Snowfall and Secrets (The Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 1) (11 page)

Lukas shrugged. “The blizzard. Let’s just wait. It’s crazy to try towing this to the mainland with a storm coming.”

“Nonsense. I’ve got everything lined up. I saw the way you watched Tess last night. This shit’s got to go.”

Hayden flipped open a box. Inside, packed neatly away, were some of Stacey’s old dresses.

“You know, she was an ice princess,” he said distastefully and closed the box. “I don’t know why your mom never stepped in and stopped you from marrying her.”

Lukas closed his eyes. He heard this a thousand times before.

“But the boys,” he said.

“I know.” Hayden clasped him by the shoulder. “I’m not saying we get rid of it all and you forget them. I’m saying don’t let it haunt you anymore. Letting go is never easy, but you should be happy. You need to believe it and fight for it.”

Hayden pushed past him and down the stairs. Una followed, but Dio stayed beside Lukas. Fight for it. Wasn’t that what deciding to go after Tess was all about? He knelt down beside Dio.

“What do you think, girl?”

She nudged him in the chest with her snout.

“Yeah, I know you love Tess.” He scratched her ear. Dio liked Stacey about as much as Hayden did, but she adored the boys. Losing them had been hard on her too.

There was a commotion downstairs. Dio’s ears perked up.

“Go see,” said Lukas, and she took off, hurtling downstairs with a furious bark. Lukas didn’t go with her. Instead, he went deeper into the room. He was ready to see Stacey’s boxes go. Hayden was taking them to the mainland with him, to a shelter or something. Lukas hadn’t been listening.

It was the far corner that worried him.

“Yeah. He’s brooding.” Hayden was back and apparently had someone with him.

“No surprise there. That’s what he does best these days.”

Estelle.

Great. He should have known. She was probably the reason Hayden was even here, forcing him to clean out the boys’ room.

It was Joshua who showed up in the doorway though.

“You get wrangled into this too?” Lukas shook his head. Leave it to Hayden to drag half the island into digging through his ghosts. He sure hoped Marie and Doc weren’t here too. Then again, he could send Marie over to check on Tess.

“I volunteered. I don’t want to be stuck here in this blizzard. Got things to do.” Joshua laughed with a sheepish smile.

“Does this thing have a name?” Lukas asked, and Joshua blushed. Bingo. Don’t get stuck at mom and dad’s in a blizzard when there’s a warm, pretty thing waiting for you. Lukas could probably take that same advice.

Once Hayden attached Lukas’s trailer to his sled, it didn’t take the three of them long to load all of the boxes. It was mostly clothes anyway. Estelle stayed in the kitchen with the dogs—feeding them treats, making coffee, and shouting orders.

Cleaning out the room went faster than Lukas would have liked. While Hayden and Joshua were arranging everything, Lukas stood in the door of his spare, almost empty room, and stared at the last two columns.

Estelle crept up on him and shoved a cup of coffee under his nose.

“What are you going to do with this room now?” she asked as Lukas took the steaming mug from her.

“I guess I need to get some furniture,” he said, not taking his gaze off his boys’ things.

“Yeah, probably.” Estelle nodded. “You know, I think you should keep one of these.”

She waved her hand at the remaining boxes.

“Don’t look inside. Pick one, stick it in the closet. That way you have something of theirs, cause you’re going to want it one day.”

Lukas sipped his coffee.

“Then let the rest go,” she finished. “Things are just that, things, and these are especially toxic.”

She was right. Lukas hated to admit it, and he never would to her, but this needed to be just another room in his house.

He handed his mug to her and took one of the boxes, the first one off the top. He didn’t look inside. It didn’t matter what was inside. Clothes, pictures, things the boys had made. It was theirs. He opened the closet and set it on the top shelf.

“You’ll be glad you did this. Someday you’ll thank Hayden for sticking his nose in.”

“Sure.” Lukas took his coffee and trotted downstairs. Just because she was right didn’t mean he had to watch.

