Page 37 of Suits and Spark Plugs

I felt a little warmth in my chest. It hadn’t been an angelic choir moment, but it was something. I joined her in watching with wide eyes as the kids now at the front of the line put their Radio Flyer sleds down on the snow and took off. From here, the hill looked much larger and steeper than it had when I was a younger. There was a chance I was about to sustain an adult-sized injury.

For a split second I was lost in the sounds of crunching snow, squealing laughter, and the feeling of the snow blinding me in the sunlight. Maybe this was a mistake.

“Do my eyes deceive me, or do I spy Liv and Sadie Phelps?” Kelly’s chipper voice said from behind us.

Sadie and I both turned to find her standing near the curb, leaning on a truck that looked very familiar. She was dressed in jeans and a coat, with bright blue mittens and a scarf. A tall guy next to her was dressed similarly, minus the scarf. His back was to us as he spoke to the kids standing by the open tailgate, but I immediately recognized Connor.

Kelly took a step or two toward us, and we did the same, closing the distance. “What are you two doing here?” she asked.

“Bonding.” I smiled.

“You’re either very brave or very stupid.”

“We’re stupid.” Sadie’s voice was flat, which made Kelly and me share an amused look. “Who’s that?” Sadie mouthed, pointing at the guy.

Kelly looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Oh, that’s my friend Connor.”

“So snow sledding is the next step after lunching and buying cars together?” I joked.

Sadie leaned close and quietly asked, “Who’s Connor?”

“Nobody you need to know. Just ignore him.”

At that moment he turned around, and Sadie’s eyes grew at her first good look at him. “Um, he’s kind of...”

“If you say attractive, I will ride you down the hill instead of my tube,” I interrupted.

We exchanged a glance, and Sadie must have seen something in my expression that caused her face to relax. She uncharacteristically dropped the subject and looked around. “Oh, hey,” she said and then walked away a few steps to talk to a boy I didn’t recognize.

I decided to follow her and see who this kid was, and if he wanted to ride down the slope with us . . or, you know, with Sadie in my place. I could be cool like that.

“Liv!” I heard a voice call my name and looked up. I couldn’t see anyone talking to me, so I went back to listening to Sadie, assuming there was another Olivia on the hill today.

“Watch out!” another voice called. This one sounded a lot like Kelly.

This time I looked up the sledding hill, but I didn’t see anyone coming down it. Not a second later I felt something skim my leg as it passed me in a blur of black and white before slamming into the back of Sadie’s legs. The impact caused her feet to fly into the air above her head. I watched in fascination as she all but did a back flip before landing hard on her side.

I gasped, dropping my tube and kneeling beside her. “Are you okay?”

She looked a little dazed but nodded. “What hit me?”

“All I know is it was big, round, black, and white. Must have been a rogue attack from a killer whale,” I replied.

Sadie groaned. “You’re such a dope.” Then she sat up.

“Didn’t you hear me calling to watch out?” Connor’s voice joined the circle forming around us, and he held out a hand to Sadie to help her stand.

She took it and offered him a flirty little smile as she stood. “Thanks.”

“Did you see what happened?” I asked Connor.

“Yeah, some guy bounced off the trail and came flying right at her. I tried to warn you.”

“We didn’t hear you. Sadie was too busy chatting, and I was too busy eavesdropping.”

“You were eavesdropping?” Sadie asked. I nodded. Her eyes rolled.

“You looked around when I called your name,” Connor replied.

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