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“I’m pretty sure my car’s going to be fully snowed in,” Sean says. “Which means you’re probably going to be stuck with me for Christmas.”
I smile, but then it quickly falls from my face. “Your family’s going to miss you, Sean.”
“I’ll miss them, too. But I’m hoping I can still make it home for the holiday party.”
“That’s just a couple days after Christmas, right?”
He smiles. “Yep. You remember me saying that, huh?”
“I’ve been soaking up every little thing you’ve said about your life,” I say, smiling again.
“I’m flattered.” He hugs me closer. “Hey, last night, when we were talking about you coming to visit me…what do you think about coming with me when I leave? Then you could come to my parents’ holiday party.”
“I’dlovethat.”
“Good. Because I’d love for you to be there.” He pauses, then laughs a little. “There’s something I should tell you, though.”
When he tells me about the pact that he and his brothers made about all finding dates to bring to the party this year, I burst out laughing. Then he tells me about how each of his three brothers has had a crazy romance of their own over the past few weeks.
“I love that,” I say. “Oh, Sean. Your parents are going to be so thrilled to see all their sons in happy relationships.”
“Yeah. They are. I’m really looking forward to it.”
I glance in the direction of the cabin, nervous but ready to have an emotional conversation with my dad. “Okay. I think it’s been long enough. Ready to go back?”
“I’m ready if you are.”
We’ve just emerged from the fort when I notice a dark blur in the distance. My hand grips Sean’s hand tightly as I realize what it is.
“Sean, it’s the bear.”
He follows my gaze. “Shit.”
“No, it’s okay. She seems calm.” I draw in a gasp. “Look. There’s a cub, too.”
We watch in silent awe as the mama bear and baby bear trek through the snow, either not seeing us or choosing to ignore our presence. Once they’re out of view, we start to walk back to the cabin. As we approach, my nerves grow stronger, but when I see my mom’s face peer out one of the side windows and her hand raises in a gentle wave, the nerves within me settle a little.
Sean and I stand side by side as I rap on the front door. My dad answers it with a displeased but controlled expression on his face.
“I’m not coming inside unless you promise to be reasonable about this,” I say firmly.
My dad clenches his jaw, looks at Sean, then looks back at me. He’s silent for a few seconds, then steps back to let us in.
“Fine,” he says. “But you two better have a damn good reason for doing what you did.”
“John,” says my mom admonishingly, who’s standing a few feet away.
“Can’t a man look out for his daughter?” my dad sighs.
“John,” repeats my mom.
“Okay, okay.” He looks at the two of us again. “I apologize for my reaction. It was appalling and unnecessary.”
My mom smiles and puts her hand on my dad’s shoulder. “All right. Good. Now let’s get some breakfast ready and talk this out.”
7
SEAN
