Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy

“But you will.”

“Now who’s predicting the future?” She didn’t look the slightest bit daunted despite the fact that he held her and threatened her with snow.

“I shouldn’t have turned you to where I could see your face,” he admitted out loud. It would have been much easier to retaliate if he wasn’t looking into her lovely eyes.

“Why’s that? You going soft?” she teased.

He shook his head. “Nope. It’s just a shame such a pretty face is about to make a snow angel.”

“I like snow angels,” she said softly, her breath making a cloud puff in the air.

“You look like a snow angel,” he admitted, then held up the snow cupped in his other gloved hand. “At least, you will in just a few seconds.”

Her mouth opened in protest and she wiggled against him in her first attempt to free herself. “Cole!”

“Hmm?” he said, as he slowly moved his hand toward her.

“Please don’t.” She made a pretense of shivering, her movements way too exaggerated to be real. “I

’ll be cold.”

Even though he knew what she was doing, Cole paused, letting her think she had the upper hand.

Knowing he was enjoying himself more than he had in a long time.

“I wouldn’t want that,” he answered honestly, taking note of her breathing, everything about her, so he’d know the precise moment she planned to make her move.

Just as he’d expected, Sophie wiggled enough that she thought she’d freed herself, batted her lashes, then, quick as a flash, dove for the snow.

Cole let her.

But as she came up with her hands full, he tossed his snow first.

As the spray of snow covered her, she sputtered, then, losing her balance, fell back onto her bottom. Despite bursting into laughter, she flung snow at him as quickly as she could from her seated position.

Cole dodged her onslaught and got in a few more snowballs of his own.

“You were messing with me,” she accused, laughing as she flattened her palms against the ground to push herself up. When her foot slipped and she plopped right back down, smiling, she shook her head. “Now look what you’ve gone and done. Knocked a girl down so hard that she can’t get up. You were just waiting for me to do that, weren’t you?”

Cole reached for her hand. “Did you really think I didn’t know what you were planning? Subtlety isn’t one of your virtues.”

Her gaze flashed to his as she let him pull her to her feet. “What are my virtues, Cole?”

Without having to think about it, he said, “Joy.”

“Joy?”

He should have kept his mouth shut, but he’d already dug this hole for himself so he might as well lay down in it.

“You overflow with joy,” he admitted.

Obviously pleased at his answer, she rewarded him with the biggest smile he’d ever seen.

“That,” her eyes shone with happiness, “just may be the greatest compliment anyone’s ever given me.”

“Hand me those binoculars,” Rosie ordered, attempting to grab the pair Maybelle held with her fuzzy white gloves that matched her white playing-in-the-snow ensemble.

“You shouldn’t have forgotten yours,” Maybelle reminded from where she sat in the driver’s seat of the four-by-four diesel mule, slapping Rosie’s hand away with her own white-glove-covered hand. “I’m trying to watch Cole’s facial expression.”