Page 23 of Merrily Mine
She furrowed her eyebrows. “We’re just having fun, right?”
I swallowed roughly. “Yeah, fun.” I dipped my head. “I should probably go check on my truck. See how buried it is.” And hopefully, I could grab the duffel bag of extra clothes I kept in the back.
There was an adorable furrow between her brows. “Oh. Right.” Was it just me, or did she look… disappointed at the idea I was leaving?
“There’s no way I’ll be able to go anywhere today,” I told her, chuckling. “The roads won’t be drivable for a while. Who knows when they’ll get the plows out this way?”
She tucked a strand of hair that had come free from her braid behind her ear. “I guess that’s true.” That seemed to make her relax.
Leaning down, I dropped a soft kiss on her lips. “I keep spare clothes in a bag in my truck just in case. Want to grab them.”
Emily nodded. “Okay.” She bit her lip. “So…”
“Breakfast?” I asked, interrupting her. She nodded. “You get dressed, and I’ll go out to my truck, and then we can figure out something in the kitchen.”
“Yeah.” Her stomach rumbled as if in answer. “Breakfast sounds good.”
“Great.” I found my pants, pulling them and my boxers on. The rest of my clothes were upstairs.
I turned to look at her as I leaned against the doorframe, taking her in.
And then, needing the cold air to help clear my head, I headed upstairs to brave the snow.
The snow was deep as I trudged outside, thankful I’d worn a thick coat over here. Luckily, I could get into my truck and get my bag out of it. The Sullivan’s house was a ways into the property, but from my brief evaluation, the storm had dumped what felt like almost a foot of snow overnight.
I turned on my truck for a minute, hoping to find an AM radio station where I could listen to the weather, finally finding one.“A significant winter storm continues this morning across the region,”they announced. “Periods of moderate to heavy snow will continue through daybreak. Slick roads, blowing snow, and exceptional cold will make travel dangerous.”The wind whipped around the truck at that moment as if in response, and I shut off my truck, heading inside.
There was no point in staying out here when inside was warm and cozy. I also checked on the generator, topping it off with more propane, hoping we’d have enough to last the length of the storm. We were conserving power wherever possible, but I still didn’t want us to freeze if we completely lost it.
Thirty minutes later, Emily joined me in the kitchen, her hair down in loose waves, a light layer of makeup on her face. I’d changed into the clothes from my duffel bag—a pair of gray sweats and a red henley.
“Hey.” She smiled at me, leaning her back against the counter next to me.
Emily’d pulled on a pink sweater with black jeans and a pair of cute fuzzy snowman socks that made me grin down at her. “Hi.”
“What’s for breakfast?” She inhaled deeply. “I didn’t expect you to have started without me.”
Shrugging, I stirred the eggs in the pan. “I like to cook.”
When I’d gone off to college, I found I was grateful for all the time I’d spent with Mom in the kitchen, and I’d been the one who had made dinner for all of my friends once I’d moved off campus. With my ex, I’d made breakfast and dinner for us most nights, too. Until she stopped eating with me altogether. She wasn’t hungry in the morning, and she’d work late in the evenings. Maybe that was when everything started to fall apart. We’d drifted apart, and our dreams and goals for the future had changed.We’dchanged.
“Mason?” When I looked back at Emily, she was frowning. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing.” I didn’t want to talk about my divorce. Not right now. “Breakfast is almost done. Do you want coffee? I made some.”
Luckily, from growing up spending so much time in the house, I still remembered where everything was. It had made rummaging around the kitchen after getting dressed a lot easier.
“Okay.” She gave me a small smile, opening a cabinet and reaching up for a mug. Emily grabbed the milk and a bottle of flavoring, mixing it in until her coffee was lighter than the color of my horse.Sweet,I noted.She likes it sweet.I wasn’t sure why I filed that away for the future, but I did.
It was hard not to notice every little thing about her.
Finishing up our food, I quickly dished everything up onto two plates and carried them over to the island, sliding a plate over to the spot next to me and sitting down.
She surveyed the plate. Eggs, toast, and crispy bacon. “You didn’t have to do all of this,” she insisted. “We could have just had, like, cereal or something.”
Pointing my fork at her food, I gave her a pointed look. “Eat. You need it after last night.”
She made a choking noise, sputtering out her coffee. “Mason,”she admonished.
