Desire in Frost (12 page)

“So,” I started. Robin’s eyes met mine, and the glow of the setting sun only enhanced his blue irises. I tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind my ear. “What are we exactly? Am I, like, your girlfriend?” 

Robin chuckled. “If you want to put a label on it.”

“I don’t mean to pressure you,” I cut him off. “I mean, we don’t need labels if you don’t want them.” 

“No,” Robin said. “I think it’s good. I’d like to be someone’s boyfriend for once.” 

I stared back at him, hardly able to believe what that statement meant, like he hadn’t had many girlfriends before. I was too afraid to ask about that, though. I just smiled instead, happy to realize that one issue seemed to be resolved. But something in my face must have given away my anxiety about other issues, yet Robin didn’t seem to read my expression correctly. 

“You don’t want labels?” Robin asked. 

“No. I mean, yes. Yes, I do. That’s not the problem.” 

“Oh? What is?” 

“It’s just . . .” I stared down at the sand, attempting to pick out patterns in it. “It’s nothing about you. I’m really nervous about Hope. I haven’t heard anything, and I’m still afraid for her, you know?” 

My eyes were still locked on the sand when Robin spoke. “Maybe this will help ease your nerves.” And then he pulled me in close and touched his soft lips to mine. The kiss wasn’t too soft, but it wasn’t smothering, either. His lips parted ever so slightly, and his tongue grazed against my lower lip. My hand came up to cradle his face as his lips crushed into mine. A feeling of warmth consumed my chest, making me want to melt into the sand below me. I became so lost in Robin’s touch that for those few moments, everything seemed to disappear except for him.

Eventually, we both pulled away. It was silent for a long time until I finally spoke. “Why are you thankful for me?” I blurted. I immediately wanted to take it back, but the question was already out in the open. 

“What do you mean?” Robin asked. 

“I—uh . . . Nothing. Forget about it.” 

“No,” Robin insisted, but his voice was still soft and kind. “Tell me.” 

“At dinner you said you were thankful for me. There are so many other things you can be thankful for. Why me? I mean, if we’re being honest, we still hardly know each other.” 

“Hardly know each other? Crystal, I’ve been able to open up to you more than I have to anyone in practically my whole life. Shutting people out, it’s what I do, but not with you. These past few days, you’ve made me feel like I finally have someone I can share myself with. And what about you? How many people have you told about your abilities?” 

I mentally ticked off the people in my head. I’d told Mom and Teddy, and of course both Emma and Derek knew. Justine and Kelli only knew because I’d used my powers to rescue Kelli from an abusive relationship, and Justine was helping me. And then there was Sophie and Diane, Mom’s business partners who were also psychic. I reviewed the list in my head and realized that all these people had one thing in common: I trusted them. And now there was Robin, and I’d told him, so that must have meant I trusted him. 

“See?” Robin asked rhetorically. “I opened up to you. You opened up to me. It’s not something I experience often, and I kind of like being able to talk to at least one person.
That’s
why I’m thankful for you.” 

“Oh,” was all I could say because his answer was so simple. It made complete sense. “Well, there’s still a lot I don’t know about you, like what your favorite color is or what your relationship is like with your parents or what your friends are like.” 

Robin thought about this for a moment. “You know the real me, and that’s what matters.” For a second, I thought he was going to leave it at that as he put an arm around me and pulled me closer, but then he continued speaking. “But just so you know, my favorite color is blue, my parents and I don’t spend a lot of time together—my dad is kind of a hard ass—but we get along, and my best friends are basically idiots.” He rolled his eyes and laughed at his last comment.  

He went on to tell me about his friends, and we ended up talking until after dark about the simple things in life. I nearly forgot all my troubles. 

Eventually, my eyes began drooping, and I took in a deep yawn. 

“Tired?” Robin asked. “Am I boring you that badly?” 

“No!” I nearly shouted because he wasn’t. Then I looked at him and realized he was just teasing. 

Robin and I walked back to the house together and went our separate ways.

When I crawled into bed that night, I fell asleep almost immediately. That night, I dreamt about Hope’s abduction again, only this time, I saw it from a different angle. 

Lauren’s thoughts played in my mind.  

