See part 1 for all of the disclaimers

Lost Paradise 8

By WolfDragon.

Kris was satisfied with her day. All the arrangements had been made and her Harley-Davidson was ready to be shipped back to Innsbruck. Since she wanted Nicole to enjoy one of her remaining weekends in Canada, Kris had also leased a cabin in the mountains so they could spend some time together. She missed having Nicole around in the past few days and she was looking forward to seeing her lover again. Feeling a bit lonely, Kris had spent those days as busy as she could by getting ready for the move to Austria and by preparing a romantic weekend.

Nearing the house, Kris noticed a taxi in the driveway and smiled at the thought of Nicole being back home. She gave the driver a moment to back up the car and frowned when the taxi didn't move out of the driveway. Kris turned the motor off and stepped out of the vehicle and walked toward the taxi. The trunk was filled with bags and the driver was standing next to the opened front door.

"What's going on?" Kris asked the driver who only shrugged. "Nicole?" she called out loud as she walked into the house. "Where are you?" her heart started pounding against her chest as she realized that, for some reason, Nicole was leaving. She practically ran from room to room, trying to find her partner and found her crying in the bedroom. "What's wrong Nicole?" Kris asked worriedly and took a step forward to touch her arm.

"Don't touch me!" Nicole screamed with a fresh flood of tears. "Just…don't!"

Kris pulled her hand back as if burned. "What…" Kris started but her voice couldn't carry her words. Her mouth moved but no sounds came out. In shock, Kris stared at Nicole as the younger woman put the last of her clothes in the bag and zipped it closed violently.

"Get out of my way Kris." Nicole said through clenched teeth, her vision blurred by the tears. She grabbed her bag and moved toward the door. Kris was not moving. "I said move!" Nicole yelled and grabbed the first thing that came into her hand and threw it at the taller woman.

Kris, through her haze, had barely enough time to duck as the plug went tearing out of the wall and the lamp went flying past where her head had been. The lamp broke against the wall in a shower of broken glass and porcelain.

"I loved you so much. How could I have been so wrong about you?" Nicole wailed as she ran out of the room, the strap of her bag slung over her shoulder. "What a mistake I made." She cried as she ran down the hall.

"What did I do?" Kris pleaded after the retreating form of her friend. "Nicole, talk to me!" Kris screamed, feeling the pain tightening her heart and soul. Something had gone horribly wrong and she had no idea what it was. "Nicole!" Kris screamed again as she ran out in time to see the blonde woman closing the door of the taxi and the car pull out of the driveway. "Please…wait?" she finished with a choked voice but the car didn't stop and it was soon gone and out of her sight.

Her legs finally gave out and she sat on the front lawn with a thump. What had just happened? Why did Nicole leave this way? Kris couldn't think straight. The sound of her racing heart and the blood pumping through her veins made it hard for her to hear anything. She wanted to get up and go after Nicole, but her legs wouldn't obey her. Kris hit the ground with her fist in frustration. Determined to find out what had happened, she scrambled to her feet like a drunken sailor. "It can't end this way!" Kris closed her eyes as images of her previous breakup came back to haunt her. "Don't do this to me, please!" She whispered, hoping that when she would open her eyes, Nicole would be standing in front of her.

Reeling from the emotions hitting her from all sides, Kris opened her eyes to see that her wish hadn't come true. Nicole was nowhere in sight. "Where could she have gone?" she mumbled to herself as she walked toward her parked vehicle in the street. "Her Uncle! She must have gone to Robert's." With a new sense of priority, Kris sat in the Pathfinder and started the motor to head over to Robert's house.

Kris ran up the driveway and up to the front door. She rang the doorbell and waited impatiently for somebody to answer. She rang twice more and seeing that nobody was answering, she jogged to the back yard to see if anybody was there. Nobody seemed to be home. Brushing shaking hands through her raven hair, Kris turned around and saw for the first time the empty driveway. For all the times that she had been to Robert's house, there had always been a vehicle parked here. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she slowly walked down the path back toward her car.

