Love on the Lifts by Rachel Hawthorne

said.
    Sam looked over at her, and I thought she was actually blushing.
    â€œWe could put all the ingredients in the crock pot before we leave in the morning, and they’dsimmer all day. If you like stew,” she said.
    â€œYeah, I like stew,” he said.
    â€œSince when?” I asked.
    He glared at me. “It’s got meat and potatoes in it, doesn’t it?”
    â€œAnd vegetables.”
    â€œI can pick them out.”
    â€œWe don’t have to put vegetables in there,” Allie said.
    â€œYeah, we do,” I said. “Otherwise, it’ll be boring.”
    â€œMaybe we should take a vote,” she said.
    â€œI don’t think we want our menus determined by a committee.”
    â€œKate’s right,” Leah said. “There’s always going to be something that someone doesn’t like.”
    Allie shrugged. “I just wanted to be fair.”
    â€œWhatever y’all cook will be fine,” Sam said, looking at Allie again.
    Whoa! Was this my brother talking?
    He looked over at me. “Except for hot dogs.”
    â€œWhatever. Like I said, we were short on time.”
    â€œJust make sure you fix a lot of whatever itis, because we’ll be hungry after skiing all day.”
    â€œWe’ll take care of it, Sam.”
    â€œSpeaking of taking care of things, your aunt sure is taking good care of us,” Leah said. “The pantry, the freezer, they’re full of food. I don’t think we’ll have to do much shopping while we’re here.”
    â€œShe likes taking care of us,” I told her.
    â€œShe’s always been like that,” Sam confirmed. “I think because the first time Mom and Dad left us here, Kate cried the entire time.”
    â€œI didn’t cry the entire time,” I said. “Besides, I was six.”
    â€œRemember the year we sneaked down to the store after she’d gone to sleep and ate all the marshmallows?”
    Nodding, I laughed. “I was what? Eight?”
    â€œYeah. I’ve never been so sick in my life.”
    â€œI couldn’t stand the sight of a marshmallow for the longest time,” I admitted.
    â€œGood times,” Sam said. “We’ve had lots of good times here. And more to come, starting tonight.”
    I shoved back my chair, stood, and grinned at him. “Not until after you clean up.”
    Â 
    â€œWhat do you think?” I asked. “Is this too much?”
    Allie, Leah, and I were all in my bedroom getting ready for the party. We’d decided that was the best way to do it. We’d hog one bathroom and let the guys get ready downstairs.
    Leah smiled. “You look great!”
    I was wearing a green cowl-necked sweater. The sleeves hugged my arms and went down to my knuckles. I loved the way they covered my hands, leaving only my fingers visible. The sweater itself wasn’t too bulky, so my figure wasn’t hidden away. I was wearing jeans. It was absolutely too cold to wear a skirt. There wasn’t a lot of parking in the heart of the village, so it was impossible to know how far we might have to walk.
    Leah and Allie agreed with my assessment of wearing a skirt. They were in jeans, too. And sweaters. Leah wore a red turtleneck sweater, and Allie wore a pink one with fluffy white fur at the collar. Leah with her short, dark hair looked mysterious; Allie with her blonde hair draped around her shoulders looked delicate.
    I was somewhere in the middle, not too mysterious, not too delicate. The three of us could be a bedtime story.
    I’d applied a hot iron to my hair to try to straighten out some of the natural curl. And I’d used some light green shadow to highlight my eyes.
    â€œI don’t look like I’m trolling for guys, do I?” I asked, a little unsure about the makeup, worried that it was a bit too much.
    â€œYou mean like Cynthia next door?”
    I grimaced. “Yeah.”
    â€œYou gotta fight fire with