Page 57 of Evergreen Christmas
When the line in the gift shop had finally shortened and Tucker had things well in hand again, Nate had returned to the main house, expecting to find Jordyn polite, but possibly weary of entertaining his daughter for several hours alone.
Instead, when he’d entered the kitchen, Jordyn and Roxie had been huddled at the island in the center of the kitchen, sipping hot chocolate from Christmas mugs, sorting through gumdrops, peppermints, sprinkles, and other edible decorations and arranging them into piles, giggling and whispering all the while.
They’d been so engrossed in the activity that neither of them had looked up when he’d arrived, and he’d stood on the threshold and leaned against the doorjamb, smiling softly as he watched them enjoy each other’s company.
There was something about it—the sight of Jordyn sitting with his daughter, sharing soft whispers and giggles, sipping hot cocoa and anticipating the excitement of the next day’s Christmas contest. He had on many occasions over the years tried to imagine what life would’ve been like had Macy survived Roxie’s birth. How Macy and Roxie would’ve looked together, smiling and talking, much as Roxie and Jordyn were now.
The image in his mind had been surprisingly like the one before him, full of patient kindness and shared delight. But the sight of Jordyn, sitting with Roxie in his kitchen, in his home, felt different somehow.
For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine what it might feel like to have Jordyn in his home on a daily basis. To be standing here, in the doorway of his kitchen, watching Jordyn and Roxie enjoy baking gingerbread together and delighting in each other’s company, sharing a joyful moment as a mother and daughter would.
A desperate longing took hold of him then, and he found it difficult to let go of the moment, wincing slightly as Roxie glanced up and finally noticed him.
“The gingerbread Ms. Jordyn and I baked turned out perfect,” Roxie said now, squeezing his hands and coaxing his attention back to the present. “It’s not the gingerbread I’m worried about, Daddy. It’s that I have to put it all together in front of everyone.”
The applause of the crowd died down as Carol Belle began listing guidelines for the day’s contest from her position center stage.
Nate lifted his hands and squeezed Roxie’s shoulders. “You’ll be great, sweetheart. You don’t have anything to worry about. There’s no right or wrong in this. Just do your best.”
Roxie glanced at the long tables lined up in the center of town square. “I know. But there’s so many people. What if I drop something? Or break it?”
“That’s okay,” Nate said, smiling. “You don’t have to be perfect, Roxie. The only thing that’s important today is that you have fun.”
“Really?” Roxie asked.
“Really. But I don’t want you to force yourself to participate. If you really and truly don’t want to take part in the contest, you don’t have to.”
“No.” Roxie lifted her chin and firmed her mouth. “I want to. I want to win for you and Uncle Tucker.”
Nate smiled. “That’s my girl. And win or lose, we’ll still be proud of you.”
“All right, everyone,” Carol Belle announced from the stage. “Please take your places, and when you hear the whistle, begin building your gingerbread houses.”
The crowds parted and several people hurried over to the tables. Each participant began unloading sheets of gingerbread, bags of icing, and baskets of edible decorations.
“It’s time,” Nate said, standing. “You need to carry over your things and get set up if you’re going to take part.”
Roxie lifted her chin higher, took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yes, sir.”
With that, she picked up her bags and walked over to the tables, choosing the one Nate had pointed out to her. She placed her gingerbread on the table and glanced down at the other contestants who’d lined up along the tables to her right, each one of them busily arranging their ingredients. Her eyes widened at the sight of the elaborate designs others had brought.
“How’s she doing?” Tucker, who’d sauntered off minutes earlier in search of a candy apple, joined Nate on the sidelines, pausing between biting chunks of his apple to ask, “She decided to go through with it?”
Nate nodded. “But she’s not exactly thrilled about putting together a gingerbread house in front of everyone.” He smiled gently. “She’s got a bit of stage fright.”
“That’s to be expected,” Tucker said. “No one likes to be in front of a crowd of people.”
“Except for you?” Nate asked with a grin.
Tucker lifted one eyebrow. “Only when I’m on a bull. Then I don’t mind it.”
“Well, she’s not on a bull.” Nate sighed. “And she’s on her own up there. Her hands are shaking. See?”
Sure enough, when Roxie placed her bags of icing on top of the table, her hands trembled.
Just then, a familiar black-haired girl strutted in front of Roxie’s table, pausing briefly to eye the sheets of gingerbread on the table in front of Roxie with disdain.
“Oh, no,” Nate groaned.
