Snow Days (The Hope Falls Series) Read online

  She spun around so fast Matt thought for a second that the momentum was going to cause her to lose her footing. “You did?”

  “Yeah, I played basketball with them,” he explained.

  “Oh.” Her posture relaxed a little. She opened her mouth, but before she was able to ask him any follow-up questions, the door opened and noisy students began filing in. She closed her mouth and just lifted her hand, giving him a little wave and smiling tightly before hurrying out of the room.

  He watched her go and then looked around the classroom as the kids took their seats. It was odd that, when it was just Amy and him in the room, it felt almost as if they were on a deserted island. He often forgot that they were at a school. Teaching. The rest of the world sort of disappeared when it was just the two of them. It was…nice.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Mama, I don’t want to talk about this.” Amy’s hand tightened around the knife she was using to chop garlic. She lifted her forearm and wiped her brow, which had begun to perspire due to the heat coming from the stovetop. She’d grown up hearing the phrase, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ She’d just never related to it before.

  “Of course you want to talk about it. I’m your mama!” Her mother raised her voice like she always did when she started to get upset or didn’t get her way—or was happy, sad, mad, irritated. Basically any emotion at all caused her mom’s vocal volume knob to turn all the way up.

  Amy closed her eyes and counted to three the same way she did when she was dealing with a frustrating student. Her mom could ask all the questions she wanted. This was her life. She didn’t have to answer to anyone about it.

  “Why can’t you just meet a nice boy here in Hope Falls? You don’t need to go on the computer! Crazy people go on the computer! You’re a pretty girl! You don’t need to meet crazy people! You could get yourself killed!” With every declaration, she spoke louder and louder until she was basically shouting.

  “Mama, please don’t yell. I don’t want Daddy or the boys to know,” Amy pleaded with her mother.

  Her mom scooped up the garlic Amy had just chopped and sprinkled it into the sauce. Her mom’s downward gaze looked sheepish, and she’d grown suspiciously quiet, causing Amy’s gut to tighten. “Mama, did you tell them?”

  “We’re family! Of course I told them,” her mother said, using the same defense she used for everything. “You shouldn’t keep these things from your family, Amalia.”

  Normally Amy liked it when her mom used her full name, but not right now. Right now she wanted to scream that her name was Amy and it was her life. She was allowed to have a private life. She also felt like crossing her arms and stomping her feet defiantly but she managed to refrain.

  “Take those,” her mother instructed as she poured the sauce into a serving dish.

  Taking the basket of bread and bowl of salad out to the large family table, Amy tried to think positively. Normally everyone had a lot to share at family dinners. Not once in her twenty-nine years had the conversation solely been focused on her. Unfortunately, Nikki wasn’t back yet—her ten-day trip had turned into a three-week trip—and she was usually main source of distraction. But Lily, Eric’s fiancée, who was a dancer and choreographer, had returned from touring with Karina a few days ago, so hopefully that would be the main topic of discussion.

  The front door to her parents’ home opened, causing a gush of cold air to blow into the dining room. Amy shivered as she looked up to see Jake taking off his coat and hanging it on the coat rack. “Smells good, Mama. I’m starving.”

  Jake was always starving. Amy didn’t know how he ate the amount of food he did and never gained a pound. While he was growing up, the family had referred to him as ‘the bottomless pit.’ He would sometimes get four heaping helpings of food. It even impressed the dogs how much he could put down.

  “Hello, my favorite sister,” Jake bellowed as he walked into the dining room, his boots thudding on the hardwood floor. Reaching out, he pulled Amy into a bear hug.

  “Nikki’s not here,” Amy explained, her face smashed against his broad shoulder. Jake loved to tweak their youngest sister by referring to Amy as his favorite. And it worked like a charm—even though Nikki knew exactly what Jake was doing, she would still get upset.

  Jake pulled back and grabbed one of the pieces of garlic bread from the basket she’d just set on the table. “I thought she was getting home yesterday,” he said with his mouth filled with bread.

  “She was”—Amy reclosed the linen over the bread basket to keep it warm—“but she got called to work a flight to Japan, I think.”

