Page 46 of Evergreen Christmas

But the last thing he’d ever want to do was to unintentionally hurt Jordyn more than he already had.

“Look.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly. “Why don’t we get started on these cookies? We’ve got six batches to make and decorate in one evening. The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll finish, and the better chance we’ll have at winning the cookie contest tomorrow.”

Jordyn’s grin returned.

“Before we start,” she said, “I need to make absolutely certain that this isn’t a sabotage attempt.” She lifted one eyebrow as she looked at Roxie. “Is your dad planning to teach me the wrong way to bake cookies so I’ll lose the contest tomorrow?”

Roxie giggled. “No way! He wouldn’t do something like that, and even if he tried, I wouldn’t let him. But I can show you myself how to decorate them, and you’ll have the best cookies ever in the contest tomorrow.”

Jordyn tapped Roxie’s chin with one fingertip, affection in her eyes. “Thank you, sweet Roxie. I feel better about my chances already having you on my team—even if it’s just for a few hours.”

The tenderness in her touch and tone stole Nate’s breath as Roxie beamed with joy, basking in her attention. He was caught off guard by the wave of gratitude that washed through him at the sight of them together. Sometimes, he forgot how much his little girl had missed, having never known what it would be like to have a mother.

“You’ll teach Ms. Jordyn the right way, won’t you, Dad?” Roxie was looking at him now, pride in her eyes. “My dad’s the best cookie decorator in Noel. Everyone says it.”

Nate grinned. “I don’t know about all that, but I’ll be happy to teach Ms. Jordyn everything I know about baking and decorating Christmas cookies.”

Three hours later, with all three of them covered in flour, sugar, colorful sprinkles, and specks of icing, Nate sampled the first of Jordyn’s meticulously decorated Christmas cookies.

“Here goes nothing.” Standing opposite Jordyn at the kitchen island, he broke off a piece of a sugar cookie that had been shaped into a reindeer, and popped it in his mouth, moaning with pleasure as the confection melted on his tongue. “Mercy!” he garbled out around the mouthful of cookie. “That’s what I call a Christmas cookie.”

Jordyn, flour dusting her red hair and coating her left cheek, beamed. “Hot dog! I guess the fifth batch is the charm.”

Roxie, sitting on a stool beside Nate, pinched off a piece of the cookie and popped it into her mouth, too. “Mmm. I told you that you could do it, Ms. Jordyn! These taste even better than Dad’s.”

“Whoa there!” Nate held up his hands as Jordyn and Roxie laughed. “That’s taking the praise a bit too far. It’s impossible for the student to beat the teacher on the first day.”

Jordyn propped her elbows on the island, cradled her chin in her hands and flashed a teasing grin. “I can’t help it if you’re a great teacher. And you should be proud. My accomplishment is your accomplishment.”

He chuckled. “And you winning tomorrow is the same as me winning, is that it?”

“Nah.” Jordyn stuck out her tongue. “If I win, you lose, and that’s that.”

“Who’s losing?” Tucker strolled into the kitchen, holding Roxie’s winter coat in one hand. “You two? Because all I see is a couple of co-conspirators. Y’all got the whole house smelling like a sugar cookie. I oughta turn y’all in to Ms. Carol Belle, but I won’t, seeing as how that would toss me out of the running, too.” He walked over to the island, took a piece of Jordyn’s cookie and sampled it as well. “Whoo! That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout!” He glanced at Nate. “She’s got you beat, brother.”

“I highly doubt that,” Nate drawled. “I saved my secret ingredient for my last batch of cookies, and it’s bound to knock the Nanas’ socks off.”

“Well then, I’ll leave you to it. But I’ll go ahead and warn you, Jordyn, that half tomorrow’s contest is about how many cookies you can pack away in ten minutes, and ain’t no way you can beat me at that.” As she laughed, he motioned for Roxie to join him. “Come on, kid. Help me round up the horses for the evening while these two finish up in here, okay?”

Nate looked at Tucker, the mischievous sparkle in his brother’s eyes making him narrow his own. Tucker, it seemed, was all too eager to do some matchmaking.

“What?” Tucker spread his arms in a futile gesture of innocence. “You and Jordyn have been entertaining Roxie for hours, so now it’s my turn.” He grinned at Roxie. “You can’t hog my niece all day. Besides, that will give you and Jordyn a chance to talk while you bake.”

Nate cleared his throat. “That’s considerate of you, but unnecess—”

“No sweat.” Tucker held out Roxie’s coat.

Roxie hopped off her barstool and skipped over to Tucker, holding her arms out so he could slide the coat on. “Thanks for baking cookies with us, Ms. Jordyn. You’ll come over again soon, won’t you? We could bake something else together. Maybe the gingerbread for the gingerbread house contest?”

Jordyn smiled but glanced at Nate, apprehension in her gaze. “I’d love that, Roxie, but that’s up to your dad. He might want to keep y’all’s gingerbread baking secret to get a leg up in the competition.”

“No, he won’t.” Roxie frowned at Nate. “You don’t mind if Ms. Jordyn cooks her gingerbread with us, do you?”

Nate stood between Jordyn and Roxie, the weight of their scrutiny making his hands tremble with nervous tension. “We’ll see.”

“Let’s take care of the horses, Roxie,” Tucker said quickly. “Your dad and Ms. Jordyn have earned some time to themselves.” He looked at Nate and winked. “Drink some coffee, relax, sample a few more cookies. Try having a little fun for a change—it’ll do you good.”

With that, Tucker led Roxie out of the kitchen, leaving a heavy silence in his wake.

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