days.”
“That long?” He dragged out the words as if he could barely hang on all those weeks.
“The time will fly by, Gabe. I promise.”
“Excuse me,” Jake said as he turned to answer a customer’s question. Her query was about the price of the robot, and the woman had nearly the same reaction as Holly. Two hundred and fifty dollars! A lot of money for a toy. Still, in Gabe’s case it would be worth it.
Mrs. Miracle brought out the display robot to demonstrate again, and Gabe and a second youngster watched with rapt attention. The older woman was a marvel, a natural with children.
“So, you’re the manager here,” Holly said once Jake was free.
He nodded. “How’d you guess?” he asked with a grin.
“Your badge, among other things.” She smiled back at him. “I was just thinking how smart you were to place Santa next to the toy section.”
“That wasn’t my idea,” Jake said. “Santa’s been in that location for years.”
“What about the Intellytron display across from the elevator?”
“Now, that was my idea.”
“I thought as much.”
Jake seemed pleased that she’d noticed. “I’m hoping it really takes off.”
“Well, if Gabe’s interest is any indication, I’m sure it will.”
He seemed to appreciate her vote of confidence.
“Look!” Gabe said, grabbing Holly’s hand. He pointed to a couple who were removing a boxed unit of Intellytron from the display. “My robot will still be here by Christmas, won’t he?”
“Absolutely,” she assured him.
Jake winked at her as Mrs. Miracle led the young couple toward the cash register.
“Hiring Mrs. Miracle was a smart move, too,” she said.
“Oh, I can’t really take credit for that,” Jake responded.
“Well, you’re lucky, then. She’s exactly right for the toy department. It’s like having someone’s grandmother here. She’s helping parents fulfill all their children’s Christmas wishes.”
Jack glanced at the older woman, then slowly nodded. “I guess so,” he said, sounding a bit uncertain.
“Haven’t you seen the way kids immediately take to her?” Holly asked.
“Not only can’t I take credit for her being here, it’s actually a mistake.”
“A mistake,” Holly echoed. “You’re joking! She’s perfect. It wouldn’t surprise me if you sold out the whole toy department with her working here.”
“Really?” He said this as if Holly had given him something to think about.
“I love her name, too. Mrs. Miracle—it has such a nice Christmas sound.”
“That’s a mistake, as well. Her name’s not really Miracle. HR spelled it wrong on her badge, and I asked that it be corrected.”
“Oh, let her keep the badge,” Holly urged. “Mrs. Miracle. It couldn’t be more appropriate.”
Jake nodded again. “Perhaps you’re right.” Mrs. Miracle finished the sale and joined them. “Very nice meeting you, Gabe and Holly,” she said warmly.
Holly didn’t remember giving the older woman her name. Gabe must have mentioned it. “You, too, Emily,” she said.
“Oh, please,” she said with a charming smile. “Just call me Mrs. Miracle.”
“Okay,” Gabe piped up. “We will.”
Chapter Four
Lead me not into temptation. I can find the way myself. —J. R. Finley
“I thought we’d bake cookies today,” Holly said on Saturday morning as Gabe sat at the kitchen counter eating his breakfast cereal. When he didn’t think she was looking, he picked up the bowl and slurped what was left of his milk.
“Cookies?” Gabe said, frowning. “Can’t we just buy them?”
“We could,” Holly answered, “but I figured it would be fun to bake them ourselves.”
Gabe didn’t seem convinced. “Dad and I always got ours at the store. We never had to work to get them.”
“But it’s fun,” Holly insisted, unwilling to give up quite so easily. “You can roll out the dough. I even have special cookie cutters. After the cookies are baked and they’ve cooled down, we can frost and decorate them.” She’d hoped this Christmas tradition would appeal to Gabe.
He slid down from his chair and carried his bowl to the dishwasher. “Can I go on the computer?”
“Sure.” Holly made an effort to hide her disappointment. She’d really hoped the two of them would bond while they were baking Christmas cookies. Later, she intended to go into the office and put up decorations—with Gabe’s help. She wanted that to be fun for him, too.
Gabe moved to the alcove between the kitchen and small living room with its sofa and television. Holly was astonished at how adept the eight-year-old was on the computer. While he logged on, she brought out the eggs and flour and the rest of the ingredients for sugar cookies and set them on the kitchen counter.
Gabe obviously didn’t realize she could see the computer screen from her position. She was pleased that he was writing his father a note.
From: “Gabe Larson”<[email protected]>
To: “Lieutenant Mickey Larson” <[email protected]>
Sent: December 11
Subject: Cookies
Hi, Dad,
Guess what? Aunt Holly wants me to bake cookies. Doesn’t she know I’m a BOY? Boys don’t bake cookies. It’s bad enough that I have to put the toilet seat down for her. I hope you get home soon because I’m afraid she’s going to turn me into a girl!
Gabe
Holly tried to conceal her smile. “Would you like to go into the city this afternoon?” she asked as she added the butter she’d cubed to the sugar in the mixing bowl.
Gabe turned around to look at her. “You aren’t going to make me go shopping, are you?”
“No. I’ll take you to my office. Wouldn’t you like that?”
“Yes,” he said halfheartedly.
“I