I didn’t plan this. It’s not something I came to Minnesota to do. All I wanted was to pay my respects to the father of my child. I wasn’t even supposed to be here. It was practically sheer luck that the obituary made its rounds on social media and far enough through my connections that I even heard about Scott’s death. I wasn’t invited to the funeral, but I found my way in anyway. I hid myself in the back of the room where the family wouldn’t notice me.

Only after I sat down did I realize the guy I’d sat next to was Scott’s brother, Jeff. I wasn’t quite sure because I’d never met him, but he fit the description. I noticed he was sitting alone, which made sense based on everything Scott had told me over the years. I shifted nervously at first, but if Jeff was anything like Scott talked about him years ago, then he wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with the rest of the family, so I knew he wouldn’t rat me out, not that he had any idea who I was.

I tried not to cry during the funeral. I’d done enough crying over the past few months. But then I saw
her.
 

Penny,
I thought. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice was telling me that the little girl sitting at the front of the room wasn’t my daughter, but I couldn’t fight the feeling that she needed me just as much as Penny did. And I had failed Penny.  

Was this the second chance I’d been praying for?
 

The little girl turned around in her seat. I caught a glimpse of her profile, and my breath caught in my throat. Her eyes were darker than Penny’s, a deep chocolate brown instead of hazel. Her hair was shorter, too, but it fell to her shoulders in the same shade that Penny’s did. Those freckles. I could swear they were set in the exact same pattern as Penny’s were. 

I couldn’t help but watch her while the funeral service continued. Tears pricked at my eyes when I thought about Scott’s death, but they started falling—and I quickly dashed them away—when I saw the little girl who reminded me so much of my own daughter. When the service was over, my eyes were still fixed on her. I noticed the woman she’d been sitting next to was talking with a few other guests. She didn’t even acknowledge the little girl.  

I could do so much better,
I thought.
This time, I won’t let Penny die. 

The thought only crossed my mind for a second. I knew there was something off about the idea, but I still couldn’t take my eyes off the little girl. The more I looked at her, the more she morphed into Penny in my mind. Penny had been gone for so long. All I knew was that I had to get her back and keep her safe this time. Something shifted inside of me—something I couldn’t quite pinpoint—when I made this decision. Penny was always at the forefront of my mind, but now she became the sole focus of everything that I almost forgot why I was here.

When I found myself parked in front of a house I didn’t recognize, I was dazed. It was dark outside, so I knew time had passed since the funeral, but I couldn’t place where I’d been or what had happened in the past few hours. I didn’t know how I got there or what I was doing. I looked around frantically as my body adjusted to the situation. I knew I was sitting in my own vehicle. The driver’s seat was familiar, and the moon glowed off the maroon hood.

I looked further past my vehicle and noticed that I was in a residential area, but I didn’t recognize the place. My eyes fixed upon the house I was parked in front of. It had orange lights strung around the doorway and lit jack-o-lanterns on the stoop. It didn’t look familiar in the slightest. I took in the details of all the other houses along the street. At first, my gaze shifted past the house across the street, but then I noticed a black vehicle sitting in the driveway. I knew I’d seen it before, but I wasn’t sure where. A quick memory flashed back in my mind, and a little part of me knew I’d followed it here.

I continued to eye the house and wondered why I was here. That’s when I saw her again. The young girl passed in front of the window, and my breath all but ceased.

“Penny,” I said out loud.  

I opened my car door and stood on the pavement. When I looked back, I saw a woman pass by the window, too. She never noticed me sitting outside her house.

I can’t go in there now
, I thought. 

I sat back in my car, wondering what I was going to do to save my little girl. I had to get Penny back. She’d been away for so long. Is that why I was here? To get my daughter back? It felt too much like fate to turn back now.

The air was chill in the car after opening the door. I grabbed my hoodie from beside me on the seat and slipped it on
.
I didn’t know exactly what I was doing. I wasn’t even thinking. I stayed in the car for another hour watching the house. The light in the living room turned off, and another one flipped on at the other side of the house. I watched the woman pass by the window a few times in her nightgown, and then she shut the light off again. 

