Page 7 of Embattled Ever After

Alex loved that look on his face. There was knowledge there, and experience with these men, but love as well. Had she ever been a part of anything similar?

One of the men stood to look out the window and gave a low whistle. “We better check the weather, y’all.”

Alex blinked and looked outside. Oh, heck. The snow had been falling fitfully when she’d gotten here but it had kicked in with a vengeance now. “I’d better call a cab to take me to the hotel.”

Duncan made a sound in his throat, but he was looking at the phone in his hand. Alex could see a weather map scrolling across Denver, and there were white, blue and heavy blotches of purple, which meant there was a lot of snow coming down.

“When is your flight?”

“Well, it’s open ended,” she admitted, feeling a little embarrassed. She didn’t want him to think that she’d come out here planning to stay, but she hadn’t known what to expect, so she hadn’t set a firm departure date. If things hadn’t turned out the way she hoped here, then she would have rented a car and found a resort to hang out at for a few days. She’d worked the holidays for the past several years so that others with families could have time with them. This year she’d scheduled to take the time she was allowed. Some of those that had gotten off in previous years had given her dirty looks, but she’d decided that she was allowed to have a life, too.

The few moments of time she’d had with Duncan months ago had been enough to make her fly out here and see what could happen.

“What hotel are you staying at? Are you on the airport side of the city?”

Alex shook her head. “I didn’t know where I would be meeting anyone so I chose a hotel downtown. The Monaco? I figured I would be an equal distance from everywhere.”

Duncan’s mouth turned down.

“Did I do something wrong?”

He shook his head. “No, great hotel. I’m just not sure if we can get you there is the problem.”

Alex looked outside again. It was really starting to come down. Around them, the families and couples started packing things up.

The big guy with the scarred face walked over and gave her a sweet smile as he started to gather up their mess. “Sorry you didn’t get to stay longer. I’m glad I got the chance to m-m-meet you.”

Alex returned his smile. “And I you. This is a neat place. I can see why you like to hang out.”

He gave her another smile and turned away. Each of the men and women in the room made eye contact with her and nodded or gave a little wave and smile. Alex appreciated that they seemed concerned about her.

“So, do you want me to call a taxi?”

Duncan looked at her for a long moment before he shook his head, mouth turned down in a frown. “No. I’ll drive you.”

Alex retrieved her coat from the back office. When she returned Duncan was in conversation with John, Shannon’s new fiancé.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Duncan warned.

John barked out a laugh. “I think it’s an excellent idea.”

“What’s an excellent idea?” Alex asked, joining them.

John’s dark eyes flashed up to her. “You’re going home with Duncan. He only lives a couple of blocks away. It’s too iffy to head downtown if he can’t make it back.”

She couldn’t agree more.

Duncan wouldn’t look at her though and she wondered if they were pushing him too much. Then he seemed to take a fortifying breath and looked up at her. “Of course you can come to my house. You are more than welcome.”

It seemed to have already been decided because Flynn had retrieved her suitcase from the back office and was loading it into the back of Duncan’s truck. He gave her a jaunty wave as he reentered to escort Willow out to his own vehicle.

Alex was sad to see the party break up. It had been warm and inviting, and so inclusive of every personality. Hopefully they could get together again before she had to leave.

Duncan grabbed a heavy-duty black coat from the booth bench behind him and slipped it on, then a pair of rawhide gloves. He slipped a toboggan over his short salt and pepper hair. Alex bundled up, regretting not grabbing a few other cold weather items. She’d brought nice stuff, not necessarily heavy-duty, blizzard-worthy apparel.

There was a flurry of activity as Duncan led her to the door. She was patted on the back and smiled at and hugged, and she lost track of everyone after a while. Eventually, cane in hand, Duncan headed through the door and out into the snow.

Alex wished she’d worn her snow boots. As well as about ten pounds of other gear. Duncan led her to a truck parked in a handicapped spot in front of the restaurant. He handed her into the vehicle and closed the door behind her, then circled the hood to climb behind the wheel. The truck was already running when they got in, and warm. Thanks to Flynn, surely. Alex fastened her seatbelt and looked at the snow.