Winter's Embrace (4 page)

Usually browsing in the shops was a favorite of
Winter’s
too. She loved to look at each souvenir, but this
time she couldn’t wait for it to be over. Mimi kept squealing and dragging
Stone from item to item. The high priced ones, of course.

The only satisfaction she felt was that Stone didn’t
buy anything. Mimi pouted, but Stone stood firm. Once again, she wondered what
Stone had been doing for the last ten years. She also wondered why he was on
this Alaskan cruise, alone. It was all one big secret.

* * * *

Later that night,
Winter
sat
out on her balcony watching for whales. It delighted her to no end. She’d spot
water coming out of a blowhole and watch. Sure enough, it was a whale.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Stone’s deep voice washed over
her.

“Yes.”

“Come closer to my side so we can talk.”

Winter hugged herself. She needed to keep her cool.
“I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry about Mimi, but I have no choice at the
moment.”

“Why would that be?”

“She threatened to spill our secret. She plans to tell
the travel agency that you and I booked this cruise so we could meet in secret.
For some reason she wants to get you fired.”

“Oh for Pete’s sake.
Is
that why you’ve been paying court to her? Don’t lower yourself to her level.
Those types of accusations always fly. I have conducted myself professionally.”

“So you don’t think she’ll be able to do any damage?”

Winter laughed. “No, I’m not worried. Is that why
you’ve been her constant companion?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I can’t stand her.
Skagway tomorrow?”

“Yes, Skagway, Alaska.
I
can’t wait.”

“Goodnight,
Winter
.”

“Goodnight.”

In the cabin, she sat on the edge of the bed. Things
finally made sense. Mimi was a piece of work. How long was Mimi going to pout
tomorrow when Stone told her the jig was up?

She put on her nightgown, smiling the whole time.
Lying in bed, her awareness of Stone on the other side of the wall grew. While
she was relieved that his attachment to Mimi wasn’t real, it scared her, too.
He had her fooled the whole time.

She thought back to their time together. Every spare
moment they’d spent together. Between school and ranch work there hadn’t been a
lot of time, but the little while they did spend together was special.

Turning over, she grew frustrated. All she could think
of was his lips kissing her body, and sleep eluded her. Tomorrow might prove to
be a hell of a day.

Chapter Three

Winter smiled at the group as each boarded the Skagway
train known as the WP&YR—the White Pass and Yukon Route. The town of
Skagway, Alaska was quaint with its little shops. You could just sense the history.
Mrs. Stout dragged her into a yarn shop that had hand-dyed yarn. Before she
knew it, she had a bag of yarn, knitting needles and a beginner’s knitting
book.

Her only disappointment was Stone. He still hung out
with Mimi. It didn’t seem as though anything had changed. She spotting them in
the diamond shop together and they were all smiles. Was Stone trying to make a
fool out of her? What about his speech last night? What about telling Mimi her
plan didn’t have any merit? The more she watched them the lower her heart sank.
There was nothing she could do about it. Later, there would be time to
speculate. Now, she had a train to catch.

Rounding up the group for the train was easy. They all
arrived on time and she didn’t have to search for any stragglers. The brochure
exalted this excursion as a wonderful adventure and she’d been looking forward
to it. Winter waited for everyone else to board, then shook hands with their
tour guide, Karen, and boarded. It was interesting to see Stone and Beck
sitting together leaving the only seat open next to Mimi. Winter nodded to her
and then promptly ignored her.

Karen began telling the group about the Yukon gold
rush and the need for the railroad. She made it fun by giving out train key
chains for correct answers. In fact, she was more enthusiastic than most guides
and
Winter
couldn’t help but respect her for it.

“On the right you can see black cottonwood trees and
those yellow flowers are called butter and eggs.” Karen paused for a minute.
“Now, see those pinkish purple flowers? Those are called fireweed, and the
nootka
lupine, the darker purple
ones, are my favorites.”

Winter tried to look over Mimi’s big head. She had the
distinct feeling that Mimi was hogging all the window space on purpose. “Can I
get a look?”

Mimi turned toward her. “They’re just lame ass
flowers. Man, when you pick an excursion you do a really lousy job. This is
borrrring
.”

Mimi’s voice carried and
Winter’s
face warmed. Karen pointed out other trees and flowers native to the area, but
somehow Mimi had ruined it. Winter’s excitement turned to dread.

The train stopped at the place where they would be
able to eat, pan for gold, sample beer, and shop. Panning for gold came first.
Each member of the group stood in front of wooden water troughs holding a pan.
They dipped the pan into the water to the silt at the bottom and swirled it so
that the water would drain out and they could see if they had any gold.

