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Grace awakened to a shrill ringing near her ear and opened bleary eyes to darkness.
Where was she?
Another ring echoed in the room and she turned her head, taking in the hotel-style phone on the nightstand.
Right. She was in the castle and the call meant one of the guests needed help...at whatever time it was. Based on the blinking clock beside the phone, they’d obviously lost power at some point in the night.
She grabbed the receiver mid-ring and lifted it to her ear. “This is Grace. How can I—”
“Good. You’re up.” The female voice sounded vaguely familiar. “Have you seen the weather outside?”
“Not yet.” She turned on the lamp, then shifted her eyes to the window. A window covered in a solid white. However, since she was currently halfway between the third and fourth floors, it must have blown there instead of piled that high.
“Well, the April Fool’s joke was on us, because there’s over a foot piled up out there. I’m snowed in and this blizzard shows no sign of letting up for a while.” The identity of her caller clicked into place. Mallory. The office supervisor.
Grace reached for her cell phone and finally saw the time. Barely five o’clock. Which meant instead of getting a bit more sleep, her day had officially begun. “How can I help?”
“Obviously we’re going to need to cancel any tours and teas for today. I’ll check with our website guy to update the home page with a message. But for now, the safety of our current guests is the top priority. Which means access to heat, shelter, food, and water.”
Grace searched around until she found a small pad of paper and a pen. Her mind hadn’t quite woken up yet and this was too important to trust her memory.
“First, track down the overnight maintenance guy—he’s probably in the boiler room—and confirm the status of the castle’s backup generators and radiator heat system. We can’t afford to have any problems now.”
As if she had any idea how that all worked. But Grace made a note, because as long as the castle had heat and electricity, her guests would be fine.
“I’ll check with the Pink House hosts in a minute. But my main concern is the rest of the lodges because they rely on electricity alone for their heat.”
Meaning if they lost power too, they’d start to get dangerously cold. Grace shivered in sympathy.
Mallory sighed. “Since the other lodges don’t have assigned hosts and I can’t get there, I’m counting on you to contact those guests and check on them.”
“How? Well, I mean I have this phone, but—”
“I only gave you the guest list for the castle, but there’s a record of all the checked-in guests at the front desk as well as a master list of all the phone numbers for each room.” Mallory continued with her instructions for accessing the necessary data.
Assuming Grace could get down to the Carriage House and that it had electricity.
She’d figure that out later.
“You’ll know more once you check on those guests, but you probably should set up a temporary shelter in the Great Hall just in case.”
“In case?”
“Even if this storm lets up today, it’s going to take time to dig out and clear the roads. If the lodges don’t have heat, our guests need a safe place to stay.”
“Got it.” If only she didn’t feel so overwhelmed by the responsibility for so many people.
Grace continued her notes as Mallory rattled off instructions to locate a master key to give her access to the storage rooms off the gallery where there should be a supply of extra blankets and battery-powered lanterns. The woman mumbled something about her next call being to the kitchen to see if any of them had made it in and how Grace might need to direct the castle guests to reach the dining hall using the back stairs instead of going outside.
So many details to think about.
The whistling wind outside her room and the lack of visibility only compounded Grace’s feeling she was also trapped by the storm.
At least she was here instead of stuck in the RV.
Her eyes widened. “What about the other volunteers? Do they have heat in their dorm?”
“Good question.” Mallory grunted. “I’ll see what I can do to round them up and send them your way.”
“Do you want me—”
“No. You’re a sweetheart for offering, but I think you’ll have your hands full notifying the outlying guests and organizing a shelter for them.”
“True.” Grace added Mallory’s number to her pages of notes, passed along her cell phone number—as if she’d get reliable service inside the castle walls—then ended the call.
With her mind spinning, she rushed through a quick shower and slathered on the moisturizer before getting dressed in the warmest clothes she’d packed. Her normal stretching routine would have to wait for later. After pulling her still semi-curled hair up into a quick ponytail, she looped the lanyard with her key card around her neck, pocketed her notes and mostly-charged cell phone, then left her room behind.
First on her list was to find the maintenance guy.
Before or after recruiting Drew’s help?
Since he was there, why not lean on him while she could? Especially with his expertise when it came to survival and arctic conditions.
