by Janice Lynn
“I can see his face,” Ruby said, looking through her own pair of binoculars from the back seat. “His smiling face. I just knew there was something happening between those two.”
“You’re sure about him?” Claudia asked, sounding worried. “Sophie and Isabelle are my favorite nieces. I’d never forgive myself if I let something happen to either one of them.”
“Ha,” Rosie scoffed. “You couldn’t stop that freight train even if you wanted to. Our girl is hooked.”
“It’s not Sophie being hooked that I’m worried about,” Claudia clarified. “What I need to know is, what’s in his eyes when he looks at her?”
“Snow,” Maybelle said drily. “Because she just pelted him with another snowball.”
“I just love winter romances,” Rosie sighed, rubbing her gloved hands over her white faux-fur jacket.
Maybelle snorted. “You love romances in any season. It’s the follow-through you have problems with.”
“Oh, don’t you go harping on me about setting a wedding date again tonight,” Rosie scowled. “It’s not as if I didn’t hear it enough while we were borrowing this fun little gas-powered buggy from Sheriff Roscoe. I can’t believe he insisted you drive, though. Doesn’t he realize that you can barely see a thing even with your glasses on?”
“Just because I squint when I look at you doesn’t mean I can’t see. More that I’m looking at something I don’t want to see.”
Ruby and Claudia giggled from the backseat.
“Yes, it must be difficult to see all this and then have to look in the mirror,” Rosie retorted, puckering up her bright pink lips and air-kissing Maybelle.
“Speaking of difficult to see, I don’t think our all-white camouflage worked,” Maybelle warned. “We’ve been spotted.”
“I told you we should have wrapped the Mule in white butcher paper,” Rosie reminded. “What was the point in us wearing all white if we’re in a black vehicle?”
“As if butcher paper wouldn’t have blown off by the time we drove here.”
“Or gotten wet and made a mess,” Ruby added.
“Well, with the way you three work, your pieces probably would have blown off or made a mess,” Rosie agreed. “Still, it would have been just like decorating a float for the Christmas parade. We could have even cut out paper snowflakes to hang from these bars.”
“It would have been festive,” Claudia agreed.
All four women watched Andrew’s four-wheeler get closer to where they were parked.
“Grandma? What are you doing up here?”
“Hello, Andrew,” Ruby waved at her grandson. “We brought warm blankets and hot chocolate! Aren’t you glad to see us?”
Snuggled beneath one of the quilts the Butterflies had delivered to the sledders, Sophie took a sip of cocoa and stole a look at Cole over the rim of her mug. They’d stripped out of their wet outer snow gear prior to coming into a fully-decorated Hamilton House. A dozen or so people had come in with them, and Bodie had gotten a fire roaring in the living room fireplace.
Now, the fire was blazing, and the majority of guests were in Sarah’s kitchen, with its large built-in dining nook, waiting while she threw a batch of cookies into the oven. But a handful had brought their drinks to the living room to warm by the fire, Sophie among them.
She huddled on the hearth, quilt draped around her shoulders, drinking her cocoa and letting all of it warm her insides.
Truth was, her insides were feeling pretty toasty already. All thanks to the man sitting in a chair near her, drinking his cocoa. Unlike her, he was blanketless as he’d denied needing one.
Of course he’d say that when the Butterflies had claimed they were fresh out and suggested he could share with Sophie.
Could they have been any more obvious?
She’d seen the extra blankets—had known there were plenty for Cole to have one to himself—but he hadn’t been shivering at all, so she hadn’t insisted. The cold probably had been no big deal to someone who’d been in the military and seen and done the things he had.
It was so difficult to imagine this handsome, relaxed-looking man sitting in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and socked feet being the same one who’d written the anguished journal. Her brain struggled to connect the person who’d played in the snow with her with the journal writer who’d been tormented by the images in his head, and likely still was.
Yet, they were the same.
“Warm?”
He must have caught her watching him. Well, of course he had. He was a highly skilled former special ops Marine whose senses had been honed to pick up on things far stealthier than her. And as he’d said, subtlety wasn’t her strong suit.
Which made her feel pretty proud she’d gotten those few snowballs in…although, she suspected he’d let her. She couldn’t recall ever having so much fun playing in the snow.
“All warm except my toes—they still feel frozen.”
Instinctively she wiggled them in the thick, fuzzy socks Sarah had loaned her to replace the slightly damp ones Sophie had pulled off with her boots on the front porch.
Concern flickered in Cole’s eyes. “Do I need to rub them to get circulation going again?”
Stunned, Sophie blinked. “Would you?”
In response, Cole put his mug on a coaster and knelt beside where she sat on the fireplace hearth, clearly intending to take her feet into his hands.
“I didn’t mean that you should,” she clarified, tucking her feet as far back against the hearth as she could. “I was just surprised that you would be willing to do that for me.”
“If your toes are cold, then the best way to restore circulation would be for me to rub them. It’s not a problem.”
He sounded logical but she’d…well, she hadn’t been logical at all at the thought of Cole rubbing her feet. The mere idea of him massaging them, even through her socks for therapeutic purposes, melted her insides.