“Bingo,” Mrs. Stout called out. She glowed showing
everyone the flakes of gold she found.

The next activity was the microbrew beer tasting and
Winter
excused herself. Instead, she walked into the tiny
gift shop and was enchanted by all the handmade items. Seasonal scenes, hand
painted on the blades of a circular saw, caught her eye. “Could I see one of
those? They’re beautiful.”

The aging woman behind the tiny counter grinned. “A
friend of mine makes them. The blades are unsharpened, of course.”

Winter held the autumn scene in her hands. It was a
log cabin with a bear in front and beautiful, fall foliage in the back.

“I’ll take that one and the three other seasons.”

Winter cringed, turned and stared at Mimi. “I wouldn’t
have thought this would be your style.”

Mimi ignored her. “Here’s my credit card.”

The woman behind the counter glanced at
Winter
. Sadly, she shrugged her shoulder, and handed the
painting back to the woman. She couldn’t afford them all, perhaps just one, but
Mimi won out.

As
Winter
turned to leave,
she heard Mimi. “I don’t have any plans for them. I just didn’t want her to
have them.”

Long strides took her quickly away from Mimi. Never in
her life had she met such a spiteful person and if Mimi’s plans were to ruin
all of her fun, then she was succeeding.

The group once again boarded the train. To
Winter’s
relief, Beck had saved her a window seat. The act
of kindness helped to shake her bad mood. This time she could see all the trees
and flowers that Karen pointed out. Tension left her body as she leaned against
the back of the seat. As they drew closer to it, Karen started explaining the
trestle bridge.

“There it is. It’s made of wood,” Mimi prattled. “I
wonder how old it
is?
”

Winter’s blood turned cold. She didn’t want to look,
but as they made one of the twists around the mountain, she caught sight of it
ahead. Karen said the bridge had been there for over a hundred years. Was that
a good thing? Maybe it was rickety. Winter knew she was being irrational, but
she couldn’t help it. Heights made her feel as though she was falling. First
her stomach dropped and then it felt as though whatever she was standing on
gave way.

“Are you all right? You look pale.” Beck took her hand
and gave it a light squeeze.

Nodding absently, she couldn’t keep her gaze off the
steep grade next to the tracks. The closer they came to the bridge, the faster
her heart beat. Perspiration dotted her forehead.

“Coming up is the steel cantilever bridge. It’s an
engineering marvel.” Karen told them.

Steel, wood, it didn’t make a difference, her
breathing became labored. She wanted to turn from the window, but she couldn’t.
She gave Stone one quick glance, and then her gaze became glued to the steep
fall.

Stone stood up, pulled
Winter
up out of her seat and into the circle of his muscular arms, and then asked
Mimi to go sit with Beck. Putting
Winter
in a seat
that faced the mountain instead of the steep inclines, he sat next to her and
put his arms around her. “Lean against me and just look at the mountain. Wow,
that fireweed certainly grows everywhere. It’s the color of your prom dress. I
remember how beautiful you looked. Your hair was up and I itched to take it
down all night.”

Holding on to Stone’s forearms she leaned back against
him. The anxiousness didn’t fade, but at least it wasn’t escalating. Somehow,
he made her feel safe, but he also made her wistful for things that could have
been.

“Is this like your ranch in Montana, Stone?” Mimi
asked from across the aisle.

“The sheer beauty of Alaska does remind me of
Montana.”

It hurt that Mimi knew that he lived in Montana, on a
ranch no less. It was hard being a gracious loser.

“Oh yeah, we’re on the bridge!” Mimi pulled Beck
closer to the window.

Stone turned her in his arms and held her against his
hard chest. Despite being rattled to her core,
Winter
still took a minute to make a memory of how it felt to be in Stone’s arms. He
smelled of Ivory soap and his chest was a wall of muscle. His arms were bigger
than they had been, probably from all the ranch work. Closing her eyes, she
made her memory.
A memory to take out on the long, lonely
nights.

Finally, the train pulled into the station and the
excursion was over. Winter took a minute to thank Karen for a great tour.

“You have a troublemaker in your group.” Karen shook
her head.

“Goes with the job.”

Karen laughed, “That it does. Enjoy the rest of your
cruise.”

“Thank you, Karen, I’ll be sure to recommend you.”
Winter jumped down from the bottom step, glad to see the Stouts waiting for
her.

“That one is a piece of meanness.” Emma nodded toward
Mimi.

