He might have made a sound, because he felt the rumble deep inside, raking through him. It only lit to flame the fire he’d been trying to douse all day, especially since hearing her story.
No, he wasn’tremotelyinterested in just being her friend.
He’d take hero, thank you. Protector. Definitely the guy who kept his promises.
Maybe even her happily ever after, but he pushed that thought away as he wrapped his other arm around her and deepened his kiss.
“What if westayed here in the wild,where winter blows so fierce?”
Yes. Right now, yes.
He’d worry about what happened after the storm later.
Much later.
11
WHAT IFshe stayed?
Keely let that thought run through her head too many times in the night, as she listened to the storm die, the memory of the song, the kiss, thewhat-ifsswirling through her. Woke up to it cemented in her brain.
She lay under the quilts, one thought circling her mind.Please let this not be Chase Sterlingall over again.Handsome, charming—a liar, a betrayer.
“It could be real,right?”
Dawson’s voice, soft, haunting, stuck to her heart.
She could say yes to Bryce’s request, bring Zoey here with Dawson, build one of those cute cabins, and restart her life.
People restarted their lives all the time.
Zoey could grow up with Wren and Oliver, with Nance telling her stories, with Dawson as her daddy...
The thought filled her chest.
He’d make such an amazing dad.
Wow. She was really getting ahead of herself. For Pete’s sake, she already had them married. But she’d had a front row seat on the disaster of a quick marriage, thank you, Dad.
No, this was ... yep, Hallmark. Romance in a weekend,something for the movies. Not real life, and probably she needed to stop believing so hard in her songs.
But oh, the man knew how to kiss. And protect. And make her laugh.
She’d never felt so safe in her life. At least not since her mother died.
Outside, the blizzard winds seemed less ferocious, and a glance out the window showed a pale sun breaking through the gray.
She got up and pulled on clothes, hearing voices lift from the main room. Apparently, she’d slept through breakfast. She walked out and headed down the stairs, and they silenced. She looked over to see a group of the community men and a few women seated and standing around one of the long tables. Griffin sat court in the middle, and Dawson stood opposite, his hands on his hips.
Caspian sat beside him, almost on his foot.
Dawson wore a look. Angry, his jaw tight, his eyes sparking. He glanced at her as she came down the stairs, and his mouth pinched.
“What’s going on?” Her voice seemed even stronger today, so maybe yesterday’s impromptu open mic hadn’t stripped it again.
The aroma of coffee seasoned the air and even Nance had joined the group at the table, seated on the bench. She gave Keely a wan smile.
Dawson took a breath. “They want us to leave.”
