Warming Trend (30 page)

“Tonk, let go,” Eve ordered. She shook her sleeve free. Tonk backed slightly, tail down. Grabbing and pulling was his job. “Good boy, good boy,” Eve assured him.

The rope around her stayed strong and steady. Trying to get her arm down the tight space where she was wedged was harder than it sounded. Protrusions in the ice stabbed through her glove, scraping the back of her hand and wrist. Scarily, her feet dangled freely—kicking backward with her heels she encountered nothing.

“Do you want me to try to reach it?”

“And risk you falling in, head first? No. I can do it. Let me rest a bit.” She caught her breath, tried to suck in her waist from its already compressed position, anything to give her hand more room to reach the release button. The effort of every quarter-inch gained felt equal to trying to lift her entire body weight with one arm. The inside of her glove was sticky and she tried not to think about what that meant.

“Can you lift me at all? I think…my hand is too high and I don’t want to start over. But if you pulled me up even a half inch, I’d be on the button.”

Ani called out directions, then counted down. “Three-two-one!”

At first she didn’t move. Eve had no place to look but Ani’s straining face, etched in worry. Then she did shift, and it was only a small amount, but her little finger could feel the protrusion of the buckle. “Just a little more!”

With another massive heave Eve felt the buckle move under her hand. She pressed—hoping it was enough, and the dull click she heard wasn’t just wishful thinking. She was wedged too tightly to tell if the belt had parted.

“I really don’t want to cut the straps on your pack. I know you’re tired, honey, but can you free your arm now? I’ll loosen the straps as much as I can and then we’ll see if you can get free of them.”

While Eve wriggled and struggled to free her arm, Ani was working on her shoulder straps. “I’ve got this one completely unfastened. You’re doing great. Just the other one now.”

“Nearly there.” Eve had broken out into a hard sweat, and it was getting in her eyes. “Can you…take off the goggles?”

Ani did as she asked, then used her gloves to wipe Eve’s eyes. Eve got her arm free with a little cry, then went limp.

“Rest,” Ani said. “We’ll have you out in a jiffy.” She slithered away from the edge for a moment, then came back into Eve’s view with a second rope lead. She tethered it to Eve’s pack with a neat knot, and gave the other end to Tonk. “Take it to Tan.”

Eve heard Tan call and Tonk promptly trotted off.

“Go limp, it’s okay,” Ani urged her.

Eve did as Ani said. She was too exhausted not to. Even wedged in place, she had muscles automatically straining to breathe, to resist gravity even when there was no need. She gazed into Ani’s eyes and told herself to make no ridiculous declarations. Now was not the time to tell Ani how sorry she truly was, how she wished one of them had had the sense to fight for their relationship, how much she wanted to start over. So what if she was having a near-death experience? The fact that she was having a moment of supreme clarity didn’t mean anything had changed for Ani.

But she knew one thing. The woman she was looking at was the one she had fallen in love with, and not the Ani who had run away in a blind panic. Her anger with Monica stirred, because even if Monica hadn’t taken the notebook, she’d manipulated Ani into leaving, and lied to Eve about doing so. No matter her motives, she’d had no right. Yes, they’d failed to trust their love would survive the stress of the situation, but Monica had seemingly counted on their failure.

“Here.” Ani slipped an ice chip between her lips. “We’re about ready to give you the heave-ho. Use your arms if you can, but otherwise, let us do the work. Don’t worry if your pack falls, it won’t go that far. Just let it go.”

The melting ice felt heavenly in her mouth. Eve had read about people getting stuck in crevasses and being unable to extricate themselves. She hadn’t understood it, not really. But now she did. Her momentum had wedged her tight and compressed her ribs and hips. The ice was immutable, like steel, and the more she struggled, the more exhausted she became. If not for the rope Ani had gotten around her, she probably would have slipped lower. If her ribs had been compressed, her breathing would have easily been restricted.

Ani counted down again, and with a jolt, Eve lifted several inches and her backpack finally fell away. It was a relief to use her arms, and she didn’t object when Tonk again clamped onto one sleeve and pulled too. His one hundred and forty pounds of ballast allayed her fear that she would fall back in.

The pack clattered, and as Ani had predicted, fell several feet before lurching to a halt. Eve was clear to her stomach, then Ani grabbed her by the back of her suit and hauled her the rest of the way to the surface and another ten feet from the crevasse edge.

