“No,” Colton says. “It needs more than that. Besides, they should’ve done all of that before they posted photos of it.” He shakes his head. “Cal would never approve of that place for his daughter.”
“I wouldn’t approve of what?” my dad asks and steps up behind me. “Is that Cedar Grove?” Before I can even answer, he’s shaking his head, adamant. “No. Definitely not.”
“Hey,” I say, a little defensive. “It’s not like I’m moving in or anything, it’s just an option.”
“It’s not an option,” he says as he walks toward my office. “It’s in a shit part of town.” My dad disappears inside, and I look at Reilly, then at Felix and Colton. While I’m not necessarily arguing for this place, I’m surprised by their evident aversion to it. “It’s Saratoga Falls, for God’s sake. There are no ‘bad’ parts of town.”
“There are when my daughter is living on her own,” my dad says, stepping back out into the shop. His tone warrants no further conversation about it.
Colton looks at me with a self-satisfied smirk. Things look different to me now that I have a little more insight, and I imagine those are the very words Colton will say to his daughter one day, his way of being protective more than just an asshole. So, instead of being irked that he’s so opinionated, I’m honored that he even cares.
Twenty-Two
Mac
“So,” Sam chirps in the seat beside me. Her fluff-padded shoulder brushes against mine as she leans closer in the crammed Explorer. Though there are only four of us, we have plenty of overnight provisions to last us an entire week, should we get snowed in. “Are you excited?” She grins, knowing this is one of my favorite trips of the year.
I can’t help but smile back at her. “Of course. I haven’t gotten to wear my new faux furlined boots yet this winter. I’m ecstatic.”
“Super cute, by the way,” Nick chimes in and peers back in the rearview mirror. His eyes flick from me to the road. “And where can I get that cute blue beanie and those matching gloves? They’re to die for.”
I flash him my version of his famous shit-eating grin. “How about I take you shopping with me after the season’s over? We’ll get all the best deals—hell, we can even make a day of it. And don’t worry, I got you a pair of bubble gum–pink mittens for Christmas. That way you won’t feel left out.” I blow him a kiss in the rearview mirror. “You’re welcome.”
With a wink at Sam, I turn back to watching the white world pass us by as we wind our way up the mountain—Sam’s mountain, the mountain of a hundred fun-filled memories in the sun and snow, but blotted by one permanently dark one. I try not to think about it.
Instead, I think about winter and how much I love the snow. Who wants to be cold and miserable for three months if you don’t even get to make snow angels or have snowball fights? I’ve been waiting for it since Thanksgiving and now it’s here—fresh and blanketing the world around us.
Though the roads up here are maintained during the winter, the mountain always feels like a hidden haven—always green and secluded, quiet and majestic in its own right. If it weren’t for Nick’s family cabin, I’d rarely get to appreciate the snowscape surrounding us.
“I haven’t been sledding in …” Reilly counts the years on his fingers from the passenger seat. “Six years?”
Poor Reilly. It was something we always did as children, but when he left for the Army, everything changed for him, in both good and bad ways, I think.
“Well, now you’re here,” Sam chirps, and she leans toward him and kisses his cheek. “Now we can do this every year—for the rest of our lives, if we want to.”
My heart melts for them and their second chance. “I’m sorry Savannah couldn’t come, Nick,” I say, wishing things weren’t so hard for them right now. He says he understands, that she has to take care of her family, just like he would do for his, but their relationship went from new and exciting to whenever is convenient in the blink of an eye, and I can tell he’s unhappy, no matter how easily he seems to be able to shrug it off.
“She’ll be back on Sunday,” he says. “I think.”
I hope.
Eventually, the Explorer slows. “We’re here, ladies and gentleman,” Nick says, and he pulls off the road and under the cover of a familiar grove of pine trees.
“Nick, we’re not stopping at the cabin first to unload?” Sam asks.
He unbuckles his seat belt. “Nah. We got a bit of a late start. I think we should ride the slope here for a while, then we can head up the road in a bit.” He zips up his snow jacket. “I’ll get the six-packs.” He opens the door and steps out into the cold. Sam and I start bundling up, covering up as much exposed skin as we can, but the instant he opens the back hatch of the car, I feel bitter cold air against my face. “Time for earmuffs,” I say, pulling mine out of my bag.