She sat in the Pathfinder and leaned her head against the steering wheel. 'What am I going to do now?' she asked herself as she closed her eyes. 'Where are you Nicole?' Kris leaned back in her seat and rubbed her palms against her aching eyes. She started the engine and put the car in gear and drove back home. 'Hopefully she'll call me once she calms down.'

It was too quiet. Kris walked around the house aimlessly, trying to figure out what had happened. On a regular basis, she had called Robert's house hoping that Nicole's uncle or even Michelle had come back home but Kris had been answered only by their answering machine. She had left a message asking them that if they talk to Nicole to have her call home. The other messages had been similar with a final plea for Robert to call her as soon as possible. All evening Kris had waited by the phone, hoping that Nicole or that Robert would call.

"I need a drink." Kris said as she walked into the kitchen. She wished that she had something stronger than beer but decided against getting drunk. That wouldn't solve anything. Reaching for the fridge, Kris noticed for the first time a note that had been stuck to the door. She lifted a hand and pulled the paper from under the colorful magnet. Her heart started racing again as she read the note.

Kris closed her eyes and brought the note to her lips. Her partner had seemed fine when she wrote the note so whatever went wrong happened while she was at her father's place. "Her father's…" Kris repeated and tightened her jaw. Anger started swelling inside her as she realized that maybe McGrail had something to do with what had happened. Grabbing her keys from the counter, Kris tore the Pathfinder out of the driveway and headed over to the family house.

The furious stuntwoman ran up the stairs and didn't even bother to ring the doorbell. She banged her fist against the door a couple of times, letting the tension out of her system. "McGrail! Open the damn door!" she yelled and kicked the door when nobody answered. "Where is everybody?" she screamed in frustration. A neighbor curiously looked at her and a glare sent in his direction made the man cower back into his house. There wasn't much Kris could do for the day. She had no idea where Nicole was and neither Robert nor McGrail were home. Kris headed back to the house to try and get some sleep.

The whole night was spent tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. Kris had gone on her run earlier than usual before heading to the stunt school. Her lack of concentration had caused her twice to nearly ram the car in front of her on the road and as she was parking the Pathfinder, she had misjudged the distance and had sent the vehicle jumping over the small cement block that indicated where the parking space ended. 'Lucky I've got a 4x4.' Kris shook her head and climbed out, leaving the car where it was.

A few students and instructors chuckled at seeing Kris' mistake but their smiles quickly faded as they saw her pale face and drawn lines. They watched as she silently entered the school without even looking at them. Usually she always stopped to chat with them before the day started even when she wasn't feeling well but this morning, Kris looked like she was depressed. Marcus excused himself from the group and followed the stuntwoman. The director waited until Kris settled her briefcase on her desk before he called her. "Kris, can I speak with you?" he said with a smile and entered his office.

Marcus watched as Kris silently nodded, never looking up at him, and headed his way. He closed the door as Kris walked past him and sat on a chair in front of his desk. She was staring at her hands and if he didn't know her better, he could have sworn that she was on the verge of crying. The school director slowly pulled the second chair close to Kris and sat down next to her. "I've never seen you like this Kris. What's going on?" For a long moment, the stuntwoman didn't answer. Marcus believed that she would not answer his gentle question but he heard her sigh and saw her slowly shake her head.

"I don't know what happened," she whispered. "She's gone. Nicole left me." The sound of those words made Kris bit her lip to try and keep the tears from falling. She still couldn't believe that her partner had packed her bags and left.

"Well," Marcus hesitated, "Maybe all you need is to talk with her. I'm sure that if you do, everything will be okay."

"I don't even know where she is." Kris said as she planted her elbows on her thighs and leaned her head into her hands. "I tried to find her. I looked everywhere I could think of. She's nowhere to be found."

"Kris, you look exhausted. Why don't you take some time off and work things out with Nicole?" Marcus asked gently. "I can find another instructor to replace you."

