“Spending time with the people I love.”
Peter brushed a lock of hair away from her face. “I feel the same way. Katie, I—”
“Oops. Sorry.” Diana backed out of the kitchen. “Aunt Beatrice said you wanted to see me, but it looks as though you’re busy.”
A blush turned Katie’s face as red as her hair. “Don’t be silly. Peter and I were talking about hot chocolate.”
Diana’s eyebrows rose. “You were?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Katie muttered. With a clatter, the lid of the saucepan landed on the counter. “Would you like some?”
“Is that why you wanted to see me?”
Katie frowned. “No. I wanted to tell everyone that Chloe called.” She looked at Peter and her blush lost some of its super-red tone. “Chloe works at the Smithsonian Institute. Her team has been restoring the dresser where we found a letter written by Abraham Lincoln.”
“And doing all kinds of things to the letter to make sure it doesn’t deteriorate,” Diana added. “Chloe’s amazing. She’s trying to find as much information as she can about our great-grandfather for an exhibition the Smithsonian is organizing.”
Penny and Barbara walked into the kitchen.
“You want to see us?” Penny said.
“Chloe called Katie,” Diana said to her sisters.
Barbara picked up a cookie and bit into it. “How is she?”
“She’s good. Her family is having Christmas in Washington, D.C this year, so it’s making it a lot easier for her. But that’s not what I have to tell you. One of her team thinks they’re close to finding our great-grandfather’s grave.”
Barbara coughed. “How on earth would they discover that? We don’t even know where he was living before he died.”
Katie shrugged. “I have no idea, but the bereavement card we found helped. Chloe will email us everything they’ve found after they verify some of the information. She said it could take a few weeks.”
Peter looked at each of Katie’s sisters. Their expressions ranged from excited to totally confused.
Diana frowned. “I don’t think we should tell Mom until we know for sure what they’ve found. It will only get her hopes up.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Penny agreed. “Our great-grandfather was an interesting character. If he faked his death, his grave might not be real, either.”
Katie handed Peter a cup of hot chocolate. “I’ll tell you about our great-grandparents after lunch.”
“Has Peter seen the replica dresser Ethan made?” Penny asked.
“Not yet.” With a steadier hand than he could have managed, Katie poured the hot chocolate into the other mugs. “I’ll show him the journals, too.”
The door swung open and Mabel hurried into the kitchen. “Thank goodness you’re all here. Is everyone ready for lunch?”
Penny wiped cookie crumbs off her shirt. “I’m more than ready. The smell of the food is making my tummy rumble.”
“In that case, let’s serve lunch. Can someone tell Allan he needs to carve the turkey?”
“I’ll do it,” Peter offered.
Katie looked at the organized chaos erupting around her and picked up the tray of drinks. “I’ll go with Peter. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Tell Beatrice to make sure everyone knows we’re eating in ten minutes.”
“I will.” As soon as they were away from the kitchen, Katie smiled. “Everything will get a little crazy from this point forward.”
“Because of the food?”
