide a small grin from appearing. “But I did tell you—”

“Well, I didn’t think you’d try to fucking kill me!”

Laughing, Maggie said, “Move your hand, sweetheart. Let me see.”

“Why? So you can laugh some more?”

“I promise if you let me see, I’ll kiss it and make it all better. Now come on, move your hand.”

Slowly, Alex did as asked, blinking several times before her eye finally focused. “Well?”

Noticing that the bleeding had already stopped, Maggie ran her finger down the bridge of Alex’s nose. “It doesn’t feel broken, but your cheek is bruised. It must have been a glancing blow.”

“Trust me, there was nothing glancing about it!”

Frowning at the damage she had inflicted, Maggie lightly touched Alex’s bruised cheek.

“Oi!” Alex exclaimed. “What? You want to make sure it hurts or something?”

With a giggle, Maggie shook her head. Leaning forward, she placed a feathery kiss on Alex’s lips. “Say you forgive me.”

“I’m not sure I should.”

“It was an accident.”

“You could have killed me.”

“But I didn’t, so that’s a plus,” Maggie said with a smile.

Sitting up, Alex said, “Yeah, I suppose it is.”

“So, do you forgive me?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“On whether you’re lying to me about my nose still being straight.”

Placing the softest of kisses on Alex’s cheek, Maggie whispered, “It’s straight, and as soon as you’re feeling better, I promise to take very good care of you, in a very non-straight way. How’s that?”

Waggling her eyebrows at Maggie’s offer, Alex got to her feet. “I’m feeling better already."

“Why don’t we get some breakfast first? I have a feeling that we’re both going to need our strength for what I have in store.”

Alex’s body pulsed at the possibilities. Letting out a groan, she nodded her head. “Fine, food first, but after that,
you
have a lot of
apologizing
to do.”

Beaming, Maggie took Alex’s hand and they walked from the bedroom. Halfway up the hallway, their progress stopped when the door to the cabin swung open with such force that it crashed against the wall.

Hands held in love turned into those gripped in fear, and frozen in the hallway, Maggie and Alex suddenly became afraid. While they had talked endlessly about being found, as the imposing figures blocked the sunlight coming into the cabin, it was impossible not to feel terror.

Wearing identical bulky white parkas and their faces hidden behind black ski masks, the two men were absolutely menacing, and both women quickly glanced around the room for something to protect themselves with. There was nothing.

Stomping their feet on the porch, the strangers walked inside. Seconds ticked by before one of the intruders pushed back the fur-lined hood of his jacket and pulled the mask from his face.