Logan handed me the baby. “Get upstairs and stay low!” His fangs punched out when he saw the animal charging through the snow toward the cabin.
I rushed up the ladder, gripping the baby tight against me. When I reached the loft, I wrapped him in a blanket and then peered over the edge of the loft.
A hollow note hung outside the door—the howl of a lone wolf.
Logan crouched, ready to open the door and spring into action.
“Wait!” I hurried down the ladder. “Let me see.” I scrambled to the window and looked closely, having recognized the familiar tone. “That’s Finn. I’m positive. Open the door!”
He gave me an apprehensive glance.
“Trust me, I know my brother.”
When Logan opened the door, a wolf lunged and knocked him to the floor. Finn excitedly licked at his face and neck, tail wagging, toenails clicking across the wood.
I began to close the door until I noticed three shadows heading in our direction.
“Who goes there?” I yelled out.
“Santa!” Levi boomed.
I breathed a sigh of relief as Levi, Leo, and Lucian came into view. They were dragging something behind them like the three wise men with their bags of frankincense and myrrh.
Leo reached the porch first and wrapped his arms around me. “Are you safe?”
“We’re fine. Everything’s fine. Get inside where it’s warm. Your nose is redder than Rudolph’s.”
He lifted his bags and set them inside the door before taking off his boots and heading to the fire.
I gave Lucian a hug, even though he wasn’t the most affectionate man. He dragged a cooler in behind him, and it made a racket against the wood floor when it tipped over.
“Shit,” he muttered.
As soon as Levi reached the steps, he collapsed on the porch with a dramatic thud. “Sweet Jesus, never again.”
I pulled the hat off his head and tossed it inside. “What are you guys doing here? We told you not to come.”
He took my hand and stood up. “We’re the Cross brothers. That’s how we roll. Did you think we were going to let you risk your lives or starve to death out here?”
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth. “I’m thinking that maybe I’m just the luckiest woman who ever lived to have brothers like you.”
Levi might have been blushing, but I couldn’t tell since his cheeks were already aflame from the cold. “Yeah, my kisses do that to people. Step aside. We brought supplies.”
Once the door closed, the cabin was alive with activity. Finn’s wolf paced the room, whimpering and behaving peculiarly.
The boys stripped out of their winter gear and stood by the fire to thaw out.
I knelt down and opened a large plastic bag. “Who packed all this?”
Levi was lying flat on his back, puddles of water forming around his wet socks. “The girls. Us. Everyone.”
Inside one of the bags was a warm afghan that belonged to Page. There were also a few outfits for children ranging from newborn to age four. She’d also stuffed a few diapers in there, even though they were too large. My heart warmed. They must have been saving things like this just in case.
Another bag had toothpaste, toiletries, and…
I held up the canister of baby formula to show Logan, and he nodded as if to say it was going to be okay.
Leo sat with his back to the fire, his hair almost matching the radiant flames of burnt red and gold. “It’s a good thing we arrived here first. I apologize if this goes against the agreement you made, Logan, but we can’t have you doing this alone.”