When we finally climb out of the Explorer, Sam a green puffball and me a blue, we’re ready for a snow day. Nick puts his cigarette between his lips to use both hands.
“A sledding disk for you,” he says through pursed lips and hands mine to me. “And,” he hands Sam a red disk and a white one. “Two for you.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen you smoke in a while,” I realize out loud.
Nick’s waggles his eyebrows and winks, which makes me think he might be trying to quit. He pulls a couple six-packs of beer and soda out of the back, and Reilly grabs the water.
“Why are you not sledding yet?” he asks, and Sam and I glance at one another.
“Let’s do this!” she calls and tugs at my arm. Sam hands Reilly a disk of his own, and we let the guys do their thing. We’re running best we can through the powdered snow and the sporadic logs and pine cones, weaving through the massive tree trunks that obscure the path toward the spot. Sam laughs with so much lighthearted glee I can’t help but do the same. My chest heaves as my greedy lungs drag crisp, fragrant balsam air in and out of my body. It’s flurryless, muted beneath the protection of the trees, and the wind brings the snow-draped needles to life, as if they’re ushering us through the forest. The faster I run, the more my lungs burn from the cold. It’s enlivening. I needed this.
When we reach the opening in the trees, Sam and I stop, and we peer out at the frozen world. Male voices carry on the breeze somewhere behind us, but I’m transfixed. Everything is white, and sunlight filters through the gray clouds, making the hillsides shimmer, pristine and dreamlike. I can barely feel my nose it’s so cold, but my insides are warm and humming from exertion.
“So beautiful,” I breathe.
“Why,” Nick says from behind me, nearly out of breath, “thank you.”
I shut my eyes and turn my face toward the dim rays of sun. I take a deep, lung-filled breath. When I turn around, Nick and Reilly are nestling the drinks into the snow.
“Is Bobby coming?” Sam asks. “Reilly mentioned he wanted to, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be home from his game in time.”
I nod. “He got back late last night, so probably, depending on what shape he’s in and how many beatings he took this trip.” I tug on Sam’s arm. “Come on, let’s be the first ones down the slope!”
Once we’re ready, the fellas push Sam and me down the hill on our disks, the two of them following shortly after with the intent of seeing who can knock the other off course first. We make a few trips up and down, the guys letting us do our thing while they do theirs. It’s pure entertainment as Sam and I hike back up the hillside, our feet sinking a foot into the snow with each step. I laugh so hard at the guys yelling and nearly careening into one another that I nearly stumble, grabbing onto Sam to right myself.
“Bad form!”
We glance up to find Bobby and Colton standing at the top of the hill, smiling down at the guys. Bobby nudges Colton’s shoulder and he points at us halfway up the hill beneath the trees. When my eyes meet Colton’s, his carefree expression wavers minutely.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Sam whispers in my ear. I know she means Colton bein
g here. I didn’t see that one coming either. “Come on,” she says, nudging me up toward the top. “The guys are already gaining on us.” We continue our trek up the hill, each step a chore that requires a hefty breath. The guys with their broader steps are closing in on us, Reilly moving fast and coming after Sam like a predator starved for food.
“Eek!” She giggles as she tries to move past me, but Reilly’s too quick and he swoops in and catches her with minimal effort before they fall into the snow.
“Get a room,” Nick teases and the two of us finish our hike back up the hill together, leaving them to play.
“You’re such a cheater,” I tell Nick. “You totally tried to grab that branch going down the hill.” I glance over my shoulder at him to meet his mischievous grin. “What were you going to do, knock Reilly unconscious with it?”
“Ha! No. I just wanted to see if I could reach it.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“I brought a friend,” Bobby says when we reach the top of the hill. “Colton was at the shop when I stopped by to see Dad. I figured we could use another arm in the snowball fight.”
“Glad you could come,” Nick says. “I only invited you seven times this week.”
