Page 7 of Winter Love

Everyone claps as I step down, my brothers and sister hug me. I excuse myself and head straight for Emma.

“You’re here,” I say as I grab her and hold her tight. I breathe her in and kiss her neck.

“I’ve missed you so damn much,” I whisper to her.

She pulls back and looks at me.

“I didn’t know if you’d be okay with me being here. Lissy asked me to come.”

“I should’ve called you and told you. Of course I want you here.”

It’s then I notice that there’s a group of men hovering close by. And they’re watching us.

“Do you know them?” I ask her as I frown.

“I met them last night when I got in. They’re from Lake Renegade, Illinois.”

“So you’re not with one of them?” I look into her baby-blue eyes.

Emma shakes her head no.

I keep my hold on her as one of them steps forward.

“I’m Salvatore Mancini, Sheriff of Lake Renegade. We’re on a road trip and decided to stop here in Wintervale. We saw the board up for your memorial and decided we wanted to be a part of it. I hope that’s okay.”

“Thank you for joining us. What made you stop here?” I ask him.

“We were getting tired and saw the sign for your town. So we stopped.” He chuckles.

We spend some time introducing everyone and I notice the one named Levi talking to Felicity. She’s blushing as she talks to him. He’s standing a little too close to my baby sister and I see my brothers glaring at him.

“How long are you staying?” I ask Emmanuelle.

“I was hoping we could talk after we snowboard.”

“Of course we can. Is everything okay?”

“It will be. We just need to talk,” she says softly as she lays her head on my chest. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her head. This is what I’ve dreamt of. Holding her in my arms and I don’t want to let her go again.

“Okay everyone, whoever wants to take a trip down the mountain, we’re starting the lifts,” Karen says.

Everyone starts to put on their snow gear and grab boards or skis. It takes about an hour to get everyone up the mountain. We hired a videographer to capture the memories. My parents would’ve had a great time today. Our new friends help us clean everything up, even though we told them that they’re guests, they should relax and have fun.

“I’m going back up the mountain. I saw Lissy go up there with that Levi kid. I don’t trust him.” Paxton frowns.

“Yeah I saw her too. I don’t know what to think of him. Emma said he seems like a really nice guy. And the others seem like good people too. But yeah, keep an eye on them,” I say to him.

Paxton nods and heads back up the mountain.

Rhett is talking to our new friends so I go over to Emma.

“Would you like to take a walk?” I ask her.

She nods at me. I grab our coats and we head out to the garden. It’s covered in snow but the walkways are clear. I stop in the middle of the garden and face her.

“I’ve missed you—” I start to say as she stops me.

“I need to get something out. And if you keep talking, I know I won’t.”

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