Instead of continuing down the stairs to the main floor, she turned toward the servants’ quarters and Drew’s room.
She knocked quietly, and a few moments later, Drew opened the door dressed in rumpled, slept-in clothing with a scruffy jawline that did nothing to diminish his rugged appeal. And made her wonder if he always looked that good in the morning.
“What’s wrong?” The concern in his eyes pulled her back to reality.
“I could use your help.” Keeping her voice low for the sake of the other guests nearby, she filled him in on the basics of the storm, possible power-outages, and the creation of a shelter.
“Give me a couple minutes to get ready and I’m all yours.” There was a keen awareness in his eyes before he shut the door.
As if he knew exactly what to do.
The tension weighing on her shoulders since Mallory’s call began to ease.
###
BECAUSE GRACE HAD ASKED, Drew was all too eager to help.
Especially when he remembered the relief on her face when he’d agreed.
If he’d gone home last night after their date, she’d be alone right now. And he’d have missed this chance to spend more time with the fresh-faced beauty whose blue high-necked sweater brought out the unique shade of her eyes.
Drew sped through a minimal bathroom routine before glancing out the window toward the parking lot. Somewhat shielded from the direct wind, he was able to see out...at the driving snow that had already transformed the vehicles there into mere bumps in a sea of white.
There was at least a foot already and based on the thick clumps of flakes flying by, it would continue to pile up fast.
Like Grace had said, no one would be going anywhere soon.
With a shiver, he pulled on a few layers of clothes from his bag, leaving several dry things for later. He was limited in his available snow gear, but had been through worse.
At least there was heat inside the castle.
Guests elsewhere on the property might not be so lucky and his instincts itched to face the storm and check on them.
Pocketing his phone and key, he opened the door to find Grace leaned against the wall reading the scribbles on one of several slips of paper.
“What’s first?” He shut the door behind him.
She shoved the papers into the back pocket of her jeans, and led the way back toward the center of the castle. “First, we confirm the castle will stay safe and warm, then we see who else needs help.”
“Sounds good.” Like he’d learned—and taught—survival focused on foundational basics first, then branched out. Once there was a homebase established, he could attempt a rescue mission.
Assuming one was needed.
Minutes later, they were in a restricted area of the basement talking to a middle-aged overall-wearing maintenance man named John. A man who easily confirmed the boilers were working as intended for heat. And that with plenty of fuel on hand, the back-up electrical generators should be fine for another day or two if needed.
As long as they limited the demand from the kitchen and housekeeping.
As the man waxed eloquent on the fact water pumps and lights were more important than gourmet food or clean sheets and towels—at least until the power was restored—Drew glanced around the space, taking in the mixture of new...and old.
Very old. Especially the opening in the far corner where bricks lined the walls and ceiling.
“Is that a tunnel?”
Grace leaned around him, then laughed. “It is. And if I thought we could break through the padlock securing the door at the other end, it might be the perfect way for us to get down to the Carriage House. General Palmer had the right idea when he included this convenience.”
“Ah. For the pampered castle folk who didn’t want to brave the weather?”
She shook her head. “I’m sure it was mostly for the servants.”
“Right.” He nodded, then tried to imagine living in such a time.
“Do you really need to get to the Carriage House?” John scratched his graying beard.
Grace turned back to him. “Mallory wants me to check on the other guests and said I could get an updated registry and comprehensive phone list from the office.”
Her comment brought back the reality they had no idea how many people were stranded out there in this weather. And they were still standing around talking instead of doing anything...
John frowned. “Is it already printed out or—”
“On the computer.” Grace furrowed her brow. “Unless I can’t—”
“Power’s definitely out down there.”
Grace groaned. “Well, I guess I don’t need to worry about trudging down there since it would be a wasted trip.”
“But if there’s not power at the Carriage House...” Drew faced Grace. “It’s a solid bet the other lodges are also without heat and will actually need the shelter your boss wants you to set up.”
“Shelter?” John’s curious gaze bounced between them.
“In the Great Hall.” Grace waved a hand toward the tunnel. “Mallory said to grab a master key from the office so I can get into the storage rooms upstairs. So, I guess we should—”
“Not worth the effort. I’ve got a key and can unlock anything you need.” The man jutted his chin toward a cluttered desk in the corner. “And I’m pretty sure I’ve got a phone list too. The office staff extensions might be out of date, but the guest rooms shouldn’t have changed.”