Then she was in Ani’s arms.

Ani kissed her, quick kisses across her forehead, before burying her face in Eve’s hair. Eve gave herself to the strength and warmth, exhausted, relieved and safe.

“The water’s boiling, the iodine’s dissolved—who’s up for dinner?” Tan looked up from the trusty cook pot, four packets of non-meat beef stroganoff in one hand.

“Me, me!” Ani jumped up and down, hoping to make Eve laugh.

“You and Tonk,” Eve said, with a grin. “You operate on your stomachs.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Tonk was already ensconced on an ultrathin insulating tarp, chomping happily on a rawhide chew after disposing of a large bowl of high-fat, concentrated dry food, over which Ani had poured broth made from bouillon cubes. “Out here it’s the little things that matter.”

“I know.” Eve remained seated on her pack with her hood firmly tied in place. Ani thought her face was adorable, framed with fleece. “But if this is what passes for good food with you, then I don’t know why I ever bothered with a greenhouse, and things like basil and saffron.”

“If you make me dinner again, I promise to show appreciation.” Ani meant the comment in the same teasing vein, but somehow it didn’t come out that way.

Eve’s mouth parted slightly and her eyes darkened. “That’s a deal.”

Breathing was suddenly something she had to force herself to do. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea that she was remembering her mid-winter birthday present. She didn’t know where Eve had found the little maid’s outfit, but the five-course meal had taken all night. The moment she’d pulled Eve to safety, she’d been half-caught in all those delicious memories, as if her brain’s way of dealing with the near-paralyzing panic of watching Eve fall into the crevasse was to deliver up all the ways they’d been happy together.

Once she’d been certain Eve was okay, she and Tan had crawled to the edge of the crevasse to satisfy their morbid curiosity. She was glad Eve had declined to look. She’d been caught in the narrowest part, and been lucky for that. Below her had been a fall of at least twenty more feet, onto sharp-edged shards. Joking around with snowballs, thinking how lovely Eve was, wondering if she could tackle her and kiss her without anyone realizing, had taken her mind off Eve’s safety. She’d suspected there was a crevasse under them. Tonk had even backed away, and she’d missed the cue. It wasn’t safe to be thinking about maid’s outfits and being fed by Eve as she snuggled on her lap, and having dessert for breakfast and that finally dessert included food—none of that was particularly useful.

The reality was that she’d nearly lost Eve for a second time.

“So what exactly is that?” Lisa peered at the packages as she helped Tan tear them open, then use a mug to pour in hot water. “Cripes, that’s hot.”

“That’s why you should have your gloves on,” Tan said.

“They make me clumsy.”

“Impossible.”

Lisa handed the hot package to Ani, who passed it on to Eve. Ani hoped Eve’s color would improve with food. She’d been depleted by the rescue and the stress of the last climb. Hauling packs up by rope and pulley had saved everyone’s energy, but Eve still looked pale. Worrying about Eve had taken her mind off using a similar scheme of rope and pulley to lower Kenbrink’s body three years ago.

“This whole suit,” Lisa went on, “makes me feel clumsy. Wearing this getup, how can anyone even tell I’m female?”

Tan paused, mug over the steaming water. “You could be wearing a suit made of concrete and I’d have no trouble telling you were female.”

Lisa said, “Oh.”

After a moment, water ladling resumed and Ani got her food.

“I love this stuff.” She plunked down next to Eve. “It’s about as far from real food as you can get but awfully good for you. Loaded with vitamins and potassium.”

Eve was still sniffing it. “Why does it say beef stroganoff when there’s no meat in it?”

Ani pointed to the tiny print under the word
beef
. “Flavored. Beef flavored stroganoff.”

Eve finally tried a small bite, and sighed. “Okay, I hate to admit it, but that’s good. It’s hot and the salt is just what I need. I was sweating like a pig.”

“You were really calm, though. And you did what I asked you to. Oh, and this stuff tastes even better if you don’t look at it.” Ani savored a big bite of her ration now that it was thoroughly mixed.

“I knew that you knew what to do. I knew you’d get me out of there.”

To her own surprise, Ani didn’t blush. “Thank you for your trust.”

“I’m amazed I ever doubted you,” Eve said softly. She started to say more but winced as she traded the pouch of food to her left hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just sore from getting my hip band released.”