"I'm fine Marcus, I just need…" Kris started and looked up when the director touched her arm.

"You're in no shape to teach Kris. Would you let a stuntman perform if he was feeling the way you are?"

"I'm not performing Marcus, I'm just…"

"Your concentration isn't there Kris." He stated, holding her look with his own. "Find her and talk to her. Give me a call once your head is clear okay?"

Kris knew that Marcus was right. She nodded and stood up. "I'm sorry about this."

"Hey don't worry, okay? I just want to see the two of you together again. Nicole's a very nice woman." Marcus opened the door and smiled at Kris.

"Yes, she is." Kris forced a smile, "Thanks." She walked back to her desk, picked up the phone and dialed a number she now knew by heart. "Is Nicole McGrail there?" Kris asked the receptionist at the studios.

"I'm sorry. She won't be coming to work for a few days. Would you like to leave a message?"

"No." Kris said with disappointment in her voice. "Thank you." She hung up and left the instructor's office carrying her briefcase with her.

******************************

The next couple of days were spent with Kris driving back and forth between Robert's house and McGrail's. No one had shown up yet. Kris, exhausted from her lack of sleep, kept patrolling the lakeshore in hopes of seeing Nicole again. She had even gone to the pub where she knew that some of Nicole's friends hung out, hoping to see a familiar face, but Kris had no luck. Having gone a couple of times to the studios where Nicole worked, the word out was that a crisis had happened in her family and nobody was sure when the young camerawoman would be coming back.

One early morning as she was driving by Robert's house, Kris saw that somebody had finally arrived. She parked the car and as she was about to open the door, Kris noticed the time. It wasn't even 6am yet. Wanting to give them a chance to sleep she drove three blocks away to get a coffee and came back to wait for a more appropriate time to wake them up.

One hour later, Kris couldn't stand the wait any longer and walked up to the house and rang the doorbell. Nicole's aunt, Michelle, opened the door two rings later. Kris caught the look of surprise on Michelle's face before it was replaced by a smile.

"Hello Kris. What brings you here so early?" Michelle said as she held the door open for the stuntwoman. "Please, come in."

"I'm sorry to be here so early but…" Kris quickly looked up at the sound of footfalls coming down the hall but her shoulders sagged as she saw a sleepy Robert poke his head in.

"Hi Kris!" he said as he looked from his wife to the dark-haired woman standing in the doorway. "What happened to you Kris? Are you okay?" Robert frowned at the tall woman and gently guided her to the kitchen and made her sit down. "You look awful."

"Robert!" Michelle exclaimed. "You don't say things like that!" she then turned her attention to Kris. "Do you want a cup of coffee or something to eat? You look like you could use some."

"No…thanks." Kris nervously played with her hands, trying to stop them from shaking. "Did you…Have you spoken to…to Nicole lately?" she asked softly.

Michelle was about to answer when Robert gave her a look that made her stop. She quietly turned around to serve her husband and herself some coffee. Robert pulled a chair next to Kris, who was still looking down at her hands, and gently touched her hand. "We heard the messages you left on the machine."

"Then why didn't you call me like I asked you?" Kris shot back feeling her temper rise. "You could have told me if you had seen her or something!"

"We came in very late last night. I didn't want to wake you up." Robert said defensively.

"You know that you could call me anytime Robert, you've done it before on many occasions. None of them as important as this is to me!" Kris took a deep breath and let it go slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get upset at you."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. You look like you haven't slept in days. What happened Kris?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know." She whispered, "I…she…I've been looking everywhere for her." Kris stopped for a while and closed her eyes. She was so tired her emotions were threatening to explode at the slightest thing. "Is she here?" Kris asked softly.

The look on Kris' face was so gut wrenching it almost made Michelle cry. "No, she's not here Kris." She said softly and gently squeezed Kris' shoulder.

Kris looked at Michelle with pleading eyes. "If…if you see her, can you tell her that I would like to…to talk to her?"

