Page 109 of Daddies on Ice

I watch her shoulders tense, see the way her hands shake slightly as she places the remaining cookies in a Ziplock bag. “I just…I don’t understand why anyone would target me. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“This isn’t about you doing something wrong,” I say gently, moving closer to her. “Sometimes people fixate on others for reasons that have nothing to do with logic or fairness.”

She looks up at me then, those dark blue eyes swimming with unshed tears. “I’m scared,” she whispers, the admission seeming to cost her.

“We know,” Ash says softly, drying the bowl and spoon. “That’s why we’re not leaving.”

“But there’s only one bed,” she protests weakly.

Jake grins, some of his usual playfulness returning. “Good thing we’re all friends.”

Despite everything, Trisha laughs. “You’re impossible.”

“That’s what makes me charming,” he replies with a wink.

Later, after we’ve all cleaned up and fell into bed with Trisha once more, we find ourselves breathing hard in the afterglow of sex and exhausted.

It’s ridiculously cramped on the queen-sized mattress. Jake’s long legs hang off the end, and Ash has to curl on his side to fit, but none of us complain.

Trisha is safely nestled between us, her head on my shoulder, Jake’s arm draped protectively across her waist, and Ash’s hand resting on her hip.

“This is crazy,” she murmurs, but she’s relaxing against us, her breathing starting to even out.

“Crazy good or crazy bad?” Jake asks, his voice already drowsy.

“Just crazy,” she replies, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

I stroke her hair gently, feeling the silky strands slip through my fingers. “Try to sleep, Trisha. We’ve got you.”

“All of us,” Ash adds quietly, his thumb tracing small circles on her hip through the thin fabric of her pajamas.

She sighs contentedly, and I feel some of the tension leave her body. “Thank you,” she whispers. “For everything. For staying, for getting the girls, for…for caring.”

“Always,” I murmur against her hair, breathing in her sweet scent.

As the others drift off to sleep, I remain awake, listening to the soft sounds of their breathing, feeling the warmth of Trisha’s body against mine.

Someone out there wants to hurt her, to frighten her, and the thought makes my blood boil.

But right now, she’s safe.

Right now, she’s surrounded by people who would do anything to protect her.

I must have dozed eventually, because I wake to pale morning light filtering through the cabin’s small windows.

Trisha is still curled against my side, her face peaceful in sleep. Jake has somehow managed to wrap himself around both of us, one arm flung across Trisha’s back, his hand resting on my chest.

Ash is pressed against Trisha’s other side, his face buried in her hair.

Carefully, I extract myself from the tangle of limbs and pad quietly to the kitchen.

The coffee maker is ancient but still works, and soon the rich aroma fills the small space.

I move to the window to check the weather, and my breath catches.

Snow. Everywhere.

The world outside has been transformed into a winter wonderland, with drifts piled high against the cabin walls and more still falling steadily from the gray sky.