Free Fire and Ice by Lacey Savage

 

     

     

    Chapter One
     

    “Tonight’s the night, Elle! Can you believe it? In a few
hours, I’ll be engaged!”
    A frigid gust of wind slammed the door to the Kool Kreme ice cream store behind Elle Sutcliffe. In the busy summer months, the silvery
chime that announced new customers never stopped ringing. Now it echoed
sullenly through the store, its tinny wail mirroring the empty, forlorn feel of
the place.
    Elle stomped her feet on the floor mat to dislodge some of
the fresh snow she’d tracked in, and gave Ricki Delaney, her best friend since
high school, a shaky smile. “I hope you’re right, but --”
    Ricki waved Elle’s concern away with a flip of her perfectly
manicured nails. “But nothing. It’s Christmas Eve. Mike’s been waiting for the
perfect time to pop the question. This is it.”
    Unconvinced, Elle yanked the scarf off altogether and draped
it over the hook on the wall. Her shawl followed. “You started dating right out
of high school. You know as well as I do those teenage crushes never amount to
anything.”
    Ricki’s spine stiffened. Elle didn’t have to see her face to
know she was frowning, so she softened her tone. “I just don’t want to see you
get hurt, that’s all.”
    “Just because your high school sweetheart left town the day
he graduated doesn’t mean all relationships work out that way. Besides, we’re
not all holding out for Prince Charming to sweep us off our feet.”
    “I’m not --”
    Ricki cut her off again with a snort. “Sure you are, Elle.
You’ve been waiting since third grade.”
    Elle opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. They’d
had this argument before. It never ended well. She shuffled down the length of
the display case, glancing at the myriad of assorted flavors.
    Ricki’s parents had owned the store for thirty years.
Although they’d passed away, their presence still lingered in the place. From
the vinyl bar stools that sat around the counter to the framed black-and-white
pictures showing two people very much in love, Mr. and Mrs. Delaney would live
on as long as Kool Kreme remained open. And if Ricki had anything to say
about it, that would be forever.
    “Thanks for doing this on such short notice. Mike said this
couldn’t wait, so I really appreciate you filling in for me. You can start
closing around eight-thirty. Technically we should stay open until nine, but I
doubt anyone will be by that late on Christmas Eve.”
    Elle drew her lower lip between her teeth and bit down. She
didn’t have the heart to remind Ricki that no one came in to the store at this
time of the year. Except for her, of course. Kool Kreme provided the
perfect refuge from the endless parade of happy couples smooching under every
loose strand of mistletoe they came upon.
    She sighed happily as she glanced at the ceiling. Perfect .
Not a leafy strand of the awful stuff anywhere.
    “The tubs will keep in the refrigerated display cases, so
you don’t need to do anything with those when you close. Don’t lean against the
counter.”
    Elle blinked, her brain trying to process the rapid shift in
topic. Ricki had just finished tugging on her boot, and she still had her back
to the serving area where Elle stood.
    Or rather, where she leaned against the counter.
    Elle jerked herself away. When she’d put enough distance
between herself and the containers, she peered at the display. She couldn’t
have been standing there for even a minute, yet that had been long enough to
melt the surface area of half the containers.
    “Sorry,” she murmured sheepishly. “I should know better.”
    She was usually more careful, but worrying about Ricki took
precedence over remembering to stay away from the ice cream.
    Elle’s body temperature ran much hotter than everyone
else’s. It had been that way since she was born. Luckily, it hadn’t affected
her ability to interact with people -- the few boyfriends she’d had loved her
natural heat -- but frozen objects didn’t