Free One Snowy Night Before Christmas by Pamela Fryer

closed. She got up carefully and surveyed her
work. “Does it look like an angel?”
    Amy considered it for a moment. “Um, I guess so.”
    “You try it.” She waited while Amy chose another smooth
patch of snow and created her own angel. Jessie had to admit, it had been years
since she’d actually played in the snow. She’d only trudged through the
outdoors during winter to get from one place to another. She’d almost forgotten
how wonderful a clear winter day could be.
    The crisp cold, the clean air, and the childlike fascination
in Amy’s young eyes made Jessie feel like she was coming home to something, but
she couldn’t remember what.
    Amy scooped up another handful and threw it through the air.
The dry snow dissipated like sugar.
    “That’s not how you make a snowball. You have to pack it,
like this.” She wadded together several handfuls until she had a nice round
ball. She brought her arm back and threw it at the first target she saw—Tom.
    She hit him square in the chest. He stopped, arms opened
like a person might after you’ve just spilled coffee on them, staring at the
snow clinging to his sweater through the open flap of his new jacket. His mouth
hung open in utter shock.
    Jessie stared back, just as stunned. God, what had she done?
Was he angry? She couldn’t tell from his frozen posture. Amy clasped her hands
in front of her chest as though she were praying.
    Jessie grabbed her by the elbows and lifted her. “Take
cover!” The little girl stiffened in her grasp with a squeal of laughter. Jessie
plodded through the snow and dodged behind the snowman just as a snowball
glanced off its head.
    The barrage of snowballs that came made Jessie wonder if it
was just Tom on the other side. He was clearly an expert at snowball warfare.
She and Amy packed balls and hurled them blindly over the snowman, hunkered
down for protection behind the lump of misshapen snow serving as his base.
    A snowball glanced off the side and sprayed over her. Snow
slid under the collar of her coat. Jessie squealed as the icy cold hit her
neck. Amy was bubbling with laughter, packing tiny snowballs that broke apart
almost as soon as she threw them. The little girl’s giggles were contagious,
and Jessie’s snowballs weren’t much better.
    She’d hardly noticed Tom’s snowballs had stopped coming when
he rounded the snowman, shouting out a roar of attack. Jessie screamed as he
tackled her and knocked her backwards into the snow.
    The weight of his body on top of hers sent an unexpected
zing of arousal racing through her. His cheek grazed hers and a pleasing aroma
of soap and day-past cologne brought her already heightened senses alive.
    He rolled past and grabbed Amy, tossing her up and over
himself before they toppled into the snow. She squealed happily, squirming away
to pack another snowball. She tossed it awkwardly and only half of it hit Tom,
but he clutched his chest and fell over into the snow, tongue hanging out.
    Jessie laughed as she watched the exchange. When Amy ran
over and fell against him, arms thrown around his neck, Jessie thought she
might cry. He appeared stunned as well, hesitating a moment before he sat up
and returned Amy’s hug.
    As though she had no idea how she’d just surprised the two
of them, Amy ran off, giggling happily. She darted around the snowman and
looked up at his face. “He needs a nose,” she said, mostly to herself.
    Jessie never would have thought a morning frolicking in the
snow would lift the little girl’s spirits so high.
    Who would have thought it would lift mine, as well?
    Jessie reached out and offered Tom a hand. “That snowman is
an embarrassment to Welcome. What do you say we build a better one?”
    Instead of getting up, he yanked her down. Jessie dropped to
her knees and fell into the snow beside him.
    “One condition.”
    She smiled, afraid to ask it.
    “You let me make dinner for you and Amy tonight.”
    “Wow, he’s a lawyer and he cooks.”
    “Is that a