Page 47 of Love in the Storm

She snuggled into the blanket as soon as Asa disappeared. Closing her eyes, she said a heartfelt prayer of thanks to the Lord for sending help when she needed it most.

Lyric blinkedand stretched her aching legs. Her vision slowly cleared, and she looked around in the dim light. She’d fallen asleep on the couch, and every muscle was protesting.

Asa lay back in the reclining love seat. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his eyes were closed in peaceful sleep.

Lyric rested her head back and sighed. There was a good chance they’d be able to leave the cabin today, and things would go one of two ways. Asa would want to keep their relationship going, and she’d have to tell him the truth. Or he’d figure out that the feelings from the last few days weren’t real, and she’d never hear from him again.

Was she going to be strong enough to do the right thing if he wanted to keep seeing her? How was she going to handle the heartache when he walked away?

She slowly pulled the blanket off and stood without making a sound. She had no idea when he’d gotten in from shoveling snow, and it was her mission to let him sleep as long as possible.

She took the opportunity to watch him as his chest rhythmically rose and fell. The bandage on his head did nothing to mar his looks. His short hair was slightly tousled, and the scruff on his cheeks gave him a rugged look.

Taking advantage of his deep sleep, she moved to his side and gave in to the urge to thread her fingersin his hair. He’d taken the initiative and kissed her both times, and she wouldn’t be brave enough to make the first move when he was awake. Leaning down, she pressed her lips to his forehead next to the bandage before sneaking out of the room.

In the bathroom, she splashed her face with cold water and used one of the toothbrushes she’d bought for the guests. They’d racked up quite a list of things to pay Brenda back for after this was over.

Once she felt semi-clean, she stripped the beds she and Asa had slept on and tossed the sheets into the wash. She made her way through half of her usual cleaning list before Asa stretched on the love seat.

“Lyric?”

“Morning!” she called from the kitchen.

He slowly made his way across the big open room, stretching his neck from side to side. “How long have you been up?”

“A couple of hours.”

He slid his arms around her and cuddled her close to his warm body. Relaxing in his arms, she savored every second of his sweet embrace.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” he whispered against her ear.

“Best sleep I’ve had in ages,” she said. It was the truth. The cold had zapped her energy, and she’d been toasty warm by the low fire. “Are you ready for breakfast?”

“I could eat. I need to check on the generator.”

“I’ll make something for us. You go do that.”

He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “I won’t be long.”

The cracking of her heart might as well be a gunshot in the room. This perfect life would soon be gone. She’d been so blissfully ignorant to this kind of happiness before, and life after would be colorless and dim in comparison.

She mixed batter for pancakes and started them on the griddle. The heaviness in her gut threatened to pull her to the floor as she worried over what she would tell Asa.

He walked back into the room and hummed. “Something smells amazing.”

“Pancakes. Nothing special,” Lyric said.

Asa stepped up behind her as she flipped a pancake. He wrapped his arms around her. “Do you have everything you need when you get back home? Did your neighbor say you had power?”

Ugh. Reality was determined to interfere this morning. “She didn’t have power last night, but hopefully it’s on today.”

Asa’s phone rang, and he lifted it to his ear. “Hello.”

“She okay?” Asa asked the person on the other end of the line as he stepped away from Lyric and leaned against the bar. “Good. I’ll ride with you to check on her after I get the truck towed.”

The call was quick, and Asa was pocketing his phone just as Lyric finished plating a stack of pancakes.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

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