that twisted my face for a second. I was going to be hurting for the next few days for sure. I barely had a chance to pick her up before Steph, younger than her sister by three years and a lot slower, caught up, her little hands pawing at the edge of my jacket as she whined.
“My little hellions,” Hal said with a smirk as he came around the truck with my bag in one hand. He picked up Steph and tucked her against his side, managing to keep a hold on her tiny body despite her wriggling. “What were you girls thinking, runnin’ out in the snow like this? You should have stayed inside with Phee!”
“But then we couldn’t have said hi to Max,” Marnie said, her voice full of duh undertones.
“You could have said hi to him once he was inside.”
“It’s not the same! And he always meets us in front of his building in New York!”
I did, but only because they wouldn’t make it up to my apartment any other way. I hadn’t realized it had become something of a ritual in the girls’ minds. “Thanks for coming out to say hello,” I said, kissing Marnie on top of her head. Steph made an unhappy sound, so I leaned over and kissed her, too. “I’m freezing out here, though! Let’s go inside, huh?”
“Okay!” Marnie pushed out of my arms and ran back inside, mincing the whole way and groaning about her too-cold toes. I exchanged a look with Hal that encompassed a whole conversation, starting with I would have carried her.
I know, but she apparently wanted to walk through the snow. Kids, huh?
Yeah, seriously. With that, Hal passed me Steph, who stopped struggling as soon as she was in my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and turned her face into the fleecy collar of my jacket, and my heart melted.
Mrs. Jackson, Hal’s longtime neighbor, met us at the door. She was an older woman around Dinah’s age, her hair mostly white, wearing a Christmas tree sweater with actual glowing lights on it. “Sorry about that,” she said to Hal with an eye-roll. “I’d have gotten them into their boots before you showed up if I’d known they were going to try and turn themselves into little snow angels.”
“They’re wily that way,” Hal agreed, setting my bag down in the foyer before pulling the lady into a hug. “Thanks for lookin’ after them. I really appreciate it, Phee.”
“Oh, it’s no problem.” Her sigh was a little melancholy. “It’s the other grandparents’ turn to have Vanessa and her kids for the holidays, you know. I miss the chaos.”
“Come over anytime you want some more of it.”
“I’ll do that.” Mrs. Jackson looked my way, but thankfully she didn’t ask any questions. I’d had enough interrogation for one night. “It’s nice to see you again, Max.” There was nothing but real welcome in her voice, and tension I was barely aware was painfully stiffening my shoulders and neck flowed out of me. I had to stop freaking out inside when I met anyone in town who wasn’t Hal or his family.
“Thank you,” I replied. “It’s nice to see you, too.” It actually was—Mrs. Jackson had always been friendly to me when Hal and I were kids, even though her daughter Vanessa had had the worst crush on me—unrequited, obviously.
“Mm-hmm. You all have a good evening. Bye, girls!” She waved to Marnie and Steph then walked out the door and shut it gently behind her.
Now that I was inside the house, I was relieved to see that the Christmas spirit hadn’t entirely deserted the Bell household. There was a tree in the far corner of the living room, so heavy with ornaments, lights, and tinsel that I was a little surprised the branches could hold it all up. Beneath it were a heap of bright, inexpertly wrapped presents, and paper snowflakes, snowmen, reindeer, and candy canes were stuck all over the walls as high as little hands could reach. “This place looks great.” I gave Steph another squeeze before setting her down on the carpeted floor. She smiled up at me, and it was like I could feel my blood pressure going down, just by being with them. “Did you girls make the paper decorations?”
“Yes!” Marnie shouted from the dining room, where she was wiping her feet off with a dish towel. She had her dad’s thick, curling dark-red hair, spilling out of its ponytail holder in all directions,