"We will." Michelle and Robert both agreed as Kris slowly stood up.

Kris silently nodded, a look of complete defeat written all over her. They both walked Kris to the door and watched her make her way toward her car and leave.

"Do you believe what Nicole said about Kris?" Michelle asked Robert. Their niece had left a message on their answering machine, telling them briefly what had happened and which hotel she was staying at.

"No, I don't believe it." Robert replied, still looking out toward where Kris had gone. "If Kris didn't care that much about Nicole, would she be searching for her like she is?" he turned to look at his wife. "You know Nicole, she's very insecure and she quickly jumps to conclusions. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

"I'm concerned for Kris though. She looks like she's about to collapse. Should we get involved?"

Robert shook his head, a sad look on his face. "No. Nicole needs the time to think about all of this. I'm sure when she comes back from our country house, they'll talk."

As per her routine of the last few days, Kris drove past McGrail's house. A car was parked in the driveway and Kris nearly drove the 4x4 on the grass in her hurry to reach the house.

Lack of sleep and very little food made Kris almost lose her balance as she climbed out of the vehicle and run up the stairs to McGrail's door. Repeating her performance of the first day, Kris banged on the door with her fist until the door was finally opened. A tall, well-built man answered the insistent knocking with a frown.

"What's going on?" he asked with irritation, "Don't you know how to use a doorbell?" McGrail said as he looked at the tall, dark-haired woman standing in front of him. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. He could see her shaking hands, not sure if it was because of her weakened state or if it was caused by the barely controlled fury he could see in her eyes. 'Well, well, well. If it isn't the great Kristina herself.' He snickered silently. 'She doesn't look so great now. Trouble sleeping? I wonder why?'

"Where is she?" Kris growled, trying to take a look inside the house.

"Who are you talking about?" McGrail asked in a calm voice. He could see that the woman was close to losing her temper. 'That could work! She hits me, I have her arrested, and she goes back to Austria. End of story.' He smiled as he saw her clinch her hands into fists.

Kris' eyes went down to slits as she glared at him. "Where…is…Nicole?" she asked, her voice a dangerous rumble.

"Well, she's not here." He replied truthfully and started closing the door only to be stopped by the stuntwoman. Her arm had shot out and was now blocking the door. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed, playing the outraged citizen. "I told you Nicole isn't here."

"Do you mind if I don't believe you?" Kris said.

"If you feel that way, come right in and see!" McGrail made a big show of inviting the stuntwoman in. He grinned as he watched her inspect the rooms one after the other, finding nothing. "I told you, but you wouldn't believe me." He chuckled at seeing the frustration on Kristina's face. "The last time she was here was a couple of months ago." He said with a touch of anger in his voice. He tried his best to control his temper, wanting so much to get this dyke out of his house and onto her ass. "You should know, you're the one who stole my daughter away from me."

Kris stopped her search and whirled around, facing him. "She hasn't been here for a few months?" she asked incredulously. Nicole's note had been clear, she was heading over to her father's. Either Nicole had never made it here or McGrail was lying through his teeth.

"It's been weeks since I've talked to her." McGrail said and his eyes bugged out as he felt the stuntwoman grab him by his shirt and push him against the wall.

"You lying sonofabitch!" Kris screamed as she lifted a fist to hit him. "You talked to her last weekend! Nicole was coming here because you wanted to talk to her! Tell me where she is!"

"And what are you gonna do about it dyke?" he laughed in her face, causing Kris to bounce him against the wall once more. "Hit me until I tell you where she is?"

Kris shoved the man and stepped away from him breathing hard. She closed her eyes and tried to get her temper under control, but McGrail's laugh was making it difficult.

McGrail pulled at his shirt and tucked it back into his pants. He walked close to Kris and crossed his arms over his chest. "Come on, you want to hit me don't you? You're just like me." McGrail taunted her. He could see that she was about to lose it.