He sat at the bar and listened to the thumps and thuds. Dio laid her head on his leg, and Una took the opportunity to run off with Dio’s cow. Lukas smiled and scratched her ears.

“She has no manners, does she?”

“My lady is an angel.” Hayden came in and held out Dio’s toy for her. She took it in her teeth and sat down, protecting her cow from a lurking Una.

“A thieving angel.”

Hayden grinned but didn’t deny it.

“I’ve got everything strapped down. Now you get Tess, bring Dio, and come have lunch. Mom said not to come back without you.”

Sounded like Marie.

“Estelle’s coming too. She invited herself. I think she wants to get to know Tess.”

“Tess is sick.” Lukas laughed. Estelle must be dying to interrogate Tess. It would eat her up to know that Marie knew more about her than she did. “I took her for supplies this morning and put her to bed when we got back.”

Hayden raised an eyebrow.

“Sick, man. Seriously.” Lukas shook his head, drained his coffee, and stood. There was no use fighting the invitation. If he didn’t go, Doc would call and pester him, and Marie made excellent roast beef sandwiches the night after a pot roast.

“Want me to check on her?”

Lukas’s chest tightened. He absolutely did not want Hayden anywhere near her.

“She said it was just a bug. I’ll ask Marie to check on her.”

Hayden chuckled. “I said I was no threat.”

“I know you aren’t.” Lukas punched him in the shoulder as he walked past.

T
ess woke up several hours later, and she felt fine but highly embarrassed. She searched for her dirty clothes, but they were nowhere around. Maybe she threw them in the washer? But she didn’t remember leaving her bedroom.

She found a note on top of the washer.
Tess, I put your clothes in here so they wouldn’t dry like that. I hope I used the right setting. –L

Holy cow she owed that man. She didn’t get sick very often, and most of the time she took care of herself. She tossed the clothes into the dryer and tried to think of how she could make it up to him. Obviously, she had a nasty bout of morning sickness, so he wouldn’t be getting ill. Of that much she was very grateful. She hoped this wouldn’t become a regular occurrence, or she would find herself explaining things to other people a lot sooner than she planned.

Her phone rang, and she answered it without checking who it was. “Hello.”

“Tess, it’s Marie. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“Lukas told me you were sick.”

Tess felt her cheeks redden. “Yeah, I threw up on him. I’m so embarrassed. But I think it’s just morning sickness.”

“You threw up on him?”

“Yeah. Not one of my best moments.”

“What’d he do?”

“Put me to bed, cleaned the mess, and put my clothes in the wash.”

“You’re going to keep him, right? Not many men would do that.”

“Believe me, if I thought we had a chance, I’d definitely keep him around, but I think that chance ended when I threw up on his shoes.”

“Nonsense. Just make him brownies, and all will be forgiven.”

“Brownies?”

“They’re his favorites. If you have chocolate chips, put them in. He loves them frosted too, but not many people do all three.”

Tess scrambled around her cupboard and found not only brownie mix and chocolate chips but a tub of frosting too. Being pregnant meant she bought a lot of junk food.

“On it. Thanks, Marie.”

“No problem.”

Tess spent the rest of the afternoon making the brownies and keeping a close eye on the sky. The clouds were thick. She didn’t think the storm was supposed to come until Monday. Before dinner she put on her coat and trekked across the yard.

She knocked on the door, but Lukas didn’t answer, and Dio didn’t bark. Tess looked around the side of the house to where he normally parked and discovered the snowmobile was gone. Damn. If she left them on the doorstep, they’d freeze. If she brought them home, they’d get eaten. She oscillated back and forth for a few more seconds but didn’t set them on the doorstep. She could be disciplined.

Once home, she cut one piece out of the pan and shoved the rest of the brownies into the cupboard so they wouldn’t be a temptation. Then she threw a couple of old pizza slices into the microwave and browsed through Netflix for a movie or a series to binge watch.
Grey’s Anatomy
caught her eye.

