Page 68 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
The coffee put her in the mood for coffee cake, which the kids would love. And she could scramble up eggs as soon as River got back, since he had plenty.
“What’s for breakfast?” Pixie asked, obviously thinking about the same thing.
“Coffee cake and eggs, I think,” Nora told her.
“John-John and I can’t have coffee,” Pixie said worriedly.
“Oh, goodness,” Nora said. “I should have explained. Coffee cake is just a yummy cake with a sweet topping that’s nice to eat when you’re drinking coffee. There’s no coffee in it. As a matter of fact, I think it will be delicious with a glass of milk. Does that sound good?”
“Very good,” Pixie said, her eyes wide. “Where’s River?”
“He went out early to take care of the horses,” Nora told her. “That will take a while in all this snow. But he left some paper and scissors on the table in case you wanted to make paper snowflakes.”
“That’s nice,” Pixie said.
She turned her attention back to the kittens. Nora noticed that the little gray tabby was snuggled in the crook of Pixie’s arm.
Her heart ached a little at the thought that they were going to have to leave these kittens here when they headed back to the city. But there was no point spoiling a nice morning by reminding Pixie that they couldn’t have pets in the apartment.
Nora got to work gathering all the ingredients for the cake. By the time the oven was pre-heated, the batter was already in the pan, ready to go in.
Pixie had been keeping Nora entertained by narrating everything the kittens were doing—from going to sleep to trying to climb the table legs.
“I want to make snowflakes,” Pixie decided as Nora closed the oven door again.
“Sure,” Nora said. “Perfect timing. I can do it with you.”
She set a timer for the coffee cake and the two of them curled up on the bench and took turns snipping snowflakes.
“Pixie?” a little voice whispered from the staircase. “Aunt Nora?”
“Good morning, John-John,” Nora said, hopping up from the table to go greet him on the stairs. “Did you sleep well?”
“It’s cold,” he said with a little smile. “I felt snuggly.”
“Itisgood snuggling weather,” she agreed. “Come on, let’s get your teeth brushed.”
By the time John-John was cleaned up and ready to start his day, the coffee cake was ready. Nora headed to the oven to get it out, and John-John made a beeline for his sister, curling up on the bench beside her to work on snowflakes.
“Since we’re all awake, we can put the radio on, if we want,” Nora offered.
“Yes,”the kids yelled.
She turned the dial to hear Mariah Carey’s gorgeous voice belting out her most famous Christmas hit, and it brought a smile to her face.
“It’s your favorite, Aunt Nora,” Pixie said excitedly. “You have to sing now.”
Nora liked to think she was good at plenty of things—caring for animals, cooking, even crossword puzzles. But she was no singer.
That had never stopped her from singing along though, especially when the song hit her a certain way.Normally, she wouldn’t sing in front of anybody, but the kids were family, so they had seen it all before.
She turned up the volume and jumped right into the chorus. Her own reedy voice barely hit half the high notes, but she felt she made up for it by really selling thefeelingof the song. She squeezed her eyes up like a rock star as she strained for the notes, and added in a few dramatic dance moves.
Instantly, the kids were howling with laughter, and cheering her on.
Maybe that was why she didn’t hear the back door open.
A frigid breeze swirled through the kitchen, lifting her hair, and when she opened her eyes, she was face-to-face with River, who was frozen in the open doorway, gazing at her in surprise and amusement.
