She climbed up, brushing the snow off her shoulders. “Can you believe this?” she asked as he climbed in, her cheeks bright pink and her eyes bright. Lizzie held her imaginary friend in a hug again. Micah wondered if she clung tightly to it because she was nervous around Charlotte. Although, there weren’t any worry lines on her forehead, and she was as prone to them as he was to frowning.
He should work on his facial expressions; he thought as he walked around the SUV and climbed in.
The moment he shut the door, Charlotte’s vanilla and cinnamon scent hit his nose, and he drew a deep breath. How was it possible that even breathing was better when she was near? For a moment, he allowed himself to be swept away by her nearness. Her happiness was like a balloon that expanded to fill the surrounding space.
“I heard that the storm should move on within the hour.” At least those weather updates were good for conversation.
Charlotte turned in her seat. “Have you been sledding yet this year?” she asked Lizzie.
Lizzie shook her head back and forth so fast that her hat came loose. She reached up with one arm to correct it.
“Do you have sleds?” she asked, peering at the back seat.
Micah gulped. “Uh, no.” He should have thought this through a little better. “Where would one go to buy sleds in this town?”
“The hardware store,” Charlotte replied. “Hang on, though.” She typed for a moment while he turned the car around and then felt like an idiot.
“Where is this hill?” he asked through gritted teeth.
She looked up from her phone. “Oh, take this road all the way to the state highway, and it’s just on your right. Can’t miss the turnoff.” Her phone beeped. “My neighbor and his family are almost done. I will tell them to leave us their sleds so we don’t have to swing by my place to pick them up.” She typed on her phone and then dropped it in her lap.
“So, Lizzie?” Her eyes dropped to Lizzie’s arms, holding tight to Wishy. Micah fought the urge to explain it all. He couldn’t–not in adult terms in front of Lizzie. “Maybe you should ask Santa for a sled this year.”
Lizzie lifted a shoulder. “We don’t use sleds that much.”
“Fair point.” Charlotte considered her answer. “Are you into riding bikes? We have a large mountain biking community in Moose Hollow. There are teams for kids and everything.”
Lizzie frowned. “I like it, okay.”
Micah jumped in, feeling the need to defend Lizzie’s hesitancy. “She hasn’t had much time to ride before. But we’re going to change that this summer, right?” He caught her eye in the rearview mirror.
Lizzie smiled softly. “I guess.”
“Well, what do you do for fun?” Charlotte wasn’t at all deterred by Lizzie’s lack of enthusiasm.
Lizzie lifted a shoulder. “I like coloring. Mrs. Thornton lets us color before school.”
Charlotte gasped. “I forgot! You met Jenny!” She grabbed her phone again. “I’m going to see if she can join us for sledding today.”
Lizzie’s smile filled her whole face, and for the first time today, Micah’s shoulders relaxed as if a weight had been removed. “Can she?”
Charlotte lifted a shoulder. “If Aubrey isn’t already at the hill, I’d be shocked.”
“Aubrey?” Micah asked. He remembered Jenny--how could he forget Charlotte’s new best friend? But Aubrey was new.
“My older sister.” She emphasizedolderand then giggled in a way that told Micah their age difference was a running joke between them. “She’s a sledding fanatic. If there were a way to sled in the summer in mud, she’d do it. I can’t tell you how many times she dragged my family to this hill over the years.”
He scowled. Were they driving into a tight-knit family event, who would exclude them? First, her neighbors were there, and now her sister.
“How many siblings do you have?”
“Three. Two brothers and a sister. Andrew and Natalie live up the mountain. Aubrey and David have Jenny and a newborn. I bet Mom’s at home getting all sorts of baby snuggles in today. And then Jacob and Lauren live in a little cottage he overhauled. They have a one-year-old.”
That was a lot of family to take in. Growing up with just one brother was quiet and predictable. Neither he nor Jonah were popular. They had after-school jobs and earned good grades. Mom always said she was grateful they weren’t big on the drama as teenagers. He always thought quiet nights at home were preferable. Jonah was the one who seemed to like chaos now. His house was always brimming with neighborhood kids, and the noise level was enough to drive a man to hide in his room. But Jonah loved it. Maybe he’d always wanted a family like that and had been born into a boring one instead.
“I think it’s already starting to lighten up.” Charlotte leaned forward and looked up at the sky through the windshield.
“Seems the same to me,” he groused, already picturing himself outside the fun while everyone else had the best snow day of their lives. What were adults doing sledding the day away, anyway? Didn’t these people have jobs?