“Good Lord, she was getting on my last nerve!” Oliver
reached out and squeezed
Winter’s
hand. “You handled
yourself like a pro, my dear. Too bad we can’t just leave her behind.”

“You two are real treasures.”

“I saw what happened in the gift shop. You will be
getting a delivery at the travel agency.” Emma winked.

Winter’s eyes widened and her smile grew. “You
didn’t.”

“Oh yes I did. That Mimi was just being spiteful,
buying all the hand painted saws.”

Winter hugged Emma then Oliver. “Thank you. You make
my job worthwhile.”

* * * *

Stone.
If
he lived in Montana, then why fly out of Texas? Maybe he had business to take
care of or maybe he owned the ranch but lived in Texas.

The long walk from the elevator to her cabin seemed to
have lengthened considerably. The ugly, blue carpet with fish on it irritated
her more than usual and she couldn’t wait to get back to her cabin. She needed
to read the information about Stone.

Emma Stout opened her door as
Winter
walked by.
“Dinner in two hours?”

“Yes, would you like me to knock on your door when I
go?”

Emma’s face crinkled into a smile. “That would be
wonderful, dear. It is formal night, Oliver can escort us both.”

“Sounds like a plan. See you in a bit.” She turned,
continued down the hall and into her room.

Finally alone, she leaned against the door and sighed.
She felt weary and cursed Mimi. Being terrified took a lot of energy. Why did
Mimi have to be nasty? If she wanted Stone that badly, she was welcome to him.
It was a coincidence that they were on the same cruise. He could have just
contacted her if he’d wanted to see her.

Heck, she still lived in the same town, just not on
the ranch anymore. Times had been hard. Her parents died not long after she
quit college, and there was more debt than assets. The fact that Stone was her
best friend made the situation worse. She’d longed for Stone and hated him at
the same time. He never came back after college and the rumor was that he’d
married.

Closing her eyes, she remembered the loneliness.
The all-consuming loneliness of that time.
Winter pushed
away from the door. She stood on her own two feet then and she would stand
strong now. She lived in Texas and he lived in Montana. There was no reason to
see his file. It didn’t matter.

The formal dress she planned to wear was emerald green
to match her eyes. This dress was one of the few items she owned that showed
off her figure. Most of her outfits tended to be a bit boxy on her since she
never wanted the type of attention from men that sexy clothing attracted.

She quickly took a shower, dried off, and put her
blonde hair up with wisps of curls peeking out. Scrutinizing the mirror, she
smiled. She didn’t need makeup—she’d been blessed with a peaches and cream
completion. A light coat of mascara and just a hint of color on her lips and
she was done.

Now for her dress, her Cinderella dress. She really
did feel like a princess in it.
A princess that turned into
an ordinary person at the stroke of midnight.
The satin fabric flowed to
the floor, and fit like a dream. Her bare shoulders looked good. Gazing in the
mirror again, she smiled.

She didn’t own any jewelry except for her practical,
chunky watch, which she threw into her black handbag before leaving.
Re-energized, she made her way to the Stout’s door and knocked.

“You both look wonderful!” Winter gave them a warm
smile.

“You, my dear, look like the cat’s meow.” Oliver
winked and took Emma’s hand.

They were the last of their group to arrive. Spying
Mimi in a pale pink, frilly confection,
Winter
felt
confident. The appreciation she found in each of the men’s expressions lifted
her spirits. Unfortunately, after getting the Stouts settled, the only seat
left was between Beck and Mimi. Taking a deep breath, she gave Mimi a quick
smile.

“You look good in pink.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mimi’s eyes narrowed.

Beck took
Winter’s
hand and
kissed it. “Darling, you look good enough to eat. You should be showered with
jewels. Yet, the lack of jewelry turns you into the jewel.”

Before she could respond, she heard Mimi comment.
“What did I tell you?
Loose morals.
It’s just one more
thing I’m going to put in my letter of complaint about her.”

Winter extracted her hand from Beck’s, and turned
toward the rest of the group. Their eyes were wide, but they were staring at
Mimi, not her. A wave of relief washed over her. It seemed that no one shared
Mimi’s opinion.

“Everyone looks so nice. After we eat let’s get a
group photo. I keep a photo of every tour I lead as a souvenir of the lovely
people I meet along the way.”

“It’s a warm and fuzzy idea,” Mimi mocked.

The urge to slap the sarcasm right out of Mimi
surprised her. Between Mimi and Stone she’d been on the verge of violence the
whole trip, which was strange for her.