  Amy had a hard time keeping up with where Nikki was at any given time. She was quite the jetsetter and it suited her. Nikki got bored out of her mind if she stayed in one place too long. When they were kids and went school clothes shopping, Nikki used to get physically ill when it was Amy’s turn. Not fake-ill either. She would start running a fever—out of sheer boredom.

  Not Amy. If she had a book or was even just left alone with her thoughts, she was fine. She could happily entertain herself for hours. Quiet time was always quality time in Amy’s world.

  “Does Mom have Scrappy?” Jake looked down at the ground, searching for Nikki’s yappy dog. Not only were little dogs not his favorite, but Scrappy had also gotten in the habit of peeing on Jake’s leg every time he saw him. Amy thought it was probably some alpha dog thing. Scrappy was trying to show Jake who was in charge.

  “No, I have him. He’s at home with Scooby,” Amy smiled at her brother’s jumpiness. Not very much got to Jake, he was an easy-going-always-looking-to-have-fun-never-get-upset guy, except when it came to one five pound Chihuahua.

  Another burst of wintry wind swept through the dining room as the front door opened once again. Amy pulled her cardigan tight until it shut. Her hands were freezing. She decided to go grab the rest of the food from the kitchen while Eric and Lily took off their coats and got situated.

  “Everyone’s here, Mama.” Amy grabbed the pasta and veggies that were in serving dishes from the island. The hot ceramic felt so good, warming her to the bone.

  “Good, good. Go wake up your papa after you drop off the food,” her mom said, sprinkling herbs into the sauce while she stirred.

  Amy said a quick hello to her brother and his fiancé on her way to the front room. Lily looked stunning, as always. She wore black skinny jeans and a simple teal sweater that complimented her olive-toned skin and dark brown hair perfectly.

  Amy looked down at her own outfit. Amy also wore a pair of jeans and a sweater, but compared to Lily, she felt frumpy. She’d never been able to pull off casual elegance like her sister, most of her friends, and the newest edition, her brother’s fiancé could.

  Maybe she should add a makeover to her project. She’d heard that clothes sometimes helped you feel sexy. She’d already been planning on picking up some pretty bra and panty sets, so she could just use that same shopping trip to get some more form-fitting clothing.

  The smell of Old Spice and coffee wafted through the air as she rounded the corner to the front room. Her dad sat in his brown recliner—that thing was older than her—cup of coffee in one hand, remote in the other, TV blasting, and sound asleep.

  Warmth and love filled Amy’s heart as she looked down at him. He’d always treated her and Nikki like they were princesses. Anything they’d wanted he had done his best to give them. Nikki definitely took his generosity and ran with it, whereas when they were growing up, if Amy knew that money was tight for her parents, she would try and disguise her face if she saw a doll or a bike she wanted because she knew if her dad saw a gleam in her eye he would make sure she got whatever had put the sparkle there in the first place.

  Reaching down, she lifted the half-full coffee cup from her father’s grasp. “Daddy.” Placing her hand on his shoulder, she shook him slightly. “Daddy, dinner time.”

  “Uh, what? Oh,” her father sputtered as he came awake.

  “M
ama told me to come get you for dinner,” Amy explained as she lifted the remote out of his hand and shut off the television.

  “Oh, good. I’m starving.” Her father stood and stretched his hands above his head, yawning loudly.

  “Did you have a good nap?” Amy asked as they made their way to the table.

  “Oh no, darlin’. I was just resting my eyes,” her father stated gruffly.

  Amy pursed her lips together in an attempt not to show her amusement. Her proud Irish father never wanted to admit when he took naps, which lately was practically a daily occurrence. Whenever the subject of napping would come up, he would say, “Only a slacker would take a kip while daylight’s a-burnin’.”

  Amy scooted around her mother as she was greeting Lily and sat in the same chair she’d been sitting in since she was a girl. She always sat on her mother’s right side. Everyone else got seated, and the plates of food were being passed as the conversation naturally flowed to Lily, how it had been on the tour, And also her brother’s surprise proposal.

