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Pulling back, I dropped my mouth open. “Huh?”
After digging into her pocket, Laina tugged out the lost glove’s mysterious mate. “I lost it a few weeks ago. My hands have been freezing ever since.”
“Oh, my God.” After digging into my own coat pocket, I pulled out my half of the glove set I’d been carrying around with me.
After slowly handing it over, I watched Laina’s face light with pleasure while she tugged both gloves onto her hands as if she needed to try them on just then to reassure herself they had been reunited.
Glancing toward Ryder, I felt tears gather in my throat. I had no idea why I wanted to cry. I was so happy that stupid glove had finally found its owner, and even happier its owner was Laina. The moment simply felt too heavy and emotional for me not to cry.
As if reading every funky feeling I possessed, Ryder opened his arms. I flew toward him and hugged him hard. His warmth enveloped me until I empathized with the glove, knowing I had also just found my way home again after being lost in a cold, miserable winter.
Epilogue
I’m never one, distinct color but a dichotomy of dark and bright. The hues follow me, reflecting my mood, displaying every tone and shade I feel. I can breathe in red and exhale blue, or swim in green and dry as a rainbow. It all depends on how I choose to react to every shadow and light beam headed my way.
* * * *
My two best friends were holding hands. I could not take my eyes off the finger-lock Bridget and Adam had going on. As they sat across the table from me at the Hillsburg bowling alley, their shoulders pressed together while they smiled and murmured quiet words to each other. And I just gawked, unable to look away.
“Strange isn’t it?” Schy said, sliding into the chair next to mine and plopping down a tray full of drinks and cheesy nachos. “I still can’t stop staring at them together either.”
“Are you guys talking about
us?” Bridget demanded, trying to hide her blush as she leaned forward to steal two cups—one for her, one for her boyfriend. “It’s not that strange.”
“It’s very strange,” I said. When both Adam and Bridget lifted their faces as if they were about to argue with me, I held up a hand. “But totally cool.”
The couple relaxed and settled back against each other, both lifting their Styrofoam cups and sucking soda from their straws in unison.
“Aww, how cute,” Schy cooed, pressing her cheek to mine as we watched them. “They’re synchronized drinking. Pretty soon they’ll be wearing matching sweaters with little hearts on them and necklaces with each other’s names.”
“Will you shut up?” Adam scowled at his twin.
Together, he and Bridget slammed their cups back on the tabletop in coordinated indignation they couldn’t possibly have practiced.
Schy and I threw back our heads and laughed.
“What is so funny?” Bridget demanded.
Barely managing to talk between my giggles, I asked, “Do you guys sneeze at the same time too?”
“That’s it,” Adam growled, surging to his feet, Bridget rising with him in perfect harmony. “We’re bowling by ourselves.”
“Oh, stop,” I said as Schy and I waved them back. “We’re just teasing. We love seeing you two together. Honest.”
But what I loved even more was being around my friends again. My people.
Once I’d returned to Hillsburg and I’d invited them all over, I’d sat them in my room and spilled everything about my time in Osage, every little detail down to the glove in the snow. And after they told me what I should’ve done differently—like kept them in the loop the entire time—we mended fences and things had been normal ever since.
Schy and I were still trying to convince Bridget and Adam to sit back down when I felt a presence to my left a split second before someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Is this seat taken?” the voice that never failed to send happy shivers up my spine asked.
I sucked in a breath and lifted my face.
Ryder grinned down, his face practically glowing he looked so happy. The bruise around his eye hadn’t completely healed yet. I could see the hint of greenish-yellow ringing his lashes.
Still, he looked utterly amazing.
