Page 22 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

Nick had just finished tucking Amelia’s chubby arm back into her polka dot rain jacket when Stephanie received the reply from Travis.

“It was Travis. He said the rain is getting really bad.”

“No shit.” Nick shook his head and shrugged into his own rain slicker while Steph held the baby. “It was pretty bad when I came out here. But that’s exactly why I should get going. I just texted Char that I’m on my way to grab her. This city slicker isn’t used to driving four-wheel drive in the mud, and the last thing I need is to get stuck with this one in the backseat.”

“You’re so right.” She kissed her friend on the cheek and handed him the baby. “Drive safe.”

“Of course.” Nick hefted the diaper bag over his arm and opened the door. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? You can ride this out at the house with Char and me. There are plenty of rooms and—”

“No.” The thought had already flashed through her mind, and she’d rejected it almost as quickly. “I need to be here. It’s almost…well, I can’t explain it. But I need to face this and really, some rain will definitely keep away any creepers.”

He laughed and shook his head. “You know there are no creepers.”

“Only you, my friend.”

He blew her a kiss and tucked Amelia to his chest as he darted off the porch and to his parked SUV.

“Text me when you’re home!” she called after him and watched as he buckled Amelia into the seat.

With lightning speed, he jumped behind the wheel and waved before heading toward the fishing cabin to pick up his wife before starting his way down the muddy road.

Tink, no longer excited about playing in the rain, thankfully, stood at her feet and together they watched as Nick’s SUV disappeared from view.

“Just you and me,” she said to the pup. They stood for a few minutes on the porch, protected from the downpour that hadn’t seemed to let up even in the slightest. The gentle creek that flowed in front of her cabin was completely unrecognizable. Usually it was so serene, with the water burbling over the rocks. Now, the water was almost angry, raging over the normally exposed rocks as it churned with rapids and the water level rose up the banks.

Stephanie wrapped her arms around her waist and shivered against the chill. At her feet, Tink whined, so she crouched to pet the puppy. “Maybe we should have gone down to town,” she said to the puppy. Doubt flooded her.Would she be safe in her cabin?

The threat was no longer a crazed delusional stranger; now it was the very real threat of Mother Nature’s wrath.

“Come on.” Stephanie moved quickly inside, with the puppy right behind her. She grabbed for her phone and, skipping the text function, she called Travis.

The phone rang and rang. Finally, the call went to voicemail.

Was that a sign?

She looked around the small cabin that felt so safe when she was inside. But the moment she opened the door…

“We should go, Tink.” She made the decision quickly. There was proving that she wasn’t scared, but then there was just being stupid for the sake of stubbornness. Besides, this was different. “Wait here,” she told the dog. “I’m just going to grab a few things.”

In her bedroom, Stephanie pulled together a few changes of clothes and a toothbrush into an overnight bag. She’d slipped into her rain jacket and boots and had her car keys in hand when she opened the door, to flee and head to town. She stepped out onto the porch and stopped short as she ran straight into Travis’s hard chest.

“Where are you going?”

She shook her head and looked up at him. “What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t think I’d leave you here during this storm, did you?”

She didn’t really know what to think. Was it his responsibility to look after her? Did hewantto look after her? She couldn’t formulate a thought.

Thankfully, before she spoke again, Travis added, “Besides, you have my dog.”

His grin told her he was kidding. She chuckled and then promptly remembered what she was doing. “I’m headed into town to ride this out,” she said without moving from where she stood, very close to Travis’s chest. “The creek is rising and—”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

She froze and took a step back, suddenly unsure of him. “Pardon me? I don’t think that’s your decision, Travis.”

His smile was cocky and way too sexy for what the circumstance called for, but still, Stephanie couldn’t help the way her body reacted at the twitch of his lips.

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