Snow falls around her like it’s trying to worship her.
And it might. Hell, I might.
“Ash!” she calls, laughing as Winter loses her balance and rolls sideways into a pile of snow. “I think the twins need a rescue!”
I stride across the yard, pretending to grumble but already smiling. “Alright, alright. Which one of you is stuck?”
“Ever pushed me!” Winter declares.
Ever gasps like she just accused him of arson. “I did not! You fell over! You have gravity problems!”
“Do not!” Winter snaps back.
I scoop her up, dust the snow off her coat, and balance her on my hip. “You two are supposed to be a team.”
“We are a team,” Ever mutters, kicking at the snow. “But she’s bossy.”
“I’m not bossy,” Winter says primly. “I’m organized.”
Lucy snorts behind her glove. Joy giggles. Holly rolls her eyes like she’s already thirty instead of sixteen.
I set Winter down gently. “Work together or your snowman’s going to look like it fell out of a snowplow.”
Ever perks up. “Can we make it giant?”
“No,” I say instantly.
“Yes,” Lucy says at the same time.
Our eyes meet. She lifts an eyebrow. I feel my pulse shift like it always does when she challenges me.
“Mom wins,” Winter sings.
“Mom always wins,” Lucy teases under her breath.
She's right. And ten years later, it still hits me in the chest every damn time.
By late afternoon, the snowman family is nearly complete. There’s a tall one—clearly meant to be me, built with Ever and Winter’s obsession for accuracy: tall, broad, intimidating. Then Lucy. Then Holly. Then Joy. Then Pine.
And then… one more.
A tiny snowball body. A small round head. A scarf made from Holly’s extra mittens.
A sixth snowman.
Okay. Actually, a sixth Calder.
I cross my arms and call out, “Alright, who added a bonus kid?”
Holly freezes mid-marshmallow—caught. Joy gasps. Winter looks at Ever. Ever points at Pine.
Pine shouts, “It wasn’t me! I only ate the nose!”
I lift an eyebrow at Holly. “Sweetheart?”
She shifts from foot to foot, cheeks pink. “Um… it was symbolic?”
“Symbolic,” I repeat flatly.
