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“Just over that next row, right?” Alex asked, holding an armful of snow ammo.
“Yep.” She shifted her own snowballs, freeing her throwing arm. “Let’s do this. On the count of three. One. Two. Three!”
The pair launched an air assault her retired Air Force bomber grandfather would have been proud of. Shouts erupted a few rows over, but no return shots were fired.
“Game over!” Del cried.
With a victory whoop, Alex high-fived Mia. Maybe Del was right, maybe being a little reckless now and then wasn’t so bad. Laughing, they hurried down the shoveled path and turned two rows up, Mia ready to talk smack.
That’s when she saw Deputy Earl Brice standing with his back to them, hands on his hips and remnants of their snowballs coating the back of his brown, standard-issue coat. Worse yet, one of their snowballs had also found his short, cropped hair. Past him stood Del, Chase, and Brooklyn, sheepish expressions on their faces.
Oh no. Of all the people to get caught in their crossfire! Earl turned slowly to face them, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. But when his gaze settled on her, surprise replaced the fury brewing there.
“Mrs. French? Please tell me you weren’t behind all of this.”
Mia grimaced. So, yes, she had been his son’s teacher a number of years ago. And now her reputation as an upstanding citizen was tarnished.
This was why she preferred to live a life along the straight and narrow. Not causing trouble resulted in less gossip and far fewer chances of going to jail.
“What’s going on over here?”
A new voice of authority joined the mix, adding increased tension. Across from them, Mia watched Del give Chase a small fist bump. Oh, sure,theywere happy about the new arrival. Because unlike Mia, they wouldn’t land on the hot seat once Earl was gone. She turned and faced the fire. Chief, that was.
“Hi, Dad.”
*
Dad?
Alex shifted his gaze to the stocky, bear of a man who had happened upon their standoff, taking in the fire department logo stitched onto his black jacket.Damn.He’d tried to surprise Mia and lift her spirits, not get her in trouble. He held his breath, hoping her family connections would help the situation and not hurt it.
Mia’s father’s gaze swiveled between them all, eventually settling on Del.
“You get yourself in trouble again, sweet pea?”
“Hey! It’s not always me who—” Del stopped, looked to the wide-eyed Brooklyn beside her, and shook her head. “Fine, it was me, okay? We decided to have a late-night snowball fight since there weren’t any customers.”
“Except theydidhave a customer wander in,” Earl said, brushing the snow from his buzzcut. “Maybe the next time you sisters decide to have a snowball fight in the middle of town, try waiting untilafterthe deputy stops by to purchase a wreath for his mother.”
Chase hung his head. Del, however, didn’t miss a beat.
“Or maybe next time we’ll invite you to join us. That way, my team is sure to win.” She gave him a wink.
“Delaney…”
At her father’s tone, Del’s shoulders briefly fell. “But to make it up to you for being such a good sport tonight, Earl, go ahead and choose whatever you want for your mama. It’s on the house.”
She led the snow-battered deputy toward the wreath display, and her father’s scrutinizing gaze fell on Alex and Mia.
“So, who’s really responsible for this disturbance?”
Mia started to speak, but Alex refused to let her take the fall for him.
“I am, sir.”
“Sir?” Amusement lit his features.
“Alex, this is my father, Fire Chief Stephen Brooks. Dad, this is Alex Wellington, an old acquaintance of mine from college. We’ve recently reconnected, sobe nice.”
