Page 54 of Evergreen Christmas

Jordyn lowered her head and looked down at her hands. Then she threaded her fingers together and squeezed her palms tightly against each other, buying a few more silent moments to collect her thoughts.

“Thank you for telling me,” she said softly. “And I do understand.” She glanced up and managed to smile. “Truly, I do.”

She just hoped, with all her heart, that he’d change his mind.

“I’m not saying never,” he whispered urgently, searching her expression. “I’m just saying—”

“Ms. Jordyn!”

They sprang apart as Roxie barreled into the room, ran across the kitchen and threw her arms around Jordyn’s waist.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Roxie propped her chin on Jordyn’s middle and looked up, smiling brightly. “We’re gonna have so much fun! I already took the butter out so it’ll be soft for mixing and I have the brown sugar and the molasses and cinnamon and ginger and flour and—”

“Roxie, don’t jump all over Jordyn the moment she arrives,” Nate said, smiling.

Grinning, Jordyn waved away his concern. “Oh, I don’t mind. I’m just as excited as she is, actually.” She looked down at Roxie, cupped the little girl’s face in her hands and lifted her chin. “Go ahead. Tell me all about it, sweet girl.”

Roxie’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I don’t know what you like to put on your gingerbread houses, but I like gumdrops and peppermint on mine. And I got some white icing and some pink icing and some yellow icing and—”

“Every color icing there is,” Nate finished for her, laughing.

“How perfect,” Jordyn said. “You can never have too much icing.”

“Hey, Jordyn.” Tucker strolled into the kitchen, an urgent look on his face.

Jordyn greeted him, then asked, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Tucker motioned toward Nate. “But the gift shop’s packed full. I could really use a hand checking people out.”

Nate hesitated, glancing from Roxie to Jordyn then back again. “But—”

“Go ahead,” Jordyn said. “Roxie and I can handle the ovens on our own.”

“We sure can!” Roxie shouted. “And I’ll show Ms. Jordyn how to make the gingerbread.”

“But you didn’t come over here to babysit,” Nate said. “You shouldn’t have to—”

“I’m nothavingto do anything,” Jordyn said softly. She looked down at Roxie and tugged the little girl’s blond ponytail gently. “Besides, I’m not babysitting. I’m spending time with a new friend and learning how to make gingerbread. How awesome is that?”

Roxie smiled from ear to ear. “Really awesome! And I promise I’m going to help you make the best gingerbread in the world so you’ll win the Gingerbread Architect contest tomorrow.”

“Hold up, there,” Tucker said, his mouth twitching. “Don’t be giving away all our secrets, kid. Ms. Jordyn here has already taken several wins from us already.”

Roxie made a face and planted her hands on her hips. “You’re supposed to share, Uncle Tucker. Ms. Jordyn has just as much right to win the gingerbread contest as we do.”

“Good girl,” Nate said, bending down and kissing Roxie’s forehead. “I’m proud of you for displaying such good sportsmanship. That’s a vital quality in a good competitor.”

Tucker groaned. “Whatever. Just get the lead out and come help me in the gift shop. You have no idea how long that line is. We’ll be lucky if we’re able to close it down by midnight tonight.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” Nate followed Tucker as he exited the room, but he paused on the threshold and glanced back at Jordyn. “You sure this is okay with you?”

“Of course.” Jordyn waved him on. “Go ahead. Take care of business. Roxie and I will have all the fun to ourselves.”

“That’s right, Daddy. You’re gonna miss all the fun, and our gingerbread houses are gonna be the best gingerbread houses in Noel.”

Nate grinned. “With you in charge, I have no doubt about that.”

After Nate left, Jordyn and Roxie gathered all the ingredients and organized them in neat rows on the island. Roxie laid out paper patterns in the shape of rectangles in different sizes for the gingerbread houses they were going to make. Next, they mixed the dough by beating together butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and several other ingredients, humming Christmas tunes over the bang of the mixer.

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