“I thought you just wanted to play piggy with me,” she teased. This time it was him who blinked, looking thrown by her comment. “You know, this little pig went to the market? This little pig stayed home?” she prompted at his continued silence.
“I knew what you meant.”
Enjoying teasing him, she arched her brow. “But that wasn’t what you meant?”
He shook his head. “My intentions were medicinal only.”
Smiling, she took another sip of her cocoa, then gave a little shrug. “Good job. They say laughter is the best medicine.”
“Seems I recall hearing that somewhere.”
“If it’s true, then I’m doing my part to improve your health,” she mused, proud she had made him laugh.
Cole’s lips twitched. “Is that what you’re doing? Improving my health?”
“I’m trying, but you don’t always cooperate.”
Then he smiled.
Warmth spread throughout her chest in ways that had nothing to do with her cocoa or the fire and everything to do with the man kneeling beside her, smiling at her with what could only be described as tenderness shining in his amazing eyes.
Emotions erupting inside her like a Fourth of July firework finale, Sophie smiled back, thinking that tonight, in her butterfly-embossed diary, she’d write that today had been the best day of her life.
Oh, Sophie, don’t go falling for Cole. He runs hot and cold and may never be able to let go of the nightmares barricaded within him. He could be a repeat of your father.
“Okay, guys, it’s game time,” Sarah announced as she came into the living room. “Let’s divide up into teams.”
Sophie loved games, but Cole’s smile instantly disappeared. He must not care much for them. No surprise there.
“Where’s Andrew?” he asked, obviously deciding it was time for him and his friend to leave.
“Miss me?” his coworker asked, coming
into the room with a freshly baked cookie on a napkin.
“Ready to head out?” Was that hope or desperation in Cole’s voice?
Sophie’s brows knit together, almost to the point of causing her forehead to hurt. Whatever magical cocoon they’d been inside moments before had dispelled, and now he wouldn’t even look towards her.
No. No. No. Sophie refused to let Cole throw walls back up. She didn’t even understand why he had.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. His reasons were exactly why Isabelle would warn her to erect walls of her own.
Andrew’s lips pursed, then he shook his head. “Naw, I think we’re going to stay. These cookies are too good to leave until I’ve had a few more. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve played a game.”
Cole’s gaze narrowed. “You played video games two nights ago.”
“Video games aren’t the same as board games,” Sophie added, earning herself a nod of approval from Andrew.
She suspected she’d played a role in Cole’s friend’s decision to stay. She wanted to feel at least a little guilty, especially since it was clear that Cole would rather go, but she’d been enjoying his company so much that she wasn’t going to look a gift firefighter in the mouth.
Especially when that firefighter was Cole.
“You don’t even know that we’re playing a board game,” Cole insisted, his tone dry. “Sarah might be hooking up a virtual reality game for us.”
Shaking her head, Sarah laughed. “Sorry, Cole. No virtual reality games here. We’re board game people.”
Sarah opened a cabinet and pulled out a word game Sophie had played many times before. A team drew a card and had to get their teammates to guess what the word at the top of the card was, but they couldn’t use any of the most common clue words—which were also listed on the card—to prompt them. An hourglass timer would be going and whoever’s turn it was had to get through as many cards as possible in the allotted time.
“Oh, this is fun,” she assured. “I like this game.”
Cole looked resigned to enduring the next hour or so.
Sophie laughed and, without thought, patted his knee. “Don’t worry, you’ll have fun, too.”
They divided into two teams. Sophie, Cole, Andrew, Carrie, Ben, and his girlfriend, Susan were on a team together along with Sophie’s former schoolmate Lilly Stevens.
“I’m pretty sure y’all should just give up now,” Sarah informed them as she opened the box and explained the rules, sending a besotted glance toward her fiancé. “With Bodie on our team, we’re a shoo-in.”
Looking up from where he knelt petting Harry, Bodie grinned at his fiancée. “I’m only good at this game because Sarah knows what I’m thinking even before I do.”
A few chuckles rang out around the room.
“Which is why he’s marrying me. That way, he can stay a man of few words,” Sarah teased.
Sarah was right about how good their team was. Bodie and Sarah truly did seem to have a silent language going between them as no one else understood the obscure clues that would trigger the other to provide the right answer.
“They got six points that round,” Sophie said with a little bit of a pout, then took a deep breath. Six was a really good number. “No worries. We can do this.”
Sophie’s team got four words on their first go around. Three on their next. When it was Sophie’s turn to look at the cards and give clues for the others, she made a show of stretching her shoulders and cracking her knuckles, then picked up the box with the cards.
“Ready?” Isabelle asked, preparing to flip the sand-filled timer.
“Ready.” Sophie pulled a card from the box, glanced at the first word, and smiled. She couldn’t say December, Santa, holiday, or presents, but she had this one. “When Sarah and Bodie are getting married.”
“Christmas,” Carrie immediately shouted, excited at knowing the answer.
“The best day ever,” Sarah added from the other side of the coffee table, causing a round of laughter from the others.
