Page 70 of The Mistletoe Bluff
A mischievous grin spread across my cousin’s face. “It’s time…”
Jameson chuckled.
“For?” I prodded.
“For…” The smile was still on Emma’s face.
I sighed, tilting my head back to look at the ceiling. I loved my cousin to death, but she had a habit of being melodramatic.
“IT’S TIME TO BUILD A SNOWMAN!” Emma cried, throwing her hands into the air as if she expected a round of applause.
Elsie and Jameson snorted.
“Really, Em?” I asked, unable to keep the cynicism out of my voice.
“What’s wrong with building a snowman? It’s a Beck family tradition.”
Jameson cocked his head. “We’ve never built a snowman at Christmas before.”
“It’s anewtradition.”
It was my turn to snort. “How convenient.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Come on. There’s fresh snow outside and I don’t get to see you guys that often. Let’s see who can build the best—”
“—or ugliest—” Jameson whispered to Elsie.
“—snowman!”
When no one said anything, Emma stalked over to me and looped our arms together.
“Come on, Maya. We can beat these yahoos.”
“Yahoos?” Oliver asked. The goofy word was far too adorable in his accent.
I giggled. “It basically means an ignorant rural person. It’s a Midwestern thing.” I patted him on the shoulder as I passed him, and I didn’t miss the smoldering look he gave me in return.
The five of us pulled on a ridiculous amount of snow gear before wobbling like penguins outside in the dark, Luna trailing after us with her tail wagging. The moon reflected off the snow making the landscape sparkle, while the cold air froze the snot in our nostrils.
“Okay,” Emma said, clapping her gloved hands together with a dullthud. “Couples against couples, and I’ll be the judge!”
Elsie pursed her lips. “How is that fair?”
“Well, it would be an unfair advantage to whichever team hadmehelping, so I’ll just even the playing field and take myself out of the game.”
Jameson rubbed at his temple.
Emma was something else.
“Elsie and Jam-Jam, you go over there,” she pointed to the left, “and Maya and Oliver, you stay right here. First couple to build a complete snowman wins. And try to make them unique.”
Before I could even think about what would qualify as a unique snowman, Emma shouted, “Go!”
The four of us stood there, staring at Emma like she had lost her mind.
“What are you waiting for? These snowmen won’t build themselves!” Then Emma bent and gathered up a snowball and chucked it at Jameson, hitting him square in the chest. He looked down at the snow covering his coat before quirking a brow at his sister. Elsie stifled a giggle behind a gloved hand.
“Forget the snowmen!” Elsie cried before stooping to gather her own snowball. “Snowball fight!” Then she threw it at me. I barely managed to duck as it zoomed overhead before smacking Oliver’s shoulder.
