Chapter 261

Arriving at the house, they went inside first to make way for the trees. As Ronnie opened the door, she heard out-of-tune singing of "Rudolf" and the fragrance of peanut butter and chocolate, baking sugar cookies and some other scent she couldn't identify lingered in the air. She stopped before she turned the corner from the living room into the family kitchen and den area. Mitch wasn't prepared for her sudden stop and ran into her, almost knocking them both to the floor. Mitch peeked around her. Wyatt sat on a bar chair, dressed in one of Aunt Sally's old aprons, trays of cookies in front of him and based on the flour on the sleeves of his shirt, he'd helped make cut-out sugar cookies.

Now he was decorating. Wyatt held in his hand a medium-sized pastry bag filled with what looked like brown frosting; a reindeer cookie placed in front of him. "Ms. Marie, should I make him all brown and then a red nose? I think this one looks like Rudolph."

"Wyatt, sweetie, you can make it any color