Page 60 of Lucky in Love
Sure enough, within the hour, the sky grew dark and the wind began to howl. When she cracked open the door to peek outside, an inch of snow had already accumulated. Against the whipping wind, she heard something.
It wasn’t a quack, but whatever it was reminded her of one, and her thoughts jumped to poor Daisy.
“Oh, no,” she said to herself. “I forgot about the duck.”
She grabbed a handful of bread, bundled up, and slipped out the door. Down at the lakefront, she found Daisy huddled inside her cattywampus shelter. The flakes were blowing in sideways, and the poor thing was covered in a light dusting of snow.
It was unsafe for her to stay out here. If the forecast was correct, and there was already snow in the house, she’d be buried by morning.
Alex could put her in the boathouse, but she hadn’t thought to bring the key, so that would mean another trip to her cabin and back. It was getting darker by the second, and she did not want to be out here when night fell.
“Come on, sweetie,” Alex coaxed, using the bread as bait to lure her out. Daisy snapped at the crumbs, but wouldn’t budge from her refuge.
Finally done messing around, Alex threw the bread in the house and picked up the whole thing, duck and all. It was a struggle, but she made it home.
And just in time. From the top step of her porch, she turned at a loud crashing sound and watched a huge tree branch fall right where she’d been walking not thirty seconds prior.
“Holy crap,” she muttered. “Guess my luck’s holding after all.”
The last thing she wanted was a web-footed roommate, but her conscience wouldn’t allow leaving Daisy on the porch.
Just as she stumbled in and placed her load on the floor, the lights flickered and went out, plunging her into darkness.
“Great.” She closed the door and felt her way to the counter, where she’d already left out candles and matches. Tess would be so proud.
She used the kitchen chairs to build a barrier around Daisy’s house, leaving a little waddle-around room. Bringing the duck in was one thing, giving her free rein to poop anywhere she wanted was another.
Daisy, now safe, warm, and fed, hunkered down in the straw bedding. Brody must have added that recently, because it hadn’t been there yesterday. How sweet was that? Pretty sweet actually.
After making herself a sandwich, she fired up the gas stove—thank goodness it didn’t rely on electricity—and set the teakettle to boil. While she waited, she built a fire and moved the sofa closer to the hearth. She would sleep here tonight.
The power had gone out earlier than anticipated, and she hoped Brody had taken her advice and moved to the rec cabin. She tried to call, but he didn’t answer. Maybe the storm was affecting his signal, or maybe his phone had died already. She’d check on him tomorrow when it was light.
The fire, the candlelight, and the cozy wool blanket painted a romantic scene. Would she ever find someone to share this with? Or was she hoping for something that might never happen? The odds were certainly stacked against her. Simply meeting a manwas hard enough, never mind finding a decent one that would willingly uproot himself to move to a small town in the middle of the wilderness.
Holly had found love, but she’d had to follow Cole to the city for it. Faith had too, but Nick grew up and had family here, so he didn’t really count. Also, Holly and Faith were tall, gorgeous, funny, and amazing. Alex was plain, short, and if these cabins didn’t start making money, borderline broke.
Thoughts of Brody popped up uninvited. She’d been avoidingthatwhole situation—the kissing, the fake relationship, the looming breakup—but would have to deal with it soon. If she didn’t, the townspeople would have a spring wedding planned before they could stop it.
The kisses were most certainly just an attempt to aggravate Blossom and meant nothing to him. And while Alex appreciated both the effort and the sentiment, she couldn’t deny feeling something more on her end. Nothing too crazy, just a tiny zing, a brief but potent oomph to her heart.Thatwas the reason she’d put off dealing with the whole thing. Having feelings for Brody would only end in disaster and heartbreak, so she pushed the notion away.
At twenty-seven, she wasn’t into spinster territory yet, but she was also no spring chicken. And while she might be lucky at some things, love was not one of them. And what good was a fall festival bingo trophy if there was no one to share it with?
She brought her tea to the couch and settled in with a cozy mystery. Maybe someday she’d find the man of her dreams. Until then, it was her, and the duck, and a good book.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Brody sat huddled on his couch, wearing his coat and wool hat, the bedspread wrapped around his shoulders.
The power had only been out for a few hours, but already his cabin was freezing. He cursed himself for not moving up to the rec cabin like Alex had suggested. A fire sounded downright glorious.
Alex. She’d been on his mind a lot since the basketball game. She was beautiful, funny, sassy, and confident—all qualities he liked. He found himself mulling over the idea of bailing on the whole fake dating thing—and actually dating.
Part of him wondered if it was too soon after the Chloe debacle to be thinking of someone new. Then again, Chloe barely ever crossed his mind, so maybe he’d moved on without conscious effort.
Truth be told, because of all his traveling, he and Chloe had probably spent less than three weeks cumulatively in each other’s presence. Looking back objectively, he could admit that he’d pushed too hard for something that wasn’t really there.
Well, lesson learned. He wouldn’t let it jade him. And like he’d mentioned to Nick, he wasn’t opposed to trying again. So why not with Alex?
