Page 35 of Love in the Storm

Asa chuckled once before curbing the reaction. Dawson didn’t have a shallow bone in his body, and he only ever talked about one woman.

“I plead the fifth.”

“Is she old?”

“Not answering that either.”

“Come on! Give me something. Is she standing right there? Is that why you can’t talk about her? Say one for yes and two for no.”

“No.”

“You are terrible at following directions.”

“Why did you want me to call you?” Asa asked.

“So I could ask about the woman. Is she single? Will you tell her I’m single?”

A twinge of guilt stabbed through Asa’s insides. Was it jealousy? Lyric was single. He was positive of it. She would have put a stop to the flirting by now if she had a guy at home worried about her. Plus, she hadn’t asked to use his phone to call anyone but her employers.

But that’s not what caught Asa’s attention. It was the thought of Dawson with Lyric. It didn’t sit right with him.

“What about Olivia?” Asa asked.

Dawson’s tone was lower and void of any of the playfulness from the moment before. “What about her?”

Olivia was a sore spot, but it was his first thought after picturing Dawson hitting it off with Lyric.

“Sorry, man. Maybe one day–”

“It’s cool. I’ll let you know when we get a chance to head up your way. What do you need us to bring?”

He shouldn’t have brought up Olivia. Dawson had been holding a torch for Beau’s younger sister since they were ten, but Olivia was convinced she and Dawson were better off as friends. That kind of rejection had to sting a man’s pride.

“I don’t need a paramedic, but I will need a tow,” Asa said, happy to change the subject.

“Wrecker it is. See ya.”

Asa pocketed his phone and went looking for Lyric. He’d only needed a few minutes away from her to get his head on straight. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

In the upstairs kitchen, he found her standing in front of the open pantry. Her dark hair fell in a wall down the side of her face and flowed over her shoulder. The instinct to touch it had his fingertips tingling.

“Any luck?” he asked.

She narrowed her eyes, staring intently into the pantry. “I’m trying to think of something to cook on the stovetop or the griddle.”

“I’ll hook the generator to whatever we need.” He reached for a can on the shelf, careful to hold his breath when he was this close to her. The last time he’d been this close, her scent had tingled in his nose, sending sparks into his brain. “Soup?”

Lyric took it from him. “Chicken noodle. Yum.”

“Crackers?” he asked, scanning the shelves.

“Right here.” Lyric held them above her head as if she’d just completed a challenge.

“Perfect.” Asa grabbed three more cans of soup and gestured for Lyric to lead the way back downstairs.

“Do we need all of those?” Lyric asked, eyeing the load of cans.

“I’m a grown man. I’m eating at least three cans of soup.”

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