“But I very much want to.”
Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. But ... the thought unlatched something inside her. To be known ... and still loved...
Except Dawson didn’tloveher...
Caspian, however, seemed to have a soft spot for her, because he came over, nudged her leg. She lifted her plate away from his nose and set her hand on his snout. “I don’t know why I was ever so afraid of him. He’s got the sweetest eyes.”
“Yeah, he’s a charmer.”
“Are you sure he’s not a tracking dog? He did a good job of finding Wren yesterday.”
“Or he got bored, headed back to the lodge, saw you, and decided to play a game.” But Dawson crouched, and Caspian trotted over, his tail wagging as his owner rubbed his ears.
“You did hear him, right, Casp? Maligning you? Come back to me.”
Caspian seemed to hear her and turned. She held up one of her sausages.
“Hey! That’s not fair.”
She grinned at him. “He loves me.” Caspian took the sausage, then licked her fingers of the syrup. Now for sure she’d have to bathe. Still, he sat with her, his tail brushing the floor.
“Yes, he does,” Dawson said quietly.
She looked at him, frowned.
He met her eyes, held her gaze.
Wait ... what ...?
Oh. “Dawson, um, we need to talk.”
He nodded, swallowed. “Especially since we’re going to be trapped here for at least another day. Landon is the local weatherman, and according to the reports on his shortwave, this storm won’t blow through until tomorrow, maybe the next day.”
Oh. But the words blew through her like a fragrance, a fresh breeze, grace maybe. “Good. I like it here. I think I never want to leave.”
She meant it to change the subject. Instead, Dawson’s gaze steadied on hers, and he lowered his voice. “I’m a cop. There is nothing you could tell me that would shock me, Keely. And remember, I already think you’re amazing.”
She stilled. But wanted,ohhow she wanted to believe him.
She found herself nodding. “Okay, so—”
“Hey, Daws!” Griffin’s voice raised from the end of the room. “I need some help with the firewood.”
Dawson sighed, then glanced at him and nodded. “Be right there.”
But when he stood up, he said, “We have a Battleship rematch ahead of us.” He winked and walked away.
She watched him go, her heart thundering.
But, in the wake, she heard the end of her song...
Could it be that you see the truths I hide?
In the snow’s pure blanket, where my deepest dreams reside?
A look, a touch in the frosty air,
Reveals the me I’ve hidden, now laid bare.