Colton shrugs and the side of his mouth lifts in a small smile. “Yeah, well, I was supposed to have Casey this weekend, but she’s with Kylie, so …”
“Well, welcome to the annual sledding trip.” Nick pats Colton on the shoulder. “Want a beer? Soda? Water?”
“I’m okay for now, thanks.” Colton pulls the zipper up on his snow jacket and shoves his gloved hands back into his pockets.
“I’ll take a beer,” Bobby says to no one’s surprise. Nick nods toward the bottles he shoved into the snow. “Lick’s To-Go. Take your pick.”
Wiping a stray strand of hair off my face, I glance down at Sam and Reilly. I’m still trying to catch my breath and they’re chasing each other like it’s easy as pie. “Going down the hill always seems like such a good idea,” I mumble.
Colton looks from me down to the steep paths we carved out in the snow. “Yeah, it looks like a doozy.”
“You could say that.” I offer him my disk. “Do you want to try?”
“Of course he does,” Nick says, coming up to us.
Like the worst slow-motion moment ever, I watch as Nick opens his soda and it spurts out of the top. “Oh, shit—” He steps back into Bobby and my brother stumbles over one of the stray branches littering the ground then falls into me. I scream, hardly able to move in the deep snow, and grab onto Colton, realizing too late that we’re both going down.
Soft powder breaks my fall, and snow trickles in around my scarf and freezes my face. “Great,” I grumble, struggling to stand and remove myself from Colton. “Sorry.” But the more I try to stand, tangled in him, the more I struggle to regain my balance.
Colton clutches onto me, trying to keep me steady.
“Jesus—a hand, please!” I grouse at my brother or Nick or anyone close enough.
“Hold still,” Colton says, firm and commanding, and if I’m not mistaken, a little bit fatherly. I might imagine that last part, but I smile inwardly and grab onto his shoulder. My gaze meets his effervescent blue one. His eyes aren’t just blue, they’re hypnotic and pronounced with lighter blue flecks that catch the muted sunlight.
I hear laughter in the distance and Sam asks me if I’m okay, but I’m lost—hanging in a suspended moment that passes between Colton and I. Our chests rise and fall together. His grip on me loosens. I lick my lips. I can barely feel it through the layers that separate us, but it’s there—his warmth—and it’s damn near intoxicating.
When I realize everyone is quiet and our breath, visible and constant, is all that separates my nose from his, I try to stand again. He pushes against me for added leverage, and Reilly’s there to help me straighten.
“I got you,” he says, manhandling me to my feet.
I glare at Bobby. “Thanks for all the help.”
He lifts his arms and shoulders in defense. “Hey, I didn’t mean to. But it was fun watching you try to get up.”
I sneer. “Of course it was. Asshole.”
Bobby laughs and Nick comes to the rescue. “Here.” He rips Bobby’s beer from his hand and gives it to me. “Drink it off, Mac. The day is still young.”
I accept it, trying to brush my damp, stringy hair out of my face.
“Don’t be mad, Mac,” Bobby says. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to knock you down.”
The moment I take a drink from the frost-covered bottle, I cringe. It’s so cold it burns, and I hand it back to Nick. “Too cold. I can’t.” I feel my face contorting and shake my head. “Nope.”
“Suck it up, be a man,” Bobby teases, and I can’t help it. I bend down to grab a handful of snow. I’m a great aim and I hit him, right in the face.
He jumps back, blinking in surprise as the snow falls in chunks off his face. “Are you serious?”
“Oh, come on, Bobby. Suck it up, be a man.” I beat on my chest for effect.
He smirks and shakes his head. “Oh, it’s on like Donkey Kong!”
The second he reaches down for a snowball, I run forward, clinging onto Colton and pulling him in front of me for protection.
“Ah, shit …” He grunts and reaches down for a snowball to protect himself. Everyone joins in. Reilly’s chasing Sam into the trees and snowballs are flying through the air. Colton and I throw as many snowballs as fast as we can at Bobby and Nick who, like cowards, take cover behind a tree. I shriek when a snowball pelts me in the chest and another one whizzes by my ear.
