“Where is he?” Trent demanded, immediately in crisis mode. “Where’s my dad? Who saw Merlin last?”

“Darnell,” Kadie said, wringing her hands. “He’s so upset, poor love. He threw that hideous reporter man out the front door. Then by the time he came back to the bar, Skye was already looking for him.”

“Merlin’s probably just in the kitchen or something,” Ashby said, reaching out to rub her arm. It was only then Trent realized he and Ashby were still holding hands. Well, fuck it. He wasn’t letting go now. He needed his boyfriend’s strength.

If Merlin was missing because of the shithead paparazzi Trent had brought to the resort, he’d never forgive himself.

“He normally turns up by now,” Kadie insisted, shaking her head. “Maeve got us checking all the usual places. I think she’s with your dad now at the bar. He’s worried someone walked off with him or something.”

“Dez didn’t take him?” Trent asked, already marching toward the bar with Ashby right next to him.

Kadie scuttled along beside them. “No, definitely not,” she said. “Darnell put that guy in a cab and told him if he came back Darnell would call the cops.” She sounded proud of him.

Trent glanced at her pushing her short blonde bob back again and again behind her ears as they walked. She was clearly upset. He had no idea Merlin meant so much to her or anyone else. Or that his dad did, for that matter. His heart ached.

“He’s somewhere,” Ashby said resolutely. “He’s small and fat, he won’t have gotten far.”

Trent nodded. If he was honest, he was stunned his dad was upset enough to whip the whole resort into a frenzy. Even guests were joining in whistling for Merlin. As they entered the bar, Trent spotted the little girl with the hazel eyes from the gift store and her family, the grandparents with their bespectacled grandkid, and the three middle-aged cosmo-drinking women, all in their own little search parties.

Trent’s dad was sitting in the deserted restaurant with Maeve the housekeeper rubbing his back. A woman with curly chestnut hair in a beautician’s blouse and Darnell, the bartender, were sitting at the same table. Trent stopped walking when his dad looked up at him.

He was crying.

Trent thought he was going to be the only Charles man to break down today. He’d been wrong.

“Dad,” Trent said. Ashby naturally let his hand go as Trent dashed over to pull his dad in for a hug. To his astonishment, his dad hugged him back, just as fiercely. “Hey, it’s okay, what’s going on?”

“Merlin ran off in all the upset,” his dad grunted.

He was trying his best to keep it together. His voice was reasonably steady, but tears were streaming down his leathery face from under his glasses. He never looked so old as he did in that moment.

“Is it true they’re demolishing the resort?” the beautician asked. Beneath her heavy makeup, she looked very pale.

“One thing at a time,” Trent said firmly. “You guys last saw Merlin here?”

They nodded. Trent felt Ashby come stand beside him as Kadie positioned herself standing between where Darnell and Maeve were sitting. Trent noticed that when his dad sat again, his shoulders hunched in defeat, Maeve began rubbing his back once more.

“I’m so sorry,” Darnell said shaking his head. “I thought Skye had him. It’s my fault. I should have made sure.”

“I should have had him,” Skye, the beautician insisted.

“No, no, it’s no one’s fault,” Kadie said. She went to awkwardly touch Darnell’s arm, then apparently thought the better of it.

Trent scowled. “It’s my fault,” he said. “Dez was here because of me, and Kiefer is punishing the resort to get back at me.”

“Oh bugger them both sideways,” snapped Ashby, quivering with rage. “We’ll deal with those little scumbags after we’ve found our puppy. Maeve, you said you’ve checked his usual hiding places?” The older woman nodded, her eyes wide behind her colorful glasses. “Right. You and Mr. Charles check the ground floor. Knock on every door if you have to. Darnell, you and Kadie double-check with the kitchen staff. He could very well be searching for food. Then you can go through the lobby again. Skye, can you go through the spa and make sure he’s not asleep in a nice warm cupboard of towels?”

The faces around the table were a little taken aback, but they all nodded. Trent’s heart swelled with pride as he turned to Ashby. “Where do you want us to look?”

