“If you are on the road, seek shelter immediately. If you are at home, remain indoors, and avoid travel. Make sure to have emergency supplies and keep a battery-powered radio nearby.”
That’s all I need to hear before I lean over and clip Daphne’s seatbelt, put the truck in drive and pull a Uey to get the hell off the beach. We haven’t had a blizzard here…well, ever, as far as I can remember.
“I mean, it’s just a lot of snow, right?” Daphne’s eyes are wide as I take a couple riskier moves to get from the wooded park and back onto the main road. My pulse thrums a little faster.
“It’s a lot of snow, a dangerous amount, even for someone like me,” I tell her as I try to find a balance between reckless driving and getting us home as quickly as possible. “I should have known, I’ve felt weird all day, like I was missing something.”
“Can you predict the weather?” She cocks her head toward me before grabbing the oh-shit handle and wincing as I curb the tire slightly coming into town. I swear the snow is already getting heavier.
“I think I’m more in tune with the snow than other people.” I’m unsure how to describe the sense. Even if my head’s been full of nothing but her, I still felt that strange pull.
I dart down the empty street, it seems almost everyone is already sheltering in place. When I pull into the parking lot for my gondola station, Briarlee is getting into her rusted Volkswagen Beetle. Pulling into an empty spot, I rush out and flag her down before she backs up. She rolls the window down.
“Where you going?” I ask, worried about guests that might be trying to get down the hill.
“Hey! Where have you been? I left a note in the cab, we got word of the blizzard about a half hour before the sirens went off. The last couple guests left to check out before changeover tomorrow morning decided to weather out the storm at the motel. No one wants to risk getting stuck on the mountain—including me.” She grimaces. “Promise there’s no one left up there!”
I sigh and make a signal with my hand for her to keep backing up. “Thank you.”
“Where are you going? I heard the motel is full, a couple people are holing up at the tavern to drink through the storm—”
“I’m going home, can’t leave the lodge to fend for itself now, can I? Besides, there’s plenty of supplies up there to hold us over.”
“Got it, boss! I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to get back before the roads become too bad, they’re calling for snowsqualls after all…”
“Get out of here, be safe,” I tell her, and I mean it, despite our spats as of late.
“You too, well, two.” She flits her eyes back to the passenger side of my truck before rolling up her window and making my driving look world-class racing.
I walk back over, open Daphne’s door and grab her basket.
“Come on, time’s a-wasting.” I offer my arm. “No better person to be snowed in with than a snowman, right?” I joke, and even though I can tell she’s anxious, she chuckles.
Chapter eighteen
Daphne
Ihavetojogto keep up with Andri as he walks fast, his legs being so much longer than my own. By the time we make it up the mountain and through the resort to his cabin, I’m huffing harder than a pug with a pup cup. He turns up the thermostat and pulls all the heavy curtains closed over the windows.
“I’m gonna run back over to the lodge and grab a few just-in-case things, sound good?”
I sit on his big easy chair and pull my knees against my chest.
“Yeah, are you sure you don’t need help?”
Andri looks me up and down. “You are so many things, but I think I can handle the heavy lifting. Is that alright with you?” He grins.
I nod and tuck a blanket over my lap as he leaves. When he opens the door, the wind seems stronger than before and bitter cold. My heart warms as he walks out and shuts the door behind him. How on earth do things change this quickly?
I’m only half talking about the weather with that thought. I don’t know what I did right in a past life to deserve someoneas kind and protective as he is, but I thank my lucky stars for whatever good deed I accomplished.
He’s a snowman, and yes he’s technically an elusive mountain monster…but he’s my monster, damn it. I’ve never felt more at home with anyone than I have with him—and it’s a bittersweet feeling when you’ve never really had a constant home. He feels like what I always hoped my life would be with Gerald. For someone to want me simply as I was. For a man to see the true me, even the strange and broken parts, and embrace them.
Sure, I’m nervous about this dang blizzard, but Andri’s right. There’s no one I’d rather be snowed in with than him, and the fact that he’s a snowman isn’t the biggest reason. It’s that he’s wonderful, no matter his species.
I don’t have too much time to obsess over him in my head before he’s back, and the man wasn’t joking about the heavy lifting. When he opens the door, his arms are weighed down with bags. Those same arms are also somehow carrying enough wood to heat this place all week.
“I guess you’re just not a two-trip guy?” I laugh and scramble to help him with the load.