Not Sophie, though. She was all business and pulled the next card.
She couldn’t say cup, drink, water, plastic, or transparent.
“What a window is made of. Pour myself some sweet tea in this,” she rushed out.
“Glass,” Andrew answered correctly.
Sophie pulled more cards, gave more clues, and her team answered. Time had to be getting close, she thought as she pulled another card.
When she saw the word, happiness bubbled inside her. She couldn’t say giggle, funny, joke, mirth, or chuckle, but she knew exactly what clue she could give.
She looked directly at Cole. “The best medicine.”
“Laughter.”
“Time,” Isabelle called just as Cole answered.
“Yes! We did great, guys!” Sophie counted cards and jumped up to do a happy dance. “Eight!” she exclaimed. “We got eight words. That ties us up.”
Each team had one turn left. On the other team, Isabelle went and had a good showing with four words, an impressive feat especially as her final word had been delinquent.
Sophie loved playing this game, but even she couldn’t think up words for that one when you couldn’t use any of the main synonyms.
Cole was the last player to go for their team.
He didn’t look excited about it. “Can I pass and let Sophie go in my place?”
“Absolutely not,” Isabelle and Sarah chimed in unison, then laughed at their synchronized timing.
“They just don’t want me to go again because they know how good I am and they don’t want to lose,” Sophie teased, stretching out the word lose.
Both her sister and her friend rolled their eyes.
“Rules are rules. Each team member takes a turn reading cards,” Isabelle reminded.
Her sister was such a sucker for rules. Not that Sophie would have taken Cole’s turn anyway. She wanted him to, to see what he came up with on the word cards.
“You got this,” Sophie assured him. “Andrew, Ben, Susan, Lilly, Carrie, and I have your back.”
She fist-bumped with her teammates as Cole took the card box.
“It’s not my back I’m worried about. It’s anyone figuring out the words on my cards that’s the problem.”
“You’ll do fine. Just don’t say the word or any of the listed descriptive clue words on the card,” Sophie reminded. “Even if we don’t get the words, it’ll be okay. It’s all in fun.”
“But what she really means is that she wants to win,” Isabelle teased from where she sat next to Sarah on the sofa. “Sophie doesn’t like to lose.”
Sophie made a face at her sister.
“Quit trying to put undue pressure on Cole.” She cut her gaze to him and squinted, then gave her meanest look as she shook her fist. “Beat them.”
Everyone laughed except Cole.
“Ready?” Isabelle asked, preparing to flip the timer.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Do you need to stretch? Crack your knuckles, maybe?” Sophie asked, earning a frown. “Fine, you don’t. I was just checking.”
Cole pulled the first card, thought a second, then said, “Bodie will put this on Sarah’s left digit.”
“Ring!” Sophie guessed.
Cole nodded and pulled the next card. “Sophie and I are involved in a toy…”
“Drive,” Andrew answered.
Nodding, Cole pulled the next card. “Harry.”
“Dog,” Carrie exclaimed.
Excitement built in Sophie’s belly as Cole pulled the card that would tie the game.
“What Andrew, Ben, and I had for dinner earlier.”
“Pizza,” Ben and Andrew both answered, laughing.
She glanced at the hourglass. There was only a little sand remaining.
C
ole nodded and pulled the card that could win the game. His brows furrowed together.
When he looked up from the card, his gaze met Sophie’s and she knew whatever he was about to say would be a clue just for her.
“Your virtue.”
“Joy!”
“Time,” Isabelle and Sarah said in unison.
“Woot. Woot. We did it.” Smiling, Sophie high-fived all her teammates within reach.
“I’ll be hearing about this for weeks,” Isabelle complained, but with a genuine smile on her face. “You remember that one time when my team beat yours?” she mimicked.
Although her sister joked about Sophie not liking to lose, it was Isabelle who’d always had to come in first. At everything. She’d been valedictorian of her high school class, even.
Sophie liked to win, but it wasn’t the be-all, end-all for her. Not like it was for Isabelle. But she wasn’t above teasing her sister.
“Why wait until later to remind you? I’ll start bringing it up now. Hey, did you notice that my team just beat yours for possibly the first time ever?” Her gaze cut to Cole. “Thanks to Cole’s brilliant clues.”
“Yeah, yeah, that and the fact I got delinquent.”
“Cole drawing ‘joy’ was quite lucky.”
“But it wasn’t luck that you knew what he was referring to when he described it as your virtue?”
Sophie knew what her sister was getting at, and she wasn’t going there. Instead, she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“What can I say? ‘I’ve got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart’ and it shows.”
Chapter Ten
“I’m calling off the engagement,” Rosie announced as she came into the quilting shop in a blue whirlwind the following Monday morning. Literally, she was decked out in blue from head to toe with the exception of her flushed face peeking out from her hat.
Shocked at Rosie’s announcement, Sophie put down her scissors and stared at the stressed woman. “Good grief. What did Lou do?” She couldn’t imagine the diner owner having done anything worthy of Rosie calling off their engagement. Not when the man was so crazy about Rosie.