by Toni Blake
That’s when Adam’s body went suddenly rigid—and they both looked up to see that, despite trying to find a little privacy, they actually stood in front of the town hall’s large plate-glass window and that the entire population of Destiny was watching anyway.
But the fact that Adam had at least tried to be discreet—when Jeff, conversely, had shouted their troubles all over town—was one more thing that told her, in her heart, he would treat her and Sophie right. Overcome by it all, she simply laughed at realizing the whole party was gaping at them—until Adam pulled her away from the window to kiss her some more, snow gathering in their hair and on their shoulders.
She’d just sunk into those heavenly kisses of his once again when she—dear Lord—felt something moving in his coat and pulled back to say, “What the hell is this?”
“There’s a cat in my pocket,” he murmured, still trying to kiss her.
“A cat in your pocket?” she asked. “Is that some weird euphemism for . . . ?”
“No,” he said, laughing, “there’s really a cat in my pocket. I just sort of forgot about him in all the excitement.” He finally stopped kissing her then to reach in and draw out—oh my—it was Dickens!
“I wanted to give him to Sophie,” he said. “And that might have been a bad call, but I just thought, after seeing how much she loved the reindeer this morning, that having a pet might really help her right now. If you still don’t want a cat, I’ll give him back to Amy. Or I’ll take him myself or something.”
Sue Ann peered down at the gray kitty in Adam’s hand, who meowed sweetly up at her now, and—oh hell, how could she say no? “Yes, I want the cat,” she told him, reaching to pet Dickens while Adam held him, her hands finally closing over his around the kitten.
Then she smiled up into his gorgeous eyes, incredibly blue even in the dim light of streetlamps struggling to shine through the snow, and said, “It looks like I’m getting lots of things this Christmas I didn’t know I wanted.”
Epilogue
“God bless us everyone.”
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Sue Ann and Adam relaxed on the couch at her place on a quiet Saturday afternoon, watching Sophie and the boys. The kids sat on the floor near the fireplace playing with Dickens, who was growing rapidly. Sophie had done an admirable job of taking care of her new kitten, and it turned out Adam had been right—having a pet gave her something she really cared about to focus on. And yes, the little kitty was a troublemaker for sure—even if Adam was always defending him—but the truth was, Sue Ann enjoyed having him around even when Sophie was with Jeff and the caretaking duties fell solely on her.
And as Sophie began to seem happier and more acceptant of the changes in her life, Sue Ann was making every effort to be a little less overprotective of her daughter. Of course, it helped that Jeff had begun making more effort to respect Sue Ann and Sophie’s space since the blow-up at Christmas, and also that Sophie enjoyed having Adam and the twins around so much.
“I’m thinking we need to tackle the kitchen tomorrow,” Adam told Sue Ann, drawing her attention from the children and the cat.
In addition to getting adjusted to her new job, Sue Ann had also succeeded in getting her real estate license, just last week, and now Adam was helping her fix up the house so she could put it on the market and act as her own first client. They’d been putting off painting the kitchen because it was a big room with lots of nooks and crannies, so her first response was to sneer, before she said, “You’re right.”
“All the kids’ll be gone—it’ll be a good time for it.”
And the truth was, she knew she’d enjoy the project once they got started. In fact, as soon as she and Sophie were moved and settled, she planned to embark on her plans for a little home remodeling side business—so long as she could find the time.
It had continued to be an unusually snowy winter, in which Adam and Sophie, often with the help of Jacob and Joey, had built many snow cats in the front yard. Sue Ann’s gaze drifted to the mantel, to a framed photo of Sophie and that first snow cat, accompanied by a larger one of Sophie and Dancer, as well as a picture of Adam and Sue Ann holding hands in the snow—it had been taken outside at the Destiny Christmas party after all the excitement died down.
“And speaking of the kids being gone,” she said, “isn’t it about time we start delivering them?” The boys were due at Sheila’s, and Sophie at Jeff’s.
“Yep,” Adam replied. “I hate to tear all that attention away from Dickens, but it’s getting late.”
“Well, I can think of one good thing about it,” Sue Ann said softly, running her fingertip gently across the palm of his hand.
When he met her gaze with those sexy blue eyes, it made her bite her lower lip as she began to tingle below. “Are you getting fresh with me, sugar plum?”
“Indeed I am,” she whispered.
At which point he turned to the children. “All right, kids, time to go.” He clapped his hands together to hurry them along. “Chop, chop. Get movin’.”
Sue Ann only laughed, watching as Adam herded the children into coats—and then she glanced out the big bay window at the last mounds of snow, now melting in her yard to reveal the ground underneath for the first time in months. The calendar page had turned to March and the weatherman was predicting sun and spring temperatures over the coming days, so she suspected the snow might finally be finished for the year.