After the third episode, she dug the pan out of the cupboard and brought it to the couch with her. She was famished.

At some point she must’ve fallen asleep on the couch. The wind was howling when she woke up, and she was freezing.

The TV was off. She stood, rubbing her arms. It was so cold. She fumbled for the light switch but nothing happened when she flicked it on. Crap. Her power must be out. She flicked the switch for the fireplace but it wouldn’t turn on. She checked the thermostat. Fifty degrees. Too cold. She’d have to call Lukas. Damn it. He was always rescuing her. One of these days, she was going to be able to take care of herself.

Her phone told her that it was two a.m. It rang three times when he finally answered.

“Hello?” His voice was husky with sleep.

“It’s Tess. My fireplace won’t work, and the power is out.”

“Be there in a sec.”

Tess unlocked the door and wrapped herself in a blanket. Seconds later the door opened. His hair was standing out in every direction, which somehow added to his appeal.

“How long has it been out?”

“I don’t know. I just woke up and noticed it was too cold in the house.”

He knelt in front of fireplace and fiddled with a few things. Then he stood.

“It’s broken, and I won’t be able to fix it tonight. You’re going to have to come to my place.”

Tess nodded. She didn’t care what she had to do as long as she didn’t freeze to death, and it’s not like she’d be sleeping with him. He had something like ten bedrooms in that massive house.

“You might want to bring a change of clothes or two with you. This is a huge storm. There’s no telling how long we’ll be stuck.”

She nodded and escaped into her bedroom. Maybe she’d take this opportunity to learn more about him and his past. There were worse ways to spend a blizzard.

She threw a few pairs of leggings, long sweaters into a bag, and a pair of pajamas as well. She packed her toothbrush and some make up.

When she got back into the living room, Lukas was eating the last brownie.

“I thought you were sick,” he said with his mouth full.

“I was. But then when I woke up, I felt a lot better. Marie called and told me you were worried. I asked her what I could do to make it up to you, and she suggested brownies.”

He pointed at the pan. “Then why was this the last one left?”

“Because when I brought it to your house, you were gone. A pan of brownies like that doesn’t just sit around uneaten.”

He nodded. “Okay, but tomorrow, when we are stuck in my house, you are making me more. These are awesome. I should have everything you need. Are you ready?”

“Yeah. I figure if I forget anything, it’s not like it’s too far to come get.”

“True. But it’s also possible your house will be inaccessible if we get the eight to twelve predicted.”

She shrugged. “I’m good.”

He took the bag from her hand and opened the door. He placed his hand around her waist, and Tess was about to protest, but then she saw the scene in front of her.

Snow was blowing in every direction. It looked like there was a foot or two already on the ground.

“Your feet are going to sink. Just keep moving,” Lukas said.

She nodded and moved with him into the snow and sank to her knees, snow sliding down her boots. She hissed with the cold. Only a few yards to go.

Her ears were burning with the cold by the time they got into the house. It was cold in the entryway of Lukas’s house, and she didn’t see Dio anywhere. That was unusual.

“Why is it so cold?” she asked as Lukas pulled off his boots.

“Because the power is out on half the island, and I only have two fire places. The one in my bedroom and the one in the living room. My room is gas, so it’s easy to start, but the one in the living room is wood burning, so it has to be fed every few hours. I’ll start it in the morning. Could you take off your boots so the snow stays down here?”

She did as she was told and contemplated her predicament. His bedroom was the only room with a fireplace. That meant she had to sleep with him. She knew that was a stupid idea. Maybe he had a couch or something. Or maybe he’d be a gentleman and sleep on the floor. She dismissed the thought. After everything he did for her, she couldn’t ask him to sleep on the floor. They were adults—they could handle this.

She followed him. She’d never seen his room before. He took his hat and gloves off.

He opened the door to his room, and she could feel the heat escaping. He motioned for her to go in.