Grace’s shoulders relaxed. “That would help tremendously. But if no one answers, how would I know if a room was occupied or not?”
“You could ask the few you reach to knock on the other doors and piece together a headcount that way.” Drew shifted on his feet, antsy to get started actually doing something.
Instead, as John began sorting through the accumulated paperwork, Drew endured more conversation about seeing if housekeeping had at least a partial room occupancy report. And how any additional volunteers who might show up could be put to work in the kitchen or shoveling sidewalks instead of clearing roads. Seemed the heavy equipment was something only a few were licensed to operate.
Finally, Grace had the phone list in hand and tugged Drew from the room.
Only to stop again at the kitchens.
At least there he was able to sip on a cup of coffee and try to ignore the scent of frying bacon while Grace and the chef discussed re-directing guests to an interior entrance to the dining room, establishing a hot drinks station upstairs, and then preparing a simple lunch and dinner menu for both the staff and their storm-stranded guests.
Finally, he followed Grace up a dark cramped staircase and emerged in the wide hall outside the Great Hall. Well, that was a shortcut.
And the same route the castle guests would soon take for their breakfast in—Drew glanced at his watch—about an hour.
John had already unlocked and propped open the door leading to a banquet staging area, waiting for them to arrive before nodding, then disappearing.
Drew glanced left into the Great Hall. There was plenty of room for people to spread out. And with easy access to the dining room below and public bathrooms down the hall, it was the ideal location to use as an emergency shelter.
Meanwhile, Grace had wandered into the storage area, so he followed her.
“We’ll need a table or two for the drink station, plus a few more tables and chairs for people to sit around.” Grace pointed at the rolling racks along one wall.
“I’ll set those up for you in a minute.” Drew wandered past her toward the additional shelves storing every imaginable thing. “I see a collection of games and puzzles that could help folks pass the time. And...” His eyes grew as he peered into a far corner. “Are those camping cots?”
Grace joined him, then chuckled. “They aren’t feather beds, but definitely an upgrade from sleeping on the floor. Especially with these blankets.” She reached to move a stack of folded fabric, then winced and dropped her arms.
“Let me get those.” He frowned as she rubbed her formerly-injured shoulder.
“Okay.” Grace pivoted slightly. “But we should probably focus first on the tables and save the overnight accommodations until we know we need them.”
“Right. And speaking of knowing...” He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back toward the hallway—the gallery as she’d called it during the tour. “Why don’t we set you up with a work station here by this phone extension and you start making all those calls while I do the grunt work?”
A few minutes later, Grace was settled behind a small table while he made multiple trips back and forth from the storage room to the Great Hall implementing the plan.
A plan that didn’t feel like it would make much of a difference at all.
At least he was getting to spend time with Grace. Except she was busy dialing number after number, telling guests where to come for breakfast, and jotting notes on a list.
By the time he had the seating arranged, he could tell from her tone that she’d moved on to an outlying lodge. A location without heat.
“What’s that about her oxygen tank?” Grace turned toward him with wide eyes and Drew hurried over. “Yes. I understand. Hang on a second.” She placed a hand over the mouthpiece and spoke to Drew instead. “There’s an older couple at Big Horn—room 206—that will need help getting here. The wife has a portable oxygen tank that’s already running low but her overnight generator requires electricity—”
“And is either heavy or cumbersome.” Walking that distance through deep snow would be difficult enough without carrying the equipment.
But it was something he could do for them. Finally.
Drew nodded. “Tell them I’ll be there as soon as I can and will carry it for them.” He paused for a moment. “Actually, if I’m heading there, I can check those rooms and we can make a caravan back here.”
Grace’s eyes grew wide. “That’s a great idea. And maybe I can have this gentleman start rounding up people so they’re ready when you get there.”
“Then you can focus on the next lodges on your list. You do your part, and I’ll do mine.” He leaned across the table to press a quick kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, beautiful.”
Grinning at the dazed look on her face, Drew pivoted and strode toward his room for his coat and other supplies. Too bad he didn’t have any snowshoes in his Jeep.