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As they hurried to reconstruct the tunnel, Soraya came out, shivering under her parka. “Good, you got this, right, Billy? I need to tidy up the house before the boss gets back.”
Before he could explain that he was leaving any minute now, she added, “If y’all need anything, Mallory’s right inside, baking up a storm. I’ll be vacuuming, so ask her first.” She used air quotes for the word “vacuuming,” and winked at Billy as she put her headphones on.
Fair enough, Billy figured, as she disappeared inside the house. She deserved a music break. He’d stay just a few minutes longer, then tell Mallory she was in charge.
The aroma of cinnamon and sugar wafted from the house; Mallory was already preparing for the big Christmas feast the Caldwells were planning. All the Coopers had been invited, but Billy would have to beg off. He couldn’t risk giving the weird stalker such a prime target. Him and Jenna and the boys in one place…nope, couldn’t happen.
That empty feeling in his chest expanded until it seemed to take up his entire heart. He’d have to get used to it—again. He’d come so close to his heart’s desire. And yet it seemed further away than ever. Jenna had gotten spooked. He couldn’t blame her. Seeing those photos must have brought back such terrible memories of the Billy Club days. He couldn’t ask her to go through that again. She deserved her peace.
He finished packing snow into a gap between two logs and carefully crawled out of the tunnel they’d just completed. The three boys stood over him.
“It didn’t bury you this time!” Zack crowed.
Billy reached up to give him a high five, then stood up and brushed the snow off his clothes. He’d go now, as soon as the boys had tested out the fort. “Who’s next?”
“Me, me, me!” They jockeyed for position, pushing and elbowing each other.
“Be smart, guys,” Billy told them. “You don’t want to trigger an avalanche.”
“Avalanche!” Zack jumped up and down as if that would be the best possible fun.
Tyler adjusted the goggles he used in the snow. “Follow the leader! Me first!” He dropped to his knees and crawled through the opening. “It’s so cool!!” he yelled.
Zack jostled Bean out of the way and went in after them.
Bean scowled for a second, then his apple-cheeked face cleared. “I’m next! You coming, Daddy?”
Billy wasn’t sure the fort could handle so many people with so much energy. “I’ll stand guard. Armed with snowballs.”
“Can we have a snowball fight after? Will you be on my team?”
“You bet.”
“Yay!! Snowball fight!”
From inside the tunnel, the chant echoed. “Snowball fight, snowball fight!” Bean crawled inside and disappeared. The boys stopped yelling about snowballs and whispered to each other.
Billy grinned, all his problems momentarily forgotten. He was with his boys on this bright snow-sparkling day, they were happy and healthy, and he could ask for nothing more from life than that.
He filled his lungs with the fresh winter air. The trill of a chickadee broke the quiet, and then the cheer-cheer of a cardinal. Soraya must have stopped vacuuming. Come to think of it, he hadn’t heard the vacuum for a while.
The kitchen door opened and he heard the crunch of boots on snow.
“Chocolate chip cookies?” asked a soft female voice.
He turned and saw Mallory, in leggings and snow boots. Her hair was loose from the beanie she usually wore to keep it out of her face. Dirty-blond, it fell over her shoulders. The sight triggered a vague sense of recognition. The color wasn’t far from Jenna’s, although Jenna’s hair was a brighter shade.
He thought of its silky texture and wondered if he’d ever feel it again.
“Sure.” He smiled at her and took one of the cookies, and popped it in his mouth. Delicious. “Another masterpiece from the chef extraordinaire.”
“I’m not just a chef.” Her offended tone took him by surprise.
“Is it just a side gig? Like Soraya and singing?”
“Not exactly.”
She was waiting for something. Maybe for him to take another cookie. But he didn’t want another one. Thinking of Jenna had made his stomach tighten up with tension, and he’d only eaten the first one to be polite.
