Searching for Mine(23)
His paper began to take shape at a slow, grueling pace. Sometimes, he’d bitch about the convoluted style of feminine whining from her assignments, but now she just laughed and challenged him by offering up various facts and shared stories about their lives that were so vivid, he found himself reluctantly intrigued.
Connor wasn’t sure when it happened, but he knew somehow, some way, they’d become friends.
He refused to analyze the reason or try to dig deeper. He was too afraid if their odd relationship was examined too closely, it would disintegrate under a strong wind and disappear forever.
He usually worked on Saturdays, but he found himself with an afternoon free and no motivation to take on an odd job or do homework. The snow had melted just enough to clear the roadways, and the upcoming March week promised sun and a good thaw. On impulse, he walked next door and rang the bell.
Luke answered, his face lighting up when he saw him. “Hi, Connor. Come on in.”
He stepped inside and Ella came around the corner. Her hair was twisted up in a messy knot, and she held a broom in one hand, with a dirty rag in the other. She gave him an evil smile and crooked her finger at him.
“Ah, he’s stepped into our lair, Luke. You know what that means, right?”
“It’s a fate worse than the plank. Worse than the guillotine.”
Connor glanced between them, grinning at their silliness. “You guys are seriously scaring me.”
“Any brave soul who ventures forth in the Blake household has to clean!” Ella declared.
“I’m outta here.”
Luke laughed and blocked the door. Ella held the mop out like the Wicked Witch about to cast a spell on him. “Too late, Dunkle. You get the bathroom.”
“Forget it. I came to see if you guys wanted to go snow tubing, but since cleaning seems more fun, I’ll go check with someone else.”
“Snow tubing!” Luke jumped up and down. “Mom! Can we go?”
Ella wrinkled her nose. “But we didn’t finish cleaning.”
“Mom! Please, oh, please. I swear I’ll finish later when we get home. Some of the guys at school were talking about it, oh, please.”
Connor crossed his arms in front of his chest. “That’s some mighty fine begging, Mom. But I don’t want to break up you and Mr. Clean.”
Ella made a face. “Cute. What do you need? Snow pants and boots?”
“Yep, that’s it. We rent the tubes there. Up for it?”
“Mom?”
The whine was perfectly pitched and coincided with puppy dog eyes. Ella let out a breath. “How can I say no when I’m outvoted? Let’s go.”
Luke gave a whoop and raced up the stairs. “I’m gonna change!”
Ella looked down at her mop in mourning. “I guess no one ever died from dust bunnies, right?”
“If so, I would have suffered a horrible death years ago.”
She punched his shoulder in a playful motion and touched her hair. “Ugh. Give me a few minutes to freshen up.”
“Sure.”
She came down in record-breaking speed, gliding down the stairs in black snow pants, a baggy sweatshirt, and snow boots. He was used to women who spent hours creating a palette on their face and a runway look for their wardrobe. Ella was comfortable in her own skin, didn’t care what she wore, and owned both with a confidence that had originally puzzled him, but now he admired. Still, he much preferred her pale pink natural lips than the orange she sported. He wondered if he could steal it from her purse and help her lose it permanently.
They drove to the snow tubing park and hit sheer chaos. Kids swarmed the hills with giant black tubes, and a contraption that worked like a ski lift pulled them to the top of the hill. Screams and laughter cut through the air. The mountains shimmered in the distance, jagged white rock framing blinding blue sky. The air rushed deep and clean in his lungs as they trudged to the cabin to register and get tubes and got in line to wait.
“Mom, you’re not going with us?”
She shook her head. Cheeks flushed from the cold, she laughed and slid her glasses back up her nose. “I’ll pass on this one, guys. You two causing a spectacle is enough for me.”
“A spectacle, huh?” he said. “Never pegged you for a snob, Ms. Blake, but I may need to rearrange my original opinion. When was the last time you did something completely undignified?”
She rolled her eyes at his deliberate language. Luke chuckled.
“Yeah, Mom, you should go. It’d be a riot to hear you screaming as you slide down the hill.”
Her brows snapped down in a frown. “Are you both baiting me? I would not scream.”
“Care to make a bet on that?” Connor drawled.