"Winter?" Corbin's voice was soft as a feather.
"Yeah?" She asked, matching his tone.
"I'm sorry." The word was a breath and a plea. Spoken to the stars and to the moon, laced with so much heartache it made the wind weep quietly in the still night.
...
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Winter shifted as the cold air bit at her skin, relentless as it came in through her hoodie. She slumped into herself, ignoring the eyeroll Aaron gave her. “I’m cold.” She felt the need to point out, her tone defensive as she glared at him.
Aaron rolled his eyes again, his arms noticeably bare as he crossed them. “It’s not even cold.”
Maybe not to you. She thought with a huff. It was unfair that the weather didn’t seem to bother him at all. It didn’t matter if it was the middle of a sweltering summer day or the middle of frigid winter day Aaron would always be wearing a short sleeve shirt or that godforsaken leather jacket.
Winter was the opposite. At least with the cold. If it was below sixty degrees she would be wearing a jacket or a hoodie. She wasn’t as bad with the heat but she doubted it would get warmer right now. It was the middle of January and the sun was already starting to set.
She sighed through her nose, trying not to look like some kind of lunatic as she stared downward to try and see if her breath was visible. A little part of her was in denial when she couldn’t see it and to take her mind off it she looked toward her father, who was pressing the doorbell.
Jason Pierce was a bit on the shorter side, with narrow shoulders and a sharp chin. For a man in his forties he was still very handsome with short brown hair shot through with bits of silver. His eyes were a warm brown and he had deep permanent laugh lines beside them, courtesy of the countless smiles he always wore.
It was one of the things Winter admired about him; that he still made the effort to smile even after everything he’d been through-from being widowed and becoming the single dad to both a newborn and a five-year-old to working seven days a week just to keep afloat- it was a wonder he still had the energy for anything.
“I still don’t see why we couldn’t do this tomorrow.” She told him with a frown. It was rare for her dad to be home this early and she’d hoped they could have some daddy-daughter time. But as soon as he walked in the door he was telling her to get ready for dinner at Mason’s house.
When she’d asked about the sudden dinner he’d told her that it wasn’t a sudden dinner at all. Because apparently they’d been planning to have it all week.
At the baffled expression Winter had worn, Jacob faltered. “I didn’t tell you?”
“Noooo,” Winter dragged out slowly. “I don’t think you did.”
“Oh.” With a sheepish look he’d cleared his throat and said, “Mason’s son is back in town.”
Winter’s blood froze. She’d hardly been aware as Jacob began to monologue about how dinner would be a good chance for them to catch up, her mind was too busy spinning. Mason’s son? He was here?
How long had he been in town? She hardly had time to think of the question before her other thoughts became so loud and rampant that the beginning of a headache spiked at her temples.
