We stared back.
Kelsey broke first. “Um, guys, I think it might be a little cold for that.”
Artie turned to me with increasing desperation written across her entire face.
“Declan,” she said, looking directly into my soul. “Would YOU like to build a snowman?”
“Artie, are you okay?” I asked.
“I LIKE WARM HUGS,” Gryff announced.
Oh. That was the signal.
I stood up fast, threw in a stretch for good measure. “Babe, I think it’s time we head back to the cabin and get away from these weirdos.”
“Yeah, okay.” Kelsey gave me a what-have-you-gotten-me-into look and went to find Pooh.
I waited until she was fully out of earshot.
“You two are about as subtle as a hammer to the face,” I whisper-yelled.
“Oh my god, I was so nervous,” Gryff said, pressing his hand to his chest like a Victorian woman receiving bad news.
“I can’t believe it’s really happening,” Artie breathed.
“Get out of here before you blow the whole thing.” They scattered like the unmedicated chaos agents they were.
“I can’t believe you bought her a backpack,” Kelsey said.
“She has very short legs,” I said. “There’s a lot of snow.”
There was, even in November Bear Claw Mountain was already blanketed, which was why I’d picked up a hiking pack to carry Wiener the Pooh on the trail between the cabins. Her little pink belly was not built for frost. I was not going to apologize for that.
“And the hat?” Kelsey asked.
I turned and looked at her. “Do you want her ears to get cold, Kelsey? Do you?”
“Okay, tough guy.” She giggled. “The pompoms really do pull the whole look together. I need a picture of this for Instasnap.”
She got a few shots, then went quiet. Her gaze drifted over my shoulder toward the mountain.
“Declan. Did we leave the lights on at the cabin?”
I followed her gaze to the warm amber glow in the distance.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Why don’t we go find out?”
I took her hand and we started up the trail.
The closer we got, the clearer it became that the glow wasn’t just coming from inside the cabin. Candles of various sizes lined a rose petal path from the trail all the way to the porch steps.
We climbed up together and I finally let myself look at her face.
Her eyes were already shimmering.
“Declan?” she whispered.
“Yeah, baby,” I said, and pushed a stray strand of hair back from her face. “Why don’t we go inside?”
