Country Romance - Carolyne Aarsen Page 0,63

show you," Wyatt said, getting up from the table.

Half an hour later the kids were all bundled up, the sleds were tied up behind the snow sled and the kids were climbing on.

"Aren't you coming?" Wyatt called out above the noise of the engine as Adele stood aside. "You can ride on the snow machine and watch the kids."

She hesitated, but only for a moment. Plowing through the snow, she made her way to the snow machine and got on behind him. "Let me know if the kids fall off, okay?" he said, grinning at her.

Her toque was pulled low over her head, her hair pulled back and tucked in her jacket. Her cheeks were already pink from the outside air and her eyes shone. He gunned the engine, the motor engaged, and they were off. He took it slow, making sure the kids were okay.

The kids were squealing, laughing their pleasure as the sleds they were on plowed through the snow. Wyatt glanced back from time to time, his gaze flicking from the kids to Adele. She was laughing as much as the kids were.

"This is great," she called out, hanging on to the back bar of the sled. "I've never ridden on a snow machine before."

"Faster, Daddy, faster," Maya called out, her toque askew, her hands wrapped around her sister. Dean was on the other sled, and his grin was wide with pleasure.

"Should I go faster, Dean?" he called out, wanting to make sure the little boy was okay.

Dean nodded, holding his thumb up.

So Wyatt pressed on the throttle and they went faster. He made a wide turn in the field, and then he heard a scream.

"The girls just fell off the sled," Adele cried, grabbing his arm. She sounded frightened, but when Wyatt looked back, he saw the girls lying in the snow, kicking their feet.

"We'll loop round to pick them up." He knew they were okay. They couldn't hurt themselves falling into this much snow.

When they got to them, the girls were struggling to get to their feet, laughing. Wyatt jumped off the snow machine and waded through the snow to help them onto the sled. Adele was right behind him, still concerned.

"You girls okay?" she asked, pulling Maria to her feet.

"That was fun," Maria said, snow crusting her face and toque. "Do it again."

"Should we keep going?" Wyatt asked, brushing the snow off Maya.

"Yes. Go again," she called out. "Adele, you come with us."

"No. That's okay," Adele said.

"You chicken?" Wyatt teased.

"Of course not. Someone needs to ride shotgun." She gave him a playful shove.

He took a step back and lost his balance, falling backward into the snow.

"I'm sorry," she said, hands on her mouth, looking shocked. "I was just teasing."

"Yeah. Sure," he returned, tugging on his gloves as she held her hand out to help him up. He took her hand and instead of pulling himself to his feet, he pulled her down into the snow. "Sorry," he said, grinning. "Just teasing."

"Whoa, no fair," she called out. But she was laughing as she struggled to get to her feet. Now it was his turn to help her out, and she returned the favor, pulling him down too.

The kids joined in, piling on, screaming their joy.

Snow slithered down Wyatt's neck as he play wrestled with the kids in the deep snow. Dean joined in and then, so did Adele.

It was a tangle of arms and legs and laughter all around.

One moment Adele landed on top of Wyatt, their faces inches from each other, emotions sparking between them so intense he was surprised the snow on their faces didn't melt. He had to resist the urge to kiss her, and from the way her eyes held his, he guessed she felt the same. Instead he brushed the snow off her, his hands gentle.

"Get up, get up," Maria called out, pulling on their arms. "Go sledding."

"Duty calls," Wyatt said, struggling to his feet and helping Adele up as well. He gave her a quick, one-armed hug. She leaned into him for a moment and then they got the kids back on the sleds.

A few moments later they were on their way. Adele sat backwards to watch the kids, but she leaned against his back, her hand behind her, resting on his leg.

This was right. This was good.

And as they made another loop around the field, he felt like things had shifted to a place of no return.

Chapter Thirteen

"The kids are hopefully down for the night," Wyatt announced as