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My eyes flick over to my dad, who’s tending the fire. I watch as he straightens up to his full height and strides over to the front door of our cabin. Along the way, he grabs his shotgun from the wall.
“Who’s there?” he booms.
I’m frozen still and holding eggshells in my hands when the reply comes from the other side of the door.
“Please let me in!” the voice yells. “A bear’s coming!”
As the stranger yells his response, my mom gasps and covers her mouth with her hands.
“John, let him in!” she begs my dad.
My dad is already opening the door. A violent gust of wind blows into the cabin, a flurry of snowflakes coming with it as the stranger stumbles in. As soon as he’s inside, my dad throws the door closed, then tightens his grip on the shotgun.
The eggshells fall from my hands as I take in the sight of the stranger who just burst into our house. He’s as tall as my dad and even with all of his winter clothing on, I can tell he’s just as strong, if not more so. Snowflakes cling to his chestnut brown hair and his skin looks so golden and smooth, especially in contrast to his scruffy short beard. What impresses me most, though, is how calm he remains as my dad points the shotgun at him.
“Better not be lying to me, son,” my dad says.
“No, sir. I’m not.” The stranger gives my dad an earnest look, his gorgeously blue eyes looking at him imploringly. “I was camping not far from here. When I woke up to the storm, I packed up and started to search for better shelter. That’s when I noticed that a bear was following me.”
“What were you doing camping around here?” my dad asks, suspicion still in his voice.
The stranger looks uncertain how to answer.
“Do you need me to repeat the question?” my dad asks sharply, a tight grip still on his shotgun.
“No, sir. I was just out here enjoying the wilderness. That’s all. I don’t know how much of this land is yours, but I apologize for trespassing.”
I hold my breath as I watch my dad take another few moments to size up the stranger. When he finally lowers his shotgun, relief floods through me. I can hear my mom sigh in relief, too, as the tension breaks.
Then, suddenly, there’s a rough scratching on the outside of the door. My dad grips his shotgun again, turning toward the door this time.
“Get back, son,” he says to the stranger.
All four of us stay silent as we wait to see what the bear is going to do. Each second that passes feels like a full minute. As the wind howls outside, the insistent sound of scratching comes again on our front door.
After a length of silence, my mom peers through the window nearest to us and says, “It’s leaving, John. It’s walking away.”
The collective relief is palpable. My dad lowers his shotgun and blows out a breath. Looking at the stranger again, he says, “The name’s John. This is my wife, Caryn, and our daughter, Tessa.”
“Sean Reynolds,” the stranger says. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me into your home.”
My mom starts toward him. “You can stay as long as you need, Sean. Here, please, let me take your backpack and coat. You should warm up by the fire.”
Now that my dad isn’t threatening to use his gun and the bear isn’t trying to get into our cabin, all I want to do is stare at the man who just came into our home. Good Lord, the man is fine. I’ve never seen anyone as attractive as him. Just looking at him makes a weird feeling spark deep inside of me. And as I watch him take off his backpack and his coat, that feeling inside me intensifies.
God, his gorgeous neck. And those muscles bulging against the sleeves of his long-sleeve shirt…
“Crack a few extra eggs for our guest, please, Tessa,” my mom calls out as she carries Sean’s things away.
Right. The eggs. I look down into the bowl in front of me and fish out the shells that I accidentally dropped in, then add two more eggs. As I’m whisking them up, I steal a glance over my shoulder and see Sean and my dad standing by the fire. I can’t make out their conversation from where I’m standing, but I can tell that my dad has already warmed up to him—he’s smiling at Sean, and as I continue to watch them, he reaches out and gives Sean’s shoulder a fatherly squeeze.
I’m glad to see that my dad likes him. My dad can be standoffish at first, but once he warms up to someone, he’s extremely protective and loyal. If I want to get to know Sean and spend any time with him one-on-one, it’s imperative that my dad likes and trusts him.
My dad and Sean continue to chat by the fire as my mom and I make breakfast. When it’s time for us to sit down and eat, I bring an extra chair over to our dining table. Sean sits down in it, smiling briefly at me as he does.
“Thank you for making all of this,” he says, splitting a glance between my mom and myself. “It looks and smells great.”
“This quiche is Tessa’s specialty,” my mom says, cutting a hearty slice for him. “One bite and you’ll fall in love.”
