Page 31 of A Curvy Carol

A persistent buzz interrupted us. We pulled back, and Whit grabbed his phone from his pocket. “It’s my dad,” he said sheepishly. “He needs the snowmobile back. There’s an emergency.” He took my hand. “Come on.”

Just like that, the moment was over.

As we rode back to the lodge, I couldn’t help but wonder what the kiss meant to him. Was it the start of something more? Or the last item crossed off our list?

Despite the high I felt at my first kiss, my heart sank as I realized… our time together could be over.

18

WHIT

The whole way back to the lodge, I could hardly concentrate on what I was doing. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mistletoe Hill and Carolynn’s mouth on mine or her arms around my waist, her cheek pressed to my back.

But somehow, we made it back.

Dad was waiting for us in front of the lobby, a worried crease in his brow. He said a quick hello to Carolynn and gave me an apologetic look before hopping on the snowmobile and taking off.

As the engine’s roar faded, Carolynn said, “I should head home.”

For a second, I wondered if she was upset or something, but she added, “I have dinner with my dad tonight.” She toed her boot in the snow then looked up at me. “See you later?” she asked.

I nodded even though I didn’t want to say bye to her yet. “I’ll walk you home?” I offered.

But she gave my hand a squeeze and said, “It’s okay.” She let go of my hand and turned to go into town.

I stared after her for a second before the cold started seeping through my clothes. I didn’t have Carolynn nearby to keep me warm anymore. So I walked into the lodge and found Mom cleaning up and tidying the gathering area. Since I had nothing better to do and she seemed tired, I helped her out.

While she wiped down the furniture, I vacuumed the floor of the gathering area. If there was one thing I knew about Mom, it was that she prided herself on how clean she kept the lodge. By the time we were done, the place was sparkling.

Before Mom could move on to the stairs, Dad was back.

He walked in and took off his gloves and coat with a sigh. “Well, I got them to the 24-hour clinic. They’re going to be just fine. Poor guy won’t be doing much snowshoeing for a while, though. His ankle was sprained pretty badly.”

Mom went over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Well, I’m glad you were around to help.”

Then she turned to face me, still holding on to Dad. “Anyway, it’s Christmas Eve. You know what that means. How about some cookies?”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” I said. “I’m sure I could eat at least a dozen.”

Dad grinned. “I’m sure you could, kid.”

No matter how busy Christmas Eve got, we never used frozen or pre-made cookie dough. We always made our chocolate chip cookies from scratch.

I sifted the flour while Dad put on some music and lined some trays with parchment paper. Meanwhile, Mom opened up a bag of chocolate chips. In no time, we were rolling up perfectly sized balls of dough and placing them on the trays.

Mom indulged in some leftover cookie dough while the cookies baked in the oven. “This never gets old.”

Dad took her hand, and they danced to the music for a couple minutes. It wasn’t long before Mom grabbed my hand, and I proceeded to twirl her.

I was not a great dancer, but I figured it was a good skill to have, especially with a pretty girl like Carolynn around.

I passed Mom back to Dad, and I watched them dance like they were newlyweds.

That was the kind of relationship I wanted one day. I wanted it with Carolynn.

Before I knew it, my mind was transported back to Mistletoe Hill.

Her blue eyes looking up at me. The crisp frigid air against my skin. Her nose cold against my cheek.