Page 48 of Dump Tackle My Heart
“Yeah. Just trying to get through all the comments from yesterday and the scheduled content before the Wi-Fi flakes again.”
“Right.”
I set the mug down gently beside her.
She mutters thanks and keeps at it.
My chest tightens.
This isn’t what last night felt like.
Ithought—hell, I don’t know.
Maybe I justhopedlast night had changed something.
But she’s shutting it all down. Fast.
“Oh no! We’re snowed-in,” she says suddenly, glancing from her screen toward the window and back again with wide eyes. “Likereallysnowed-in!”
She’s not wrong.
There’s at least two feet of snow on the porch, and it’s still coming down like the sky’s mad at us.
“It’s been snowing since Wednesday,” I murmur, wondering why the sudden terror.
“Yeah, but that was fun and silly. This is serious,” she says, and I can hear her tension.
“Hey, it’s alright. Generator’s running, we’ve got food, shelter,” I offer, trying to soothe the rising panic in her voice.
“Yeah, but Finley just messaged. She says the cabin wasn’t prepared for a full weekend. She’s not sure how much gas we’ve got left. And the solar battery’s already halfway drained.”
I rub the back of my neck, then pull out my phone.
I send a quick message to my brother, Koa.
His reply doesn’t help.
“So, Koa says we got hit with a surprise Nor’easter,” I say aloud. “Looks like another couple feet might fall before this is all over.”
Dani swears under her breath.
It’s not her usual charming curses, either.
This is stress.
Fear. Distancing.
“Finley also says this is why we were supposed to come back last night,” Dani mutters.
“That’s not fair,” I say quietly.
“I’m just saying?—”
“No, you’re panicking,” I say gently. “And I get it. This is your job, Dani. You don’t want to be unprofessional. You don’t want to lose control. But there’s something else going on here too. You and I both know it.”
She blinks at me. Her lips part like she wants to deny it.
But she doesn’t.
