rose from the table, taking Finley’s plate with her. “Aren’t you having fun?”
Her lip thrust out. “Yeah. Sort of.”
“The roads are still pretty bad,” Rory said. He walked over to her and lifted her into his arms. “Unless the snowplow comes through sometime today, we’re still stuck here.”
Her lower lip jutted out even farther. “Okay.”
Shannon understood her cabin fever, but multiplied by about fifty. Not only was she stuck in her house, but she was also stuck with a man she was really coming to like who wouldn’t want her if he knew the truth about her. Even if he was interested and asked her out, she’d never accept a date. Lying awake the night before, she’d realized that if they dated, at some point she’d have to tell him she couldn’t have kids. The last man she’d told hadn’t taken it so well. Just like Bryce, Rory wanted kids. Was it worth a few weeks or months of her happiness to put him in a position of having to dump her when she told him?
It wasn’t. Which was why the subject of a date or romance or even liking each other would never come up, if she could help it. And why needing to keep Finley busy was such a lucky, lucky thing.
She walked over to the six-year-old. “I have an idea. I have a neighbor who lives over there.” She pointed over Finley’s shoulder, out the window. “She’s a little bit older and her husband died last year. So when we get stranded like this, she’s all by herself. Imagine being all by yourself for three days, no company, nobody to talk to.”
Finley gasped and pressed her hands over her mouth. “I’ll bet she’s scared.”
“Maybe not scared. But lonely. So, since the weather’s not so bad that we can’t go out, I was thinking we could bake a cake and take it to her.” She glanced at Rory, silently asking for his approval as she detailed her plan. “We’d have to walk, but we could think of it as fun, like we did yesterday when we were sledding.”
Rory frowned. “How far away does she live?”
“Not far,” she assured him. “Just far enough that we’d get a good walk in the fresh air.” She faced Finley. “So, do you want to try to bake a cake?”
“What kind?”
“I have a box mix for a chocolate cake and one for a yellow. We could make peanut-butter icing for the chocolate. Or chocolate icing for the yellow.”
Finley slid out of her father’s arms and to the floor. “I like peanut butter.”
“So do I.” She nudged Finley to the door. “Go back to the bedroom and change out of your pj’s and we’ll get to work.”
Finley nodded and raced out of the room. Rory followed her. “I’ll help her.”
By the time they returned, Shannon had the box cake mix on the center island, along with a mixing bowl, mixer, eggs, butter and water.
“Give me two minutes to put on jeans and a sweatshirt and we’ll get this into the oven.”
She scooted out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. The bed was neatly made. The bathroom was also neat as a pin. But the Wallace family scent lingered around her. Finley’s little-girl smells mixed with Rory’s aftershave and created a scent that smelled like home. Family. She didn’t even try to resist inhaling deeply. She might not ever become a permanent part of their lives, but she liked these two. This weekend was her chance to be with them. She might not kiss him, but she wouldn’t deprive herself of the chance to enjoy them.
Once in jeans and a University of Pittsburgh sweatshirt, she ambled out to the kitchen. Finley climbed onto a stool beside the center island. “What can I do?”
“I don’t know? What can you do?” She laughed.
But not getting the joke, Finley frowned.
Rather than explain, Shannon said, “Can you break eggs into a bowl?”
She glanced back at Rory. He shrugged. “There’s a first time for everything.”
Shannon set the bowl in front of Finley. Pulling an egg from the carton, she said, “You take an egg, like this—” Demonstrating by putting the egg against the bowl’s edge, she continued, “And crack it against the edge of the bowl like this.” The egg broke in half, its contents spilling into the bowl.
“My turn.” Finley grabbed an egg and hit it on the rim. Miraculously, the white and yoke tumbled into the bowl. She tossed the shell beside Shannon’s and clapped her hands together with glee. “I did it!”
“Yes, you did.” Shannon handed her the open box of cake mix. “Take out the plastic container. We’ll open it and dump that into the bowl, too.”
With Shannon giving Finley the opportunity to be involved in every step of the process of cake baking, it took a long time to get the cake into the oven. They played two games of Go Fish while it baked. After lunch, they made simple peanut-butter icing, spread it across the two layers and slid the cake into a carrier.
Once again, they dressed Finley in two pair of jeans and two sweaters. When they stepped outside, the snow glowed like a million tiny diamonds. Rory carried Finley across the field that separated the two houses. They stomped the snow off their boots as they walked across Mary O’Grady’s back porch to the kitchen door.
Mary answered on the first knock. Short and round, with shaped gray hair, Mary wore a festive Christmas sweater and jeans. “Shannon!” She glanced at Finley and Rory. “And who is this?”
“Mary O’Grady, this is Rory Wallace and his daughter, Finley.”
As Shannon made the introduction, Rory hoped Finley wouldn’t say something awful about the sweet-looking woman’s sweater.
“Rory was on his way to Green Hill to take a look at the store when they were stranded on the highway and had the state police bring them to my house.” She offered the cake. “Since we’re all getting a little bored, we brought a cake to share.”
“Well, aren’t you sweet,” Mary said, opening her door to invite them in. She pinched Finley’s cheek. “And aren’t you adorable!” She smiled at Rory. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” he said, sliding Finley through the door. The kitchen hadn’t been remodeled the way Shannon’s had. Old-fashioned oak cupboards dominated the room. A rectangular table, with four ladder-back chairs, sat in the center.
Mary fussed over Finley. “Let me help you with your jacket.”
Finley glanced at her dad. Rory nodded his head slightly, indicating she should just go with it.
Unzipping Finley’s coat, Mary faced Shannon. “Sweetie, why don’t you put on a pot of coffee so we can enjoy that cake properly?”
Shannon laughed. “You’re a woman after my own heart, Mary.”
After removing her coat, she walked to the counter with the ease of someone who’d been there before. Rory watched her root through the cupboards to find the filters and coffee. She got water and measured grounds.
Mary helped Finley onto