  Amy breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Nikki was not here, it looked as if Lily had seamlessly stepped into her sister’s place, diverting the attention away from Amy, just like she had hoped.

  The muscles in her neck that she hadn’t even realized had been wound tight relaxed as she passed Jake the sauce. “So what’s up with you meeting random guys online and then hooking up with them?”

  And just like that, the tension was back and tighter than ever. Leave it to Jake to say what she knew everyone was thinking. Normally she admired her brother for having that quality. Today she really wished he didn’t.

  Feeling her cheeks redden as she lifted her head and looked around the now silent table with every eye fixed on her, she stated firmly, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Amy knew her family dropping the subject was a long shot but in the spirit of self-empowerment, she felt like she should speak up and say what she wanted—or, in this case, didn’t want

  “Amy,” her oldest brother said in a warning tone she’d only ever heard him use with Nikki. A twinge of guilt sparked in her gut, thinking he might be upset with her.

  Her eyes moved to his and she confirmed that, yes, he looked mad. “What?” she asked. Was it a stalling tactic? Yes. Did she care? No.

  “You can’t just go out and meet these guys you know nothing about when no one knows where you’re going or who you’re meeting. How would we know if, God forbid, something happened to you?”

  Amy took in a deep breath. Although she wanted to discuss her private life about as much as she wanted to have a root canal, she knew there was no way around it. Her family cared about her, and that is what their worry-slash-nosiness-slash-bossiness was based on.

  “I always make sure someone has all the information on who I’m meeting and where I’m going,” Amy firmly explained. She might be trying to break out of her comfort zone a little bit but she wasn’t stupid and there were crazies out there.

  “Who, Nikki?” His two words clearly communicated that Eric would not be impressed if that was who Amy had entrusted with her safety.

  “No, Amanda,” Amy clarified. Every time she had a date she forwarded all correspondence to Amanda, who had promised to keep it a secret from the rest of their friends, and Amy trusted her.

  “Oh.” Jake broke off a piece of bread. “That must be why Justin was sticking up for you last night, saying you were smart, we should trust you, yadda yadda yadda.”

  Amy’s mouth dropped open. “You talked about my personal life with Justin Barnes?”

  “No.” Jake waved her off dismissively. “He just overheard me telling Eric after basketball last night.”

  “Why would you talk about it at basketball?” Amy’s mind immediately flew back to Matt telling her that he’d met her brothers at basketball. Oh no.

  “Well, it’s the first time I saw him since Mom told me”—Jake motioned to Eric, who was sitting across the table—“and it’s kind of big news.” Jake’s expression clearly read “duh” but he did manage to not say it.

  “All right now. Enough. Are these nice boys you’re meeting or are they manky eejits?” Amy’s father asked.

  Amy didn’t know what to say. They weren’t really either. But if she was pressed to answer honestly, then she would have to say that they were much closer to the “manky eejit” side of the scale.

  “They’re not anything. They’re just guys, Daddy.” Amy hoped that would satisfy her father’s curiosity. He never really liked to hear about Nikki’s love life, and she was crossing her fingers and toes that he would feel the same about hers.

  “Well then, that’s that. Let’s eat,” her father boomed loudly before shoveling food in his face. Her dad was famously known—well, in their house anyway—for not joining in on the conversation once he’d started eating.

  Thank God for small blessings.

  “Do you have any idea the kinds of psychos that are out there?” Eric’s jaw tensed as he leaned forward, clearly not following their dad’s lead.

  “Yes,” Amy answered through clenched teeth.

  Eric’s voice rose few decibels. “Then what the hell are you thinking?”

  “Eric, I…” Amy blinked several times, taken aback by how her brother was speaking to her. He had always stood up for her, protected her. She felt tears starting to form in her eyes as she realized she was hurt that for once he wasn’t on her side. He didn’t really trust her to take care of herself.

  Lily, who, like their mother, had remained quiet during this whole exchange, reached out and touched Eric’s hand. “How have the dates been going?” Clearly, Lily was trying to put a positive light on the whole situation. Little did she know that this was not the way to do it.