I waited another hour to make sure she was asleep. I knew I had to get to Penny as soon as I could, but if I was going to get away with her and bring her back home to Florida, I had to be patient. 

I flipped my hood up when I got out of the car to shield my body from the chilly night air. The sleeves fell to my fingertips, so I balled them into my fists. I walked around the corner of the house and peeked in the windows. It wasn’t easy to see inside, but there was enough moonlight that I could make out each room. 

I stopped when I came across a room I was sure was Penny’s. A nightlight enveloped the room in a soft hue. The walls were pink, and there was a collection of teddy bears in one corner. 

Of course,
I thought.
Penny always loved her teddy bears. 

I noticed a small lump on the bed. 

Penny!
I almost shouted, but I kept my mouth shut.
 

I pressed my cloaked hands against the window and stared into the room. All I knew was that I had to get to her, but I wasn’t completely sure how. I could try the front door. I could break the window.  

I pushed away from the glass in exasperation, and to my surprise, the window moved. It was only so slightly, but it was enough to tell me that it wasn’t locked. I had found my way to Penny. I fit through the window easily. For a moment, I just looked around the room again, and then I stared at the girl. 

What am I doing?
a voice in the back of my mind asked. But then I looked at her face. I really looked at it, and I knew she needed me. Knowing there was another woman in the next room, I figured it best not make any noise.

A moment later, I had my hand clamped down around Penny’s mouth. I pressed a finger to my lips to let her know to be quiet. I knew she would. After all, she was
my
little girl. I hugged her close to me, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I finally had my little girl back. 

I crawled back through the window I came in from and used one hand—still shoved in my hoodie for warmth—to pull it down and press it shut. I set Penny in the passenger seat of my vehicle and then crossed around to my side of the car. I was so happy to have my daughter back
.
 

My dream appeared to fast forward though the events of the next few weeks, and I caught glimpses of Lauren and Hope in my mind. The images slowed when Hope asked to play at the park and Lauren reluctantly agreed. A few hours passed through my mind in a second and then slowed again when I saw myself through Lauren’s eyes standing on her front deck. Days flew by in a few short moments, and then the images regressed to normal speed and fell upon a yellow house just as small as Lauren’s.  

***

I sat up straight in bed and gasped for air. I was partially relieved to know why Lauren took Hope and that it wasn’t in malice that she did so. I knew she hadn’t, and didn’t intend to, hurt her. Most of my relief, however, came from the fact that I now knew where Lauren took Hope. I didn’t know who the yellow house belonged to, but I somehow knew this was where Lauren took Hope after she destroyed our car. 

Light gently seeped in the porch windows, and I could hear voices in the kitchen. I leapt from my bed and excitedly entered the kitchen. “Teddy,” I practically shouted. 

He looked up expectantly from the newspaper he was reading. 

My eyes shifted from Teddy to my mom and then to Gail, who was tending to breakfast by the stove. “Can I, uh, talk to you two in private?” I asked, looking between my mom and Teddy. 

They exchanged a glance and then rose from the table and followed me onto the porch that served as my guest room. “Did you find out anything about Hope?” I asked Teddy once my mom shut the door behind us. 

Teddy’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Crystal. We haven’t found anything more, but it turns out that Lauren was a good lead. After getting her description out, some witnesses recalled seeing her at the funeral. She wasn’t on the guest list, and Melinda didn’t remember seeing her, which is why we didn’t know to look into her to begin with,” he explained. “There wasn’t anything else to connect her to this initially. She hadn’t been in contact with Scott for years. The problem is that the local police have searched her house but didn’t find anything. There’s no indication of where she took Hope or if she’s hurting her or anything. There haven’t been any reports matching her license plate number, either.” 

“That’s great!” I said, but I didn’t mean it in that way. Both my mom and Teddy fixed a look of confusion on their faces. “I mean, I know where she is now. I don’t know how, but I do. And it’s on our way home!”

Like the last time, I couldn’t pinpoint an address. I had to physically go there if I was to find it.

“We have to go get her,” I told them. “I mean, we’re headed home today anyway.” I wanted to hate Lauren for taking Hope, but a part of me felt her pain. “And we have to help Lauren,” I added.