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Footsteps crunched in the snow, running deeper into the depths of the tree lot.
Del collected an armful of snowballs. “I’ll sneak around the south side and loop north. Chase, you take the middle. Mi, go north and follow a safe distance back. We’ll have her cornered in no time.”
“Okay, but be careful—I don’t want anyone losing an eye or something.”
Del rolled her eyes. “Spoken like a true schoolteacher.”
Before Mia could point out that snowball injuries were truly a thing, Del hurried off. With a wink, Chase started up the middle. On a sigh, Mia gathered the remaining snowballs and headed north. But two steps from the tent, a snowball hit her square in the butt.
“Hey!” She spun and eyed the row of trees in front of the tent. Her daughter must have brought reinforcements.
Not about to be outsmarted by a group of teenagers, Mia crouched down and continued north, then snuck outside the snow fence and made for the sidewalk. These kids would never expect her to go this way. Giddy with confidence, she snuck past the entrance, squeezed through a gap in the fence on the south side, and crept forward once more. Up ahead, a tree jostled, its snowy covering sprinkling to the ground.
Gotcha.
Mia lobbed a snowball underhand over the top of the tree…and heard it hit its target with a wet SMACK.
“Oof. What the—?”
Wait, that voice was too deep to be Brooklyn’s or her friends. It must have been Isaac after all. No doubt when he’d asked, Brooklyn had been game; she was all for avoiding doing her homework lately. Time to get this snowball fight over so they could all get home. Mia squatted to gather snow for another snowball, then crept closer to her target. Was he even still there?
She snuck forward and bent to try peeking through a gap in the tree’s branches whensmack, a snowball hit her square in the butt. Again.
“What the—?” She spun. “Alex?”
A broad grin stretched across his face as he stepped out from behind a neighboring tree. “Did we surprise you?”
“Yes!” Mia laughed, reaching behind her to brush snow from the seat of her jeans. “I thought you weren’t due back until tomorrow.”
“I wasn’t,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “But after our call the other night, it sounded like you could use some cheering up.”
Her lonely heart melted. Had anyone ever done something so sweet for her before? “Really?”
“Really.” He bent to kiss her softly. “Also, I was missing you terribly. So, I rearranged my schedule and—”
A snowball grazed his shoulder. Two more flew over their heads and hit the tree behind them. Confusion dawned on his face.
“Hold that thought.” Mia tugged him lower to the ground and started sweeping snow toward them. “We need more ammo.”
“Ammo? But I found you.”
“Sweetheart, no one starts a snowball fight in Bourbon Falls that they don’t intend to finish. And I, for one, don’t want to lose to my daughter’s team.”
“Wait—she went rogue on me?”
Two more snowballs landed on either side of them. “Seems that way, yes. Knowing Brooklyn, she’s talked Del and Chase into joining forces with her as well.”
Determination settled on Alex’s features. “Then it’s time we teach them all that they picked the wrong team.”
A small thrill ran through Mia as they hurried to stockpile snowballs. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he’d arrived early or that it felt kinda fun being a little more reckless than usual. But mostly, it was because that look of determination on his face was sexy as hell.
“Hey, old-timers,” Del called. “You give up yet or what?”
“You wish!” Mia cried.
Alex offered her a fist bump, then ducked to avoid a snowball heading straight for his face. Several more fell around them, the opposing team having homed in on their location. Too bad for them, Mia had a pretty good idea of where they now stood, too.
As she led Alex up a narrow path on the lot’s east side, half the lot’s lights went out. Mia snorted. Did they really think a little darkness was going to keep them safe?
