Page 125 of Cloudless
He shrugs as he talks around a mouth full of eggs. “What? All the cool people have a couples’ name.”
Jasper grins next to him as syrup runs down his chin. “Cool! What can my couples’ name be?”
Posey rolls her eyes as she cuts up her pancake from her seat next to him. “You have to be in acouplebefore you can have acouples’name, dummy.”
Lila’s spine turns rigid as her eyes laser in on her sister. “We don’t call people that, Posey. How would you feel if Jasper calledyoua dummy?”
Posey’s face falls as she looks over at her brother’s sad eyes. “Not very good.”
Lila nods next to me. “Right. So what should you do?”
Posey lets out a deep breath as she wraps her tiny arms around her brother. His sweatshirt muffles her words. “Sorry, Jas.”
His arms tighten around her as he smiles. “It’s okay. You can make it up to me by helping me build a snowman later.”
She nods as she pulls away from the hug with a smile. “Deal.”
Mace’s face holds a look of awe as he watches them. “If only the world's problems could all be solved by making snowmen.”
The tension falls from Lila’s shoulders, and a smile takes over her face as she looks down at the plate Mace just handed her. “Aww, Mace! Blueberry pancakes are myfavoritebreakfast food!”
The wink he sends her has my hackles raising before I remember he’s my best friend. “I know.” Lila’s raised brows add to Mace’s smile. “I asked you what your favorite breakfast food was the first night I met you at The Penalty Box. I figured that information would come in handy someday.”
Lila’s face flames as she stares at our friend with open mouthed shock. “You knew you’d be making me breakfast someday?”
His shrug shifts his apron around his shoulders. “I just had a feeling.”
Dax shakes his head from his spot at the table. “You and your feelings, man.”
Mace’s arms fold across his chest, despite the spatula in his hand. “What? I can’t help that I’m observant!”
I scoop a serving of scrambled eggs and bacon onto mine and Lila’s plates as I look around the kitchen in search of my third roommate. “Speaking of observant people, where’s Ranger?”
Posey dabs the syrup from the corner of her mouth like the lady she is. “He went to get Ellie. She wants to come play in the snow with us.”
He went to get her even though the roads are still covered in snow?
I don’t let the worry show in my voice as I take my seat at the table. “Well, we better finish up so we can get outside! We’ve got to take full advantage of our snow day.”
The twins' efforts double as they shovel food into their mouths. The tension doesn’t fall from my shoulders until I hear the slamming of Wyatt’s truck doors outside. Only then can I finally relax and enjoy breakfast with my family.
CHAPTER 61
NATURAL GLITTER
LILA
Tiny snowflakes drift along the backdrop of grey clouds that linger from last night's storm. Clouds that block the sun from burning away the field of white. Flakes fall and disappear into the blanket of wet snow that conceals a thin layer of ice just below its untouched surface.
The brisk winter wind that ushers the remaining clouds eastward blows my hair around my face as the back door clicks shut behind me.
I have always loved snow. It’s a love I shared with my mom. She was always partial to watching the snowfall at night. She would always talk about how it seems impossible that shimmering flecks of natural glitter can illuminate the night with only the reflection of the sun on the moon.
My favorite, however, has always been the morning after a winter storm. Almost unnatural stillness seems to consume the world as a few lingering soft flakes dance in the winter wind. The covering of white can make a dreary day such as this feel magical. Extraordinary, even.
As my boot breaks the untouched barrier and I take my first step into the yard, my crunchy footsteps take me back to my childhood. To a time in my life when it was just the three of us.To a time before the twins were born, and I had my parents' complete attention.
Some of my favorite memories were when my dad and I played astronaut the morning after a big snowstorm. I was obsessed with all things space when I was the twins’ age. I once told my dad that the first steps out into the untouched snow was like taking the first steps on the moon.
