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Connor was used to being solitary, so it surprised him how easily he fell into a new routine and began to look forward to spending time with Luke. Through him, Ella had softened and often invited him over to the house for dinner. As the grueling winter hurled its fury in various ice and snowstorms, they huddled inside for warm food, hot cocoa, and sometimes the occasional board game.
His paper began to take shape at a slow, grueling pace. Sometimes, he'd bitch about the convoluted style of feminine whining from her assignments, but now she just laughed and challenged him by offering up various facts and shared stories about their lives that were so vivid, he found himself reluctantly intrigued.
Connor wasn't sure when it happened, but he knew somehow, some way, they'd become friends.
He refused to analyze the reason or try to dig deeper. He was too afraid if their odd relationship was examined too closely, it would disintegrate under a strong wind and disappear forever.
He usually worked on Saturdays, but he found himself with an afternoon free and no motivation to take on an odd job or do homework. The snow had melted just enough to clear the roadways, and the upcoming March week promised sun and a good thaw. On impulse, he walked next door and rang the bell.
Luke answered, his face lighting up when he saw him. "Hi, Connor. Come on in."
He stepped inside and Ella came around the corner. Her hair was twisted up in a messy knot, and she held a broom in one hand, with a dirty rag in the other. She gave him an evil smile and crooked her finger at him.
"Ah, he's stepped into our lair, Luke. You know what that means, right?"
"It's a fate worse than the plank. Worse than the guillotine."
Connor glanced between them, grinning at their silliness. "You guys are seriously scaring me."
"Any brave soul who ventures forth in the Blake household has to clean!" Ella declared.
"I'm outta here."
Luke laughed and blocked the door. Ella held the mop out like the Wicked Witch about to cast a spell on him. "Too late, Dunkle. You get the bathroom."
"Forget it. I came to see if you guys wanted to go snow tubing, but since cleaning seems more fun, I'll go check with someone else."
"Snow tubing!" Luke jumped up and down. "Mom! Can we go?"
Ella wrinkled her nose. "But we didn't finish cleaning."
"Mom! Please, oh, please. I swear I'll finish later when we get home. Some of the guys at school were talking about it, oh, please."
Connor crossed his arms in front of his chest. "That's some mighty fine begging, Mom. But I don't want to break up you and Mr. Clean."
Ella made a face. "Cute. What do you need? Snow pants and boots?"
"Yep, that's it. We rent the tubes there. Up for it?"
"Mom?"
The whine was perfectly pitched and coincided with puppy dog eyes. Ella let out a breath. "How can I say no when I'm outvoted? Let's go."
Luke gave a whoop and raced up the stairs. "I'm gonna change!"
Ella looked down at her mop in mourning. "I guess no one ever died from dust bunnies, right?"
"If so, I would have suffered a horrible death years ago."
She punched his shoulder in a playful motion and touched her hair. "Ugh. Give me a few minutes to freshen up."
"Sure."
She came down in record-breaking speed, gliding down the stairs in black snow pants, a baggy sweatshirt, and snow boots. He was used to women who spent hours creating a palette on their face and a runway look for their wardrobe. Ella was comfortable in her own skin, didn't care what she wore, and owned both with a confidence that had originally puzzled him, but now he admired. Still, he much preferred her pale pink natural lips than the orange she sported. He wondered if he could steal it from her purse and help her lose it permanently.
They drove to the snow tubing park and hit sheer chaos. Kids swarmed the hills with giant black tubes, and a contraption that worked like a ski lift pulled them to the top of the hill. Screams and laughter cut through the air. The mountains shimmered in the distance, jagged white rock framing blinding blue sky. The air rushed deep and clean in his lungs as they trudged to the cabin to register and get tubes and got in line to wait.
"Mom, you're not going with us?"
She shook her head. Cheeks flushed from the cold, she laughed and slid her glasses back up her nose. "I'll pass on this one, guys. You two causing a spectacle is enough for me."
