Page 126 of Cloudless
My lone footprints in the snow were like leaving my mark on an untouched celestial being. In that moment, when my tiny boots would sink into the snow, I could be anything. I coulddoanything. As long as I had my dad right behind me, ready to catch me if I fell into the icy unknown.
Now, I stand alone in a frozen yard of a man who held me like I was something precious while I slept last night. While the snow fell and changed the landscape to make it almost unrecognizable, I slept soundly in the arms of the man I love.
A man my dad will never get to meet.
Bustling laughter and happy squeals spill from the door as my family emerges into the winter wonderland. I wipe a stray tear from the corner of my eye. Ellie’s keen eye follows the movement as the twins run by in a blur of color and happiness.
Ellie raises a brow in a silent question that I answer with a nod and a smile that says,it’s okay.I can remember my parents and not fall into a pit of sadness. I can remember the wonderful memories and look forward to making new ones, even though they won't be in them.
My heart still hurts. I’m pretty sure it always will, but these people love me enough to add the extra cushion needed to keep it from bruising.
Dax’s booming laugh follows the happy squeals of the twins farther into the yard, to where they’re already covered in a layer of wet snow. He rubs his gloved hands together as he surveys theyard. “Alright! Gather ‘round! If we’re going to get all this done, we’re going to have to be smart about it.”
Wyatt and Mace roll their eyes, but follow their friend to the back of the lot anyway. Wyatt’s mumbled words bring a smile to my face. “I told you he would do this.”
Mace doesn’t even try to hide his smile as they walk away. “Ah, come on, Ranger. Let the man build his snow fort.”
I can hear the smile in Ellie’s voice as she comes to a stop beside me. “How long before they give up and start throwing snowballs at each other?”
I tilt my head back and forth. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe fifteen minutes?”
The back door clicks shut behind us as warm arms circle my waist. “I don’t know, Sunshine. I think they’ll last twenty at least.”
I don’t have to look at Ellie to know she just rolled her eyes. “You knowyouare included in thethey,right, little brother?”
His laughter vibrates through me as he tightens his arms around my waist. “If I’m included, then I give us at least thirty!”
Dax’s voice carries through the yard as he hands out snow shovels to all the willing participants. “Come on, Cap! We’ve got to get a move on if we want to be done by lunch!”
The kiss Kam plants on my forehead is far too quick. “I better go help before he sticks me with a sucky job like last year.”
Dax’s scoff makes my smile double. “It’s not my fault you couldn’t get your boots on quick enough, Cap.” His eyes flick to Ellie and me as he puts his hands on his hips. “And don’t think you two are getting out of putting in your fair share of work. I have it on good authority you’re a work horse, Sullivan.” His arms fall from his waist as he looks around his feet. “Did anyone bring the gardening shovels?”
A crease forms between Mace’s brows as he stops shoveling the snow into a pile by Jasper’s feet. “We have gardening shovels?”
Dax moves his toboggan around on his head to scratch his scalp. “Yeah. I found them in the upstairs hall closet when we moved in.”
Ellie’s fingers dig into my shoulder as she says, “L and I will go find them. You guys keep working.” She pulls so hard on my shoulder that I almost fall on my ass as she turns to go back inside. “Come on.”
I raise a brow as we dust the snow from our boots. “Do you even know where the shovels are?”
Her eyes twinkle as she takes her glove off to open the back door. “Hell no. I just don’t want to get stuck shoveling snow. I plan on taking full advantage of the first snow day of the year. It’s not like the snow will be here tomorrow.”
Warm air hits my chilled cheeks as we step through the back door. The dampness from my boots coats my hands as I slip them from my feet. “I hope not. I don’t want to reschedule our court date tomorrow.” Careful steps are a requirement to keep my socks from the droplets of water my boots left behind. “I’m already worried about my final meeting with the social worker tonight. She said it shouldn’t be a problem, though. Apparently, her husband is a snowplow driver.”
She raises a brow as her snow pants crinkle with her movements. “Well, that’s convenient. Did you ever talk to your lawyer about your last meeting with your grandparents?”
I nod my head as sweat beads on my brow from the warm air seeping through my snow jacket. “Yeah. He said not to worry about it. That he’ll take care of everything.”
She scrunches her nose as the stairs creak under us. “And you trust him?”
I shrug as she opens the hall closet door that sits tucked between Kam and Dax’s rooms. The smell of dust and cardboard assaults my nose as the stale air washes over me. “Yeah, I do. He seemed pretty confident when I talked to him. I felt a lot better after he explained the schedule for tomorrow.”
Boxes of hockey memorabilia and assorted blankets shift as we sort through the contents of the closet. “Let’s hope for his sake everything goes smoothly tomorrow. I will gladly take those kids so far away from here, no one would ever find them.” Her smile grows. “We only need to hide out until they turn eighteen. Then we can stage a miraculous rescue mission and bring them home. It’ll be like nothing ever happened!”
It’s my turn to scrunch my nose as my fingers come in contact with something crusty on the underside of a blanket that looks like it’s seen better days. “Yeah, let’s not do that if we can help it.”
“Ah-ha! I found them!” Her brows furrow as she pulls the rusty shovels from the corner of the closet. Cobwebs fly behind the three rusted gardening tools like streamers. “What the hell happened to these things?”
