“No.” Sam settles herself in the truck bed. “I’m not moving my ass from this spot.”
“Come on! Yes you are!” Anthony trudges towards the girls.
“No!” Macey giggles as they all scramble to run away from us. Fresh snow starts falling from the sky, preparing a soft cushion for any wipeouts.
“New family members equals new traditions!” Anthony grabs Macey’s hand.
“Hey, don’t put that on me!” Sunny giggles as I slide her off the truck bed. The snow starts to grace her eyelashes and wild blonde hair. Her blue-green eyes are so bright against the white background.
“Come on, Sunny darling, it’s time for you to participate in some more family traditions.” I lead her to my sled.
After too much fucking protests, each girl is settled with a guy on the sled. Macey with Anthony, Sam with Cole, which I’m sure she’s thrilled about. And my Sunny with me. She’s settled right between my legs, leaning back into me. My heart fucking pummels.
“This is the biggest hill I’ve ever seen. It’s practically a mountain.” Sunny grips the front of the sled.
I place my hands over hers. “And we’re going to conquer it.”
“Speak for yourself,” she groans.
I live for these moments with my family. It’s even better now that I have my other half here to participate.Finally.
“Okay! On your mark!” Anthony announces.
“Just hold on as tight as you can. If we fall off, you get up and run as fast as you can. I’ll grab the sled.”
She nods her understanding. Regardless of her protests, I can see her eyes narrowing down the hill. She’s competitive just like me.
“Get set!” Cole yells.
“Let’s kick their asses,” I whisper, just for her. “Go!” I yell, pushing us to our descent. I hear her little screams as we race down the hill. The cold air bites at us but the smile on her face is perfect.
We’re both audibly laughing as we continue to make our way down. Her head is on my shoulder, my arms wrapped around her as I clutch the front of the sled. I peer over to see Cole and Sam tied with us. Macey and Anthony are just a few feet behind.
“Tyler!” Sunny yells as we go over a small bump.
We both fly off the sled and roll into the snow. Sitting up on her knees, she’s laughing so hard, no sound is even coming out of her mouth. Cole and Sam get up and start their ascent up the hill.
“Run, Sunny! Don’t let them win!” I get up and grab the sled. She immediately starts running up the beast, gaining on the two ahead of us.
I’m honestly impressed. My girl canrun.
“And you want to chase that?” Anthony winks and starts racing up the hill.
Sunny makes it to the top of the hill, jumping up and down as she calls for me to hurry up. Sam and Cole get situated in their sled to make their descent. Macey keeps stumbling in the snow, falling as her feet sink in the soft powder.
“Macey,” Anthony groans, throwing his head back.
Throwing our sled on the ground, I sling Sunny back on by the waist and push us down the beast again. This time, we have a lot of speed and pass Cole and Sam. Sunny flips the two off as we pass them, and I can’t help but laugh. Sam sticks her tongue out.
God I love my family.
The sled halts this time, but we don’t go flying off it like the initial time. Sunny gets to her feet as she meets Cole’s stare. They both go running up the hill, racing one another. Sam and I stare at the two and then one another.
“Looks like someone is more competitive than you!” Sam takes off up the beast.
“Run, run, run Tyler!” Sunny yells.
I smile as I make my ascent up the hill. For a brief moment, the thought crosses my mind —what will this look like with all our kids?
