Page 44 of Rafferty

Inside I find a delicate diamond bracelet twinkling at me. “Oh wow,” I murmur.

Rafferty takes it out of the box and affixes it around my wrist. I hold it up, watching the colored lights from the tree reflect in the facets. “It’s beautiful.” My eyes meet his. “Truly… I’ve never had jewelry like this.”

I’ve never had much in the way of jewelry ever. A few pairs of earrings I bought with my own money and a locket my mom handed down to me from her mom.

“It looks good on you,” Rafferty says.

And there’s no way to answer that other than by putting my arms around him and hugging him hard. “You’re the better Christmas present,” I murmur so only he can hear. His arms tighten around me, nearly cutting off my breath.

“Can we go play in the snow?” Cooper asks, and reluctantly, I draw back from Rafferty’s embrace.

“Do you want to build a snowman?” Rafferty sings and my head whips his way, jaw dropping.

“What?” he asks innocently. “A man can’t appreciate the movieFrozen?”

“You’re like a freaking onion,” I say in awe. “Layers upon layers.”

“Let’s go,” Cooper exclaims, heading for the door.

“Don’t forget your hat and mittens,” my mom calls out.

I stand up from the couch, Rafferty following. I ask my mom, “Will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?”

“You kids go have fun,” she says, reaching for one of her new cookbooks. “I’m going to plan out the first meal I’ll make once I get out of that dumb wheelchair.”

I go to my mom’s side, kiss her cheek, and then we all bundle up. The cold air nips at my cheeks as we step outside, but the excitement of building a snowman with Cooper quickly warms me up. Rafferty, Farren and I follow Cooper into the thick blanket of snow covering our backyard. The fresh powder clings perfectly while fat flakes drop lazily from the sky. The yard is aglow with the lights from the neighbors on both sides who go all out in decorating their houses.

“Okay, team, let’s make this the biggest snowman this yard has ever seen!” Rafferty declares with a mock serious tone, directing operations like a seasoned general.

Cooper leads the charge, his enthusiasm infectious as he pushes a small snowball until it grows larger with every roll. “Tempe, you gotta help me push,” he calls out, struggling with the now massive base of our snowman.

Together, we heave the heavy snowball into place. Rafferty and Farren work on the middle section, their teamwork seamless, while I start shaping the head. The air is filled with our laughter as we joke around, the soft snow crunching under our boots.

Once our snowman—dubbed “Mr. Frosty” by Cooper—is assembled and decked out with a carrot nose, stick arms and stone buttons, Farren grins mischievously at Rafferty. “You know, this snowman could use some company,” she says, and without warning, scoops up a handful of snow and lobs it at her brother.

“You did not just do that!” Rafferty exclaims, looking down at the snow splattered across his chest. He scoops up his own ammunition, his eyes twinkling with challenge. “It’s on.”

Within moments, the peaceful snowman-building session turns into an all-out snowball war as we take sides. Me and Rafferty against Farren and Cooper. Snow flies through the air, laughter and shrieks echoing through the yard. I dodge a snowball from Farren, retaliate with one of my own, and suddenly find myself caught in a crossfire between Rafferty and Cooper.

Rafferty cocks his arm to hurl one at his sister but sees an incoming missile from Cooper. He steps in front of me, taking the hit in his shoulder. He winks at me, and I laugh, feeling a rush of affection for him. “So gallant.”

“Anything for you,” he says, and then another snowball hits him in the face.

He turns slowly to face my brother, an evil smile curling his lips. “That’s it… you’re in for it now.”

Cooper shrieks and takes off running in an attempt to hide behind the snowman but Rafferty’s too quick. He’s on him, pelting him with ball after ball until Cooper criesuncle, laughing so hard he’s crying.

We don’t last long, the cold eventually driving us in. Once we get our boots off in the mudroom and out of our soaked outer layers, I head into the kitchen. “I’ll make hot chocolate.”

“And can we have cookies?” Cooper asks, running past me to the staircase. “I’m going to get my pajamas on.”

“Of course,” I say with a laugh, charmed he’s at ease enough with our guests to get comfy in his jammies. Farren follows me into the kitchen but Rafferty veers into the living room to go hang out with my mom.

As Farren plates cookies and I put milk on to boil, she says, “I’ve not ever seen my brother like this before.”

I glance at her curiously. “Like what?”

She shrugs as if she can’t quite articulate it, but attempts in simple words. “Happy. Content. Boyish.”

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