Chapter Forty-three

Me: Just stop by my house and we'll drive down together. Mom, Dad and Ash have already taken off.

Shorty: k, sounds good.

I was relieved Shorty decided to spend the weekend at the cabin with us a week before Christmas. I agreed to meet Tia halfway since Tia was going to spend Christmas with Shorty.

When I asked my parents if Shorty could stay with us, they were more than excited. Mom was also nervous, hoping Shorty didn't hate her. I tried to reassure her that wasn't the case; in fact, Shorty doesn't hold any resentment toward Mom ever since she forgave her own mother. Shorty and her mom have begun to rebuild their relationship.

Since Shorty has been home from the hospital, we try to spend time together as much as possible, which includes spending time with my goddaughter. Josiah assures me that Frankie hasn't been lurking around. It still puts me on edge knowing he's out there and Shorty is not in my bed with me where I can keep her safe.

The sound of a car door startles me as I zip up my suitcase. Running down the stairs two at a time, the doorbell rings. When I open the door,

Shorty stands in front of me wearing my early Christmas present. I bought her a white designer puffer coat with red lining, a red hat, scarf, and gloves set. She looks fucking adorable all bundled up with a red nose. It started to snow again last week so I wanted to make sure Shorty had appropriate winter gear instead of always wearing a hoodie. We accumulated twelve inches of snow. I know how much Shorty loves the snow.

"Shorty, what are you doing?"

"What?" She pays no attention to me as we finish adding the last touch to Mr. Frosty.

"What's with the blue marbles? Snowmen are supposed to have black eyes, not blue."

"Says who? They remind me of your eyes." She turns and smiles big, showing off her white teeth.

"Your nose is red like Rudolph." I tap her nose with my gloved finger. And then I tickle her. She convulses in laugher as we fall down, landing on the soft snow.

We lay on our backs with our hands resting on our stomachs. She turns her head to face me and smiles. "Let's make snow angels, Doni," she says between breaths.

"Ok. Let's see how long we can last as we move our legs and arms without getting tired."

"Do we win anything?" I watch her breath escape into the rigid cold air.

"Yeah. If you win, I'll give you my baseball jersey." She loves my jersey.

"And if you win?" She moves her arms up and down and her legs from side to side in a steady pace.

Smart. She won't tire easily.

"If I win, you owe me a snow kiss."

"What's a snow kiss?" She gives me a confused look.

"This!" I lean over her and dump snow on her lips, smacking a kiss on her mouth.

"Doni! That's cold!" She laughs hysterically, wiping the snow off her face.

"Hey. You, ok?" Shorty cuts through my memory.

"Hey. Yeah. You ready to go?" I walk her out and lock the door.

"Yep." I carry our suitcases and put them in my trunk.

Once we put our seatbelts on and crank up the heat, we take off to the cabin.