Frostbitten (11 page)

“I’m fine,” Frost
replied so quickly that it was unconvincing. “I wish
you
would see a
doctor, though.”

Defiantly, Anastasia
shook her head. “All I care about is Chloe. I’m not leaving until I know she’ll
be alright.”

“She’s lucky to have a
friend like you,” Frost said softly.

Anastasia smiled at the
compliment, allowing some of her tension to ease. “She was even luckier to have
you there tonight. Thank you, Frost. I seriously don’t know how I could ever
repay you.”

This time it was
Frost’s turn to shake his head. “I’m not looking for anything in return. I’m
just glad I could help, even though I know you’re a woman who can handle
herself.” For the second time that night, he looked embarrassed. Quickly, he
smiled playfully and then added in a teasing manner, “After all, that was a
pretty jagged branch you were holding.”

Despite everything,
Anastasia laughed. “I guess the unluckiest one was that cougar. At least the
people of Cedar Falls can relax now that he’s dead.”

“I didn’t kill the
cougar – I used a tranquilizer,” Frost hurried to explain. “When you were
calling Chloe’s father and your grandparents, I called my dad and told him
everything that had happened. As we speak, he’s transporting the cougar
hundreds of miles away. This will be safer for everyone, and the cougar will
have a better chance for survival.”

“I didn’t realize Cedar
Falls Woods were that big,” Anastasia commented in surprise.

“You wouldn’t believe
the secrets that these woods keep.”

Wrinkling her forehead,
Anastasia wondered what Frost had meant, but she was wary of asking for
clarification. After all, it was a pretty odd statement to make. Finally,
Anastasia broke the awkward pause by simply asking, “So, why go to such lengths
to move the cougar? Why not just kill him?”

Frost seemed to cringe
at Anastasia’s insensitivity. “That cougar is still very young, and his parents
were killed by poachers. It was starvation that caused him to act so
dangerously bold.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I don’t believe any
creature is innately bad. They are just shaped by their circumstances.”

Anastasia saw the irony
in Frost’s words. He could have easily been talking about the both of them, in
fact maybe he was. It made her more than a little uncomfortable that Frost
could see the real her. She studied him, trying to figure out what he was all
about. She’d thought spending more time with him would make it possible for her
to read him like she did so well with others, but she still had nothing. Giving
up, Anastasia sighed. She’d just have to get to know him the old-fashioned way
– not that it would be much of a burden.

“How do you know so
much about animals?” Anastasia asked. “Like, how to deal with them and know
what they’re thinking? Are you an animal whisperer or something?”

Frost laughed faintly
before answering. “Let’s just say I have a great affinity with nature and all
its creatures, well, maybe except humans.”

A nearby commotion
caused Anastasia and Frost to turn their attention toward the administrative
desk, where a man was practically yelling at the medical assistants. He was of
average height and weight, had thinning light brown hair and was dressed in
dentist scrubs. Anastasia recognized him as Mr. William Fairbanks – Chloe’s
father. She hurried to his side, with Frost at her heels.

“Mr. Fairbanks,” she
said quickly. “It’s me, Anastasia.”

Mr. Fairbanks spun
around to face Anastasia. “Is my daughter okay? No one will tell me – it’s
complete incompetency on the hospital’s behalf.” He glared at the assistants,
who were hurrying to help several other people.

After guiding Mr.
Fairbanks away from the desk, Anastasia spoke in a soft manner, hoping to calm
him down. “The doctor took Chloe away almost an hour ago. I’m sure someone will
let us know what’s going on soon.”

“How could you be so
stupid?” Mr. Fairbanks snapped at Anastasia. He then looked at Frost, as if
seeing him for the first time. “You better not have touched my daughter or I
swear I’ll...”

“Mr. Fairbanks, what
are you talking about?” Anastasia spoke sharply, no longer caring if they were
making a scene.

“Kate and Marissa
called me right before you did. They were worried sick because you took Chloe
to meet Frost in the woods.”

