Standing at the railing, Nancy and Ned looked into the darkness.

"What on earth was that?"

Before Nancy could say anything, the front door flew open and Jeremy ran out followed by Joe, Bess and George.

Jeremy said, "We thought we heard a scream."

"It came from the woods," Nancy said moving to the steps and starting down.

All of a sudden they heard the scream again. Ned moved down the steps beside Nancy and asked, "Could someone be out in the woods?"

"It’s possible," Jeremy said. "Sometimes people cut through the woods instead of driving. It saves time."

"How can they do that?" Ned asked. "Isn’t the snow deep?"

"There’s an old logging road that saves 20 minutes. It cuts through the woods so people don’t have to drive around."

"Maybe we should look around," Joe said standing beside Nancy and Ned.

"You know, it might have been an animal," Jeremy said. "A cougar has been spotted in the area. We don’t need to look around. It could be dangerous."

"I think we should," Nancy said looking at Joe.

"Good idea," Joe said.

It was agreed. Joe and Jeremy headed into the woods behind the house while Nancy and Ned checked the woods in front of the house. Bess and George stayed on the porch.

As Nancy and Ned searched, snow began falling and the temperature dropping rapidly. They walked silently through the woods searching for the source of the scream. After about an hour of searching, they decided to call it a night and headed back without finding a single clue.

As they went inside the house, they noticed Joe and Jeremy had just returned. Bess and George were standing on the stairs. Nancy and Ned slipped out of their jackets and brushed the snow off their boots.

"We came up with nothing," Nancy stated.

"There was nothing out back either," Joe said. "Whatever it was, is long gone now."

"Jeremy was probably right," Ned said. "It probably was an animal."

"Let’s get some sleep," Joe said. "We’ll need it if we want to hit the slopes tomorrow."

"Good idea," Nancy said hanging her jacket up on the hook. Ned followed. Halfway up the stairs, Nancy said quietly, "I’m not sure that scream came from an animal."

"What else could it have been?" Ned asked. "None of us found anything when we searched."

"I don’t know what it was, but it sounded human to me."

"I think you’re exhausted," Ned replied stopping front of the door to Nancy’s room. "I think everything will seem less unusual in the morning."

"I guess you’re right," Nancy said with a yawn.

She leaned up and Ned gave her a kiss. When they broke apart, Ned said, "Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning."

"I love you," Nancy said giving Ned a hug.

"I love you, too."

Nancy went into her room and closed the door. As she got ready for bed, she wondered if there was something strange going on. She couldn’t believe the scream was from an animal. It seemed too lifelike to be anything but a human scream.

* * * * *

The next morning, Joe woke to the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen. He quickly showered and headed down the stairs two at a time. He was about to go into the kitchen when he heard a soft knock on the front door.

He opened the door and saw a young girl standing with her back to the door. Joe noticed she was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a blue sweater. He could see her long brown hair hanging down her back. Joe asked, "Can I help you?"

Startled by the voice, the girl quickly turned around. Joe’s jaw dropped open. It was Melissa Raye. She flashed a brilliant smile at Joe and he could see the laughter in her ocean blue eyes at his reaction to recognizing her.

"Is Maggie home?"

"What...huh...Oh Maggie...yeah...come on in," Joe stuttered.

Opening the door wide, Melissa picked up a battered suitcase and a shiny new guitar case. She walked into the house. Joe closed the door behind her, then turned to face her.

"Is Maggie here?" Melissa asked.

"She’s cooking breakfast," Joe answered. "By the way, I’m Maggie’s nephew, Joe Hardy."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you," Melissa said shaking Joe’s outstretched hand. "Will you be spending the holidays here?"

"Yeah. Maggie invited our parents, but there was a conference they had to attend."

"Our parents?"

"My brother Frank is also here. I think he’s still sleeping."

"Melissa!" a voice yelled from the top of the stairs.

The two of the looked up and saw Jeremy hurrying down the stairs. He reached the bottom, took Melissa in his arms and swung her around as he gave her a hug. "You look terrific."

"So do you," Melissa said squeezing him back. "I’ve missed you so much."

"Come on," Jeremy said picking up her suitcase. "I’ll take you to your room and then we’ll join the others for breakfast."

"Sounds great." Melissa looked at Joe. "It was nice to meet you."

"Same here," Joe said and watched Melissa head upstairs with Jeremy. Once they were out of sight, he went into the kitchen.

Frank was already sitting at the table eating breakfast with Nancy and Ned. "Frank, I thought you were still sleeping."

"I got hungry when I smelled Aunt Maggie’s home-cooking."

"How’s your head?" Joe asked sitting down beside Frank.

