Melting the Ice Queen ✔️

~12~

The next day, during the fifth mile of her second treadmill run of the day,

 someone pounded on Alicia's front door, ruining the Scott-free endorphin high she'd finally achieved. Relentless exercise had, lately, become her only respite from her nonstop thoughts of Scott and her father, which were somehow becoming intertwined. And she bitterly resented the interruption. Cursing, she hopped off, swiped her sweat-slicked face and hair with a towel, and tromped down the hall from her TV room to the door, which she swung open.

It was Krista, her younger sister (yawn), with her precious four-month-old daughter Grace (yay!).

"What are you doing here?" Relieving Krista of her adorable bundle—baby powder sweet with her bright brown eyes, downy fuzz and velvety cheeks—Alicia stepped aside to let her sister in and ushered her into the kitchen.

Krista's hello smile faded into consternation. "Hello? It's Friday night. You said you'd watch Grace while we went to a movie."

Alicia blinked. What the hell was she— Oh, God. Oh, no. "I forgot. Sorry."

This confession prompted Krista to take a closer look at Alicia, and then the kitchen, which was looking a little, ah, less than immaculate for once. Dishes piled in the sink, an empty pizza box on the counter, and a case file from work essentially exploded across the table next to her laptop.

Krista's wide-eyed gaze swung back to Alicia, concern written all over her face. "What's happened to you? Are you sick?"

Alicia opened her mouth and out came the standard response: "I'm fine."

What else would she say? The truth? That's right, sports fans. Welcome to the mess that's become my formerly disciplined life since Scott dropped his bombshell on me. No, thanks. She had enough on her plate without Krista, who had a perfect marriage, home and child, feeling sorry for her.

Krista snorted. "Right. You're always fine. You could be fired, car-jacked and sued all in the same day, and you'd be fine. Whatever."

Without warning, Alicia crumpled, and the lurking tears that had been following her around all day spilled down her cheeks in an embarrassing stream. Trying to get it together, she pressed her quivering lips to the baby's forehead and snuggled her close, wishing she had a daughter like this and a happy home and, hell, just one day out of life that didn't include that nameless and oppressive fear beating down on her.

"Scott asked me to marry him," she confessed.

"Honey, that's great! Why did that make you unravel like this?"

A semi-hysterical laugh erupted from her throat. "Like I know." Another lie. Maybe she should work with the truth, just this one time. See where it led. "How do you make marriage work when our parents were the poster children for the abusive alcoholic and his enabler? Why aren't you scared like I am?"

Krista smiled with complete understanding and gave her answer without hesitation. "Because they taught me everything to do when you want to destroy a marriage. And I'm never going to do any of that. And because Daddy already ruined enough of my life, and he's not going to take one more thing from me."

Wow. That sounded so normal—and so possible—when Krista said it like that.

Alicia stared at her, sniffling her tears into submission. "Why didn't you say so before?"

Krista grinned. "All you had to do was ask."

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