Memory laughed along with her, tucking the kit under her arm as the two made their way through the snow to the area where everyone else was gathering. The field next to the lake was huge, so there would be plenty of room for the contestants to spread out and gather as much snow as they needed. The planning committee had set up some bleachers so that spectators could watch, and the same hot cocoa stand from the night before had been moved over, along with a popcorn cart. The scent of kettle corn wafted through the air, and Memory inhaled deeply, her stomach growling.
“I told you you should’ve eaten a bigger lunch,” Ellie commented under her breath.
“I didn’t have time,” Memory reminded her. “We were busy. Besides, I’d still want kettle corn.”
“That I believe,” Ellie said, causing Memory to look at her out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve noticed you have a sweet tooth, missy.”
“You have? I do?” Memory’s eyebrows knit together as she tried to think of any sweets she’d eaten in front of Ellie, but she couldn’t—except for the sugar cookie Ellie had brought her from Leon’s the other day. “Hmmm....”
All thoughts of food vanished from her mind as her eyes fell on Dak standing across the field, chatting with Kirsten and Maison. They seemed to be having a nice conversation, with lots of laughs, and Memory said a silent prayer that Kirsten was behaving herself.
She was still several dozen yards away, and he hadn’t seen her yet. It was interesting to watch him interact with her family without knowing she was there. The confidence he exuded, without being cocky, was noticeable even at this distance—and she had to admit he was a good looking guy....
Lorelei came running toward the three of them with a bag of popcorn in her hand, Grandpa Bryce following, carrying Anson, but she didn’t go to her parents. Instead, she offered her treat to Dak. He dropped down to her eye-level, and while Memory couldn’t tell what they were saying, Lorelei was giggling. The little girl thrust the bag of popcorn his direction again, and he took some. Lorelei popped some into her mouth, and they both laughed. Memory felt like the Grinch in the scene where his heart swells to three times its normal size, watching her niece and Dak interact.
“Now, that’s a real man,” Ellie noted. “And he doesn’t even know you’re here yet.”
Memory didn’t say anything, but she was pretty sure her face was almost as red as her hat.
Kirsten saw them then and waved, which alerted Dak to her presence. He stood and turned around, a casual smile lighting his face. Memory tried not to look directly at him for fear she might somehow turn an even brighter red. Lorelei saved her by running over, pieces of popcorn trailing behind her, as she yelled, “Aunt Memory! Grandma Ellie!”
“Grandma Ellie?” Memory wandered aloud.
“Isn’t she sweet,” Ellie said. “Hello, darling!” Lorelei grabbed Ellie around the waist and gave her a big hug before she moved to Memory, still dropping popcorn all over the ground.
“The birds are gonna love you. How are you, sweet pea?”
“Good. Your boyfriend is nice.”
“Uh, he’s not my boyfriend,” Memory said, looking at Kirsten sharply. “But you’re right, Dak is nice.”
“Mommy said....”
“Mommy says lots of things. You shouldn’t believe anything Mommy says about Aunt Memory.”
“Well, I think he should be your boyfriend.”
“I’ll make a note of that.” Memory stood up, not sure if she should say hi to Dak first or have a word with her sister.
Lorelei wasn’t finished. “I told him I was glad he was your boyfriend.”
She stopped in her tracks and pivoted around to look at her niece, who had Ellie’s hand, the giggling from the older of the two obvious despite her attempts to stifle it.
Memory took a deep breath and turned back around, deciding not to say anything more to the girl.
“Hi,” Dak said when she was about five feet from him. “How was work?”
“Good. Busy. How are you?” She suddenly felt awkward—should she hug him? Shake his hand? Stand there with her hands in her pockets looking like she wasn’t sure what to do? She went with the third option.
“Good. I remembered my hat.” He pulled it out of his pocket, and she laughed.
“It works better if you wear it.”
“True, but I still didn’t want to mess up my hair.”
“I don’t think your hair would get messed up if you were standing on the beach alongside one of those reporters covering a hurricane.” Dropping the snowman kit near the bags he had at his feet, she took the stocking hat from him, rolled up the bottom, and put it on his head. “There.”
“Thanks. Now I know which one of us should put the hat on the snowman.”
“That is a critical skill,” Memory noted, stepping past him to make sure the bag sitting next to her sister on the ground was the plushes she’d requested.
“Hey, seester,” Kirsten said, a glint of mischief in her eye. “You ready to go down?”
“Have you been talking smack to my partner?” Memory narrowed her gaze.
“Has she ever,” Maison replied, swinging his arms back and forth like he was ready to get started.
“No, I haven’t!” Kirsten insisted. “Well, not much anyway.” She winked at her sister, and Memory folded her arms. Kirsten didn’t seem to notice. “What are all of these dogs for anyway?”
“You’re just going to have to wait and see,” Memory replied. “I’m not asking you to divulge what you’re building, now, am I?”
