Love Me Dear (Love Me Book 3)

Chapter 7

Trinity had been off for one week of her two-week vacation. Levi still hadn't hired anyone to replace her but he had told her he would handle it, and though she was slightly concerned about the work that would greet her upon her return, she was enjoying her brother and Rainer's company too much to return to work early.

Rainer Stevens, who was a handsome redheaded journalist that was known for his media coverage both in front of the camera and in print, had traveled around the world with her brother, Ben, for a time. The two of them had decided it would be a good idea to write a non-fiction book about some of the more interesting aspects of being an international news correspondent.

While Rainer was famous in his own right, Ben was also a famous writer of crime fiction, and the two meshed well together.

Trinity had been listening to their stories, helping with editing, and cooking for them. She had joked that if she had known they wanted was a maid and chef; she would have hired someone. The cabin they were staying in was peaceful and with the central heating and fireplace, it was warm and cozy as the snow continued to fall outside.

Ben and Trinity were in the process of having a mock food fight as they cleaned up the dishes after lunch, so neither one of them had heard the knock at the door. Trinity had just managed to get Ben on his knees.

"That teaches me to enroll you in a self-defense class!" Ben cried as Trinity twisted his arm.

"That's my writing arm, be careful!" Ben hollered.

"I'll let you go, but you have to finish the dishes," Trinity insisted.

"Fine!" he conceded.

Trinity let him go and stepped back with a grin, watching as Ben pulled himself up off the floor.

"That hurt," he pouted as he rotated his arm, and Trinity laughed.

"Wuss!" She threw a towel at him before she turned her head and caught sight of Rainer and Levi standing in the doorway of the kitchen watching them. Her smile faded as she wiped her hands on her blue jeans. He looked powerful and seemed to fill the kitchen with his presence. Trinity hadn't realized until that moment that she had missed him all week and it was a thought that she immediately ignored.

Ben noted her smile fade and looked over at what had caused it.

"Rainer, it's your turn to do the dishes," Ben said as he eyed Levi.

"That's cheating, Ben!" Trinity shook her head.

Ben stepped forward and held out his hand. "I'll introduce myself since Trinity appears to have forgotten her manners. I'm Ben, and this is Rainer." Ben could be charming when he chose to be and this was one of those times.

"Levi Shaw." Levi shook Ben's hand and then Rainer's.

"Trinity's boss?" Ben asked, looking over at his sister with a quizzical expression.

"Yes, but not today since she's still on vacation." Levi shot Trinity a strained smile and she returned it with an equally strained one of her own.

"Then, if it's not about work, what's up?" Trinity asked.

"There's a storm headed this way, so we need to move you down into the valley. Normally we don't rent these cabins during winter because of the risk of people getting trapped up here with no electricity," Levi explained, and Trinity noted that he was dressed in a waterproof duster with waterproof boots and holding his cowboy hat in his hand.

He seemed cold and distant, which wasn't like him. Perhaps he was nervous about the storm. Although, that seemed very unlikely since he had lived through plenty of them in the past.