Page 55 of Evergreen Christmas

After chilling the dough for thirty minutes, they rolled it out on a large cookie sheet, placed the patterns on top of the dough and cut out each of the shapes. After that, they baked the gingerbread and removed it from the oven, placing it on the counter to cool.

“That’s all there is to it?” Jordyn asked, sitting on the barstool next to Roxie.

Roxie laughed. “No! That’s the easy part. Now, we have to decide which decorations we’re gonna use to pretty up the house.”

“And then we can put our house together?” Jordyn teased.

“Nope.” Roxie grinned back. “You can’t put your gingerbread house together until the actual contest. You have to do that in the town square in front of the judges.” Her smile faded a bit. “That’s the part I’m scared of.”

“What do you mean?”

Roxie sighed. “I told Daddy and Uncle Tucker that I wanted to be the one to make the gingerbread house this year.” She looked up at Jordyn and lifted her chin. “I’m old enough now. And I make really good gingerbread houses. It’s just that . . . well, I get nervous in front of people.”

Jordyn smiled and smoothed the child’s bangs gently away from her forehead. “I think everyone gets nervous in front of people, sweetheart. But if you just focus on the task in front of you rather than the crowd, you’ll do a wonderful job.”

Roxie looked up at her, uncertainty in her eyes. “Do you think so? You think I can do it?”

Jordyn nodded. “I know you can.”

Roxie stared up at her for a moment, her eyes roving over Jordyn’s face as she remained silent. Then, she took one of Jordyn’s hands between her own and turned it over, drawing a gentle line with her finger from Jordyn’s wrist to the tips of her fingers.

“Your hand’s a lot bigger than mine,” Roxie said quietly.

Jordyn laughed softly. “Well, that’s because I’m a lot older.”

“You’re twenty-five, right?”

Jordyn frowned. “How do you know that?”

Roxie glanced up, her cheeks blushing. “Daddy and Uncle Tucker talked about it when you first moved in next door.”

Interesting.Jordyn hid a smile. So, Nate had discussed her with Tucker? That could be interpreted as a good sign, she supposed.

“Dad said my mom was twenty-four when she . . .” Roxie fell silent, then continued quietly, “When she had me.”

The somber note of grief in Roxie’s voice was unmistakable.

Heart aching, Jordyn eased her elbows onto the counter, then laid her free arm on the counter, palm turned up in invitation.

Roxie accepted, placing her other hand on top of Jordyn’s palm and pressing it against Jordyn’s. “You’re older than she was.”

Jordyn nodded.

“Did you . . .” Roxie glanced at Jordyn beneath her lashes. “Have you ever thought about having a little girl one day?”

Throat tightening painfully, Jordyn met the little girl’s direct gaze. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’ve thought about it before. That’s one of the reasons I moved to Noel. I wanted to make a home for myself. Maybe even a family.”

Roxie lifted her head, biting her lip before she asked, “So you want one? A daughter, I mean?”

Jordyn smiled gently. “Yes. One day. I suppose I’ve always wanted to be a mom at some point in the future.”

Roxie looked back down at their hands, considering this. “What’s it like to have a mom?”

Jordyn curled her thumbs over the little girl’s hands, sweeping them gently across her delicate skin. “I don’t know. I’ve never had one.”

Roxie looked up in surprise. “Really? You’ve never had a mother?”

Jordyn shook her head. “Or a dad. Or a home really.” She smiled. “Until now. Chestnut Ridge is the first place I’ve ever had that’s all my own. And as for your other question about a mother, well, I think the Nanas are really close to what a mother would be like.”

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