“No.” I sigh and run my hand over a branch. “It’s too big for the cabin and too pricey.” I point to the three-hundred-dollar price tag. “Besides, Felix and Stella like the Douglas fir better, so we always get one of those. But this one smells better.”
He steps closer, his arm brushing mine and he inhales. “Smells pretty good.”
“Told you.” I step away and head toward a section of smaller trees, many are shaped funny or not as full. A half-off sign hangs behind them.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas?” Teddy asks.
“These trees need love too.” I wrap a hand around the top of the best of the ugly, unwanted Douglas fir trees. “What do you think?”
“I think if anyone can make that tree beautiful, it’s you.”
His compliment and the way he’s looking at me turn my legs to rubber. Maybe Stella was right, and Teddy sees me as more than Felix’s little sister. The thought makes me dizzy with hope. I take a step, wobble and fall toward him with the tree.
Teddy wraps one big arm around me, and with the other, he steadies the tree. I’m cradled against him. He’s warm and sturdy, and the mixture of smells—the snow and the trees and him—renders me completely helpless.
“Are you okay?” I can feel the question rumble in his chest. I wonder if that means he can feel my heart racing.
Reluctantly, I step out of his hold. “Perfect.”
By the time we make it back to the cabin with the tree, the snow is coming down and covering the ground in thick blankets. Teddy parks and I hop out and stare up at the sky.
I stick my tongue out and catch a large snowflake. When I glance back at Teddy, his hat is covered in white, and he’s grinning at me. He leans down and scoops up a handful of snow with a wicked glint in his eye.
“Oh, no,” I say as he packs the snow together. I get my own snowball ready, but he’s quicker and a big, wet heap of snow pelts me in the arm.
We fire more snowballs at each other, running around the small yard. Mine all miss. He might be bad on skis, but he’s quick on his feet. He comes at me and wraps an arm around my waist to keep me from throwing another at him.
“Truce.” His voice rumbles next to my ear.
I swivel in his hold, our faces inches apart. His gray eyes twinkle with mischief and something else I can’t quite place.
“Truce,” I agree. He lets go of me and then I fire at close range. This one gets him.
He shakes his head and laughs. “Come on. We better get your tree inside.”
Together, we carry it into the cabin. Teddy stomps back outside to shake off the snow. “It’s really coming down out there.”
“Yeah.” I pull my phone from my pocket. “I thought Felix and the others would be back by now.”
“Zero chance his car is making it on those roads until they clear them.”
“Crap, you’re probably right.”
I FaceTime Stella. She answers, holding up our parent’s cat, Whiskers. “Look how big he’s getting.”
“You’re still in Scottsdale?”
“Yeah. The guys decided to play nine holes of golf while the carpet cleaners were here. They should be back any minute. How are things with—”
“You need to hurry. It’s snowing. Like a lot. The roads are totally covered, and it does not look like it’s stopping any time soon.”
Her brows pull together in the middle, and she lowers Whiskers. “Hold on. Felix just got here.”
I listen as she relays the info to my brother. A minute later, Teddy’s phone rings. Stella and I are quiet while they talk.
Teddy paces in front of the window, looking out at the snow still falling. He brings one arm up and rubs the back of his neck as he says, “Not a chance your car can get through right now. Hopefully they get a plow out here soon.”
“What’d you do today?” Stella asks.
“Umm . . .” I’m distracted. It’s not easy, trying to eavesdrop on Teddy, and carry on a conversation with Stella. “We baked cookies and then got a tree.” I move the phone, so she can see the tree sitting in the living room.
My twin smiles. “Sounds fun.”
Felix says something to her, and she looks away from the phone.
“Looks like we’re staying put until the snow stops.”
“Really?”
“Felix doesn’t think his car will make it.”
“Who buys a front-wheel drive car?” I ask loud enough that hopefully he can hear me.
“Everyone in Arizona,” Stella says. “On the plus side, skiing will be awesome tomorrow.”
“If you manage to get here,” I mumble.
“Oh, cheer up, Hol. Sometimes you have to make the most with the cards you’re dealt.”
“Did you read that in a fortune cookie?”
“Made it up. Just now.” Her eyes widen. “Go have fun. I’ll check in later.”
“Bye, Stell.”
She kisses the phone and then ends the call.
The awkwardness that I feared all day sets in as the snow piles up. I lose all hope that my siblings are going to make it back when I check the weather app on my phone, and it says the snow is supposed to continue all night long.
My stomach is uneasy, but it rumbles for food.
“Hungry?” I ask Teddy.
He nods. “Always.”
“I’ll make dinner.”
“I can help.”
“No, no,” I say too quickly. I need a minute without him so close. My nerves are on edge. I plaster on a smile. “I know how you feel about cooking. I’ve got this.”
I open the fridge. Stella and I bought what we thought was enough groceries for the entire weekend, but after sharing with the guys, it’s dwindling fast.
“Turkey sandwiches?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
I pull out everything I need and make us dinner while Teddy puts on a movie—Jingle All the Way again, and his laughter at the cheesy holiday movie does funny things to my insides.
“Thanks,” he says when I hand him a plate with the sandwich and some chips.
“Welcome.” I eat standing up in the kitchen.
Between bites, I find the string of LED lights from my dorm room I brought to hang on the tree, and it looks even better than I imagined. I only wish I had two or three more strands. After that, I pull out everything to decorate the cookies.
Teddy sits on a stool in front of me, his body angled so he can watch the TV.
I watch him. He finishes his first sandwich in four large bites, then moves on to the chips. I’ve barely touched my food when he’s finished. I take my sandwich and push my plate of chips toward him.
“Thanks.”
“We’re almost out of food, but we have lots of cookies.” I hold one up. He snatches it from me and pops it in his mouth.
“Good,” he mumbles as he chews.
I give him a playful glare and smack his hand as he goes in for another cookie. I do a super-fast decorating job on a small bell-shaped cookie and hand it to him. “Sugar cookies without frosting are sad. It’s like unfrosted Pop-Tarts. What’s the point?”
He laughs, but after he takes the first bite, he nods. “Damn, that’s good.”