Page 35 of Love Fast

“Rosey,” he says. I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my life. I want to leap into his arms and bury my head in his chest.

“Byron!” I say. “I’ve lost Athena and it’s raining in the bedroom and I shouldn’t have left the Club. I don’t know?—”

He strides across the living space and holds me by the shoulders. “It’s going to be okay.”

I sigh with relief that he’s here. Thank god.

He releases me and stands tall. “Don’t leave my side,” he says, heading into my bedroom. I scurry in after him.

He moves quickly, pulling the bedding from the mattress, then pulling the mattress off the bedframe like it’s a pool float, rather than the heaviest thing I’ve ever had to move.

“Do you have a bucket?” he asks.

I hand him the pot I collected from the kitchen. He takes it from me and positions it under the leak.

The creak of wood sounds again and our gazes meet. “Is it the ceiling?” I ask. He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the bedroom.

“Get your coat on and let’s take any supplies we might need. Water. Food. I probably have enough, but it doesn’t hurt to have more.”

I don’t have a chance to ask him where we’re going because he pulls out his cell and dials a number while he opens the refrigerator and starts tossing stuff onto the counter. I gather it all up and put it into bags.

“Beth, it’s Byron. Cabin two has a leak in its roof.” He listens. “Yeah, Rosey… No, I don’t want either of you to come out in this. We’ve moved the furniture. Yeah… Agreed. No, that’s fine. Keep safe.”

He hangs up. “Nothing we can do about it until the storm has passed. Let’s pack up your things. You’ll have to stay with me.”

Panic races through me. “What? No. I’ll just stay on the couch.”

Byron glances around, sees the bag from Snail Trail and grabs it. “Let’s go.”

“No, Byron, I’m staying here.”

“No, Rosey, you’re not. You have a leak in your bedroom now, but the entire ceiling could collapse. Water likes to travel. Without inspecting the roof, there’s no way to know where the ingress started. The entire ceiling could be at risk. You’re staying with me.”

Tears form at the back of my throat. I arrived in town a week ago in a wedding dress with no place to stay and no job, having let down my entire family, but it’s not until now that I feel truly vulnerable.

“We used to get leaks in our trailer all the time.” My voice quivers as I finish my sentence. “We always had a couple of buckets collecting rainwater.”

“This isn’t a trailer. If this ceiling comes down, you’ll know about it. And we could be facing tornadoes in the next twelve hours. You’re not staying here.”

“I can’t stay with you. Maybe the inn?—”

“The inn is still full, Rosey. I’m not asking you to move in with me. I’m telling you, you need to shelter at my place. There’s a big difference.”

His tone has darkened. I realize I don’t have any other choices here.

Silently, I get to work gathering up the few belongings I have here in Star Falls. It’s just toiletries and clothes, but it’s nothing I can afford to sacrifice.

My Snail Trail bag full, we head out. “But Athena. I don’t know where she is,” I say.

“She’ll turn up. Or maybe she went back to whoever she lived with before she turned up here.”

“And maybe she’s frozen and vulnerable, hiding somewhere.”

“Shit, Rosey.” He pulls out his phone and starts to type. “There. I messaged a couple of people to keep an eye out. Bring her food in case she comes back. We gotta go.”

I hand him my bag of belongings and grab the cat food. We both brace ourselves for the storm as we head to Byron’s cabin.

FIFTEEN

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