Page 60 of A Snowy Escape

After our house tour, Lawson showed me Shadow’s safe room, which isn’t anything like a safe room for humans. It’s basically a room off the hallway on the other side of the kitchen that has a doggy door.

It’s set up to be a comfortable, safe place for Shadow to chill when no one is home. It has a baby gate that blocks the doorway from the rest of the house, but like Lawson said, he could clear it if there was an emergency. Or if someone was in the house, and he wanted to investigate.

He also has the doggy door, so he can access the fenced-in yard.

The room looks like it was an office once upon a time, but it has a crate, couch, toys, and a water bowl. It’s an all-around cushy setup for a pup.

Lawson even got a duplicate bed in the same style as Shadow’s for Echo. He just picked a different color to avoid any confusion.

That makes it a logical choice when looking for my dog, but I don’t make it in there to check if that’s where she is.

Bryant is already in the kitchen, and a dazzling smile crosses his face when he spots me. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” I say, grinning back. “Do you know where my dog is?”

He nods, pointing out the kitchen window. “Lawson dog-napped her. He’s got her and Shadow down by the lake. They won’t be able to leave the yard once the storm starts, so he wanted to get them good and tired out before it rolls in.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t wake up when he popped in to grab her,” I say, circling around the counter and coming to a stop next to him at the kitchen island. “Where’s Luka?”

“He ran into town for a last-minute errand,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows. “And no, I’m not telling you what he’s up to. It’s a surprise.”

“Huh, color me intrigued,” I say, fluttering my lashes. My nostrils flare, and my mouth waters. “Oh, wow. That smells delicious. What did you make?”

“I wanted to test out my mom’s favorite Christmas breakfast recipes.” Bryant shrugs. “Testing them out on Christmas morning seemed reckless. Anyway, these are giant apple-filled cinnamon rolls. Then the pan is a breakfast bake. I know you’re not a fan of eggs, so I left you a corner over here without any. Your slice has hash browns, bacon, sausage, and sausage gravy on a croissant sheet. The rest has all of the above plus cheesy scrambled eggs.”

My teeth dig into my lower lip as my head tilts. “You didn’t have to do that. I would have eaten it.”

“I wanted you to enjoy it.” He rubs his hands together, shrugging. “If you’d like to try some of ours to see if it’s okay to add them to the whole thing next time, that’s fine, but I don’t want to force you to eat something you don’t like.” His dark hair falls over his forehead as his eyes sparkle. “Can I make you a plate?”

“Yes, please,” I say, nodding. “Is there anything I can do to help? I can wash dishes or something.”

“Nope,” he says, spinning and opening a cabinet. “I hand-washed some while I was working. The rest, I stuck in the dishwasher. As soon as we finish breakfast, I’ll run it. After that, we’ll probably be hand-washing until the storm is over, since we can’t run the dishwasher on the generator.”

“That makes sense, but please don’t treat me like a guest. I’m just as capable of helping with dishes as any of you.”

“I don’t know about that.” Bryant chuckles. “I mean, I’m not questioning your dish-washing skills. We want you to enjoy yourself and to give you a chance to relax. Go get settled at the table. I’ll be right over with our plates.”

I slide around the island but hover next to the cabinet. “Luka mentioned you have a game plan for activities. Was that just for last night, or do you have things planned for today too?”

“We’ve got plans through Christmas,” he says, laughing. “Not that we’ll actually be snowed in for that long, but I’m fond of having a backup plan just in case.”

Seriously, how has no woman snatched them up by now?

* * *

“All right, sweetheart,” Lawson says, guiding me into the formal dining room with his massive hands on my shoulders a while later. “Can you guess what we’re doing by smell?”

Before we came into the room, he made me close my eyes and cover them to ensure I wouldn’t peek.

My nostrils flare, and I desperately try to pick up anything outside of Lawson’s citrus and pine scent. Immediately following breakfast, I went back upstairs to shower and change. That shower might have been a mistake.

I keep huffing, but all I get is hints of my coconut shampoo. I’m competitive, so I keep trying, tilting my head to either side and sniffing all over again.

Someone chuckles.

“Come on, take pity on her and move her a couple feet closer,” Luka says.

Lawson gives me a gentle push, and we move forward.