Page 56 of Twins for the Silver Foxes

“The first time he made these, I accused him of robbing a bakery.” I smiled at the memory. “He showed up with them before dawn, all proud and excited as he handed them out in our dorm rooms.”

“I thought his mom sent them to us.” Scott cracked eggs and whisked them into a pale yellow froth. “Then he showed up a week later with more.”

“He made them twice a week during December.” Hannah scooted the sugar toward Scott. “Dump that in and keep whisking.”

“I thought he was decorating.” I took the bowl from Scott and pushed him back toward the island. “Let everyone else have some fun, too.”

“Arthur, do you have any cookie cutters?” Hannah stayed behind the counter, but the obvious way she tried to include him prodded Arthur into joining us.

He kicked off his shoes. “I’ll get them.”

Hannah dumped nutmeg and cinnamon into the hot chocolate. The blend of fragrances warmed the air and took me back years to a nostalgic place. “Henry always smelled like Christmas.”

“He stuck holly and pine in his pockets.” Hannah grinned when my jaw dropped. “He said it made kids think he knew Santa. He loved telling them he was an elf in disguise and that he’d personally talk to Santa for them.” She lifted her head and sniffled. “He loved Christmas. Every year, on Christmas Eve, he’d bake a big batch of cookies and we’d take a bite out of two each, then leave the rest in front of the fireplace.”

“We’re doing it again this year.” Liddy squirmed in her seat. “We have to feed the reindeer. They like Pop Henry’s molasses cookies the best.”

“That’s right. We’ll make plenty of molasses cookies for the reindeer.”

Hannah poured cups of hot chocolate for everyone and instructed me on adding flour to the dough. Henry clearly instilled a love of Christmas in Hannah, and she’d passed that down to her daughter. They laughed and joked together, talkingabout past Christmases when the reindeer had eaten all the cookies and left crumbs all over the house. Hannah locked eyes with me over the rim of her mug and winked.

I grinned in response and dumped the dough out onto the clean counter. “Let me guess the next step.” I put my thumbs against my temples and wiggled my fingers in the air so they resembled antlers. “We make tiny little balls of dough and flatten them out like pancakes.”

“No, silly!” Liddy laughed so hard she snorted and almost dropped her hot chocolate. Still giggling, she handed Hannah her mug and leaned across the counter. “You make frisbees.”

“Is that right?” I wiggled my fingers again. “I think we should turn them into snowmen and throw them at each other.”

“No.” Hannah held up both hands in a protective gesture. “Please, no more food fights. Deena will whip all of us.”

“Nah.” I pinched off a piece of dough and pretended to eat it. “She’s used to our messes. Besides, Arthur will clean it up. Or Scott. That pouty lip is already dragging the floor. He might as well make it useful.”

Arthur set a basket of cookie cutters on the counter and returned to his seat. “I’m here to eat cookies, not clean them off the floor.”

“Great.” Hannah took the dough and portioned it out into three sections. “Now make those into disks, wrap them in clear plastic wrap, and let them chill in the refrigerator for two hours.”

“How long before we’ll have cookies?” Scott asked.

“Tonight.” Hannah placed her hands on his cheeks and squished his face. “Don’t worry. You’ll be okay until then. We’ll go back out and play in the snow to pass the time.”

“More snowmen?” Liddy’s cup banged on the counter. Chocolate ringed her mouth. She licked it away, then swiped the back of her hand over her chin. “And angels?”

We were in for a full day of snow activities. I followed Hannah’s instructions to the letter while they told stories about Henry. His memory lived on in his daughter, and I’d never been more relieved to have her in our lives.

30

SCOTT

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” I held onto my temper by the slimmest margin. My anger wasn’t pointed at Hannah, but at the fact that she was allowing Chad to see Liddy.

She buttoned up her coat and fixed Liddy’s hair when one of the bows started to slip. “I’m sure.”

“Where are we going?” Liddy scrubbed her hand over her nose. “More snowmen?”

“No more snowmen right now.” Hannah checked the buttons on Liddy’s coat. “We’re going to see a friend.”

So that’s the line she was going with. Fine by me, though I’d prefer the guy never had access to Liddy or Hannah again. I’d seen what could happen when a sour parent turned a kid against the other one. I had nothing to go on except what I’d dug up on the internet about Chad. It was kind of difficult to hide when you were rich as hell. Chad was the quintessential poster boy for a trust fund kid. He’d gone to the best schools, blown through his money like it didn’t matter—because to him it didn’t–and ran back home when funds got low.

His parents seemed decent enough on paper. Still. I had to hate him on principle alone. He’d walked away from Hannah. It worked out for us though, because otherwise she might still be with the bastard, and I’d have missed out on the love of my life.

---