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“We’re enjoying family time right now. I’ll call her back.”
Matt studied her for a moment. “You’re sure? Because I can easily—”
“I’m sure.” Yes, he’d take over with the children because that was what he always did, but she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to “pass them over.” Their lives were so busy it felt as if she rarely managed to relax and spend time with them, and she wasn’t going to squander this opportunity.
He watched her for another moment and then nodded and turned back to the girls.
“Something smells good.”
“It’s cinnamon,” Poppy said happily.
Brooke sent him a look. “I hope you like a lot of cinnamon in your French toast.”
“The more, the better. It’s Christmas. Time for cinnamon and spice.”
“I’ll give you extra.” Poppy picked up the cinnamon before Brooke could stop her and tipped more onto the bread currently soaking in Elsie’s mixture.
Her sister grabbed it from her. “Stop it! It’s going to be yucky.”
“It won’t be yucky.” Matt scooped Poppy up. “How is my little snowman maker? Are you ready for adventure?”
“Can we do it right now?”
“After breakfast.” He put her down. “How is that cinnamon bread coming along?”
“I think Poppy has ruined this one.” Elsie looked at it gloomily. “She has put so much cinnamon in it’s actually turned brown.”
“I’ll eat that one,” Matt said. “It looks delicious.”
They sat down to breakfast and Mabel joined them.
“Now can we make a snowman?” Poppy could barely stay in her chair, vibrating with excitement.
“You need to be careful where you build it,” Mabel said. “There’s a great deal of snow out there, including on the roof. She pointed to an area closer to the forest. “That would be a good spot. And we can watch you from the library.”
Matt started gathering warm clothing. While the children were occupied getting ready, he pulled Brooke to one side.
“They’re clearing the roads. I heard them earlier.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “You know why your mother was calling this early, don’t you?”
“Yes. It’s Christmas Eve. The sun is shining.” She swallowed hard. “She wants us to travel to her for Christmas.”
For a short time, they’d been isolated in their snowy cocoon, but now they were back to reality.
30
Izzy
Upstairs in the turret bedroom, Izzy was waking up to her own version of reality.
Her brain still fuzzy from lack of sleep, she felt drugged and exhausted after the delicious intimacies of the night before. The pressure of Jason’s leg was pinning her to the bed, the strength of his arm holding her firmly against him. They’d fallen asleep locked together, and from what she could gather from his slow breathing, he was still sleeping soundly.
And that didn’t surprise her. They’d been asleep for a couple of hours at the most and the memory of what had gone before brought a smile to her face.
She could see the sparkly dress in a heap on the floor where he’d removed it and sent a silent apology to Brooke for abandoning it so carelessly. His shirt was tangled around one arm of the chair, impatiently discarded as they’d headed for the bed. They’d been so engrossed in each other they must have forgotten to turn out the lights.
