Frostbitten (15 page)

With a little satisfied
smirk, Anastasia collected her notes and rose, while her grandfather looked on
silently. She was surprised and very happy that her grandmother had stood up
for her. It proved that Anastasia really could rely on her, and that security
was priceless.

Quickly, Anastasia headed
to her bedroom, still partially embarrassed that her grandfather had read the
notes, but more so excited to see Frost. She knew that he would be coming to
her window, just like he always did. It was actually a miracle that her
grandparents hadn’t caught him yet – not that she was complaining. After all, a
girl had to have some secrets.

Once her grandparents
had left for the town meeting and she’d had the chance to freshen up, Anastasia
waited by her window, feeling the rush and butterflies she always experienced
whenever she was about to see Frost. When she saw him approaching from across
her backyard, she quickly opened the window. By now, she was so used to the
encroaching cold breeze which accompanied their nightly encounters that she
hardly noticed it anymore.

“Hi, beautiful,” Frost
said with a wide smile, before leaning over the windowsill and kissing her on
the cheek.

“Hey, I’ve got some
news,” Anastasia said, tugging playfully at the collar of Frost’s coat and
giving him a secretive smile.

“Oh, yeah?” Frost said,
raising his eyebrows with piqued interest.

Anastasia nodded. “We
don’t have to hide our relationship any longer. My grandparents know we are
dating, and to tell the truth, I’m really relieved.”

“That’s great,
Anastasia, and also a little ironic. Last night, I told my parents we’re
dating.” Hurriedly, he added, “I know I should’ve talked to you about it first,
but the words just sort of came out. They’re happy about it and would love to
have you over for dinner sometime soon.”

“Its fine,” Anastasia
reassured him, noting how cute he looked when he was nervous. “Actually, it’s
better than fine, and I can’t wait to officially meet your parents.”

“Good,” Frost said with
a sigh of relief, “because it’s not easy to keep a secret.” He appeared thoughtful
for a moment and then continued. “Anyway, I thought we could go for a drive
tonight. Are you interested?”

“Definitely,” Anastasia
answered, eager to try something different. “Meet me on the porch.”

Closing the window,
Anastasia hurried to the foyer to retrieve her coat and boots. After putting
them on, she stepped outside to find Frost waiting for her.

Frost didn’t say a word
as he reached for Anastasia’s hand, his heat slowly spreading throughout her
body as they walked toward his SUV. She’d originally thought his unnatural
warmth was odd, but now it felt comforting, even though she still had no
explanation for its cause.

“Won’t people see us?”
Anastasia asked, wondering what had prompted Frost’s sudden desire to go out.
“I’m still grounded until Monday, you know.”

“Supposedly, a lot of
people go to the church for the town meeting, and it’s the only time your
grandfather and my dad will be together in the same room. Trust me, it’s the
perfect opportunity to hang out without being seen.”

Frost released
Anastasia’s hand so he could open the car door for her, but still, she felt a
wave of disappointment over their broken touch. She entered the SUV, and after
he’d closed the door behind her, he swiftly got in and put the key into the
ignition. Anastasia couldn’t help but note how he always acted like a
gentleman.

“Speaking of your
grandfather,” Frost continued as he drove down the street, “how are things
between the two of you?”

“Oh, they’re great,”
Anastasia replied sarcastically. “I love being told how to behave and
especially who my friends should be. It’s also really healthy that the only
time we talk is to argue.”

“Things sound pretty
good then.” Frost kept a straight face even though he was obviously teasing
her.

“Shut up,” Anastasia
said, smiling slightly in spite of herself.

“Seriously, Anastasia,
I’m sure your grandfather wants the best for you. He just doesn’t realize what
that is yet.”

“Maybe,” Anastasia
admitted, “and I do wish our relationship was better, even if only for my
grandma’s sake since all this fighting is so unfair to her. But when nothing I
say or do pleases him, I start to wonder what’s the point in trying.”

“If something’s
important to you, then you should never give up on it.”

Anastasia thought about
Frost’s words as she stared out the window, taking in the spooky scenery. The
woods seemed alive as branches swayed in the wind, creating constantly moving
shadows on the road. She even saw some type of bird – probably an owl –
swooping among the trees. Unfortunately, the owl flew so fast that she had no
time to point him out to Frost.

“I know you’re right,”
Anastasia said, breaking the silence as she turned her head away from the
window. She much preferred looking at Frost, anyway. “I’ve really made an
effort with my mom, and I can already see the change in our relationship. We
text every day, and we’re more open with each other now. She even admitted to
feeling alone and overwhelmed for these past four years, so I guess we’ve found
our common ground.”

“You’ll never have to
feel alone again,” Frost promised, taking one hand off the wheel for a few
seconds so he could lovingly caress Anastasia’s knee. “As for being
overwhelmed, I’m here to share all your burdens.”

“I’m here for you,
too,” Anastasia said quickly. “Always.” Looking at Frost, she couldn’t suppress
her smile. He made her feel protected and wanted, as if he needed her as much
as she needed him. Despite knowing him for a short period of time, she’d never
felt so strongly about any other guy.

“Actually, I think I
can ease one of those burdens right now,” Frost said, casting her a mischievous
grin. “Not having you at school meant I had some spare time to do a bit of
detective work. Turns out the investigation into your alleged affair with Mr.
O’Donoghue has been closed due to insufficient evidence.”

“Are you serious?”
Anastasia asked with wide eyes, although she knew that Frost wouldn’t joke
about something like this.

Frost nodded. “I’m sure
the news will be all over school by Monday morning – just in time for your
return.”

Anastasia was silent
for a moment as she processed the news. “You have no idea how relieved I am to
hear all of this,” she said slowly, “but how did you find out?”