"A spectacle, huh?" he said. "Never pegged you for a snob, Ms. Blake, but I may need to rearrange my original opinion. When was the last time you did something completely undignified?"
She rolled her eyes at his deliberate language. Luke chuckled.
"Yeah, Mom, you should go. It'd be a riot to hear you screaming as you slide down the hill."
Her brows snapped down in a frown. "Are you both baiting me? I would not scream."
"Care to make a bet on that?" Connor drawled.
Her lips pursed and irritation simmered around her. He'd learned she was kind of a sore loser. When he won at Monopoly, she accused him of using the green real estate to drive them out of business. When he beat her at Bananagrams, a game similar to Scrabble, she claimed he'd used abbreviations and slang. When he found poop in the actual dictionary and reigned champion, she got all snarky and muttered under her breath the rest of the night. It was kind of cute.
"What bet?"
He pondered her question. "You go down the hill once without screaming and I'll take you both out to dinner. Your choice."
Luke whistled. "That's a good bet, Mom. You've been craving Italian for a while now but said that place was too expensive."
Connor raised a brow. "Care to take the bet?"
She glared at both of them, then stomped her feet. "This is the stupidest thing ever. I'm going to get wet and be miserable, but the lasagna will be worth it. Also the literal egg on your face."
Connor smiled slowly. "Nice cliche."
Her mouth fell open in shock.
"Save our place. I'll grab you a tube," he told her. Laughing the whole way, he got another one and when he rejoined them, they were almost to the top. The attendants were brisk and efficient, setting them up on the lift and showing them how to hold the tube as they were pulled along. When they reached the summit, they were each set up in their own row, with Luke all the way to the left and Ella on the right. Connor was in the middle.
They waited their turn and then the attendant gave them the thumbs-up signal.
Everyone pushed off at once.
Connor slid down the hill with decent speed, especially since his arms and legs were dangling over the tube, slowing him down. He spun in a full circle, the wind whipping at his face, stealing his breath, and laughter poured out of him as he reconnected with childhood memories of him and his brother spending a snowy day together.
Luke got up first. "That was awesome! I'm getting back in line right away."
"Okay, go ahead."
Luke rushed back to the line and Connor looked for Ella. Where was she? His heart started to pound furiously, and finally he spotted a tag of black to the far right of the hill. How had she gotten over there?
He bounded down the slight hill and found her spread out on the snowy ground, eyes closed, deadly still.
"Ella!"
He bent over her, cupping her cheeks, looking for any injuries. Her eyes suddenly snapped open, causing him to jerk back.
"Gotcha! I didn't scream once, Dunkle. You owe me a lasagna."
He stared at her in disbelief. "I thought you were hurt!"
She rose up and smiled slow. "I know. Now who let out an undignified scream? What'd you think, I got hurt from a little snow tube? I'm tougher than that. Where's Luke?"
He shook his head and stood up, reaching out his hand. "He's back in line. You know, people have gotten head injuries from this sport. Next time, have a little consideration."
She looked a bit chagrined. "Sorry. Geez, I didn't know you'd get so worried." She reached out and took his hand. In one perfec
t motion, Connor pretended to pull her up, then dropped her back so she tumbled into the snow.
His grin was evil. "Oops. My bad."
She glared at him, shaking snow out of her hair. "You're gonna pay for that."
"Bring it."
They stared each other down and then moved. In a flash, she went for him, but he pinned her down and they wrestled in the snow bank, rolling over and over until her giggles reached his ears and he finally stopped.
"Okay, okay, get off me. You win."
Her knot had loosened and thick inky black waves covered her face. Slowly, he pushed them back from her cheeks and stared down at her, smiling. "You're a real pain in the ass, Blake."
She stuck out her tongue.
When he'd first met her, she struck him as the intense type. A real dry academic. Not much fun. He preferred the impulsive, easy, flirty type of women who didn't take themselves so seriously. But over the weeks, he'd discovered Ella's sense of fun was childish and pure at heart, like Luke's. Simple things gave her joy. Their gazes locked, and suddenly, everything changed.
The air charged. Simmered.
