“Oh, it’s like that, is it?” Holly grinned and started trudging up the slope, her new boots crunching through the pristine snow.
The climb up the hill left Holly breathless as the deep snow made the going hard. Each time she faltered, Daniel was there, his strong hand at her elbow, steadying her without comment.
At the summit, Teddy and Maisie were waiting, their cheeks flushed from the cold. But nothing could diminish their excitement.
“Are we going to race?” Teddy asked. “Me and Maisie against Dad and Holly.”
“We can race later,” Daniel said, helping the kids into their sled. “After we’ve had a few practice runs.”
“Okay.” Maisie half turned to her brother. “Hold on tight.” Then Daniel pushed them off and stood back as he watched them go, their shrieks of joy puncturing the air.
“They make it look so easy,” Holly said as she came to stand next to him.
“Come on. Your turn,” Daniel said, gesturing to Holly’s sled.
She positioned the sled at the edge, suddenly nervous. “I’m not sure I remember how to do this.”
“It’s like riding a bike,” Daniel assured her, kneeling to steady the sled. “Your body will remember.”
Holly sat down, gripping the curved front with both hands. Daniel’s presence behind her was warm and solid as he positioned the sled.
“Ready?” he asked, his breath warm against her ear.
“Not remotely,” she admitted with a laugh.
“Perfect.” His hands gently pushed her shoulders. “That’s half the fun.”
The sled tipped forward, and suddenly Holly was flying. Cold air whipped past her face as the toboggan gathered speed, racing down the pristine slope. Snow sprayed up around her, catching the sunlight like diamond dust. A laugh bubbled up from somewhere deep inside her—pure, unbridled joy that she hadn’t felt in years.
At the bottom of the hill, the sled slowed to a gentle stop near where Teddy and Maisie were already preparing for another run. Holly sat for a moment, heart racing, cheeks flushed with cold and excitement.
“Come on!” she called up to Daniel, who stood at the summit watching her with a smile that made her stomach flip.
He grabbed his own sled and pushed off, racing down to join them. He hit a small bump near the bottom, the sled tipping just enough to send him rolling into a snowbank. Teddy howled with laughter, and even Maisie giggled behind her mittens.
“Very graceful, Dad,” Maisie teased as Daniel emerged from the snow, his hair dusted white.
“I meant to do that,” he insisted, brushing himself off before helping Holly to her feet.
They spent the next hour racing down the hill, each run more exhilarating than the last. On the final run, disaster struck. Teddy’s enthusiastic push-off sent him veering directly into Holly’s path. She swerved to avoid him, her sled tipping sideways, sending her tumbling into a snowdrift. Before she could right herself, Daniel’s sled crashed into the same drift, and suddenly they were all a tangle of limbs and laughter at the bottom of the hill.
“Pile on Dad!” Teddy shouted, launching himself onto his father’s chest.
Maisie followed suit, and Holly found herself caught in the middle of a family snow pile, Daniel’s arm somehow underneath her shoulders, Teddy’s elbow dangerously close to her ribs, all of them laughing too hard to move.
As their laughter subsided, Holly became acutely aware of Daniel’s proximity—the solid warmth of him against her side, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled down at her, snowflakes caught in his eyelashes. Something shifted in her chest, a recognition too profound to ignore.
She wanted to belong here, with these people. In this town. In this life.
Daniel helped her to her feet, brushing snow from her coat with gentle hands. “You okay?”
“Perfect,” Holly said, the word catching slightly in her throat. “I’m perfect.”
And for that moment, watching Teddy and Maisie race back up the hill for “just one more turn, Dad, please?” with the wintersun hanging low in the sky and Daniel’s warm presence beside her, it was true. She was perfect. This was perfect.
And that was the most frightening thing of all.
Chapter Thirteen – Daniel