“I don’t mind telling you.” Kirsten shrugged. “It’s not like you could duplicate it. We’re doing a national treasure.” She smiled like it was the best idea anyone had ever had. “It’s something that’s never been done before.”
“Are you sure about that?” Bryce asked, joining into the conversation. “I think Glen and Nita Shaw did a Mt. Rushmore snowman a couple of years ago. It didn’t win, but it got an honorable mention.”
“Everyone gets an honorable mention,” Kirsten muttered.
“Hey! You said that was special!” Lorelei stomped her foot in the snow and put her hands on her hips.
“Oh, no, honey. You didn’t get a regular honorable mention. You got a... special honorable mention. A prize honorable mention.” Kirsten bent down and tried to convince her daughter that she hadn’t just divulged too much information, but Lorelei continued to pout.
“Hey, Lorelei, do you know how to make a snow angel?”
Dak had been so quiet, Memory might’ve forgotten he was there if her palms weren’t damp with perspiration beneath her gloves that had nothing to do with the weather. She turned to look at him now, but he was focused on the four-year-old.
“Snow angels!” Lorelei exclaimed, her blonde curls bouncing around. “Those are my favorite!” She handed the popcorn to her grandpa.
“Then, let’s do it!” He offered her his hand and they backed away a few steps. “Now, the secret is, you can’t step on the angel when you get up. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yep!” Lorelei shouted, jumping up and down. The pair of them dropped into the snow, and Memory couldn’t help but giggle as she watched her niece and Dak move their arms and legs back and forth through the fluff. “Come on, Aunt Memory!”
“Yeah, come on Aunt Memory,” Dak said, raising his head to look at her. “Make a snow angel with us.”
“Oh, I don’t know....” Memory had no reason not to except she might look silly.
“It’s fun!” Lorelei shouted, her arms and legs flinging snow up into the air as she worked.
With a deep breath, Memory said, “Okay,” and lay down next to Lorelei, thinking she might look goofy, but it would be fun. She moved her arms and legs back and forth, as they’d both been doing. “Is that good?”
“Faster!” Lorelei insisted, snow still flying around her.
“Yeah, faster!” Dak agreed.
Memory looked up to see the rest of her family watching, huge smiles on their faces, and Ellie seemed to be thoroughly entertained as well. Memory increased her speed a bit, but she couldn’t make the frantic movements Lorelei was using. “How’s that?”
“Great!” Lorelei put her stamp of approval on it. “Now, we gotta get up without stepping on it.”
“Luckily, I used to play Twister all the time in middle school,” Memory muttered, thinking there was no way she’d be able to do that even if she was a gymnast.
Somehow, Dak managed to propel himself up and away from this angel so that he was standing at the base of it. He grinned at Memory, and she raised an eyebrow. “That was impressive.”
“You did it!” Lorelei shouted, clapping. “It’s my turn.”
“Good luck,” Dak said as Lorelei attempted to do what he’d just done.
She couldn’t manage and ended up stepping on part of the angel’s gown. “Awww!”
“Nice job.” Dak stepped in before she could get too upset. “It’s like her gown has a special seal on it only the best angels get.”
“You mean like Ellie?” Lorelei asked. “She’s an angel.”
Ellie laughed. “Oh, Lorelei, you’re so cute! Come and finish your popcorn.” Bryce offered her the bag, and Lorelei came running over. The rest of the family went over to congratulate her on such a lovely angel, and Memory continued to lay in the snow, pondering whether or not she could just get up now without Lorelei noticing if she stepped on her angel.
Dak would notice. He took a few steps closer to her so that he was standing at her feet. “You gonna take a nap?”
“Maybe. I am kinda tired.”
“Even though Ellie opened the shop for you?”
“True.” Memory actually wasn’t tired at all. “I’m pretty sure I can’t do what you did. I wasn’t aware anyone could do that.”
He shrugged. “I do a lot of squats.”
“I guess so.”
“Come on, you can do it.”
Memory inhaled and decided just to get it over with. She did her best to pull herself up without actually stepping on the angel, and she did better than she thought she would, but as she leapt forward, she lost her balance. Dak was there to catch her before they both went tumbling backward. One arm went around her waist, the other on her arm, and Memory grabbed ahold of his shoulder, her other hand landing on his chest. She inhaled woods, holidays, and masculinity all wrapped into one intoxicating scent and had to take a step back, her head swimming slightly from more than just the motion.
“Are you okay?” Dak chuckled, not letting go of her completely. “You almost made it.”
Memory looked back at her snow angel and saw she’d managed to step on it, too. “All of that, and I still couldn’t do it.”
“Oh, well. Maybe you’re better at snowmen.”
“I am.” She looked squarely into his brown eyes—it was a promise. He smiled, and she remembered that her hand was still on his shoulder and took another step back, letting go. He removed his hands as well, putting them in his pockets, and Memory tried to calm her racing heart.