Better to play it safe.
Coming here now hits different.
The expectancy in the air, the excitement seeping in from the back seat.
“See, kids? Your old man told you we’d be back,” I say as I park.
Dan and Sophie are already flinging off their seat belts and throwing their doors open.
“Don’t go down to the lake,” I call after them, but they’re already gone, sprinting around the back.
I’m sure they know better than to risk falling through the ice. I pounded it into their heads ten times over the past week.
Margot stops and stares at the wooden porch. The dusting of snow gives the place an added shine under its tired paint.
“You okay?” I ask. “Tired from the drive?”
“It’s justweird.Coming back here in the winter, I mean,” she says, smiling. “But it’s nice to see the kids so amped up.”
“They love this place. Almost as much as I do.” Since the munchkins aren’t watching, I give in to my obsession, taking her face in both hands and kissing her.
“Already? We just got here!” She laughs as she leans back, but I know she’s feeling it too.
From the corner of my eye, I see Dan heading back to the front. He ducks behind one of the deer-chewed bushes beside the porch. Sophie’s already on the ground in front, making a snow angel.
Damn. Guess I should’ve had them dressed in snowsuits rather than jeans and jackets.
Oh, well.
“Keep your eye on Dan. He’ll probably whip a snowball at you the second you step out,” I warn.
“He can try.” She opens the door and puts one leg out. “He probably forgot I have an older brother, too.”
I watch as she walks to the house, scooping up some of the thick snow in her bare hands and patting it into a ball.
Dan, busy hiding, doesn’t notice she’s armed and ready until he jumps up, snowball in hand.
The boy wins a nice fat snowball to the face.
I chuckle as I climb out. The frosty air nips my skin, but I don’t care.
Margot doubles over, laughing, her breath coming in soft puffs around her and a couple strands of blonde hair escaping from her bun.
“Not fair!” Dan yells as I approach.
“Fair. Don’t pick fights you can’t win, little man,” I say. “Especially when you’re not paying attention.”
Dan hurls his snowball at Margot, hitting her on the side as she turns.
Sophie comes running into the commotion, her hair already damp with snow and her face flushed from cold.
“Cool it,” I say, clapping my hands together. “We need to get unpacked before I have to watch you guys for frostbite.”
Predictably, they groan, and so does Margot.
“ButDaaad,” they all say in unison.
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
