Page 19 of A Snowy Escape

Echo has been lying with her head on my feet since I pissed her off by making her get off the couch. No matter how hard I swiped the material, there’s still a layer of fur. I’ll have to buy a lint roller and give it a solid once-over before I leave.

She perks up upon spotting Lawson.

I almost chuckle.

I feel similarly.

It’s kinda scary to be sharing space with an unknown alpha, but it’s also nice not to be alone. If Tommy managed to track me down, I think Lawson would tell him to get lost.

While Tommy is an alpha, he’s nowhere close to Lawson’s size. Plus, Lawson is very rugged in a way Tommy could never dream of being.

My temporary roommate was winterizing a cabin before he came here. I’m sure he knows what to do if things get sketchy with the storm.

I’m totally ill-prepared when it comes to dealing with a snowstorm, so having him here is a huge relief.

The man in question tosses a thumb toward the door. “I’m going to run down to the restaurant⁠—”

“You really don’t need to leave on my account,” I say, cutting him off.

“There’s nothing to cook up here,” he says as he crosses the room and shoves his feet into his boots. “I’m going to grab a few things to make dinner.”

“Oh,” I say sheepishly.

That’s right.

He did mention something about that.

At first he insinuated that he could hang out down there to avoid us having to share space, and I guess I got hyper focused on that.

He grabs his jacket, pulls it on, and opens the door.

A gust of bitter cold air spills inside, and I shiver as he sticks his head out, examining the conditions.

Echo pops up, shaking out her long fur.

“You wanna take a bathroom break, Echo?” Lawson asks, closing the door. He squats down, digging his fingers into the fur around her jaw. “The snow is only going to get thicker.” He looks at me. “There’s already close to six inches on the steps. We have a snow shovel in the storage room in the restaurant, but it’ll be an eventful trip down the stairs. I don’t mind carrying her.”

I spin around on the couch, peeking out the blinds. It’s dark and impossible to see much of anything, even with the streetlights.

“Are you sure?” I ask. “If you shovel off the steps, I can take her. I mean, I’d have had to figure it out either way if you weren’t here. It’s not like I can avoid letting her out to use the bathroom.”

“It’s no problem.” He chuckles. “If I pick you up, are you going to roll around like an angry alligator? Shadow does when he’s in a bad mood.” He pats Echo’s head and stands. “Maybe I’ll run out and make a path. Then I’ll come back for her.”

“Thank you so much,” I say sincerely.

Jeez.

I really was unprepared for how difficult it is to ride out a serious storm up here.

* * *

Lawson and Echo are gone for so long that I kinda start panicking. There’s no way he got very far if he stole my dog.

Not that it makes any sense that he would want to.

A strange scraping noise catches my attention, and I kneel on the couch, peeking out the window.

Lawson has the snow shovel he mentioned, and he’s shoveling off the stairs.