we’ll play games and go to church. Then when we come home, you’ll go straight to bed. After that, Santa might come,” she said.
“You’ll have to leave cookies and milk,” Winnie said. “Don’t forget the cookies. I have it on good authority that Santa loves chocolate chip cookies.”
That was certainly true. Abby could use a cookie right about now.
“I loooove Christmas Eve,” he said, dancing around the kitchen and stopping to impulsively give Winnie a hug.
The older woman hugged him back, her eyes suspiciously bright. “Same here,” she said. “What’s better than family, friends and food?”
Abby couldn’t think of a single thing.
“I’m so glad you persuaded José, Rodrigo and Sofia to come to dinner,” Winnie said to Lucy, who was shredding lettuce for a salad. “What time do you think they’ll be here?”
Lucy’s expression went soft, something Abby had seen frequently over the past few days, ever since her friend had made the shocking admission that she was now seeing José.
“Soon. Rodrigo had a few gifts to deliver to his friends and his girlfriend, and then they’re coming straight here.”
Abby still wanted to shake her head when she saw that lovestruck look in her friend’s eyes.
Lucy and José. She still couldn’t quite believe it, considering all the years Lucy had claimed she would never fall in love.
She was so happy for her. José seemed like a wonderful man, and it was clear he was completely in love with Lucy. The two of them seemed perfect for each other.
“What else can I do?” she asked Winnie.
“You’re the one with the list. What’s left?”
She pulled out the spreadsheet she, Winnie and Lucy had worked out to schedule all the meal tasks so that everything finished at roughly the same time.
“We only have to put the rolls in when people arrive and then we’ll be ready to eat.”
This seemed so much like the first week she had been here at Holiday House, when she and Winnie fixed Thanksgiving dinner for Winnie’s friends.
That seemed a lifetime ago.
“Isn’t the holiday season an interesting thing,” Winnie said, as if she read Abby’s mind. “It starts with a big meal on Thanksgiving and then we have another big meal on Christmas Eve.”
“With lots of music and friends and fun in the middle,” Lucy said with a smile.
“And skiing and snowmen and tubing,” Christopher added his two cents.
It really had been a joyous season, one she would remember forever.
Oh, how she would miss these women, this town, this house.
“Where is Ethan?” Christopher asked, which was his second favorite question of the day, right behind the one about Santa.
“He’ll be here,” Winnie assured the boy. “He said he would be late. He’s working on a project he said isn’t quite done yet.”
“On Christmas Eve?” Lucy asked with a puzzled look.
Winnie shrugged. “I don’t know. He said he would be here as soon as he could.”
The doorbell rang at that moment and Abby’s heart jumped. She hadn’t seen Ethan since the day of the gingerbread contest, and she missed him far more than she should.
It couldn’t be him. He didn’t ring the bell at his grandmother’s house.
“I’ve got it,” Lucy said, wiping her hands on a dish towel and hurrying toward the door.
“Hola. Feliz Navidad,” a voice boomed out happily.
“Rodrigo!” Christopher exclaimed, running toward the door.
The rest of the Navarros soon followed, and the house was filled with laughter, music and conversation.
She was pulling the plump, delicious-smelling rolls from the oven when she heard Ethan’s voice. She whirled around, and for a moment it was as if everything else faded away and the two of them were alone in the kitchen. He gave her a long, glittery look, and then Christopher let out a sound of delight and jumped into his arms.
“I’ve been waiting and waiting for you,” he exclaimed.
Ethan jerked his gaze away from Abby to focus on her son. “Sorry, bud. Merry Christmas.”
Abby, flustered, her heart aching, was distracted and burned her hand pulling out the rolls.
“Run it under cold water,” Sofia said immediately.
“It’s just a little burn. I’m fine,” she protested.
“Do it,” Sofia ordered. “You’re a nurse. You know how a little burn can get infected.”
Abby sighed but obeyed, and Lucy and Sofia took over in the kitchen, ordering the men to help them transfer dishes to the dining area.
She didn’t have a chance to talk to Ethan alone. For one thing, Christopher didn’t want to leave his side. For another, he seemed distracted.
The meal was perfect, the company wonderful. Sofia told stories about her childhood Christmases