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Sarah let out a snort. “You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
Tad shook his head. She didn’t get it. How could she? She’d never had to scrabble, pull herself up by her bootstraps. Still, her hopeful smile was hard to resist. He leaned back, softening. “I’ll think it over. Will that do for now?”
“Yeah, that’ll do.” Sarah got up and headed for the bathroom. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab a hairdryer and blow-dry West’s homework…not to get something in return, but because it’s wet.”
3
West gaped at the big house, eyes round as saucers. “Who did all this? Santa?”
Tad let out a chuckle, but he could hardly believe it himself. He’d been gone an hour tops, grabbing West’s snowpants, and in that time a winter wonderland had sprung up in Will’s front yard—colored lights everywhere, giant candy canes, booths serving cocoa and big, heated tents. Will’s full, massive family had descended, along with half the town, and the whole place was swarming with laughing, shrieking kids.
“Hey. You see Sarah?” Tad looked around for her blue scarf.
“I see Santa’s sleigh.”
“Huh?” Tad followed West’s finger, and there it was, twinkling its gaudy way across Will’s snowy roof.
“Uncle Will, look at us!” Two little boys raced by in a wild whoosh of snowpants. They flung themselves into a snowbank and came up caked in white.
Tad frowned. “Whose kids are those?”
“They’re townies,” said West. “The big one’s Billy, from my riding class. And the little one’s Boris. He goes to my school.”
“But they call him Uncle Will?”
“All the kids do.” West ran off to join them. Will spotted Tad and came over, smiling broadly.
“Your kid drag you into this?” Will asked.
“Actually, it was your sister.”
“Sarahinvited you? I see her game.” Will nodded to himself. “So, she’s brought in a ringer.”
“I don’t know about that,” said Tad. “I’m here for the snowball fight, but as far as the Games go, I’m still on the fence. West wants to play, but it seems like a lot.”
“Oh, it is.” Will reached for his girlfriend and pulled her close. “Suzanna can tell you, it gets pretty wild.Cutthroat,you might say, so if you value your life…”
“Don’t listen to him.” Suzanna gave Will a smack. “We do get competitive, but it’s mostly for fun.”
“That doesn’t mean we won’t still kick your ass.” Will shot Tad a wink. “You tell Sarah nice try, but me and Suzanna have this year’s Games in the bag.”
Tad’s brows went up. Will sure was confident, but pride went before a fall. He opened his mouth to say so, but Suzanna cut in.
“Have you met everyone? That’s Aunt Nancy serving cocoa—you’ll want to watch her. She might look sweet, but she packs a mean snowball. And Uncle Al, he’s a sneaky one, loves to jump out and kick snow in your face. You know the twins, and…hey, Taison! Over here!”
A tall, lanky man glanced up from his cocoa. He saw Suzanna and smiled, ambling up to say hi. Will clapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, man. Glad you made it. Have you met Tad?”
“Not yet. Good to meet you.” He stuck out his hand and Tad shook it. “Where’d you move from?”
“I’ve been on the road a lot lately, but I grew up in Kansas.” Tad braced himself for a Toto joke, but Taison just nodded.
“That’s some nice country. How’re you liking it here?”
“No complaints so far.” Tad broke off, distracted, as Sarah’s truck pulled up. She hopped out and grabbed a set of crutches from the back. A teenaged girl reached out for them and stepped out to find her balance in the snow. Tad waved to the pair of them, but the crowd had closed in.
“Oh, Chickie? Chickadee!” Aunt Nancy bustled over, a whirlwind in hot pink. She caught Sarah’s arm and pulled her aside. “I’ll need you with the kids—mitten check, hat check, and go over the rules. Then you can take them, and—”