“Let me see it.”

“It’s fine.”

“Can you grip an axe with it?”

Eve looked like she wanted to pout. “Can I at least finish my meal while it’s hot?”

“Okay, of course. But it’s foolish to leave an injury untreated.” Ani tried to cover her worry by indicating the pouch in Eve’s hand. “You’ll never go back to that fresh stuff you make.”

“Can you see me serving this at the Dragonfly?”

“Most of the soldiers would feel right at home with it.”

“I’ll stick to chowder and pancakes.”

“I’m glad the Dragonfly is doing well.” Ani didn’t mean her voice to be quite so soft, but it couldn’t be helped. “You always wanted a place like it, and you went out and got your dream.”

Eve gave her a tender look, before studying the depths of her pouch of food. “Ani, I really don’t care if we find—”

“Time to put the tents up?” Tan, last served but first done, stowed her empty pouch in the garbage sack and began rummaging in her pack.

“I want to go get the notebook.” Lisa was holding her hot pouch of food against her nose.

Ani realized her nose was quite cold, too. Way colder than it had ever been inside the On the Rocks ice bar. It felt wonderful. “Shelter first. If we get ice fog, or get back here too tired to drive in the stakes, then we deserve to freeze to death.”

The tents were in her pack and Tan’s. They started by spreading them out and making sure the vents were functioning.

“Where are the other two?” Lisa looked around.

Ani glanced at her, then Eve. Eve looked like she was wondering the exact same thing. “This is it. It’s the same number of stakes and ropes for a one-man versus a two-man, and a two-man only weighs half again as much. By sharing, both of you carried nearly two pounds less.”

“I guess that’s okay,” Lisa said. “My pack is already so heavy.”

“Two people will fit?” Eve still looked hesitant.

“Yes, with breathing room to spare. It’ll also be a couple of degrees warmer because of the double body heat.”

Lisa, in a fine imitation of Mae West, said, “I call dibs sleeping with Tan.”

Tan dropped the tent stakes and Ani decided that ignoring the whole thing was the best policy. To Eve, she said, “I guess you’re stuck with me.”

When Eve didn’t answer, Ani looked up. Her heart skipped a beat at the look burning in Eve’s eyes.

“Okay by me,” was all she said.

Okay by me circled round and round in Ani’s head, sounding like a promise to dance. It was very distracting. She bent a stake trying to hammer it in, much to her chagrin, then she worked harder to stay completely focused on every task.

“Now we can empty our packs of what we don’t need at the site.” Ani zipped hers fully open and pulled out most of the rations, the few articles of spare clothing she’d brought and her sleeping bag. Eve was doing the same with her pack, so Ani reached for Lisa’s.

“This
is
heavy—what have you got in here? A hot tub?”

Lisa grabbed the pack back. “I can do that myself.”

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing. I just thought later we’d like some wine.”

Ani burst out laughing as Lisa hefted a bottle.

“What?” She showed it to Tan. “It’s a good wine.”

“Usually,” Tan said, her face studiously sober, “one would decant the wine into a plastic container. That weighs more than your sleeping bag. Once empty, you still have to carry about a pound and a quarter of glass back out.”

“Wine in plastic?” Lisa made a face.

“Thank you for bringing it,” Eve said. “I think I’ll be glad of a glass later.”

“After we warm it—by that I mean, we make sure it’s not too cold to drink.” Ani added, “I don’t suppose you brought a bottle opener?”

“Oh, well, no. I guess…” Now Lisa was truly pouting.

“I have one on my Swiss Army knife,” Tan said.

“Of course you do.” Lisa beamed at her.

“Just put as much of the stuff into the tents as you can,” Ani said, not bothering to hide her exasperation. “No alcohol until we are warmed, fed, settled and we know we can get into our bags to sleep. I don’t think we’re going to have precipitation, so if it’s clear tonight, it’s going to be even colder.”

“And if you listen, can you tell if a train is coming?” Lisa stuck her tongue out at Ani.

Ani had little choice but to return the gesture.

“You two bicker like an old married couple,” Eve observed. It was so much easier walking with her pack weight reduced by two-thirds. She’d only kept some of the food, her water, and the lightweight digging tools that unsnapped and folded to easily fit in her pack.