“Ex...excuse me?”
Anastasia choked out, shocked by what she’d just heard. Perhaps Kate on her
worst behavior could tell such a lie, but Marissa? Anastasia had thought that
Marissa was so much better than this. “That is
not
what happened,” she
continued, before Mr. Fairbanks could speak. “It was
Kate
who dragged us
into the woods, and it was
Kate
who fled when your daughter was attacked
by the cougar. As for Frost, he saved us – Chloe would be dead if it wasn’t for
him!”

From the way Mr.
Fairbanks trembled, Anastasia knew that he was overcome with worry and was most
likely not thinking clearly. However, he had no problem narrowing his eyes at
her and saying in a cruel tone, “My Chloe was fine until you came back.”

“Ms. Lockhart,” said
the nurse, who Anastasia had spoken with earlier, “the doctor is finished with
Ms. Fairbanks. Would you like to...”

“I’m Chloe’s father,”
Mr. Fairbanks interrupted. “I want to see her – alone.”

“Certainly, Mr.
Fairbanks,” the nurse replied. Before she led him toward Chloe’s room, she
turned to Anastasia and said softly, “She’s going to be fine.”

Anastasia nodded
appreciatively to the nurse and then let out a sigh of relief. It felt like
she’d awakened from a nightmare to find everything a lot less scary. However,
now that she knew Chloe was out of danger, she had the energy to get angry at
Mr. Fairbanks. He had no right to treat her, and especially Frost, so poorly.
In fact, it wasn’t even like him. Mr. Fairbanks always used to be kind and
patient, but that obviously wasn’t true anymore.

“We should probably
leave,” Frost advised, interrupting Anastasia’s thoughts. “We can see Chloe
tomorrow morning, but right now, I’m taking you home. You need to rest.”

“Thanks,” Anastasia
said as they began to leave the waiting room.

Anastasia and Frost
hadn’t gone far when her grandfather entered the hospital. She knew that
trouble was brewing as he spotted them almost immediately and then marched
forward. From the expression on his face, it was clear that he was anything but
happy.

“I should have known
you were involved,” Mr. Lockhart said, while pointing a finger accusingly at
Frost.

“Grandpa, what are you
doing here?” Anastasia asked, stepping in front of Frost in hopes of preventing
yet another verbal fight. “I said I was fine. You didn’t have to come.”

“Of course I had to
come, Anastasia, because you’re obviously not fine. What has
he
done to
you?”

“Oh my gosh!” Anastasia
exclaimed, completely exasperated. “What is wrong with you people that you have
to constantly blame Frost for everything?”

“We can talk about this
at home,” Mr. Lockhart said as he held onto Anastasia’s arm and tried to lead
her away.

Anastasia resisted her
grandfather’s pull and instead looked at Frost. At this moment, she desperately
needed guidance, for someone to tell her if she should stay and defend Frost or
allow her grandfather to silence her by taking her home.

“Go with your grandfather,”
Frost said, as if he could read Anastasia’s thoughts.

“Stay out of this,
boy,” Mr. Lockhart warned Frost angrily. “And leave my granddaughter alone. She
doesn’t need any more reasons to mess up.” With those harsh words spoken, he
began to usher Anastasia out of the hospital.

As Anastasia went, she
couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the fact that this was so
embarrassing – that is, until she passed the administrative desk and heard the
assistants’ hushed conversation, which had obviously taken priority over their
hectic jobs.

“I’ve filed the
doctor’s preliminary report,” one of the older assistants said, appearing
slightly shaken-up, “and it’s exactly what I thought it would be – almost
identical to the one I filed seventeen years ago.”

“That poor girl,” her
co-worker muttered, looking very pale. “It’s a miracle she survived.”

“I just can’t believe
it’s happening again. It’s like Cedar Falls is cursed.”

Anastasia slowed her
pace, hoping to hear more of their conversation so she could try to make sense
of it. She wondered if the report they were referring to was Chloe’s, and by
the way the assistants suddenly stopped talking when they noticed her nearby,
she guessed the answer was yes.

