Page 56 of Snowed Under

“Don’t ever feel bad for keeping me awake,” she says.

I clear my throat. We need to get off this subject, even if I started it. “Lovely evening.”

She rolls her lips. She knows I’m trying to keep it light, and not touching her is proving difficult. “It sure is. I love how they do the whole eggnog and banquet thing before Christmas. I think it’s a nice way for the town to get together.”

“Makes me wonder what they’ll break out for Carols by Candlelight this year,” I muse.

She laughs as she takes the glass and holds it up to her pretty lips, taking a small sip.

“Who knows.”

“Ains, I really need to?—”

“There you are, honey.” I whirl around to a familiar voice; Mom, with Dad close behind her, waving a glass of eggnog our way.

“Hey, Mom.” I smile as I take a gulp, wondering if we’re ever gonna get a second alone. “Dad.”

“Hi, son.” He pats me on the back as Mom pulls me in for a hug.

“Ainsley, honey,” Mom coos, extending her arms out to my girl as they hug. “Cole tells us you and him have been coming up with some new activities for the Christmas show this year.”

Ainsley’s eyes momentarily round as she glances up at me and I try to hide my smirk behind my eggnog glass. “Apparently a good old-fashioned snowball fight never hurt anyone,” she says, looking back at my mom when she’s recovered.

“The snow may as well be good for something,” Dad chimes in. “And we’re going to have a heck of a snowfall this weekend. Not sure if you’ve been watching the weather lately.”

“As long as it’s not as bad as last year.” I grimace. Let’s hope we’re not all stuck indoors for days on end again.

“Well, I have my pantry stocked up, just in case.” Ainsley never ceases to amaze me. Of course she’s organized in case there’s another freak blizzard.

My mouth pulls up in a smile. One thing I wouldn’t mind is being locked in anywhere with her for a few days while the snow settled. Could be wishful thinking, but being snowed under isn’t a totally horrible idea.

“Have you tried the eggnog yet?” Mom asks Ainsley.

“I have.” Ains holds up her glass. “And they’ve put on a wonderful spread at the buffet.”

“I made those little love heart cookies with the sprinkles on.” Mom winks. “You two should try one.”

I want to facepalm myself. Could Mom be any more obvious? It’s not as if they know I’m sweet on Ainsley, or that we’ve hooked up. They know she moved in next door and that we’ve been spending time together on all the Christmas committee stuff. Maybe Mom is just putting two and two together and coming up with whatever she likes. She may be correct on this one, but I don’t need her coming on too heavy.

“They sound delicious. I might go and try one,” Ainsley says. “How about you, Mr. Garrison? Can I get you anything from the buffet?”

Dad smiles but shakes his head. “I’m fine, sweetheart. But thank you.”

“Well, me and Ainsley better go grab some cookies before they’re all gone,” I say, after a moment with a notion of my head in Ainsley’s direction.

Hopefully she can get out of Mom’s clutches sooner rather than later so we can have that chat. I guess the town Christmas get together probably isn’t the best time to be thinking about a deep and meaningful conversation.

“You two enjoy!” Mom hollers as I gently tug at Ainsley’s arm and lead her over toward the said cookies.

“Your parents are so sweet,” she giggles.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, they are, but Mom likes to meddle.”

“My mom’s the same.”

“I’m sorry she couldn’t be here tonight.”

“I’m going to see her again in the morning. She should be out of hospital soon, fingers crossed.”

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