Page 10 of A Snowy Escape

He swipes a hand through his hair—which immediately falls back onto his forehead—and shoves his hands into the pockets on his jeans, rocking on his heels. “Okay, I have some bad news, but also some good news. The hotels are fully booked. They added my number to the cancellation list, but it’s not looking good.”

“Okay,” I say, wondering if I could ask him to unlock the gym so I can run inside to pee before continuing this conversation.

He speaks before I work up the courage to bring it up. “Luckily, I have a backup option. Luka and Lawson are my roommates. They’re brothers, and they own Maxwell’s, which is right across the parking lot. There’s an apartment on the second floor. No one lives there. They spend the night sometimes when they’re exhausted and don’t want to drive home, but with the storm coming in, it’ll be closed for at least a few days.”

“The bar?” I glance over my shoulder toward the building in question.

“It’s a combination bar and restaurant,” he says, nodding.

My mind races.

Okay, Bryant has roommates who own the place that I drove around last night when I was trying to pick my sleeping location.

It would be amazing to be able to ride the storm out in an actual building rather than my car, if for no other reason than to have access to a bathroom.

Am I really considering staying in an apartment owned by a stranger?

I think I am.

All of the nomadic content I watched said to trust your gut. I’ve seen videos with stories of people needing to be towed out in the middle of the night, others having a stranger offer them a place to stay, and even more videos highlighting how amazing some people can be.

What if I’m the idiot who ends up on one of those missing person’s TV shows?

What if I’m the dumbass who says no to a genuinely kind offer and ends up freezing to death in a snowdrift because I was too afraid to accept help when I needed it?

Dammit.

I wish I’d never left Georgia.

Since I can’t go back in time, I have to make a decision and stick with it.

“You’re sure I wouldn’t have enough time to beat the storm if I left right now?” I ask, swallowing thickly.

“You might.” He shrugs. “Or you might not. If you were my sister, I’d tell you not to risk it.”

“You’re sure they won’t mind?” I ask. “Echo is hairy. She will leave a trail of fur in her wake. I can try to clean up⁠—”

“Lawson has a Belgian Malinois named Shadow. I promise, they won’t even know the difference.” He chuckles. “Come on, I’m not going to be able to relax if I know you’re out here trying to ride out the storm in your car. No one is using the space. You might as well take advantage of it.”

I nod. “Okay, thanks, Bryant.”

God, I really hope this isn’t how I end up on one of those true-crime TV specials.

Chapter Four

Abby

The apartment is accessible by a set of wooden stairs near the employee entrance at the back of the building. Echo wants to dawdle and sniff everything, but she gets excited as she scrambles up the stairs.

We make it to the landing as Bryant gets the door open, and Echo drags me inside like the uncouth beast she is.

“Sometimes she pretends to have manners, but I guess today is not one of those days,” I say over my shoulder, laughing awkwardly.

“They get excited.” Bryant shuts the door behind him and flips on the lights. “I bet she can smell Shadow. She must be looking around for a friend to play with. Sorry, pup. He’s not here.”

“She’ll live,” I grunt as she drags me through the small living room toward the kitchen.

“You can let her off the leash. Well, as long as she won’t bite me.” He chuckles. “Actually, even being leashed probably wouldn’t stop her if she wanted to get my ass.”