“Come on,” her
grandfather said gruffly, while hurrying her forward. It was like he sensed
what was going on between Anastasia and the medical assistants, and he clearly
couldn’t get her out of there fast enough.

It was only 10:30 p.m.
as the Lockhart residence lay still, silent and in darkness. Her grandparents had
already gone to bed, but Anastasia was wide awake, sitting motionlessly on the
rocking chair in her bedroom. The dolls, which had occupied that chair for the
last several years, were now scattered on the floor. Anastasia had replaced
those dolls with herself, or at least it felt that way. After all, she
perfectly epitomized a doll – beautiful but expected to fit a mold that others
had created for her. Hell, it even felt like she no longer had a voice.

After arriving home
from the hospital, Anastasia’s grandfather had lectured her non-stop about how
careless and dangerous it was to be in the woods, especially at night and with
a wild animal on the loose. She didn’t have a chance to explain or defend
herself, far less update them on Chloe’s condition. In fact, she’d probably
still be getting yelled at right now if it wasn’t for her grandmother’s
insistence that he calm down and they all go to bed.

Sighing, Anastasia got
up, preparing to spend another sleepless night in bed. If she was going to
torture herself by dwelling on the terrifying cougar attack
and
the odd
conversation between the medical assistants, she might as well be comfortable.

Anastasia had just
slipped into her silk pajamas when she heard a light thud against her window.
Frowning with concern, she wrapped her black robe around herself and then
proceeded to the window. When she pulled the curtains aside and peered out, she
saw Frost about to toss another snowball at her window. Immediately, he smiled
in that sheepish manner which never ceased to soften her heart.

Quickly, Anastasia
opened her screen-less window, shivering as the cool air blew inside. “You
found me,” she said quietly, not sure if she was whispering so her grandparents
wouldn’t hear, or merely because the situation was so romantic that it almost
seemed unreal.

“You found me, so it’s
only natural that I’d find you,” Frost whispered back, while stepping forward
and then leaning against the windowsill.

“Technically, Kate was
the one who found you,” she pointed out teasingly.

“Let’s ignore that
unpleasant fact because
you
were the one I was trying to impress. You
seriously don’t think I always sit topless in front of my fireplace, flexing my
muscles, do you?” He laughed softly. “Since you went to such trouble to spy on
me, I thought I might as well put on a show.”

“How did you know we
were there?” Anastasia pried.

“Call it a gift, or an
extra sense, or whatever you like.”

Frost was obviously
playing with Anastasia, and she knew that he wouldn’t be giving her real
answers anytime soon. However, that hardly mattered because other thoughts
which were much more pressing currently occupied her mind.

Bringing herself closer
to Frost, Anastasia spoke in her most seductive tone, “You do know this is
considered stalking, right?”

“Then ask me to leave,”
Frost replied, not missing a beat.

Anastasia cast Frost a
flirtatious half-smile. He was so gorgeous and manly that she felt her knees
going weak. Everything about him enticed her, and she definitely couldn’t
resist her feelings for him. She bit her lip until it hurt, in an attempt to
control her mind from wandering to thoughts of what might happen if he came
inside. Anastasia wanted Frost, and have him she must. 

“Hypocrite,” he teased
a second later, interrupting her growing fantasies. “I actually came by to see
how you were doing.”

“Like I said earlier,
I’m fine,” Anastasia replied, disappointed that he wasn’t responding to her
flirting. “Aren’t you cold out there?”

“No. I like it this
way,” Frost stated.

“Weirdo,” Anastasia
continued to tease.

“So they say.”

“Not me,” Anastasia
said, quickly turning serious. “I do want to ask you something, though. What’s
up with you and Kate? Sorry to say, but it seems like she has some sort of
vendetta against you.”

“Oh, she does, all
because that little bitch didn’t get her way for once.” Frost instantly
appeared to regret his words. “You wouldn’t believe me, so what does it
matter?”