Christmas Catch-Up X by Cindy Caldwell

Author:Cindy Caldwell [Caldwell, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-27T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

SECOND-CHANCE SWEETHEARTS

Corinne and Allen

“I can’t believe I forgot the sweet potatoes,” Corinne said, slapping her forehead with her hand. “It’s the only thing Gillian asked me to bring. And I’ve been worried about it for days.”

Her husband, Allen, leaned back against the kitchen counter and smiled.

“After all that fuss and worry, we didn’t even get the potatoes?” he asked as he eyed his wife.

Corinne spun on heel and crossed her arms over her chest.

“What do you mean all that stress and worry? I haven’t said a word to you about it.” She knew for a fact she hadn’t. She’d wanted to make something special, something that his daughters, Opal and Olivia, would find familiar and she’d flipped the pages of their mother’s cookbook back and forth for over two weeks to find the best recipe. But she hadn’t said a word to Allen.

He cocked an eyebrow in her direction, reached behind him on the counter and pulled out the dog-eared cookbook.

“I’ve been putting this away every night and every morning it’s back on the counter again. I’d thought we were done with this after the chili fiasco,” he said. “The girls love you. I love you. You don’t need to cook like Mary for us to love you.”

She sighed and leaned up against him, her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

“I know. I just wanted our first Christmas together to be special. For all of us.”

He rested his cheek on the top of her head.

“Think about all the things that have happened in the past year. Aaron and Gillian found each other. Opal and Bernard got married. Tamlyn and Bradley are happy and will be home for Christmas. And Olivia and Fred had twins. We’re grandparents.”

She smiled up at him. It had been a pretty eventful year. They’d opened their shop, bought a home and were able to see the twins almost every weekend. A year before, when she’d retired from teaching, she’d never imagined her life could change so much. She’d been single all her life, and now had an instant—and growing—family.

But with that, she’d taken her role very seriously. If she was going to be a grandmother and help ease Opal and Olivia’s loss of their mother, she thought that meant cooking, too. At least she wanted to try.

He cocked his head as he watched her turn this all over in her mind. And just like when they’d first met, he seemed to know what she was thinking.

“You have your heart set on the sweet potatoes?” he asked as he reached for his coat and truck keys.

She nodded slowly and said, “I’ll have some hot chocolate waiting for you when you get back. With marshmallows.”

He laughed as he walked out the door. “I’ll hold you to it.”

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