Page 55 of Truck Me
Charlotte shrugs, looking a little sheepish. “I guess I was afraid you’d choose him over me.”
“But … You didn’t give—”
“Why don’t we all play?” I ask, cutting Rayne off. “Maybe I can help with the snowman.”
I point to the two large balls of snow they’ve formed on the ground. One is bigger, clearly meant to be the base, but the second one looks too big for them to pick up.
Rayne bounces on her feet and claps her hands. “Yes! Can he, Aunt Char?”
We both look at Charlotte, who’s smiling for real this time. That’s the smile that causes my chest to tighten. “Of course. Someone has to put this snowman together. I think we both already proved we can’t do it.”
I step closer to the two balls and point at the smaller one. “I assume you want this one on top of the other.”
Charlotte nods. “We tried once and failed. The ball broke into several pieces when it slipped out of our hands.”
I step up next to her and the closeness of her body to mine instantly warms me. I take a deep breath and try to will my body into submission, but that ends up being a mistake. She smells so sweet—like flowers on a spring day. I have to fight back a groan.
I clear my throat and assess their work. “I can get it for you. Let me round out the side a little more first.”
I spend the next several minutes shaping it into a firmer ball. By the time I pick it up, it isn’t going anywhere. I gently place it on top of the larger one and pat some snow around the join to make sure it stays in place.
“Wow!” Charlotte chuckles. “You made that look easy.”
I lift my gaze to hers. “Did this a lot as a kid.”
She wrinkles her nose, and it’s the most adorable look I’ve ever seen. It makes me want to pull her close to me. “Yeah, I didn’t. I always hated the snow. Still can’t believe I’m out here now.”
Before I can respond, a snowball hits Charlotte right upside the face. Her mouth falls open as she lets out a low screech. I glance in the direction the snowball came from to find Rayne laughing as she quickly forms another one. She’s standing upright and patting the snow into a tight ball and tosses it at me before I can react. She’s got great aim because she hits me right between the eyes.
“Uh oh,” I hear her say through her giggles as I wipe off my face with my gloved hand. It’s ineffective because my gloves are bulky wool-lined leather meant to keep me warm and not much else.
“Oh, you better run!” Charlotte calls out. I pull my glove off to clean the snow away from my eyes and open them just in time to see Rayne running away from us. She heads right for the large oak tree at the edge of the back porch.
Tossing my gloves aside and going for mobility over warmth, I scoop up a handful of snow and take off after Rayne. I can see she’s working on forming her own snowball again, but this time I’m prepared. As soon as I’m within reach, I let it fly and hit her in the chest.
She laughs and tosses her own snowball, but I duck. She misses me, but then I hear Charlotte groan. When I turn around, I see the snowball meant for me hit Charlotte in the face.
I pull my lips between my teeth and fight back a laugh. I fail. After she clears off her face, she glares at me.
“Now, you’re going to get it.”
“Me! I didn’t throw it.”
“But you’re laughing at me.”
“Maybe.” I shrug.
Her eyes narrow even more and her nostrils flare. She’s not really mad, but she’s putting on a good show.
We both reach for a handful of snow at the same time. I take a few steps back, ready to run, while I form my ball. I’m faster than her and toss it at her before she’s even upright again. This one hits her in the shoulder.
She mock-scoffs and tries hard to hide her smile. “Not fair.”
“How is that not fair, Princess?”
Her eyes widen and something resembling desire flashes in her eyes. She sucks in a ragged breath but doesn’t answer me. Instead, she winds her arm back and throws a snowball at me. I don’t bother ducking. I let it hit me right in the chest.
There’s something passing between us that I haven’t felt since that night last week, and I really want to explore where this is going.