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Tracy shook her head. “Never mind. Did you have breakfast?”
“Uh-huh. I ate three whole pancakes. Travis made them.”
“Okay, you can tell me when you’re hungry for lunch. I know you’re playing with the kittens right now, but what else would you like to do?”
“Can we play in the snow?”
“It’s still coming down out there. Wouldn’t you rather wait till it stops?”
“No. It’ll be like playing inside a snow globe. I saw one in a store once. It was so beautiful with the snow coming down.” Her small face brightened. “Let’s go out now, before it stops.”
There was no way Tracy could win that argument. Dressed in warm parkas, boots, and gloves, they raced outside into clouds of swirling white. The snow on the ground was deep enough to reach Clara’s knees. She stumbled and floundered through it, giggling ecstatically as she fell backward, making angel after angel.
“You make an angel, too,” she told Tracy. Tracy fell on her back in the snow. Fanning her arms and legs, she made a perfect angel. Then she tried to get up.
“Oh, no,” she moaned, “I’m stuck!”
Clara squealed with laughter as Tracy thrashed and struggled to her feet, her angel spoiled. “Can we make snowballs?” Clara asked. “We could have a snowball fight.”
“We could try.” Tracy tried shaping a handful of snow into a ball. It fell apart. The snow was too soft. “I guess we’ll just have to throw snow,” she said, tossing a handful at Clara’s coat. Clara grabbed some snow and tossed it back. By the time it struck Tracy, it had broken into powder.
“I guess we can’t make a snowman, either,” Clara said.
“We can try in a day or two, when the snow’s had time to settle,” Tracy said. “But I know a fun game. It’s called Fox and Geese—or Goose, I guess.” Letting Clara follow her, she broke a circular trail in the snow, with cross trails leading from one side of the circle to the other. “Okay, you’re the fox, and I’m the goose. We can only run on the trails, and you have to catch me. Go!”
Tracy started running in miniature steps around the circle. Catching on fast, Clara chased her. When the “goose” was nearly caught, Tracy turned onto a cross trail and got away. After a few such maneuvers, she let Clara catch her. “Now I get to be the fox,” she said. “Run, goose!”
By the time they’d played the game for ten or fifteen minutes, Tracy was out of breath and Clara was getting cold. “Time to go in.” She picked up the little girl and carried her to the porch, where they stomped the snow off their boots and brushed it off their clothes. As they opened the door and stepped inside, the lush fragrance of the pine wreath surrounded them. It really did smell like Christmas.
“That . . . was . . . fun.” Clara’s teeth chattered as Tracy helped her out of her coat and boots.
“Sit here by the warm fire while I make us some hot cocoa,” Tracy said. “When we’re warmed up, it’ll be time to play another game—it’s called Find the Kittens.”
The four kittens had scattered in all directions. Rainbow, curled in a chair by the fire, watched in quiet amusement as Clara and Tracy searched. It was as if she were saying, Go ahead and look. I know where they are. I could find them in a minute.
Midnight was under Tracy’s bed, his black fur blending with the shadows. Ginger had climbed into an open kitchen drawer. Tiger was under the desk in Tracy’s office. Snowflake was asleep on the furry white rug in the bathroom, almost invisible until he opened his eyes and meowed.
Clara put the kittens in the chair with their mother. They snuggled together, a bundle of purring contentment.
Tracy made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch. They sat at the kitchen table, talking and eating. “I wish I could stay here forever,” Clara said. “I love the snow and the ranch. I love Daddy’s friends and Bucket. And I love being here at your house.”
“Your parents would miss you if you stayed here.”
Clara shrugged. “My mom might. But she could have another baby. Andre wouldn’t miss me much at all.”
“We can’t always have what we want.” Tracy’s heart ached for the little girl.
“I know,” Clara said. “I have to go home to Mom and Andre. And I know they won’t let me bring Snowflake. I wrote to Santa just to ask him. But he can’t really bring me what I want. He can bring toys and stuff, but he can’t make people change.”
Tracy reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “You’re a wise girl,” she said. “And whatever happens, you’re going to do fine.”
“Can I ask you something?” Clara said. “You don’t have to say yes.”
“Go ahead.”
“If I can’t have Snowflake, could you keep him? That way I would know he was happy with his mom. And Rainbow wouldn’t be lonesome.”
“I think that’s a lovely idea,” Tracy said. “But let’s wait and see what happens.”
