Page 38 of Christmas Treasures

A slight pause. “Was there a reason you called?”

“Yeah. I was wondering if you still wanted to go with us to get a tree?”

Another pause before she said, “I actually can’t. Something came up. Anyway, you don’t want a Scrooge along to spoil the fun.”

His instinct was to press, but he knew better. Charlie would be less likely to back down if she felt at all cornered. “Okay, fair enough.”

“Thanks for the invite, though.”

“If you change your mind, we’re headed out after breakfast. Will probably be there around ten.”

“Good to know.”

He hung up, still staring out at the snowy scene. Behind him, the soft patter of feet broke the silence.

Bianca.

She had her stuffed cat tucked under one arm, and her hair was sleep-mussed on one side, flat where it had pressed against her pillow. She joined him at the window, pointing outside. “È neve?”Is it snow?

“It is,” Max said. “Fresh as it gets. It came while we were sleeping.”

She leaned closer, hands on the glass. “Tutta la notte?”All night?

“Mm-hmm.” He crouched next to her. “Have you seen snow before?”

She shook her head. “Solo nei film."Only in movies.

“Well, welcome to the real thing.”

For a moment, she didn’t move. Just stared at it as though it might melt if she looked away. Then she whispered, “Posso toccarla?”Can I touch it?

“We’ll have breakfast first, and then we can go out.”

Her eyes lit up. “And angeli?”And angels?

Max chuckled. “Yes, angels.”

Camilla appeared then, wrapped in a robe. “Good morning.”

“She wants to make snow angels,” Max said. “Does she have the right clothes for the snow? Mittens and a warm jacket?”

Camilla shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”

“Not to worry. I can find something in the shop. We keep a stock for tourists. For now, let’s have some breakfast.” Max ruffled Bianca’s hair. “Are you hungry?”

“Dov’è Charlie?” Bianca asked.Where is Charlie?

“She’s at her home. È a casa sua." His Italian was starting to come back to him. Lucia had teased him terribly about his American butchering of pronunciations, but he’d kept trying anyway.

Bianca asked a series of questions about Charlie. Why wasn’t she here? Where was her home? Could they visit her?

Max did the best he could to answer, with Camilla explaining what he couldn’t say. She was at her home, and yes, they could visit her if they were invited.

Max led them into the kitchen. Camilla and Bianca settled in at the table while he made coffee and whipped up some pancake batter. “Pancakes with some Hayes family syrup?”

Camilla conveyed this to Bianca, explaining that Max’s family made the syrup. Bianca nodded enthusiastically.

Soon, the griddle was hot, and Max poured some of thebatter into sizzling oil. A few minutes later, he had a stack of pancakes for each of them. The coffee had finished brewing, and he poured Camilla a cup before adding milk to his own.

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