Chapter Two
If Elijah could’ve avoided airports, he would’vedone so. It wasn’t so much the flying that frustrated him as much as the hassle and the time it took to get from one place to another. Two hours early, waiting, boarding, flying, getting luggage. He could think of a million things he would rather be doing. When it was work-related, he tended to pass the time easily, always connected to his email, his files. But this wasn’t work, and he had long ago decided he would disconnect whenever he could. And since he enjoyed spending time with Logan and Sam far more than work, it wasn’t a hardship.
The past few hours had stressed him more than he anticipated, and now that they’d made it to their destination, he was focused on breathing, relaxing, letting all that tension drain away. Now that they were finally at the cabin, he couldn’t find much to complain about. Despite the concerning weather situation that they’d learned about upon their arrival, this was the perfect getaway. Quiet, secluded. Homey.
The cabin was a two-story log structure with vaulted ceilings in the living room, three bedrooms upstairs, a game room, media room, a fully stocked kitchen, and half a dozen fireplaces that could be used for warmth. It looked as though it would sleep a dozen comfortably, which meant the three of them would have it made for the next seven days.
And then there was the outdoors.
The snow was banked near the windows, but it was a sight to behold. Especially since he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a snowfall, save for the ice storm they’d endured at the first part of this year. But he figured that didn’t really count. It hadn’t looked like this for more than five minutes.
Logan certainly knew how to plan a vacation, even if Elijah knew Logan wasn’t here solely for vacation. The man had an ulterior motive, which was par for the course for the McCoy brothers. Elijah had long ago gotten used to the way that Logan and Luke managed to finagle time for work regardless of the event. If Elijah was right, this particular vacation was going to be expensed out. At least partially, anyway.
“What’re you thinking about?”
Elijah glanced over his shoulder to see Sam approaching. She looked downright edible in her oversized black sweater, patterned leggings, and her favorite Ugg boots. She’d clearly come with the intention of getting cozy, and Elijah was grateful for that. He was looking forward to some downtime with her.
She stepped up behind him, pressed a kiss to his shoulder, and then stared out the window beside him.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, her voice reflecting the same awe he felt.
Elijah put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It certainly is.”
“We needed this, you know?”
He did know. There never seemed to be enough time in the day to really slow down. Between work and their busy social calendar, there wasn’t a lot of relaxation. In the beginning, Elijah had kept himself somewhat separated from Sam and Logan’s extended family, but over time his attempts became futile. The McCoy clan had welcomed him with open arms, making him feel as though he’d always been meant to be with them. And then there was Devotion, the club where they spent a good majority of their time, mingling with friends, indulging in one another.
The thought made him smile.
He had to admit, he’d never been happier in his life. And that was saying something, considering, at one point, he’d thought happiness was not something he would be blessed with again. Not the case. Sam had made sure of it.
“So what’s on the agenda?” Sam asked, turning so that she was in front of him.
“I can think of a few things.”
“I just heard the weather’s supposed to be getting bad,” Logan said as he strolled into the room, his phone in his hand, eyes glued to the screen. “Really bad.”
“If we’re lucky, we won’t lose power,” Sam told him, her gaze still fixed on the outdoors. “And I know we can think of a dozen ways to keep ourselves occupied indoors.”
Elijah looked at Logan’s reflection in the glass, knew he was thinking about whatever meeting he was supposed to attend while he was here. He hadn’t said as much, but Elijah had learned to read Logan as easily as he could read Sam.
After pressing one more kiss to Sam’s head, Elijah released her and turned from the window. “Who’re you supposed to meet while we’re here?”
Logan’s eyes flew to his face and he frowned.
“There’s no sense denying it,” Sam added. “We’re not dumb. We know you’ve got business while you’re here. It’s what you do.”
Logan sighed. “It’s not until Friday afternoon.”
“Then I suggest we make the most of the days before then,” Elijah told him, “and worry about Friday when it gets here.”
“I like the way you think. How about lunch?”
Elijah peered down at Sam, smiled. “Are you offering to cook?”
She teasingly smacked his arm. “I’m a great cook.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to saygreat,” Logan joked, losing that frustrated look.
