On Ice Read Online Free PDF Page A

plight.
    Maddy was proud of her daughters for helping to make Rene’s escape possible. If all went well, their ruse would buy Rene some time. If all went well.
    ~*~
     
    In fact, Mark Edward Desmond was stunned. When he’d arrived at Byrondale School, Mrs. Sloan appeared to be confused.
    “ Why, Mr. Desmond, the children aren’t here. Mrs. Desmond picked them up earlier.”
    He’d felt like a fool. Rene made him a fool.
    “ She said there was a death in the family.” Mrs. Sloan stood with her hands clasped together looking at him over her bifocals.
    “ Yes. Yes, of course.” Mark felt totally inane saying it but he didn’t know how else to respond. Mark Desmond always knew what to say. He turned to leave.
    “ She said she was meeting you at the airport.”
    Mark turned back and caught the expression on her face, as though she’d smelled something distasteful. He left without another word.
    Death in the family, indeed!
    Mark strode out of Byrondale, shoving the double doors so hard they hit the brick walls outside. His rage spilled over as he hurried down the walk to his vehicle. Gritting his teeth together, he let out a howl like a wounded animal.
    Inside the car he’d hit the steering wheel so hard his hand throbbed.
    “ Wait till I get my hands on you!”
    ~*~
     
    By the time the plane touched down at the airport in Anchorage, Rene was having second thoughts. Unwilling to voice her doubts, she wondered if there was another way for her to have left Mark and still survived. During the flight, she was especially somber. As the plane taxied down the runway both children reflected her dark mood.
    Rene flashed them a too-bright smile. "This is going to be so exciting! I can't wait to see our new house."
    The children met these comments with silence.
    “ Seth, I'll bet you'll have a lot of new friends.”
    “ Yeah.” He was not enthusiastic.
    Sara clutched Pooh by the neck, rhythmically beating him against her chest.
    “ Listen to this.” Rene began reading from the airline magazine. “Alaska was the 49th state to achieve statehood. It's been a territory since the 1860s. Did you know that parts of Alaska are very close to Russia?” She stopped prattling, abruptly dropping her voice. “Look, I know how you feel. I'm scared too.”
    “ You're scared, Mommy?” Sara stopped beating Pooh.
    “ Sure I am. We all get scared of things we don't know. It's just that I’m certain we’re doing the right thing and I know it will all work out well for us. I just don't know how yet.”
    “ When will you know?” Sara was earnestly looking at her mother, the provider of all information.
    “ In a few weeks,” she said positively. “We'll be settled in by then and know how our day-to-day lives will be going.”
    Her son had been absolutely silent.
    “ Seth, are you all right?” When he nodded his head, she reached out and patted his hands, clenched together in his lap.
    Tears welled in his eyes and spilled, unchecked, down his cheeks.
    “ Oh, honey, everything is going to be all right. Please believe me, Seth. I need you to believe me.”
    Several people turned toward them as Seth nodded and wiped at his tears. She located a tissue in her purse and he sniffled into it.
    “ It'll be okay, Seffy.” Sara leaned over and tried to hug him though they were both belted in. “Mommy says so.”
    “ When we’re in a private place, we'll talk about everything.” Rene spoke more confidently than she felt. “When we have a chance to talk about things I'll bet our worries won't look so big. Okay?”
    Seth nodded his head.
    Rene mentally kicked herself for letting her mood depress them. The kids were relying on her for protection and leadership. She couldn't let them down again.
    Entering the airport terminal, she spotted a big, bearded man with long hair holding a hand-lettered sign that read “Nichols”.
    Rene's heart took a lurch. He resembled Paul Bunyan as depicted in one of Sara’s storybooks. He was broad