“That’s the best you got, Carmichael?” I shout at my brother as I too step behind a tree. “Your father would be ashamed of you!”
“Screw you, Mac! You’re the boy in the family anyway, not me.” He laughs, but it only fuels me into a more determined outrage. I’m either the princess or the boy, when it comes to their insults, and neither are okay in my book.
“I wouldn’t crow that too loudly, Bobby. No wonder you can’t keep a girlfriend!” I smile at Colton, catching his breath beside me. His eyes are bright and his walls are down. When he smiles back at me, I feel a twinge of satisfaction. The instant I peer out from behind the tree, a snowball hits me right in the face and my brother shouts in victory.
“That’s it!” I say, running toward him as quickly as I can. He runs—fast—trying to put distance between us because he knows that even in the snow, I’m faster than him—I live to run.
“I’m gaining on you!” I taunt right before I pummel him to the ground, landing one punch in the shoulder after another.
“Geez, Mac. Get off me. I can’t hit girls, this isn’t fair.”
I smack the side of his face with my gloved hand. “What are you going to do if I don’t? Cry?”
“You’re such a brat,” he grumbles, finally tossing me off of him. He’s stronger, I’ll give him that. But since I’m on the ground, I easily grab a handful of snow and chuck it up at him.
“Truce!” he cries, scrambling to grab a fistful of snow, but I’m unrelenting. My right arm is a fast-pitch softball star’s greatest fantasy—well honed to defend myself against my evil, conniving brothers.
“I said truce!”
I laugh as Bobby gets in a small snowball to my chest and I leave my hands up. “Fine. Fine. Truce. But watch what you say to me, boy! I’m older and faster, certainly wiser, and I can clearly kick your ass.”
“Bobby, dude …” Nick says. “I thought you were a damn hockey player. You let her beat the shit out of you.”
Bobby glares at Nick, then at me, his face reddening. “She’s a girl! What am I going to do, hit her back? Besides, I’m generally wearing seventeen pounds of padding—on a good day.” He shakes his head, trying to brush snow out of his ear.
Colton’s leaning against a tree, grinning. “That was probably the funniest thing I’ve seen in—well, a while.”
Smiling in the euphoria of my victory, I raise my
palm up to him for a high-five. “Thanks for being my wingman.”
Twenty-Three
Mac
Much to Bobby’s dismay, there’s no partying into the late hours of the night. We’re all too exhausted and sore from snowball fights and sledding all day to do much other than eat, play Mancala and card games, and then call it a night.
By the time things start to wind down, I can barely move. Sam is upstairs, getting changed for bed, and I sit in the soft, worn recliner by the fire, watching the dying flames jump and flicker. The cabin is older and drafty, but wrapped in a blanket, I can barely tell.
The snowfall turned into a blizzard in a matter of minutes, and even in the dim light of the fire, I can’t see much through the wall of windows that face the east. The gorgeous mountain view is veiled by the flurry outside, but the sounds of the winter storm soothe me.
Looking over at my brother, snoring on the flannel couch across from me, I smile. Although he’s always the first one to play the carefree no-work-all-play life-of-a-youth card, he does work hard. When he’s not struggling with his life science classes, he’s taking hits at practice, eating as many calories as he can to keep the muscle on his body, and working at the shop during his free time. He’s actually like Nick in a lot of ways, and I admire that about him. I know he’s exhausted from a week of traveling and back-to-back hockey games, and he drove up here to spend time with us anyway.
I snicker as Nick creeps up to him and nails him a right hook on the bottom of his foot, stirring him awake.
“What,” Bobby drawls, peeling his eyes open. “I was sleeping.”
“Yeah, and drooling on Colton’s bed. Dude, get up and go to the bunk you already sprawled your stuff all over.”
After another thump to the foot, Bobby finally climbs to his feet with a groan, stretches, waves goodnight to me like a sleepy seven-year-old would, and drags himself into the bedroom. I hear the mattress and the bunk bed creak, and the sound of his groaning carries into the living room.
Nothing But Trouble (A Saratoga Falls Love Story Book 2) Page 15