Kris turned her back on him, almost daring him to do something. 'I'm nothing like you!' she thought as she brushed shaking hands through her hair.

"It's hard to control the temper, isn't it?" McGrail continued, keeping his voice on a calm level. "I've had to control it so much, first when she mentioned she was moving, then when she said that she was living with you!" he spat. "You know that you're just like me."

The dark-haired woman spun on her heels to face the snickering McGrail. "I'm nothing like you! Don't even put me in the same category as you!"

"Well, you are in the same category, considering that you would love to hit me right now."

Kris glared at McGrail and clenched her fists even more. "I might have a temper but I will never stoop to your level." She said, doing her best to calm her raging fury for the man as she started walking toward the front door. "I'm going to find her, whether you like it or not."

"I don't think so. I made sure that you never do."

That made Kris stop dead in her tracks and she frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to tell you?" McGrail chuckled.

She took a few long strides towards him and stared at him, both pairs of eyes level. "You'd better put it into that thick skull of yours that I love Nicole and that you won't come between us anymore. I'll find her."

Stepping outside the door, McGrail grabbed Kris' arm and stopped her. She yanked her arm out of his grip, "Don't you ever touch me again!" she warned him.

"I'll make you a deal. I won't touch you and you'll never touch Nicole...or else."

"Is that a threat?" Kris asked dangerously.

"Let's just say that if you don't stop looking for her, I'll make sure that she never speaks to anybody again. Have a nice day." McGrail said with a smile and closed the door on Kris.

'Now what?' Kris asked herself as she stared at the closed door in front of her. 'What am I supposed to do now?' Defeated, she turned back to her vehicle, got in and started driving, not knowing exactly where she was going. 'Do I continue looking for her and risk the threat to come true? Will I be able to protect her if he does hurt her? Whose need should I take care of first? My need to find her and talk to her? Or letting her go and keeping her away from harm? Can I be so selfish and risk getting Nicole hurt? "No. I can't do that." She said out loud. A decision had to be made and Kris knew that it wouldn't be an easy one. Kris found herself at the stunt school half an hour later and walked inside to talk to Marcus.

The both of them were sitting in the director's office. "I'm sorry Marcus, I know my contract isn't finished yet but I've had it. I'm going home."

"Are you sure about this?" Marcus asked, "Did you talk to Nicole?"

Kris shook her head, "I couldn't find her and it's the only thing I can do now. I know I promised you to stay 'til the end, but I can't deal with what's going on."

"But you could at least stay as a…" he started but was stopped by Kris' raised hand. He hated to see her look so beaten and the last thing he wanted was to see her go this way.

"No Marcus, I can't." Kris said softly. "You asked me before if I would let a stuntman perform the way that I'm feeling. The answer is no, I wouldn't. Don't ask me to do it."

Marcus nodded. "I understand Kris. If you ever need anything, let me know. You've been such a great help to me and the school, I'm really sorry your time here had to end this way."

She nodded and kept silent for a while, lost in her thoughts, not sure what to do. There was only one thing left to do. She looked at Marcus and stood up. "Yes, there is something you can do for me. I'd like for you to take the Pathfinder back to the dealer. All the papers are in the glove compartment and everything has been paid." She handed over the car keys.

"Sure, I can do that. Can I drive you back…"

"No, thanks. I'll take a cab home." Kris said as she opened the door to Marcus' office.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. I need some time alone. Thanks for everything Marcus. Tell the instructors that I'm sorry, I just can't face anyone right now."

"No problem Kris. Take care okay?" Marcus said as he shook her hand. "It was a pleasure working with you. You know that you're welcome to come back here to teach anytime that you want, okay?"

Kris gave him a small smile and nodded. "Thanks." She then left the school and headed home.

