Frostbite (Touch of Frost) by Lynn Rush Page B

second it began to bubble and then boil. “Whoa, how do I turn it off?”
    “I don’t know. Tell it to cool down. Tell it to stop.” My hand frosted over just in case.
    Georgia looked at me and nodded. I gently pressed my forefinger to her glowing knuckles. Didn’t know if we’d get stuck together again, so I didn’t want to grab it.
    A circle of blue formed where I touched her skin. The redness flowing up her arm receded. The boiling subsided.
    “Oh, my gosh.” Georgia’s eyes glistened with moisture. Her nostrils flared. “It’s working.” Once her flesh returned to normal, she set the steaming glass of water on the coffee table, kicked off the blanket, then stood up.
    She tugged at her hair and paced. I knew exactly what she was going through. I remembered the first time I froze something—er—some one by accident. Poor Scott. He hadn’t believed me about Mom. Couldn’t blame him, though. Not many would believe a fourteen-year-old kid who claimed her mom picked up a car and shot ice from her hands.
    “Georgia?” She faced me. “Do you think your mom or dad might have this same thing? You know, fire?”
    “No. And they’re going to freak when they find out about this.” Tears streamed down her face. “Mandy—I—”
    I pushed up from the couch and yanked her into my arms. “It’s okay. Freak out a little. I’m here—we’re here for you. Love you, girl.”
    I wasn’t sure how long I held my sobbing best friend but it didn’t matter. I knew exactly what she was going through and I wouldn’t let her do it alone. Ever.
    “Maybe her mom does have some powers, and she’s hidden it like our parents did. You only found out because the Coats attacked our house,” Scott said.
    True. They’d done such a stellar job of hiding it from us we’d never found any mention of it in any of their things.
    Nothing. Not a clue. That’s what was so frustrating.
    “What’s a Coat ?” Georgia asked as she stepped away from me and stood in the middle of our tiny living room.
    “Scientists. They wanted to take Mom in and study her,” Scott said.
    “Well, that’s what we think, anyway,” I said. “She called them that right before she died. They’ve caught me before. And yeah, they wore white coats. So I’m thinking that’s where she got the name.”
    Scott shot up from the chair. “Theory time.”
    “What?” Georgia’s hand gravitated to her throat, her eyes wide.
    He put his forefinger to his bottom lip. “Mandy, you first got your powers after Mom and Dad were killed. Right after the funeral. Totally emotional experience.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Then, recently, a first date with Zach. Totally emotional experience. You said he was kissing you tonight? Totally emotional experience. Your powers go nuts when you’re freaking out. Stressed.”
    I saw where he was going with this. “But, I’ve kissed other guys before.”
    Scott’s eyes widened. “I thought—”
    “So I tried it a few times, deal with it.” I hadn’t been-been with a guy yet or even had any mega make-out sessions, though. Too scared I’d freeze them.
    “Well, that blows a hole in my theory then.”
    “Not exactly. I mean, I’ve only been with a couple guys, and I never really liked them as much as I like Zach. I was only trying it. You know, practicing the whole not-freezing-them thing.”
    “We’re so going to talk about that later. But back to my thought.” He turned to Georgia. “Not to get personal, but did you and Dan…did anything happen with you and Dan tonight?”
    Georgia nodded.
    “Okay, then. Back to my theory. You guys hooking up with Dan and Zach, then Georgia finding her best friend on the floor totally frozen. That explains the explosion of powers from you both. Mandy, you’ve known about yours a while and have been able to practice, but Georgia, this is a first for you.”
    She nodded again. Her silence was starting to unnerve me.
    “How do we handle her parents, Scott? It’s different for us since