“Yes! Let us go.” Rose brushed past them, opening the door and letting in a welcomed burst of cool air.
Owen waited, smiling at her before gesturing for her to go ahead of him.
Leah walked out into the sun, staring up at the glittering white, coating the branches. She needed to forget what had just happened in that hall, or she would never finish exacting her revenge. And that would be a shame, for she had recently found, she actually quite enjoyed it.
Chapter 12
Owen. Afternoon of the third day.
OwentrailedafterLeah,watching her with a newfound curiosity. He had rather enjoyed making her blush, and she had been more than a bit pleasant to converse with. He had made a point not to mention the foot—for that would only remind her that he was planning a trick of his own. She had been the one to start the game anyway. He was only playing along.
Rose had run ahead to the copse of trees where Graham, Jonas, Miranda, and Cecily already stood, clipping boughs to trim the table. Leah walked along at a rather decent stride, and Owen struggled to keep up in the almost knee-deep snow.
“Goodness, Leah, how do you walk so fast?”
She kept trudging ahead, not looking back or indicating she had heard him, so he pushed himself harder until he was right behind her. “I said, how do you walk so fast?”
“Huh!” She gasped, her eyes flying wide open and putting a hand to her chest as her steps halted.
“Well, not so much now.”
She bent over, catching her breath. “You scared me half to death.”
“How is that possible? I followed you out. Did you not hear me just now?”
“Just now?” She straightened, running the back of her hand lightly across her brow.
“Yes. I had asked you that question just before, only, you did not seem to hear me.”
“Oh, yes. I was only thinking of . . . greenery.”
He pulled his brow down. “Greenery?”
“I was trying to envision how much we might need and what types would look best.”
He took note of her flushed cheeks, likely from the cool air. And then his eyes trailed down to her lips. “You were not thinking of mistletoe, were you?”
“—No! Of course not. Why would you ask such a thing?”
He tried not to laugh. “I was only teasing because of what you said about your friends’ brothers.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed, her breathing still coming quickly. “Yes. I knew that.”
“You did? Because just now you seemed rather taken aback.”
“No, I just . . .” Her words trailed off and she looked over his shoulder. “We had better help them soon or they shall be finished before we even begin.”
“What—” He watched her in confusion as she strode past him toward her siblings without looking back.
He turned and followed her to the trees where everyone was gathering boughs. Leah started right in, but she seemed distracted.
Would now be the opportune time to pull a prank of his own? She had pulled not only one, but two so far. Surely it was fair for him to retaliate a bit, especially considering he had given her fair warning just this morning.
She snipped and clipped and began filling a basket that laid on the ground by her feet, quickly piling it with the greens. Owen snatched a small clump of needles, tucking them into his palm as best he could, keeping them hidden as he made his way to Leah’s side.
“Oh.” She glanced up at him before turning back to the tree. “Did you need something?”
“No. This just seemed like it had some very nice boughs.”