Frost shrugged as if it
was no big deal. “I know how much this thing with Mr. O’Donoghue has affected
you, so I made it my mission to get answers.”

“Well, whatever you
did, thank you,” Anastasia said, deciding that it was pointless to dig into the
matter any further. “You know, something else is kind of bothering me. This may
sound stupid, but I feel like my grandparents didn’t want me at the town
meeting.”

“What makes you say
that?” Frost asked, his voice suddenly a little strained.

“I think I’m an
embarrassment to them. What other reason would they have for not inviting me?”

“You have to stop
thinking so negatively about yourself, Anastasia. Anyone would be lucky to have
you in their life.”

Anastasia blushed, not
used to hearing such sweet words from a boy. “You’re right –
again
– and
I need to start taking more control of my life. I loved going to those town
meetings when I was young, so invitation or not, we’re going tonight.”

“That’s not a good
idea,” Frost said uneasily. “The plan was
not
to be seen, remember?”

“We won’t actually go
inside the church, just secretly observe from the outside,” Anastasia reassured
him. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Frost
muttered.

As Frost started in the
direction of the church, he became very quiet, making Anastasia wonder what
could be wrong. After all, it was just a harmless town meeting.

“We don’t have to go,
if you really don’t want to,” Anastasia said in concern.

“If this makes you
happy, then I’m in,” Frost replied, giving her a small smile.

When they reached the
church, Frost parked behind a long line of cars at the side of the road.
Although Anastasia remembered the town meetings as always being busy, this was
ridiculous. From the church and school parking lots and all the way to the
street, there were cars everywhere, making it seem like the whole town was in
attendance.

“Is it always like
this?” Anastasia asked with a furrowed brow as they exited the SUV and began to
make their way toward the church.

“My knowledge of town
meetings comes from my dad, who only started attending when he opened his
business,” Frost admitted. “So, I wouldn’t really know, but this does seem a
bit excessive.”

Coming to a stop in
front of the church, Anastasia looked up to see the steeple reaching high into
the night sky, crowned by a large, stark cross that appeared almost menacing.
It was hard to take her eyes off the imposing symbol, but when staring upwards
started to make her feel dizzy, she slowly turned her attention to the
oversized two-door entrance. Just like the rest of the building, the doors were
impeccably maintained, despite being over a hundred years old, and featured the
occasional design of a Biblical figure.

Ever so carefully,
Anastasia began to open one of the doors. She cringed as it creaked loudly, but
thankfully, no one would’ve heard the noise because of the heated argument that
was occurring within the church. Anastasia peeked from behind the door which
was slightly ajar, curious as to what could cause such a commotion.

As expected, the church
was packed with people, several of whom had to stand since all the pews were
full. It seemed like everyone was engaged in a discussion, but it was her
grandfather and Mr. Stone’s voices which rang out the loudest and clearest.

“Dammit, Fredrick, why
won’t you listen to me?” Mr. Stone yelled, obviously reaching his breaking
point. “We have a
cougar
problem. I’ve been aware of the issue for a
while, and I have traps set up. My son and I already dealt with one of them.”

Mr. Lockhart sneered at
Mr. Stone. “If you think this town will put their safety in your hands, then
you truly are crazy. You’re a man who’s always had a lot to hide, so how can we
trust you now? We don’t know what happens in that little isolated cabin of
yours, practically in the middle of nowhere. For all we know, you could be
trying to protect the beast.”

Mrs. Lockhart stood up
and said something to her husband, which Anastasia couldn’t hear. Mr. Stone
heard, though, and he was quick to comment.

“For everyone’s sake, I
hope you at least listen to your wife. You’re going to start a panic. Is that
what you want?”

Mr. Lockhart hesitated
for a moment, but Anastasia knew that he wouldn’t remain quiet for long.

“You might want to hear
this,” Anastasia whispered to Frost. “They’re talking about the cougar, and
it’s getting kind of weird.”

When Anastasia didn’t
receive a response, she turned to Frost, who was leaning against the closed
door and looking off into the distance, as if he wanted to leave.

“I can hear just fine,”
Frost finally stated in a melancholy tone.

“Don’t be sad,”
Anastasia said gently, stepping in front of Frost and reaching for his hands.
She assumed he was upset that her grandfather and his father were fighting
again, and she felt bad for dragging him to the meeting to hear it. “They’ll
learn to get along someday, and if they don’t, we’ll just have to make them.”
She smiled, hoping her words would help Frost feel better – they obviously
didn’t.

Anastasia was about to
suggest that they go back to her house when suddenly, Frost’s grip on her hand
tightened as he looked at something over her shoulder. Spinning around,
Anastasia saw a man walking toward them, and as he drew closer, she realized
that it was Pete. Half of his face was still covered in a bandage, and he
limped slightly, as if he was recovering from a bad fall.

Pete ascended the
stairs to the church, and upon seeing Anastasia, he gave her a small but
friendly nod, likely recognizing her as his boss’ granddaughter. However, when
he spotted Frost, who’d been uncharacteristically slumped behind Anastasia, the
two exchanged an odd glance which lasted for several moments and left Pete
looking startled and even a little frightened. Finally proceeding forward, Pete
opened the church door, but before entering, he gave Frost another glance, his
expression now one of confusion.

“Um, is there something
you’re not telling me?” Anastasia asked Frost, utterly bewildered by Pete’s
behavior.

“Not that I can think
of,” Frost replied a bit too fast.

Suspicious, Anastasia
cracked the door open to see Pete heading to the front of the church. As people
began to notice his presence, the chatter died down, and even her grandfather
and Mr. Stone’s ongoing bickering came to a stop. However, it wasn’t until Pete
had reached the front and started to speak that the church became deadly
silent.