Ashby’s face was grim. “The second floor,” he said. “We’ll also go door to door.” He turned back to the group. “I’m sure he’s fine. But the real concern here is that he got outside. There’s a real blizzard gaining force out there and he’s too young to survive for long on his own. I’m sure he’s fine. But let’s get him reunited with Mr. Charles sooner rather than later.”

Kadie looked scared. “He’d know not to go outside alone, wouldn’t he?”

Trent’s dad shook his head as he hurriedly got to his feet. “He’s nothing but trouble. He’ll run out in traffic or get lost in the snow. Goddamn it.” His voice choked with worry. Trent had known all along that deep down, of course, his dad loved his new dog, no matter how naughty he was.

Trent rested his hand on his dad’s shoulder, making him pause. “We’ll find him,” he told him. “We won’t lose anyone else.”

His dad clasped his hand over Trent’s. “No,” he said determinedly. “We won’t.”

Then Trenton Sr. turned and looked directly at Ashby. For a second, Trent’s heart threatened to stop. There was probably no mistaking their body language. His dad had already intimated he knew Trent had been close to breaking Ashby’s heart. How would he react now they were actually together?

Trent’s dad clasped Ashby’s shoulder, bulky with Trent’s coat. “Thank you, son,” he said. “You boys stick together.”

Ashby blinked, then smiled. “We will, sir,” he said.

“Okay,” Maeve said loudly as they began to spread out. “Whoever finds that little scamp first, brings him back here to the bar for a spanked bottom.”

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Kadie said with a tut. “He’ll get nothing less than half a chicken and a cuddle if you find him first.”

Maeve raised an eyebrow at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said as she bustled after Trent’s dad.

“Thank you,” Trent said as they left the others and began to climb the stairs. Ashby glanced over at him, a questioning look in his eyes. “For taking charge,” Trent elaborated. “For understanding that he’s not just a dog.”

Ashby scoffed. “Of course he’s not just a dog,” he said. Like there could ever be such a thing.

“You boys aren’t talking about that adorable little fellow with the floppy ears, are you?”

Trent came to an abrupt halt with Ashby and tried not to grind his teeth too hard. They turned to see Kiefer behind them in the hallway on the second floor. No doubt he had followed them up the stairs. He must have been loitering around the bar.

For once, he wasn’t wearing his Stetson, so he became immediately that much more forgettable. Objectively speaking, he really wasn’t as handsome as Trent had first given him credit for. He was pretty plain despite his dazzling teeth and expensive clothes.

“Fuck off, Burton,” Trent growled at him.

But Ashby raised his hand up to Trent, his eyes trained on Kiefer. “Why do you ask?” he enquired sweetly.

Kiefer’s gaze swept disgustingly up and down Ashby. Trent could just imagine him undressing Ashby mentally and wanted to smack that smug look off Kiefer’s face. But then he remembered what he’d told Ashby back at his cabin and reined in his temper. He wouldn’t give Kiefer the satisfaction of seeing him lose his temper again.

“Well,” Kiefer said. He rocked on his cowboy boots and imitated concern. “Only there was a chubby pup who was awful keen to be let outside by the pool a while back. He obviously needed to do his business, so I opened the door for him. I do hope that’s not a problem?”

Trent really did almost lunge for the asshole. But Ashby was already hauling him past the slimebag, back down the stairs. “No, no problem at all,” Ashby called back. “Thank you so much, darling!”

“Why would he tell us what he did?” Trent snarled as they made it back to the first floor and ran toward the pool.

“Because he’s a sociopath who needs everyone to know how clever he is and just how much power he has over them,” Ashby said, quite succinctly considering how fast they were sprinting. “I can’t wait to deal with him. I’m going to disembowel him. It’ll be fun.”

Trent glanced at his lover as they burst out into the snowstorm, unable to stop himself smiling despite the dire circumstances. “I really do love you,” he said.

Ashby smiled bashfully back at him.