Page 5 of Frozen Play

He squinted through the falling snow. “I have no idea what Lina keeps here, so I brought everything I thought I’d need.”

I knew he didn’t come here often. There were a few athletes, Canadian actors, and musicians who had cottages in the area, and everyone knew when they were in residence. Phin, having a local connection, was even better known. As a hockey player, he had summers off. I didn’t know why he appeared to avoid the place. If you wanted luxury, this had it. “Okay, let’s get that and us inside before we get frostbite.”

He flexed his hands. His gloves looked expensive, but not warm. If I was responsible for taking out another Blaze player… I followed him around his car. He opened the back. As well as a couple of large jugs of water, there was a fancy Yeti cooler, a Blaze duffel, and a couple of bags showing the name of a high-end grocery store in Toronto.

I wanted to toss them out and kick them, screaming, but what had I expected? He had money. He had expensive everything, and throwing a fit wouldn’t help. I’d just look like a lunatic. I was snowed in with the guy who’d changed my family’s life for the worse, so I’d better hang on to my self-control with both hands.

Chapter 4

Forget I said anything

Phin

I was freezing,so getting out of the wind and snow was a priority, but I kind of wanted to make Skye tell me what the hell her problem was before we went any farther. It was something major if just asking about selling their cottage had put us in the ditch. She grabbed the duffel and one of the bags from the grocery, so I hauled out the cooler and the other bag.

She trudged up the driveway. It was full dark. I followed Skye’s footsteps, the cooler rolling behind helping with my balance. I picked up the pace, anxious to get inside.

I was right behind Skye when she stopped at the steps to the building.

“You got a key?”

“There’s a code.” I slid the groceries onto the floor of the porch before picking up the cooler and climbing the steps. My shoes, with no traction, slipped a little but I was able to balance this time, thanks to years of being on skates. I did not want to fall flat on my ass in front of her again.

I punched in my stepmother’s birthday digits and nothing happened. I tried again.

“Power’s out,” she noted.

Fuck.How the hell was I supposed to get in?

Skye knelt down beside me and slid her hands under the welcome mat. As if Lina would?—

“Here’s a key.”

No fucking way.

I stepped back. “Go ahead.” After all, she’d been the competent one here.

She shook her head. “Not my place.”

It wasn’t mine either, but I took the key in fingers numb even inside my gloves and slid it into the lock. My whole body unclenched when the key turned and I was able to push the door open. I’d never thought I’d be in a place where my literal life would be at risk because of stupid mistakes I’d made, but without Skye, I could have been in real danger in this storm tonight.

In case she was still concerned about breaking in, I stepped through the door first. The place was dark, and my hands slapped the wall for a light switch by habit.Damn it.It was a little spooky with no lights and the wind howling around the building. I turned to bring everything inside.

I pulled out my phone and used my mouth to take off my glove so I could turn on the flashlight.

“Don’t blind me with that!”

“Sorry.” I kept the light focused on the floor, and we dragged everything in.

She huffed a breath. “Water now?”

“I’ll get that.”

“Water is heavy and your shoes have no treads. We’d better both go.”

I hated that she was right, but I reluctantly followed her back into the storm. The water jugswereheavy, so as much as I would have liked to deal with it all myself, we both lugged a container back to the cottage. By then I couldn’t feel my toes or fingers.

It was a relief to shut the door behind us. I didn’t bother taking off my footwear but used the phone’s light to head directly for the great room. I hadn’t been here often, but I remembered a huge gas fireplace. It was another indication of how over-the-top Lina had gone, since no one came out here once the summer heat was over.

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