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“I should go down and check.” Tad moved to get up, but Sarah held him in place.
“I’m not done with you yet.”
“No?”
“Hellno.” She kissed him again, and again, and again.
7
“Sarah! Hey, Sarah!”
Sarah looked up from her tools, and there was Cassie, waving at her from across the yard. She’d jumped up on her ice block, and was swinging her legs.
“You’re going to break that,” said Sarah, as she jogged up to join her. Cassie just shrugged.
“I suck at ice sculpting anyway. If my block breaks, I’ll just maketwoweird lumps.”
Sarah laughed. “You did pretty well last year with your garden gnome.”
“Never mind that.” Cassie hopped down, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial pitch. “I heard you’re shacking up with Tad?”
“Shackingup?” Sarah glanced about, indignant—who’d been sayingthat?“We’re not shacking up,” she said. “He had a burst pipe, so he and his son are using my guest room. At least, that was the plan, but we…” The hint of a blush warmed her cheeks. Cassie’s brows shot up.
“You’re kidding! You and Tad? So, what, you’re a couple now?”
Sarah shook her head. “No. Or…maybe? I’m not sure. I mean, yeah, there are sparks. But I can’t tell if he…”
Cassie frowned. “If he what?”
“He’s someone who keeps to himself, you know? Hates owing a favor. Honestly, I thought he’d turn me down when I offered the room. But he said yes…and I’m not sure what that means. Maybe he’s letting his guard down, or maybe he just said yes because—” She glanced over her shoulder, caught Aunt Nancy creeping close. “Because he likes me,” she whispered.
Cassie laughed. “Does it matter?”
Sarah shrugged. “I mean, maybe? Iwanthim to let his guard down, to know he’s not alone. To stop acting like the weight of the world’s on his shoulders. But if that’s what he’s doing, is it…is it because ofme?”
“Do you want it to be?”
“I think I might.” Sarah bit her lip. “It’s all moving so fast. I want it to go somewhere, but being with me means being part of my family. If it’s just me he feels comfortable with and heisn’tgoing to let down his guard around everyone else—”
Cassie made a lip-zipping gesture. Sarah turned to find Aunt Nancy hovering at her elbow.
“Hey, Aunt Nancy. Hear anything interesting?”
“As a matter of fact, I did.” Aunt Nancy smiled, shameless. “I heard you had a colicky mare, and you walked her all through the night. Dr. Larkin said you might well have saved her life.”
“Dr. Larkin said that?” Sarah realized she was glowing at the secondhand praise. “I didn’t do much,” she said. “I just found her whuffing, sort of shifting around. And her belly felt hard, so I walked her around. But it was only for an hour or so, till Dr. Larkin could—”
“Don’t discount what you did,” said Aunt Nancy. “Colic can kill ’em quick if you don’t get on it. Word’s getting around that you know what you’re doing. Not just with the horses, but the Games as well. Trouncing Will at the trivia, then second at karaoke…you’re the odds-on favorite in our Christmas pool.”
“I’ve got ten bucks on you,” said Uncle Albert. “I’ll make that a hundred if you win today.”
Sarah waved them both off, casting about for Tad. They’d get in her head if she wasn’t careful—throw her off her game when she needed to focus.
“There’s my partner,” she said, spotting him by the truck. “I’d best go get ready before Aunt Val sounds the bell.” Sarah hurried off, full of nervous energy. The odds-on favorite—could that be true? She knew all about Uncle Al’s Christmas pool, and to the best of her knowledge she’d never made top ten, much less topped the board.
The higher you climb, the harder you fall.
“Not this time,” she muttered, and waved to Tad. Between his hands and her imagination, they had this one sewn up.
