Noah propped his hands on his hips, but his lips were set in a tight line. "I'm game. We proved I was a better flag football player. Maybe Jilly's the one who is scared."
Oh. The nerve of the man.
"It's on." She grabbed both rafts and held them under her arms as she crunched her way up the hill. She was panting and sweating beneath her heavy coat and sweater by the time she'd made it halfway up.
Noah was behind her, trudging through the snow with his cane. He wasn't struggling with awkward shaped, air-filled plastic, which meant he was catching up to her.
"I could've carried one of those," he ground out.
"I know," she snapped. "I just happened to be closer."
"Are you angry with me?"
She topped the hill and tossed the rafts onto the snow side-by-side. "Areyouangry withme?"
Some emotion passed over his face, an expression she couldn't identify as she squinted against the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow.
"Why would I be angry with you?" The words were tight and filled with emotion. "You and the boys obviously have something going on, something more than them taking Honey last night. You were giving them some kind of look back there, like you didn't want me to be a part of the conversation."
She wanted to howl in frustration, but she was cognizant of the kiddos watching from the bottom of the hill. They might not be able to hear what she and Noah were saying, but they were watching. And if she raised her voice, it would carry.
"The boys and I are working things out," she said tightly. "I'm really sorry that you were worried about Honey. "
He nodded, the movement tight and jerky. "You're sorry. But you're not gonna let me in. You're not gonna tell me what's going on."
"You're one to talk. You didn't even call me last night when you needed help finding Honey."
His lips twisted. "What do you mean?"
"Aiden called me."
When realization dawned, his expression hardened, that muscle ticking in his jaw.
"I knew you were busy putting the kids to bed and getting settled in for the night. And it was snowing."
"So? I would've come over anyway. You just didn't want to ask for my help." And that hurt.
She'd thought that he was opening up to her. Maybe he'd reached the limit of how open he could get.
They stood there at an impasse. She stared at him while his eyes were unfocused, fixed somewhere over her shoulder.
"Are you guys going to sled?" PJ’s voice rang out clear in the empty space between them.
"The kids are watching," she reminded him.
"Maybe I should just go home."
Her stomach twisted. She didn't want this to be the moment they ended today on. She needed it to be something else. Something more positive.
"Get on the raft," she said. "You issued me a challenge in front of the kids, and we're doing this."
Cheeks flushed with temper, he bumped the raft with his cane and then knelt beside it. He reached down, mapping its contours with his gloved hand before he settled onto it. He folded up his cane and gripped it in one hand.
She got into her own raft, slipping in the snow and almost toppling herself.
"What do we do—?"
She didn't let him finish his question, kicking off against the ground and nudging his raft with her other foot, sending it spinning down the hill.
