THE HOUSE ETHAN COLE BUILT FOR TWO
Chapter 16
The first Christmas in the house was chaotic.
Ethan had no idea how much work Christmas was.
There were decorations.
Lights.
Food.
A tree.
Presents.
Lily had opinions about everything.
The tree had to be “not too big.”
The lights had to be warm.
The star had to sit perfectly.
Ethan failed twice.
Lily fixed it.
On Christmas Eve, snow began falling.
Greyhaven rarely saw much snow.
But that night, the town became white.
Lily pressed her face against the window.
“It’s snowing.”
Ethan stood behind her.
“Looks like it.”
“Can we go outside?”
“It’s cold.”
“Please.”
Ethan sighed.
“Fine.”
They put on coats.
Outside, snow covered the porch.
Lily ran into it.
Ethan followed.
She threw the first snowball.
It hit him in the chest.
He stared at her.
She froze.
“Sorry.”
Ethan bent down.
Made a snowball.
Lily screamed.
Then ran.
He chased her across the yard.
For the next twenty minutes, they laughed until neither could breathe.
Eventually, they sat on the porch.
Lily leaned against him.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“This is the best Christmas.”
Ethan looked at the snow.
“Yeah.”
It was his too.
