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.

"How long do we have to get packed up?" Rainer asked as he moved to the sink to finish the dishes.

"We have a few hours, but if we wait any longer, we will all be stuck here. The roads are already bad, so it will be slow going, and I hope we can make it at least halfway down the mountain before nightfall. There is another cabin there. It's closer to town, so if we get snowed in it will be easier for help to get to us." Levi sounded calm and matter of fact about the entire situation.

Ben nodded and then started to pick up things that had migrated into the kitchen. "We'll try to be packed in an hour, how's that?"

"Shouldn't you be counting cows before the storm hits or something?" Trinity asked, worried that Levi would be missed.

Rainer coughed to cover a laugh that still sounded like a laugh, and Ben ignored her as he headed out of the kitchen all business.

Levi's mouth quirked in response, but he didn't laugh outright as Rainer had.

"No, we've been watching the weather for a while now. Everything that needed to be dealt with has been dealt with, including the cows."

Rainer turned off the water and moved towards Trinity, dropping a kiss on her temple. "You're so cute, talking about cows."

"Hey, we can't all be from ranching families, Rainer!" she said, embarrassed by his teasing.

"Thank goodness because we also need our fair share of genteel Georgia peaches." He grinned as he avoided her playful swat.

"I'll gather up the food here and make sure that everything outside is battened down," Levi said setting his cowboy hat on the table.

Trinity moved to follow Rainer and Ben. "What about the fire in the fireplace?" she asked.

"I'll take care of it all, Trinity. You worry about your stuff." It sounded like a dismissal and it hurt her feelings a little.

Trinity moved quickly to her room and looked around. There wasn't that much to pack up. Since she was on vacation, she had been living in blue jeans and sweaters. With Ben and Rainer, she hadn't been worried about her appearance so she wasn't wearing makeup and her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror and cringed a little, as she wondered what Levi must think of her.

She didn't look her best.

Realizing that there was nothing she could do about it now, and it would look off if she tried, she started to pack her things in a quick and semi-organized manner. She had been at it for about ten minutes when the door to her room opened and Ben entered, closing the door behind him.

"That's your boss!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, why?" She looked at him with a frown.

"I envisioned a much older man. You said his son works for the company too? How old is he?" Ben leaned against the door, watching his sister with narrowed eyes.

"Josiah, his step-son, is twenty-eight." Trinity zipped up her suitcase and placed it on the floor as she moved to the bathroom to gather up her toiletries. Ben was right on her heels.

"That could go either way then?" he said to himself.

It mimicked what Shana had said in the Lady's room on New Year's Eve, and Trinity stopped and looked at her bother with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"

Ben grinned. "Just a little musing on my part."

"Well, stop it. I work with Levi and Josiah and have never thought of them in any other way," she insisted. It sounded weak to her ears.

"Uh-hu." Ben agreed with another grin. "I liked your Levi."

"He's not my Levi, but he is a very nice man." Trinity agreed. "Although, I doubt he thinks the same thing of you with that scraggly beard and long hair." She reached out and tugged at his beard.

"Lia prefers it." Ben shrugged. "However, I agree. I do not think he was that impressed with either Rainer or me, but not because of my beard."

Trinity rolled her eyes as she zipped up her small makeup case. "Are you ready?" She was finished with the conversation. "I love you, brother, but I don't want to be trapped on this mountain with you and Rainer for a month." She threw open her door and walked right into Levi's chest. "S-s-sorry," she stammered.

Levi placed his hands on her shoulders as he steadied her.

"I need to make sure all of the water is turned off," he explained.

"It's all yours," Ben said as he stepped out the door and moved to pass Levi and Trinity, where they stood looking at each other.

"Thanks." Levi sat Trinity off to one side as he entered her bedroom.

"What's going on?" Rainer asked as he joined them in the hall.

"Trinity's got a boyfriend," Ben hissed like the annoying little brother that he was.

"Who, the cowboy?" Rainer hissed back. "I like him."

"No one asked either of you!" Trinity hissed back before she turned and wheeled her suitcase down the hallway.

"This is going to be fun. Trinity doesn't realize that Levi doesn't know that I'm her brother and you're only a friend." Ben smiled.

"Don't draw it out longer than you need to. You might do more harm than good." Rainer advised before he followed Trinity.

It took them less than an hour to pack, and the road down the mountain was a nightmare. Trinity was never so glad to reach a destination as she was when the trucks finally stopped.