After dessert, Reece stuck a third cookie in his mouth and shrugged on his coat.

“Where are you going?” Ms. Danner asked.

“Snow softball,” he said through the cookie.

“It’s a tradition,” Huck said.

A tradition Raven wanted to be a part of. She grabbed her coat and boots. Reece turned on a floodlight that lit up the falling snow and backyard.

Softball quickly devolved into a snowball fight. First it was a free-for-all, then Jackie and Raven versus Huck and Reece. Next came the snow rubbing. In the hair, in the face. It hurt, but Raven didn’t care. She was having the best time. Reece started shoving snow inside everyone’s coats, so Raven, Jackie, and Huck ganged up and pulled him down into the snow. “Puppy pile!” Raven yelled, and they all flopped on top of him. That had been one of her favorite games with the boys when she was young.

While they were on the ground, Raven pushed a snowball down Jackie’s back.

“You’re going to pay for that!” he said.

She ran across the yard laughing. He tackled her, and she screamed at the shocking cold when he retaliated. She rolled over and tried to rub snow in his face, but he pinned her arms. They were breathing hard, their faces close. The warm, wet smell of him was intoxicating.

“Are we doing puppy pile, Jackie?” Reece called.

“No,” Jackie called back.

Reece and Huck broke into laughter.

“If you need any tips, we’ll be inside,” Reece called.

They went in the house, tittering. The floodlight turned off.

The sudden darkness was startling. But the touch of Jackie’s lips on hers wasn’t. She knew they were going to kiss.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“If it wasn’t, you’d know,” she said.

“I’d have a fat lip.”

“Worse.”

He still had her arms pinned.

“I want to try this.” She rolled on top of him, pinned his arms, and kissed him.

“Which did you like better?” he asked.

“This.”

“I think I do, too. But I need more to be sure.”

She obliged.

“I’m sorry I said you were mean,” she said.

“I knew you were only frustrated.”

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s weird how easy this is,” he said.

“I know. But maybe not that weird.”

He held her out in his arms and looked at her. The lights in the house projected enough glow that she could see his shadowed features and a little shine in his eyes. He was smiling.

“You aren’t surprised at all?” he asked.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since I was seven, I think.”

“I think I have, too.”

She kissed him again. He was right. Being with him was so easy. As easy as breaching the fence magic had been.

He pulled off his gloves and combed snow out of her hair with his fingers. “I finally get to touch your hair.”

“You like my hair?”

“I love your hair. It’s always reminded me of shiny black raven feathers—because of your name, obviously.”

Chris had seen through to her raven side, too. Maybe the closeness of spirit made it happen. But she hadn’t felt a hundredth the soul bond to Chris as she did with Jackie.

“Want to go inside?” he asked.

“I could stay out here all night.”

He smiled, stroking his hands on her hair. “I bet you could. That’s how I always see you: out here. Even at school. You’re like a piece of the forest that comes inside for a little while.”

“I feel like that at school a lot of the time.” She kissed his lips lightly. “I went there for you, you know. And for Reece and Huck.”

“I know. We all knew. You paid too heavy a price. That’s why we’ve been so pissed off about it all these years. And really guilty.”

“Why guilty?”

“Huck said it best. He said we lured you to school, and it was like a trap. The door closed, and we could only see you there, like visiting you in a cage. You lost all your freedom because of us.”

“Let’s not talk about that. I’m here now.”

“Does she know?”

“No. She’s asleep.”

“When are you going back?”

“I don’t want to talk about that either. I want you to kiss me.”

He touched his lips to hers and said, “I will. As much as I can until you go.”

They stayed outside for only a few more minutes. They were soaked and getting cold. As they entered the back door, Jackie said, “Reece’s jokes about this will be endless.”

“I don’t care.”

“Neither do I.”

Ms. Danner came to the door as they slid off their boots and coats. “I figured you’d be as wet as Huck and Reece were. I put dry clothes in the half bath for you, Raven.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry we’re creating so much laundry. I could put a load in the washer for you.”

“That’s sweet of you, but you go have fun. When do you have to be home?”

“No set time.”

Ms. Danner frowned. “Does your mother know you’re here?”