Page 19 of Valentine's Day Treasure

“Only a giant sandworm. Itwouldnaehurt you.”

Heather shuddered—the thing had been big, and gross. Graeme hugged her one more time, then transformed into the horse-sized dragon and knelt before her.

Now to Scotland,he said.

She stuck her foot on a spike and climbed on, and in no time, they were in the air. Graeme flew in a steep incline for a long time, while Heather silently studied her crystals and thought about what had happened. Eventually, she put the crystals in her cargo pockets, then settled in for the long flight over the Atlantic.

11—Treasure Hunt in a Blizzard

Crew woke up when the bed moved. He got up on one elbow and rubbed his eyes. Daylight shone around the curtains on the windows. Dahlia had climbed into bed and she was already on her pillow, wearing long pajamas. She pulled the blankets over her, until all he could see was her long, straight brown hair.

“Did you sleep yet?” Crew asked.

“No.” Her voice was muffled by the blanket. “I finished the book.”

“How was it?”

“Soooo good. Wait till you read it.”

They were reading the same series, but Dahlia was a faster reader than Crew, and she had more time to read, so she was two—now three books ahead of him.

“What time is it?”

“Don’t know.”

Crew found his phone and looked at the time: 9:30 a.m., but he had no service. He sat up in bed, realizing the power was still out and it was cold in the room.

Crew got up and started gathering his work clothes. “Doll, I gotta go check in with Trevor for work. Do you want to go to the main house and sleep there? They’ve got heat.”

She didn’t say anything.

Crew pulled the blankets away from her face. She looked like she was sleeping already. He sat down next to her and rubbed her shoulder.

“Do you want to go up to Trevor and Ella’s?” he whispered into her ear.

“Yeah,” she said. “But I’m so sleepy.”

“I can carry you,” he said.

She smiled with her eyes closed and snuggled into her blankets. “Okay…” she murmured. “… so strong.”

Crew cleaned up and got dressed in his uniform, then looked out the window. It was still snowing, and the drifts on the ground were deep.Shit,he thought. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to carry her. He left the bedroom and headed for the front door. Once outside, he saw that someone had recently plowed a path from his front porch to the main house.

“Good deal,” he said out loud, and went back to get Dahlia.

Angel, their pet bobcat who was still scarcely bigger than a kitten, darted across the top of the bookshelves in the living room, streaking past Crew and running for the door. He stared at it, making a chirping sound, until Crew turned around and opened the door for him. Angel ran out into the snow, heading for the forest. Crew shut the door and went to the bedroom. Angel wouldn’t be back till bedtime, and if he couldn’t get in the cabin, he’d get into the main house through the wolf door and sleep wherever Ella’s cat, Chelsea, was sleeping.

Back in the bedroom, Crew grabbed his book and shoved it in his cargo pocket, then he wrapped Dahlia’s blanket around her like a cocoon. He took the top sheet from the bed and put it on top of the blanket, even covering her face and hair, then he lifted her bridal-style from the bed. She snuggled into his chest, making a noise of contentment.

Crew carried her through the house and out the front door, and then followed the path to the back door of Trevor and Ella’s place. Troy saw him coming and pulled the sliding glass door open with the wolf-friendly handle.

“Thanks,” Crew said.

No problem,Troy said inruhi. Is she ok?

“Yeah, she’s sleeping—stayed up all night. Smells good in here.”

Ella looked up from a large pot on the stove. “Thanks.” She pointed to the stairs. “She can sleep in the guest room.”

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