Page 51 of The Merry Matchmaker

“Right now you’ll have to settle for Grandma and Aunt Jenn,” said Griff.

Corky’s expression didn’t change.

“We’ll have a lovely day together,” his grandmother promised. “And if we get some more snow, you and Grandpa and your daddy can build a snowman.”

“Or have a snowball fight,” put in Grandpa.

The way his son was scowling at him, Griff was sure Corky was envisioning taking him down with a snowball.

“Let’s say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. Aunt Jenn will be here soon,” said Griff. “Why don’t you go watch for her?”

Corky said a subdued goodbye and then dragged himself off to the living room to perch on the couch and watch out the window for his aunt.

“Guess I shouldn’t have said theSword. Sorry, son,” Griff’s dad apologized.

“That’s okay. You’re not the one who started this. It was Jenn. She helped him with thel-e-t-t-e-r,” Griff said, spelling out the word so his son wouldn’t catch on.

“I know. She told me. I’m sure there was some little boy manipulation going on,” said his mother.

Griff frowned. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“It’ll pass,” said his dad. “He’ll get busy with his toys and treats and forget all about this.”

“I hope so,” said Griff.

“Otherwise, you’d better leave town when the Easter bunny comes,” Dad advised.

“Don’t let him make you feel bad. You’re doing a great job,” said Mom. “Meanwhile, you all have fun baking.”

Griff wasn’t going to have fun. He had to go grocery shopping.

As soon as he shut his computer, Corky was back at his side. “Can we see if Santa read my letter?”

What was taking Jenn so long to get there? “We need to eat dinner,” Griff said. “Are you hungry?”

“No. I want to see if Santa read my letter.”

“Let’s eat dinner,” said Griff. “Aunt Jenn will be here any minute.”

Corky’s mouth drooped at the corners.

Griff pretended not to see. He sent his sister a quick text begging her to hurry up and come over, then he pulled out the last box of mac and cheese to pair with the hot dogs they had left in the fridge.

Kaitlyn had never given their son boxed macaroni and cheese mix. She was probably turning in her grave.

Griff shook the box. “Look what I found. Your fave.”

Still no smile.

Griff pretended not to see. He got out the near-empty carton of milk and got busy.

They sat down to eat at the acacia wood table Kaitlyn had splurged on when she and Griff first bought the house. “Seats four. Room to grow more,” she’d said with a grin.

Instead of growing, they’d shrunk to two.

It wasn’t long before Corky was down to his last bite. Griff knew there would be yet another request to look for the permanently deleted letter to Santa. He wished it was summer.

The last forkful went into Corky’s mouth, and Griff cast a hopeful look toward the living room window. Yes, that was his sister’s car pulling up to the curb. Thank God.

---