Page 70 of Snow Storm

“Do you know what time it is here?”

“I always know what time it is there when I phone you,” Harley said. Dorsey sounded more drunk than sleepy. “I also know you’re probably deep into your second pint.”

Dorsey laughed. “Ah, how well you know me. So, what can I do for you this lovely Boxing Day. Night. Whatever.”

Claude stroked fingers over his chin as he considered his words carefully, then laid out the plan for Dorsey. His cousin’s silence meant that he was either impressed or concerned.

“So you want me to change my flight?”

“I do.”

“To use my very unique methods to stop a man from harassing this poor bloke you think you’re in love with.”

“Not think,” Claude corrected. “Am. Deeply. And totally.”

Dorsey sighed. “You’re lucky I’m a secret romantic.”

Claude smiled. “Can you do it?”

“Now, that’s insulting,” Dorsey said with a sniff. “I could do it pissed and blindfolded in a city I’ve never been to before. You know my one real joy in life is making men piss themselves.”

“I worry about you,” Claude said with a sigh, but he loved his cousin deeply. “I appreciate this.”

“If this man has you arse over tit in ways you never have been before, I’ll plan the fuckin’ wedding,” Dorsey said. Claude could hear him gulping his Guinness. “Mam will also want to come down for it. You’ll not stop her this time.”

Claude chuckled. “Give us a year or two, at least. I want to take this at a pace he’s comfortable with.”

“You’re too reasonable. It’s annoying. Anyway, send me the address and a photo of this prick, and I’ll hunt him down.”

“Thank you,” Claude said. He was going to give that task to Lyric. She’d have access to Harley’s accounts soon enough, and she could get the information. Harley might hate him a bit for it, for meddling, but he didn’t think it would be enough to ruin what they had. And if it meant his beloved could sleep easier at night, he’d take it.

He hung up, then sat back in his chair, and just as his eyes started to close, his phone buzzed with a text.

Harley: I don’t want to be alone. Can you come back?

Claude: I’ll be right there.

And he would. Anytime Harley asked. It was the one vow he could make right then he knew that only God Himself could force him to break.

Chapter 20

Harley

Harley wasn’tsure what to expect when Claude agreed to take the whole day off. Part of him assumed Claude would be irritated he’d wanted some alone time, but he wasn’t. He’d gone to his office and waited patiently, and the moment Harley needed him, he was there.

He had no idea what Claude wanted from him, and part of him wondered if he was expected to stay in bed and be teased into oblivion—something he would have been cool with at any other time. But he wasn’t feeling up for it. He was afraid to say that. Afraid it would make Claude second-guess what they had, but none of that happened. As he had been this whole time, Claude was able to read him perfectly.

He took Harley back to the cabin and started a fire. Harley worked on his manuscript notes, and Claude read through his emails. They existed together in quiet comfort with their legs tangled together, Claude occasionally brushing massaging fingers over Harley’s calves. It was domestic.

It was perfect.

After lunch, Claude made Harley bundle up, and they went out to check on the cows. The air was frigid, and the sun was toobright, but he had on dark shades and a thick scarf, and after a while, it wasn’t so bad.

“I think I could live like this,” Harley said, following Claude’s chair down the rubber pathway toward the barn.

Claude looked over his shoulder, his brows lifted behind his mirrored aviators. “Yeah?”

“Well, not year-round,” Harley said with a sniff. “But I think I could handle the winter.”

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