The next few days remained warm which kept both Jack and I busy, him with hunting and me inside, helping my mother prepare our house for spring. We really did intend to keep our promise to Pippa, even if it was next winter, but as luck would have it, after a few more days of warm weather, another bitter freeze fell over our town. The next morning, there was frost on the grass. I stayed inside for most of the day again, this time playing with my brothers as my father was letting them take a day off. They didn't much like being cooped up inside, but my mother was worried that the changes in the weather would make them both sick so we came up with ways to keep them entertained indoors. It mostly involved me crawling around on the floor with them, playing "horse" or whatever role they wanted me to fill. The way that Jack felt about Pippa, I felt about my brothers. I'd do anything for them, even if it meant letting them ride on my back all day.

When Jack stopped by that evening, I looked a mess, my hair all tangled and my clothes dirty. My mother almost didn't let me answer the door but I was already there, too glad to see him to worry about how I looked. As I opened the door, my brothers tugged on my arms, saying, "Tabitha, Tabitha, you have to play with us more!"

"I will in a second, you two," I laughed, and they went to entertain themselves until my return. Jack just looked at me, chuckling.

"You've had a busy day, I gather?" he said.

Suddenly a bit self-conscious in the presence of that charming half-smile, I tried to smooth out my hair and brush off my skirt. "Someone had to keep the boys company, with mother not letting them out today and all that," I mumbled, letting my hand stay in front of my eyes as I tried to fix my hair, too shy to look at him.

He chuckled again and leaned down to see around my hand, catching my eyes. "It's ok to be a mess," he said with a smile, "especially if it's because you've been playing with your brothers. As the older sister, it's your job to take good care of them." I let my hand drop and he straightened up. "Just like it's my job to take care of Pippa," he said proudly. "Speaking of, if it's still frozen like this tomorrow, want to take Pip skating? She can't wait, she's too excited to wait til next winter." He had that sparkle in his eye. I knew that making Pippa happy excited him even more than just the prospect of skating again. "I know you'll have chores and I'm sure I will too, but there'll be time after. My parents know she really wants to go, so they're more likely to let us out early. And you can bring James and Isaac too, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to get out of the house."

"They definitely will," I said. "My mother might let us go early too, if I tell her it's for Pippa and the boys' sake." I held my hand out the door a bit to see if the air was still frigid. It definitely was and as a chill wind swept in I started to shiver, my teeth chattering slightly. "Only if it stays this cold," I laughed, though it was a serious consideration given that we were trusting the ice on the lake to stay thick.

Jack caught my hand and cupped it between his hands, lifting them to his mouth to warm my fingers with his breath. I blushed a little and smiled and he looked over his hands at me. "Don't worry, Tabitha. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to Pippa, and I won't let anything happen to you either." I trusted those words, his eyes, his smile. I trusted Jack, so I knew everything would be ok. I nodded. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said, still holding my hand.

"Come by when you two are ready to head out. It will be fun."

"Yes, it will." He raised my hand to his mouth again, but instead of warming it, this time he kissed it, his lips cool against my skin. I still didn't understand why he could feel so cold on the outside but never seem to really get cold, but it didn't matter that much because I still enjoyed those kisses and the inner warmth they brought me. "Goodnight, Tabitha."

"Goodnight, Jack."

Sure enough when we woke up the next morning, the ground was covered in a layer of snow. I guess at the time, none of us really realized that it had to be warmer than frozen for snow to fall instead of hail, but it sure felt frozen outside. I hurried through my chores that morning so that I could be ready when Jack and Pippa came over, but there was still so much to do. With the weather being so fickle, my mother was having trouble figuring out what to cook and how much firewood to burn. The knock on our door came about midday.

When I opened the door, Pippa hugged me and shouted, "We're going skating!" Jack leaned in the doorway as I picked her up and spun her around.

"Yes, we are!" I hugged her and then said very seriously, "But, Pippa, I have to ask you for a favor."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well, I know that Jack and I promised to take you skating. Is it ok if James and Isaac come too?"

She scrunched up her nose. "Boys?" She considered it for a moment and then sighed, "Yes, I guess they can come too." I hugged her again and set her down.

Jack ruffled her hair. "We're not ready to go just yet," I said, "The boys still have to stack firewood and I'm helping my mother clean up."

"Want us to wait?" Jack asked, but Pippa was tugging impatiently on his sleeve, trying to pull him in the direction of the lake.

I laughed. "No, no, you two go on ahead. We'll be there in half an hour or so."

"Ok, we'll see you soon," he said, taking my hand in his again, but he didn't kiss it since Pippa was there. For a minute we just looked at each other, each of us with a little smile. He squeezed my hand and then headed off with his little sister running ahead of him.

I didn't know then that I'd soon wish I'd held his hand for longer, looked into his eyes and told him to wait for us. I didn't know that I'd be wishing he had kissed my hand again, or my cheek, or my lips.

The boys and I finished our chores in about a half an hour and grabbed our skates. "Be careful on that ice, Tabitha!" she called after us. "Look after your brothers!"

"I will," I said, holding the door open for them as they rushed out past me.

We headed for the town square, where we would then turn and head off into the woods toward the little lake... but we never made it to the woods.