Mistakes Were Made(44)

Fifteen minutes went by before Erin protested again. She slipped out of Cassie’s arms and ran the back of her hand over her kiss-swollen lips.

“You’re trouble,” she said.

Cassie gave her best innocent face. Erin leaned toward her, just slightly, before shaking her head and reaching for her coffee. She took a sip and grimaced.

Cassie laughed. “Gone cold?”

Erin pretended she didn’t think it was funny, but Cassie could see a smile as she dumped both their cups down the sink and poured them fresh coffee.

Once Parker was up and she and Cassie were fed, they got ready to go sledding. Cassie ended up in an old pair of Erin’s snow pants and a hat with a ball of fluff on top.

“You look ridiculous,” Erin said, biting at her bottom lip like she was trying to hold back laughter.

“They’re your snow pants, Mom,” Parker said. “So it’s your fault she looks like this.”

“Excuse the both of you,” Cassie said. She pulled a pose. “I look great.”

“Keep telling yourself that, babe,” Parker said.

Cassie jutted one hip out and put her hand on it, pouting her lips. “Maybe winter isn’t so terrible if I get to look this good.”

Erin failed at holding back her laughter, then, and Cassie couldn’t keep a straight face.

Sledding included Caleb and Lila, plus some kids Cassie hadn’t met—Scout and Haylee and Madison.

“Ever get sick of hanging out with a bunch of girls?” Cassie asked Caleb.

“Not really, no,” he said. “And Madison’s genderqueer.”

“Sorry, Madison,” Cassie said.

“I literally couldn’t give a fuck,” Madison said.

Cassie grinned. She really liked Parker’s friends.

It only took two runs for the hill to look insurmountable. Cassie sat on her sled at the bottom for a while, throwing snowballs at the others whenever they were within range. Madison retaliated after she pelted them in the side of the head, and Cassie took a snowball to the chest.

“Wanna stop being a dick and help me build a jump?” Madison asked.

They both climbed halfway up the hill then used their sleds as shovels in the snow. The jump ended up way too high to be safe, but that stopped exactly no one.

Everyone did a drumroll on their sleds before Cassie took the first run. She sped toward the jump and then—

She was flying, hands clutched to the sides of her sled, wind rushing in her ears. It couldn’t have been more than a second or two until she hit the snow again and continued down the hill, but her heart felt like it was still in the air. When her sled came to a stop she rolled off it and made a snow angel, beaming up at the sky. She didn’t even mind the cold.

She trudged up the hill three more times to get that flying feeling again.

They made it back to Parker’s as the sun was setting—granted, only a little past four. In the laundry room they took off their snowy boots, jackets, gloves, everything needing to dry out. Cassie tucked her hands under her armpits to keep them warm.

“Hot chocolate?” Parker suggested.

“If Erin will let us.”

“If I’ll let you what?” Erin asked, coming to lean against the doorframe.

“Have some of your hot chocolate?”

“I’ll even make it for you if you ask nicely,” Erin said.

She turned to head for the kitchen before Parker responded. “Please will you make us some of your hot chocolate, Mom?”

“I’d be delighted to,” Erin said. “What kind?”

“Chocolate supreme,” Parker said.

Cassie smiled, thinking of the chocolate heart as she eased onto one of the stools in the kitchen. “White chocolate, please.”

Erin put milk on the stove and asked about sledding. Parker started in on a dramatic retelling of Caleb taking the jump too quickly, flying off his sled, and getting his head stuck in the snow. She was halfway through the story when Erin opened the white chocolate cocoa box. Parker was too engaged to notice, but Cassie was watching; Cassie saw the smile creep onto Erin’s face. Cassie’s insides felt warm even though she could still feel the chill on her cheeks.

Erin looked at her but glanced quickly away. Cassie bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling too hard.

“Did Caleb hurt himself?” Erin asked, back at the stove stirring the milk. Her cheeks were flushed.

There was no better feeling than making a pretty girl blush.

“No, he’s fine,” Parker said. “Do we have marshmallows?”

“Probably. Why don’t you go look?”

“Because I’m lazy and I don’t want them enough to look for them.”

“Oh my God,” Cassie rolled her eyes and got up. “I’ll look.”

Their pantry was basically a decent-sized walk-in closet. Cassie smiled imagining Adam’s face as he got told off by Erin, here among the cereal boxes and canned goods.

“They’re probably up high,” Parker called from the kitchen.

“I’ll help her,” Erin said, adding, “you worthless daughter of mine,” and making Parker laugh.

Erin didn’t help, though. Instead she came in, barely out of Parker’s view, and kissed Cassie. Cassie almost fell over. Erin caught her by the elbow and grinned into her mouth and Cassie felt too big for her body.