Miracles Retold Read Free Page B

fun. With Grandma, they would watch holiday movies and
make Christmas goodies and decorate the house — not just stop at putting up a
Christmas tree the way Mom and Dad did. Her parents hardly ever
watched a full movie on DVD. Mom and Dad rarely wanted to cook or
bake. Their house was the only one on the street without so much as
a wreath on the front door or a menorah in a window. Even with one
good arm, Grace could do most of those things. More importantly,
she had the time to do it.
     
    When she got home, Hannah
sniffed — and
blinked — at the
kitchen. “Grandma!” she said. “You’ve been making cookies without
me!” Jars and bags were spread across the counters, flour was
sprinkled across the floor, and used baking sheets mingled with
platters of warm, delicious-looking cookies. Ryder and Carter,
already home from school, were arguing over whose turn it was to
stir in the next ingredient in a new batch of dough.
“Snickerdoodles?” Hannah asked.
     
    Grace smiled. “I just made
one batch. I can’t make anything fancy with one hand, but I can
show you and the boys what to do — unless you want to spend time with your
friends.”
     
    “Grandma, you’re a saint!
How did you know I wanted to make cookies? I mean, I want to see my
friends, too, but … they’re busy, and … I don’t have any plans.”
Hannah took a small bite of a snickerdoodle. “This cookie is so
amazing.” Hannah heartily shoved the rest of the cookie in her
mouth.
     
    “Yeah, and they look too
good to eat!” Ryder said, although it looked as though he had
already eaten a couple himself, judging by the crumbs stuck to his
mouth.
     
    Carter held a cookie and
stared at it. “Does Mom know we’re eating cookies now? I don’t know
if she would like this.”
     
    Grace kissed Carter on top
of the head. “It’s OK. It’s not every day you have a last day of
school, right? This is your last day of school until next
year!”
     
    “Whoa!” Carter
said.
     
    “And Ryder, these aren’t
even the pretty cookies,” Grace told him. “You can make those
next.”
     
    Ryder grinned.
     
    “It’s Christmastime!” Grace
said. “What would Christmas be without cookies?”
     
    “Exactly!” Hannah
said.
     
    Grace led Hannah, Ryder,
and Carter through making several batches of cookies. Hannah put an
iTunes Radio holiday station on the laptop computer so they could
listen to music while they worked. The warm, sweet scents of baked
brown sugar, cinnamon, and anise and the cool whiff of peppermint
filled the kitchen. Carter eventually got tired of standing and
wandered off to build Lego towers on the floor, but he came back to
the kitchen now and then to nab a fresh cookie. Ryder hopped from
one cookie project to another, sometimes joining Carter in playing
with Legos. Hannah, however, wanted to hang out with Grace, go
through each recipe she had set out to make, and be on hand to do
whatever Grace couldn’t. Hannah loved hearing her grandmother’s
stories from her past, or just whatever was on her mind, because
nobody talked to Hannah the same way Grace did. Her grandmother was
fun to listen to. When Grace wasn’t telling stories, Hannah was
focused on rolling dough as Grace instructed, piping icing on
cooled gingerbread people alongside Ryder, filling thumbprints with
strawberry preserves, and washing bowls for the next batch of
dough. She sang along to the holiday songs. They continued baking
through the afternoon. Eventually, there were so many cookies that
the family ran out of platters and containers and had to make room
on sheets of waxed paper spread across other counters and tables in
the house.
     
    Her hands busy and her
mind filled with stories and songs, Hannah had forgotten the hurt
in her heart about Allison’s vacation condo — for a few hours,
anyway.
     
     
    - - - -
     
     
    It was dark when Annie got
the chance to leave her office. It seemed ironic to her that the
shortest days of the year — those right