As soon as she arrived, Kris called the airline and made preparations for her departure. "Yes, I'd like a ticket for your next available flight to Innsbruck, Austria…my name is Kristina Von Deering, I had an open ticket…yes, that's my credit card number…no, that's not too early, that would be fine…no, just one ticket…yes, thank you." She hung up and took a look around the silent house and sighed. Three months ago, these preparations would have been normal to Kris. But now, knowing that Nicole wouldn't be joining her made packing a difficult thing to do. She made one last call to a courier company to pick up the two large boxes that had already been packed and made sure that they would pick them up and take them to the airport before she was due to leave for her flight. Now, all that was left to do was pack her suitcases.

Kris' heart started beating furiously against her chest when the phone rang and she raced to answer. She was extremely disappointed to find that it wasn't Nicole but that it was the owner telling her where to leave the key of the rented house. It would be picked up later. Making one last decision, Kris called for a taxicab to drive her to the airport and then toward home, alone. 

It had been a week since Kris had arrived home and soon after arriving, the stuntwoman had thrown herself completely into her work at the stables, making sure that all her waking hours were spent working. It still hurt to think about Nicole and she wondered where she was and if she was safe. Kris had no way of knowing if Nicole's father would keep his side of the bargain, that if Kris left, he wouldn't hurt her.

Nobody knew what had happened to Kris but her family didn't want to pry into their sister's affairs. Kris wasn't always the most talkative person, but ever since she came back from Montreal they had found her sullen and sad. Offers of help were quickly refused and after a while, they simply left her alone to heal from whatever had happened. The only one who dared talk to her was Kris' housekeeper, who everybody affectionately called Oma.

Oma was like a grandmother to the Von Deering family. Everybody went to her for advice and comfort, but it hurt the housekeeper to see that this time, Kristina wasn't coming to her. The dark-haired stuntwoman stayed alone all day and barely ate. Oma had tried to bring Kris out of her depressed state by cooking all of her favorite foods but nothing worked.

Having unpacked Kris' suitcases as soon as she had arrived from Canada, Oma had found photographs of Kris with a young, blonde woman. They looked so happy in those pictures and hoping that it would raise Kris' spirit, Oma had chosen the best one and put it in a frame. She quietly walked up to Kris, finding her looking silently at her trophies and special pictures in the spacious livingroom.

Kris looked at each and every item on the shelves. There were trophies from all kinds of competitions, pictures of Kris taken with actors and celebrities from all over the world and special events that had happened in her life. They used to mean a lot to Kris once upon a time but right now, they didn't mean a thing. She turned her head to see her housekeeper walking slowly into the livingroom and she gave her a small smile. As much as she wanted to be alone, especially away from her questioning family, Kris was glad to have Oma close to her. She knew that she wasn't ready to talk about what had happened, but Kris knew that she would eventually talk about it and the first person to know would be Oma.

"Can I do something for you Oma?" Kris asked softly as she spied the older woman's arms locked behind her back.

"Not really." The housekeeper smiled. "It's more what I can do for you."

Kris frowned at the woman. If she judged by the look on Oma's face, the housekeeper was up to something. "Oh? And what's that?"

"While I was unpacking your suitcases, I found some pictures." Oma started, her gentle face looking up at the stuntwoman. "I thought that you might want to have one of them up there in your collection." She said as she handed Kris a framed photograph. "It's the best one of the lot." She patted Kris' arm with a smile and turned around, leaving Kris looking at the picture.

Kris held her breath. The photograph was the one taken in Cancun of Nicole and her aboard the sailboat on the Caribbean Sea. Kris closed her eyes as memories of that trip came back to her. She could almost smell the fresh air of the sea and feel Nicole's body in her arms. Kris slowly opened her eyes again and let go of her breath in a shaky motion. She brushed trembling fingers over the picture, wanting to touch Nicole one last time. Her vision blurred as a single tear slowly glided down Kris' cheek.

"No matter what happened, I'll always love you Nicole." Kris softly said, looking at her lover. She gently pushed two pictures aside to make room for the latest addition and put it on the shelf. "Always."

The story continues here with: Daredevil Hearts.

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