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“Of course, sweetie. Let’s get bundled up and head outside.” Laura’s warm voice gave me goosebumps.
We finished breakfast and quickly got dressed in our winter gear, the three of us looking like a trio of colorful marshmallows in our puffy coats and scarves.
Outside, the crisp winter air nipped at our cheeks. Giant flakes drifted lazily from the sky, blanketing the ground in a thick layer of pristine snow. Tall evergreens sparkled with frost, their boughs heavy with ice weight. Nestled in the heart of a picturesque mountain valley, the Silver Resort looked like something straight out of a snow globe.
Laura and Kensi had lain on their backs in the fresh white powder, their arms and legs splayed out wide to make perfect snow angels. The winter sun beamed down, catching all of the tiny snowflakes twinkling around them as if they were diamonds. The image was breathtaking. Despite the frosty air that chilled everything else in sight, these two snow angels sparkled with warmth and hope. For a moment, it seemed like the world was still.
After heading back indoors, I prepared two steaming mugs of hot cocoa with marshmallows, just the way Kensi liked it. When I returned, Kensi sat up in the snow. “Daddy! Guess what? We're snowflake experts now!”
I walked across the deck and set the hot chocolate on a table. “Is that so?”
“Did you know there are one septillion snowflakes in a cubic mile of snow?” Laura quipped, grinning as Kensi’s eyes widened.
“Wow, septillion? That’s a lot.” Kensi hopped up, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She ran up to the table and blew a breath over the steaming mug. “Is that one for me?”
“Sure.” I nodded, and she looked up.
“We learned all about fresh snow. Laura’s really smart, just like you,” she said between breaths.
“Ah,” I said. “Well, I think you’re pretty smart yourself, kiddo.” I tousled her hair before turning my attention back to Laura. Her cheeks were flushed with a winter’s kiss. I picked up Laura’s mug and carried the hot chocolate toward her. “Stay at the table, Kensi.”
As I handed the mug to Laura, she commented, “Oh, you put mini marshmallows?”
“Of course, I did. I’m not a monster.”
She laughed, and we both looked over to Kensi, who was utterly focused on cooling the steaming liquid in her cup with her breath.
“You two have a beautiful connection.” Laura’s voice was a mixture of awe and disbelief.
“Thanks.” Warmth spread through me at her words. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“But she must look like her beautiful mother because she looks nothing like you.”
Keeping Kensi in view, we walked away from the snow angel prints.
“You’re right and wrong. I don’t know what her biological mother looks like because we adopted Kensi. But she must have been beautiful.”
“Been?”
“She died at birth.”
“I'm so sorry. That’s so sad. Does Kensi know?”
“She’s too young, but when the time is right, we’ll tell her.”
“And Kensi’s current mom didn’t want to spend Christmas with her?”
Tiffany had her heart set on being with her for the holidays, but it was my turn to have quality time with our beautiful daughter.
“We have an arrangement. Tiffany will spend time with Kensi after the New Year.”
“So, no alone time with the nutcracker?” Laura's mouth stretched into a coy smile.
Amid the whirlwind of chaos and laughter that was family life, alone time felt like a fleeting dream. Parenthood of a five-year-old meant that moments of respite were hard won and savored as if they were precious stones.
“Kensi goes to bed at eight thirty and tonight, she’s sleeping at her grandparent’s.”
Laura trailed closer, weaving her free hand around my waist and jutting her hip into my hardening dick, grazing the lust that had been unfurling. Her touch made it even harder to contain a strain of desire that wanted nothing but to be set free.
