Page 29 of The Blessings of Christmas
A bit disappointed that she still hadn’t noticed anything different, he went to check on the cheese crowns. “Maybe today I won’t burn these. Were there many complaints?”
“Oh, no. Not at all.”
Ryan suspected that she wouldn’t tell him even if people had missed the cheese crowns. “Today we’re doing molasses cookies. You know ––gingerbread men, Santas, Christmas trees and ornaments. That kind of thing.”
“I noticed how you prettied up the place,” Ryan said. She’d even put a bowl of holly on her desk.
“It’s Christmas, doggone it.” Sarah pushed up the sleeves of her red plaid shirt.
He swallowed a laugh. “You sound as if it’s a chore.”
Her lips twisted. “Isn’t it? Sometimes you just have to put your life on remote.”
“Sarah.” But what could he say? He understood where she was this season.
With a sniff, she turned away. “Sorry, I’m feeling grouchy. The boys will have a good Christmas if it kills me.”
“I’ll help in any way I can.”
“You’re very sweet to us, Ryan.” Her light touch on his arm ignited him. Then she turned. Bustling over to the one of oversize mixers, she banged a bowl into place and got to work.
Looking over the recipe, he could still feel the tingle of her touch. “Are you doubling or tripling in this recipe?”
“Tripling.” Her grin was back and his shoulders eased. Her pain was hard to bear when he couldn’t do anything about it.
“We need some music.” She snapped on the radio and Bing Crosby was singing “White Christmas.” “We’ll have a white Christmas all right,” she said.
“I like the snow.” Looking out the back of the high windows, Ryan watched the snow shimmer under the alley light. “It reminds me, well, of stuff.”
“Past Christmases?” A faint smile tilted her lips.
“Yeah. It’s not bad to remember, is it?” He sure hoped not.
She shook her head slowly. “Our past is an important part of us. And we’re making Christmas cookies. What could be better, right?”
“Right.” But it wasn’t going to be easy. Not for him. When the dough was made, the hard part started. The rolling pin Sarah was wielding? That sucker terrified him.
“Let’s get to work.” Grabbing a hunk of dough, Sarah sprinkled flour over the cutting board while Ryan’s stomach knotted. Then she handed him the rolling pin. “Here you go. I’ll frost the cheese crowns while you roll out the dough. Then choose your cookie cutters and have fun.”
Fun? The lump in his throat felt big as that mound of dough.
First he swatted it down. Then he started to roll. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he pressed the rolling pin across the dough. It would probably be bad to perspire on cookie dough. Sarah was humming along to the music but he wasn’t having a “holly jolly Christmas.” Not at all. He’d seen roadwork crews rolling out asphalt. Maybe that was the trick and he laid into it.
Meanwhile, he enjoyed watching Sarah frost the pastries. Her hands were so graceful, scooping up frosting and skimming the tops of the cheese crowns. How the heck did she do that?
“How’s that molasses dough coming, Ryan?” Sarah asked, a twinkle in her eye, like she knew he was having a heck of a time.
He looked down. The dough was flattened so thin, he could see the table.
“Oh, my.” Wiping the frosting from her hands, Sarah edged over, her lips twitching. “Um, I think we need a little more cookie than that, don’t you?”
“I guess.” Releasing the rolling pin, he ran his hands down his apron. They were throbbing from the pressure, not that he’d admit it.
“Let’s give this another go.” Gathering up the dough, Sarah worked some magic with her fingers. Suddenly he faced another mountainous mass. Ryan liked the lemon bars or brownies a lot better, where all you did was pour the batter into the pan.
“Don’t look so disappointed.” Reaching up, she pinched his chin gently between her fingers. “Everyone has to learn.”
She was so close that he could see the pulse throbbing at the base of her throat. Then she dropped her gaze and swallowed. “Guess we should get to work.”
