Page 13 of A Midlife Vanishing Trick

It wasn’t until after a year of barely making it alone on the mountain that he stumbled across a community. It was in a village called Kirnham that he’d learned the truth about Frost Mountain—that it was a dimension apart from Earth that he could never leave, that all he could do was continue to preserve his life.

Finding Kirnham had been a lifesaver—literally. It felt good to be around other people instead of sleeping in caves. In a way, it had been almost like he was back in Torpe. He’d offered to help guard the village. It was in the course of his duty that he’d learned about the Collectors, but it was years later that the marauders invaded the village and took him captive.

For a dimension so cold and snowy, Frost Mountain had beenhell.

Still, he imagined it hadn’t been easy for Allison either.

Stanley pried his eyes open and glanced again at the ranch house. His wife’s image swam before his eyes. It must have been lonely and painful for her these past four years. No wonder she’d snapped at him and told him to leave. He winced at the memory. To her, he’d left of his own accord.

If only she knew what had really happened.

I’m home now, he thought, bringing the horse to a slow trot.I’m back. That’s what matters. I’ll make things right with her.

It had been three days since she kicked him out of the house, and he’d hardly seen or heard from her. The cowhands, Aaron and Julian, still shocked at his insistence on sleeping in the barn, had brought him food over the past couple of days. He’d spotted his wife a couple of times, but she’d avoided him like a plague. However, he did have a chance or two to get a good look at her. One of those times, she’d had on a flowery dress, and all he could think of was what it would feel like to ease it up those sexy thighs of hers.

Not that it was likely to happen anytime soon.

But his strained relationship wasn’t the only problem bothering him now. What about Johan? The cowhands had mentioned someone who fit the man’s description, moving around Torpe. Stanley cursed under his breath. He’d assumed he was completely free of Frost Mountain, but fate had other ideas.

The pit that had brought him back must be some kind of portal, he figured. And it had transported not only him but also the Collector to Earth—to Torpe, to be precise. That alone had been hard to stomach, and now he had more to think about. If Johan was in town, then trouble couldn’t be too far away. The Collector wasn’t from Earth like Stanley was—he’d beenbornon Frost Mountain.

Stanley couldn’t resist a grim smile. Johan was one of the many threats to his survival that Frost Mountain had thrownhis way. If that pit hadn’t brought them both here, Johan would have been the end of him. Not that it wasn’t still a possibility.

He’d managed to escape from hell. And one of its agents had followed him.

He tugged on the reins, and Betsy turned around, trotting toward the barn. “What are you up to, Johan?” he wondered aloud.

Stanley hadn’t gotten wind of any other strange happenings in Torpe. Maybe the man was lying low. Maybe he wasn’t even in town anymore. He dismissed the thoughts, hopeful as they were. Whatever the case, Johan was bad news. Sure, things were different around here. No more Grim Jim, no Collectors besides Johan himself. But Stanley’s mind wasn’t quite settled.

He urged the horse into a gallop, heading back for the barn. As he rode, he looked around again.

How is this possible?

No one could escape Frost Mountain. That was one of the first things anyone ever learned about the place. The same magic that had created the dimension and brought in people from Earth had made it impossible for anyone to leave for literally hundreds of years.

Had there been some kind of glitch? Was that what the pit really was? Or had he merely been lucky?

It doesn’t matter much now, he told himself.

His stomach growled, and he grinned again. Once he got Betsy back in her stable and tended to the other horses, he’d find some food for himself. It shouldn’t be a problem. Nothing around here was half as difficult as living on Frost Mountain. If he could survive being holed up in a freezing cave for days with no food and barely enough water, he could certainly find himself some grub.

He smirked at the thought and urged the horse to pick up speed, sighing as they neared the barn.

By the time he reached it, someone was waiting for him.

***

“I brought you some food,” Allison said. “I figured you might be hungry.”

She held out the little basket she’d brought with her. Stanley regarded her for a moment; brows furrowed like he was wondering if she was messing with him. Somewhat tentatively, he took the basket from her.

“Thank you,” he said.

His overgrown hair was somewhat tousled from the ride, and his bare chest heaved. With each breath, his abs tightened, and Allison’s breathing faltered a little. She looked away for a moment, her cheeks burning. Stanley led the horse into the barn. Allison followed closely behind, watching him as he put the horse in back in her stable.

“There you go, Betsy,” he said, stroking the horse’s large brown head. “Hell of a ride, that was.”

He stepped back and glanced in Allison’s direction, and she rubbed her arms nervously, feeling a little out of place. What was she evendoinghere?

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