"Fine. I don’t even have a headache."

"Good," Joe said piling pancakes on his plate. "Oh, Aunt Maggie, Melissa is here."

"Really?" Maggie asked, turning away from the stove.

"Jeremy is taking her up to her room."

"Good," Maggie said turning back to the stove to flip some more pancakes.

"Wait a second," Frank said. "Would someone please tell me what’s going on? And who is Melissa?"

"Melissa Raye," Nancy said. "The young country singer who has hit the top of the charts in record time."

"Oh," Frank said. He wasn’t really into country music. He could listen to it, but he wasn’t interested in young kids. He decided to change the subject. "When are we going to hit the slopes?"

"Are you sure you’re up to it?" Joe asked. "You were knocked out yesterday."

"I’m fine. I just want to hit the slopes."

"So, when are we going?" a voice asked from the doorway.

They turned and saw Melissa standing in the doorway with Jeremy. Maggie hurried over and gave Melissa a hug. Maggie said, "It’s so good to see you. It’s been too long."

"I’ve missed you too."

"Sit down," Maggie said putting her arm around Melissa’s shoulder and led her over to the table. "If you plan to go skiing, you need a good breakfast. You look so thin."

Melissa sat down next to Frank and glanced at him. Jeremy slid into the seat beside Nancy and said, "That’s Joe’s brother, Frank. And this is Nancy and Ned."

"It’s nice to meet you," Melissa said and looked closely at Frank. "What happened to your head? Or am I behind in the latest city fashion trends?"

"I hit it when I landed our plane yesterday," Frank said. "Or should I say almost crashed the plane."

"It must have hurt," Melissa said, concerned.

"Not much." Frank looked at Nancy and Ned. "I think I’ll go wake George and Bess so we can hit the slopes before noon."

"All right," Nancy said trying to hide a smile. She knew Frank was uncomfortable with all the attention Melissa was giving him.

When Frank left the room, Melissa asked, "How are the skiing conditions?"

"Excellent," Jeremy answered. "We’re in for a great season of skiing. And the season is just beginning." He looked at Melissa. "Hopefully you’ll be able to spend more time here this time around."

"We’ll have to see," Melissa said. "My schedule is pretty tight."

"That’s all right," Jeremy said. "I know how important music is to you."

Melissa smiled.

"So," Nancy said. "How did you get interested in singing?"

"I always loved to sing," Melissa said turning to face Nancy. "When I was little, I’d walk around the house constantly singing. I also sang in church. I learned how to play the guitar and started writing songs."

"It must feel good to have accomplished so much at your age," Ned said. "It’s quite an achievement."

"It does have its moments," Melissa said.

"We might as well get ready to hit the slopes," Jeremy said. "We want to get in as much skiing as we can."

"Good idea," Joe said. "Let’s hit the slopes."

* * * * *

Two hours later the group was at the local ski resort. After picking up lift passes, they paired off and got on the ski lift. Nancy and Ned got on the chair lift first. Melissa latched onto and they went next. Jeremy buddied with George while Joe stuck with Bess.

When they got off the ski lift, Jeremy and George followed Frank and Melissa toward the more advanced trails. They all agreed to meet the others in a few hours at the lift ticket counter.

As they skied along, Frank realized Melissa was a very experienced on the trails. He could see growing up near a ski resort had its advantages. With the long winters, there would be plenty of time to practice.

Reaching the bottom, they got back on the ski lift. Frank looked down as the skiers made their way down the hill. He thought how wonderful it was to enjoy a vacation without being on a case.

"So, Frank," Melissa began. "Do you have a girlfriend back home?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Frank said. "Her name is Callie and we’ve been together for three years now."

"Oh," Melissa said. "It must be nice having someone you can always count on."

Frank remained silent. He wasn’t sure what was going on. He asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"I really don’t have time for a boyfriend. With all the traveling I do, it’s kind of hard to have a relationship with someone."

"I thought you lived around here?"

"I used to. Jeremy and I are best friends. We grew up together."

They got off the ski lift. They skied over to the head of the trail. Frank said, "You go ahead. I’ll follow you."

"Catch me if you can keep up," Melissa challenged.

Melissa pushed off and started down the trail. She swerved between others skiers daring him to keep up. Frank followed as close as he could. The trail made a sharp left turn. Frank watched Melissa take the turn and caught movement, something black in the woods. Then he saw what appeared to be a barrel of a rifle pointing down the trail at Melissa.

He put on a burst of speed hoping to reach Melissa before the gun went off. He knew he had a better chance of reaching her before the man in black fired. He skied up beside Melissa and yelled, "Get down!"