  Amy looked around the table at the faces staring back at her. This was her family. They loved her. Amy figured, What the heck? They might as well get a laugh out of the situations she’d been subjected to.

  “Well, do you want to hear about cat-litter-kilt man?”

  --- ~ ---

  “And then mom said I could have a candy bar if I was a big helper and kept sissy quiet for five minutes. So I did, Uncle Matt. Sissy was quiet for five whole minutes,” Trevor said proudly through the phone.

  “Good job.” Matt felt his chest squeeze tight. Damn, he knew he’d missed his nephew, but until he’d heard his little voice, he hadn’t realized how much. “I miss you, buddy.”

  “I miss you too. Don’t you want to know what candy bar I got?” his nephew asked, seeming baffled that Matt hadn’t already inquired about that.

  Matt chuckled. “Let me guess. Umm, Butterfinger.”

  “Yes!” his nephew yelled happily. “How did you know that?”

  “It was just a lucky guess.” More like an educated one. Nine times out of ten, that was his nephew’s go-to choice in candy.

  “Mom wants to talk to you.”

  “I love yo—”

  His sister’s voice came on the line. “He loves you too.”

  “Hey, Sara.” Matt knew his nephew’s attention span was short, but he wished he could have talked to him a few minutes longer.

  “So how are things going? Are you all settled in?”

  “Pretty much.” He sat at his kitchen table and looked around his small rental house. He quickly realized that he hadn’t quite gotten through the amount of unpacking he probably should have. All of his boxes were stacked neatly against the far wall of the living room.

  “You haven’t unpacked anything, have you?”

  Matt knew his sister had meant that as a statement rather than a question but he answered her anyway. “Yes I have.”

  “Let me guess. You unpacked the one box that had your toaster, pan, and coffee maker in it so you could have breakfast and you haven’t touched the rest,” his sister confidently declared.

  Almost, but not quite.

  “No,” he replied honestly.

  “Oh and the box that had the linens and towels in it,” she quickly added.

&n
bsp; “No comment.”

  “That’s what I thought. You know, Shelby’s been saying she needs to go up there and make sure you are okay. I told her to give you some space but maybe it would be a good idea if we both—”

  As much as he missed his sisters, he really didn’t want them coming up here. He was fine. “I’m good, Mom. I promise.”

  “I’m not trying to be your mom, you know. But I am your big sister and I do love you.” Her voice cracked.

  “I was just kidding. I know. I love you too.” Matt made a mental note to stop teasing his sister. She used to just get irritated and it was funny, but in the last few years, it seemed like it really bothered her when he and Shelby called her ‘Mom.’

  His sister changed the subject like she always did when things started getting too emotional. “So how’s Uncle Henry?”

  “He’s doing good. I had lunch with him and—”

  The screeching sound of his baby niece waking up from her nap rang out through the phone. “Charlotte’s up.” His sister sounded tired. “I need to go get her. But call back soon. Please.”

  “I will,” he promised before getting off the phone.

  After setting the phone down, it hit him that if his niece hadn’t woken up he would have told his sister what he and his uncle had talked about at lunch. His uncle’s words had been playing on repeat in his head.

  “There was only one Jess, and so there can only be one person you love in the way you loved her. Relationships are as unique as...oh, I don't know...seashells, snowflakes...some dagnabbed poetic thing. They're as unique as the people who are in them, let's just put it that way. So, no, you'll never love anyone again in the same way you loved your Jess. But that doesn't mean you'll never love anyone again ever.”

  He still wasn’t sure he agreed with him. In fact, he was definitely leaning towards the negative on that. But the words kept popping up in his head. Between that and thinking about his prep period roommate, he hadn’t really had time to think of much else.

  Amy.

  Matt had no idea how to explain what was happening between them. He knew he couldn’t give her what she deserved. But that didn’t stop him from thinking about her, counting the minutes until he saw her every day, and practically wanting to punch something when thinking about the fact that she seemed to be going out with a new guy every week.