And even though most folks in Destiny had seen enough snow this winter to last them a lifetime, Sue Ann thought she might actually miss it. Snow had first pushed her and Adam together, after all, and it had reunited them on more than one occasion. But on the other hand, she was looking forward to spending time with him in all the coming seasons, too—and she knew they’d be together long after the spring thaw.
“What are you guys gonna do without all us kids tonight?” Joey asked as they began filing out the door. Indeed, with three between them, there were usually at least one or two of them around. “Won’t you be bored?”
Adam met Sue Ann’s eyes over the children’s heads, his gaze sparkling seductively on her, then said, “Oh, don’t worry about us. I’m sure we’ll find some way to spend our time.” Then he mouthed the words: Me and you. Later. Reindeer games.
One more thing, Sue Ann decided with a private smile at her man, that she planned to enjoy all year round.
And though she truly was ready to leave her home for a new one, to go along with her fresh start in life and in love, she knew she’d always cherish certain memories she’d made at the house on Holly Lane, including the ones that had helped bring her and Adam together.
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
While writing the Destiny series, I often find myself pulling small bits of inspiration from memories of my own life growing up in a rural small town area. Some of these things make their way into the story, while others just stay in the back of my mind. And when I was writing Holly Lane, I knew without even thinking about it that Sue Ann’s Christmas cookies were my family’s traditional Christmas cookies, made from a recipe passed down through my Appalachian grandmother’s family.
Some of my earliest memories include standing on a step stool in my grandma’s kitchen helping her roll out the dough for these cookies, which we called Grandpa Cookies because my grandfather liked them so much. Later, I helped my mother make them, as well, rolling out the dough and cutting out the shapes of trees, stars, bells, stockings, snowmen, and reindeer every Christmas. (Although be warned: The reindeer shapes were often difficult to maneuver onto the cookie sheet.) Throughout my school years and then into my work years, everyone I knew looked forward to my mom’s cookies—she’s gifted at rolling out the dough very thin, making them light and airy but still very tasty. Now I sometimes make Grandpa Cookies myself, but so far I haven’t achieved quite the perfection with them that my mother has.
These cookies have been a memorable part of my life and are definitely a long family traditi
on—and I’m happy to pass the recipe on to you with hopes that your family will enjoy them as much as mine does.
Wishing you and yours every joy this holiday season!
Toni
P.S. And for more recipes from Destiny, visit www.ToniBlake.com.
Grandpa Cookies
(also called Butter Cookies)
2 sticks butter or margarine
1½ cups confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 tsp cream of tartar
1½ tsp vanilla
2½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Cream together first five ingredients. Combine salt, soda, and flour in separate bowl, then mix gradually into creamed mixture. When well-blended, cover and chill for eight hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough to approximately ¼ inch or less, if possible. Cut into desired shapes and place on a nonstick cookie sheet. (Or the dough can also be shaped into a log for chilling, then sliced for simple round cookies.)
Bake on lower oven shelf until cookies are slightly puffed, then move onto upper shelf and bake until edges begin to turn lightly golden. Entire baking time is approximately four to six minutes, depending upon cookie thickness. Do not overbake. Cool on rack.
Eat cookies plain or cover with glaze:
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla
add milk to desired consistency (but be careful not to add too much)
Stir ingredients together, then add food color if desired. Apply to cooled cookies with pastry brush.
Acknowledgments
As always, I am indebted to Lindsey Faber, for so patiently brainstorming this story with me, and to Renee Norris, for tirelessly reading and critiquing version after version of it on short notice, and also for coming up with brilliant ways to solve plot problems! How blessed am I to have close friends who just happen to be gifted at this stuff? You guys are the best!
I also want to thank my New York team of professionals for all they do—May Chen, Meg Ruley, Christina Hogrebe, Pam Jaffee, Jessie Edwards, and Amanda Bergeron. You all rock the publishing world and I’m thankful to have you in my corner!
About the Author
TONI BLAKE’s lifelong love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon after, she penned her first novel—nineteen notebook pages long. Since then, Toni has become a multipublished, RITA®-nominated author of contemporary romance novels that are both sexy and heartwarming. Toni lives with her husband in the Midwest and when not writing, she enjoys traveling, quilting, and scrapbooking.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
By Toni Blake
Holly Lane
Whisper Falls
Sugar Creek
One Reckless Summer
Letters to a Secret Lover
Tempt Me Tonight
Swept Away
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
HOLLY LANE. Copyright © 2011 by Toni Herzog. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition NOVEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062096142
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062024602
FIRST EDITION
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