Chilled by Death Read Online Free PDF Page B

This was her first trip away since that avalanche had ripped her life apart.
    She could do this. She had done this many times before. Remember, Stacy, you leave every day before you go to work.
    But in the past three years, she’d never left her home overnight. She’d never risked it. She’d lost so much on the last trip, she hadn’t been able to.
    Not until now.
    What if this time, she never came home?
    As she got into the back seat of the Land Rover her brother favored, Stacy realized Royce had taken the passenger seat up front. Good, it was crowded enough with six of them travelling in this rig without having to deal with Royce next to her. Thankfully Stevie was travelling with Mark in his truck and they were taking up much of the gear and provisions. They’d stop at a store on the other side of the border for fresh produce for the week.
    Stacy smiled at Kathleen, George’s current girlfriend, one who’d actually lasted longer than six months. “Good morning, Kathleen.”
    Kathleen grinned at her. “Can’t believe you’re here. This is going to be great.”
    “I hope so, especially after George hollered so much about me coming.” She closed the door and turned to see another woman on the other side of Kathleen. “Hi, I’m Stacy, and George is my obnoxious brother,” she said by way of an explanation.
    “I’m Yvonne,” the tall redhead said with a big smile.
    The other two women laughed while George protested the insult from the driver’s seat.
    “Who else is coming, George?” Stacy asked.
    “Geoffrey, Stevie, and Mark you already know about, and Kevin and Christine are also last-minute additions, but they won’t be arriving until the end of the week.”
    “Really?” Stacy said in delight. “That’s great. I haven’t seen Geoffrey in such a long time.”
    “Actually, I think he’s coming because you are coming,” George said with a big grin. “I’ve been trying to get him to come along with us forever. He’s boarded this region several times a year, but rarely with us and the last time was quite awhile ago. We’re picking him up on the way out of town.”
    “He’s also a spelunker, isn’t he?” Kathleen asked. “This area is hugely popular for ice caves too.”
    “Yeah, Geoffrey’s first love is caves. There are some in this area that never thaw. There was talk of opening a few of them up to the public in a touristy kind of way.”
    That elicited groans from everyone in the vehicle. “That would be horrible,” Yvonne said. “If people want to see those caves, they should be doing it the hard way.”
    Stacy withheld her comments. She understood both sides. Tourists brought in big bucks to the smaller communities that generally surrounded the wilderness areas, but at the same time, that type of tourism brought other problems with it. It needed to be managed carefully so as to not damage the delicate balance of the ecosystem. However, she knew better than to get into a discussion with raised tempers on both sides of the debate.
    Feeling eyes on her, she looked up to see Royce staring at her in the rearview mirror. She remembered he’d been on her side on some of those discussions. And that warm gaze invited her to share in those memories.
    She flushed and turned her gaze out the window.
    What the hell was she doing here? And why was she suddenly feeling like she’d made the right decision in coming?
    *
    George kept a wary eye on his sister. He loved her dearly, but like any siblings, they’d done their share of fighting. Both artistic and active, they’d had their problems, but they’d stayed close regardless. She was the brain. He was a jock. Somehow they’d still found enough common ground – maybe just love – to work through all the problems. When her friends had gone missing, she’d gone a little crazy. He’d tried to help. So had the police. Hell, she’d badgered them hourly then daily for news, leads, any tidbit to help her sleep at night.
    When there’d been