Lib Novel Page 69
But tonight somehow, in the soft glow of the moonlight sparkling on the trees, she felt her heart fill with so much hope that it couldn’t help but open.
26
CORA
Cora awoke the next morning with soft sunlight already bathing the foot of the bed. As she stretched, she realized she felt incredibly happy.
The events of last night came back to her and she smiled and stretched all over again, wondering how she had woken to find herself in this alternate reality where she was feeling perfectly rested without a mountain of papers to grade, and sleeping until the sun was already up on Christmas morning with a house full of guests.
Sylvester wasn’t beside her, but that was hardly a surprise. Ginny must have gotten up with him. She was an early riser too.
As she quickly showered and dressed, Cora wondered when Jared would wake. On the one hand, he wasn’t a parent or a schoolteacher. On the other, he worked a farm, so he probably got up earlier than any of them on a regular basis.
Sure enough, as she padded down the hallway she found that both Sylvester’s door and the guest room door were open. And she could just hear the television downstairs. The scent of something delicious wafted up to greet her.
“Oh wow,” she murmured to herself, picturing Jared and Sylvester watching television while Ginny cooked them all up some breakfast.
But when she arrived at the bottom of the stairs it was Ginny curled up on the sofa, sipping a mug of coffee and watching It’s a Wonderful Life.
“I can’t speak to the state of your kitchen right now,” Ginny said with a smile. “But I was told in no uncertain terms to come out here and relax.”
“It smells good,” Cora said.
“It sure does,” Ginny said. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Cora told her. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” Ginny told her. “Thank you for inviting me, and for letting me stay the night.”
Cora leaned down to kiss her mother-in-law on the forehead before she headed for the kitchen. As she straightened, she took in the incredible sight out the front window.
The storm had ended, leaving behind a glaze of crystal over the entire landscape. Trees glistened in the morning sunlight, each branch encased in a glassy sheen. Even the grass and the cars were adorned with a diamond-bright shell of ice.
“It’s like living in a fairytale, isn’t it?” Ginny asked from the sofa. “I can hardly believe it’s real.”
“What a Christmas,” Cora said, shaking her head.
It was beautiful, but it also meant that it would be awfully hard for Jared to get them to Timber Run. Would he be upset not to celebrate Christmas with his family?
She could hear the radio playing Elvis’s “Blue Christmas” and the clink of plates and silverware when she reached the dining room. When she stepped into the kitchen, she had to smile.
Jared stood at the stove in his tee shirt with her Christmas apron on top, a spatula in his hand and a satisfied smile on his face.
Sylvester stood right beside him on a step stool, wearing Jared’s flannel from last night like an apron of his own. The sleeves were rolled all the way up, and the flannel was covered in a thick coat of flour.
“Merry Christmas,” Sylvester cried out happily as soon as he saw her, clambering off his stool.
“Don’t hug her until I get that shirt off you,” Jared laughed.
“Was it snowing in here?” Cora teased, looking at the floury shirt.
Sylvester melted into giggles. He was happy, so happy. It did her heart good to see him like this.
She found herself saying yet another prayer of thanksgiving in her heart that he had been completely okay after his misadventure in the creek.
“Look at all the pancakes we made,” Sylvester told her, scrambling back up onto the stool and proudly pointing to a large platter on the counter.
“Wow,” she said, admiring a stack of pancakes that was more like a tower.