“Oh, really?” Maria’s brows arched. “He didn’t mention that. What other skills has my son been hiding?”
Janie laughed. “I think he surprised himself, but he enjoyed it. Last week, he decided to attempt another dish and made red beans and rice with cornbread for everyone. I’d never had them to compare to anything, but they were good. By the end of the meal, the pot had been scraped clean.”
“Hmm. Seems my son’s been holding out on me.”
Kate came up behind them. “What’s my brother up to?”
“Cooking.” Maria winked. “Should I ask him to help with tomorrow’s dinner?”
“My brother…making Christmas dinner?” Kate shuddered. “It’s on my list of top three favorite meals of the year. Don’t let him ruin it, please.”
“You’d be surprised.” The need to defend him pressed hard against her heart. “If you’d tasted Thanksgiving dinner, you’d have no doubt.”
Leaning her head to the side, Kate’s features spread in surprise. “You’re serious? My brother can cook?”
“Yes.”
“Cool.” Kate turned to her mom. “What can I help with?”
“You know the drill.” Maria swatted her daughter with a dishtowel. “Scat.”
“Fine, you win this round, but I help with cleaning up the rest of the meals.” Kate waved a hand over her face. “It’s hot in here. I need fresh air. Want to come outside with me, Janie?”
The idea of sitting in frigid temperatures didn’t appeal to her whatsoever right now, but she wouldn’t turn down the offer since she was a guest. “Let me grab my sweatshirt.” It’s all she had to keep warm with. When she’d packed, she hadn’t expecting to even use that.
“A sweatshirt won’t cut it out there today. I meant to tell you earlier I brought an extra coat for you to borrow this week. It’s in the foyer.” Gesturing for Janie to follow, Kate left the kitchen.
Once in the foyer, Kate handed her a belted navy pea coat. “You’re a little smaller than me, so this should fit you perfectly. Actually, you can have it if you’d like. Once I fasten the buttons, the jacket’s too snug on me now.”
“It’s beautiful. Thanks for thinking of me.” Janie slipped her arms through the sleeves. “Evan told me it would be warm. I took his word for it and never bothered checking the weather for myself.”
“We get a few cold days like this in January, but it’s not normal. I’ve been praying for a white Christmas.” She stopped short, then cringed. “That probably sounds a trivial request to pray for after all you’ve been through, but I want this to be a Christmas to remember.”
“Nothing’s too trivial for God.”
“Very true.” Kate’s features relaxed. “There’s a swing out back. It’s my favorite spot here. Is that fine with you?”
“Sure.” Glancing around, she looked for any sign of Evan. She hadn’t seen any of the men since breakfast ended.
“If you’re wondering where the men are, my guess is the shop. Dad has a Model-T that he shows off at every chance. He’s almost done restoring it, so he couldn’t wait for Evan to see it.” Pulling her long blonde hair from under her coat, Kate wrapped a scarf around her neck with the other.
Janie caught herself staring at Kate. She and Evan were definitely brother and sister; however, their appearances were different in almost every way. Both were tall, trim, and had inherited the attractive gene, but Kate had light features—ivory skin, blonde hair, blue eyes. Her face had soft curves whereas Evan’s were more angular. His dark brown, wavy when not cut to military standards, hair stood as a stark contrast to Kate’s. And his eyes were a shadowed charcoal shade, so very different from his sister’s.
“Do I have egg on my face?” Kate scrubbed at her cheeks.
Embarrassed to be caught staring, Janie felt her cheeks warm. “I’m sorry. I was comparing you and your brother.”
“I know, I know, we don’t look anything alike, but we both have an identical birthmark on our backs that our bio mom also had—in the shape of Africa, of all things.”
“My siblings and I all look alike.” Janie walked beside Kate toward the back door. “When I was little, I used to wish for a little difference, like blonde hair. Don’t tell Evan, but in high school I tried dying my hair once. Turned out orange.”
“I know what you mean. My best friend, Sophie, has gorgeous auburn hair with the perfect amount of wave.” Kate laughed. “Funny, I was jealous of that—andnotof her marrying a country star.”
“Bryce Landry, right?”
“Yes.”
Affection surfaced. “If I gave you a note to pass on, could you give it to him? I’ll never forget the prayers he initiated around the country last year for Mike and the others while they were missing. I found out after the fact that it was him who paid for Mike’s funeral. I’d like to thank him.”
