“I’ll admit the hour between when Salinger called me to let me know he’d received a call from you that had been cut off and the time I finally laid eyes on you in the hospital was one of the worst of my life.”
I closed my eyes and cringed. “I know. I’m sorry again. I don’t want to worry you. I’m really going to try to change.”
Zak shifted Catherine to his other arm and placed the arm closest to me around my shoulders. “As much as I don’t want you to be in danger ever again, I don’t want you to change. I love you just the way you are. I may have to hire a bodyguard to accompany you every time you leave the house for my own piece of mind, but I don’t want you to try to become anyone other than who you are.”
I hoped Zak was kidding about the bodyguard, but the rest of what he’d said warmed my heart.
I hadn’t spoken to Salinger since he’d dropped me at the hospital. “Do you know if Salinger caught up with Cory?” I asked.
“He did. It might not have felt like one, but it was a stroke of luck that Cory took Ellie’s van. It’s equipped with an emergency locator. Salinger was able to check the system and not only see where Cory was but where he’d been. That’s how he found you at Cory’s house and how he eventually caught up with him when he tried to leave the state.”
“Wow, way to go, modern technology.”
“I’m very grateful Levi got the full upgrade package when he bought Ellie’s van.”
“Yeah, me too. It was pretty dicey there for a while. I was so worried Catherine would come before anyone found me.”
Zak squeezed my shoulder with his free hand. I know he’d been as scared as I was and I felt bad for putting him through that.
“It looks like Catherine’s waking up,” Zak said after a moment. “I don’t suppose it will hurt to feed her a little early, then maybe we can all get some sleep before your parents show up for breakfast.”
Zak settled me into a chair with a pillow to support my arm. He carefully handed me Catherine as I helped her to settle on to my breast.
“I wasn’t sure if we should continue with our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day plans, but Ellie and Levi agreed to stay here at the house through Christmas, and I know my parents are superexcited to spend time with Catherine.”
“It’ll be fine,” Zak said. “Ellie is taking care of all the cooking and all three kids have volunteered to pitch in as well. You just need to promise me to take a nap if you start to feel tired. I don’t want you overdoing it.”
“I’ll take it easy.” I glanced down at Catherine, who seemed to be alternating between eating and sleeping. I caressed her cheek with my finger. “I’m excited for Christmas, but I think this will be the moment I look back on for years to come.”
“It is pretty wonderful,” Zak agreed.
“I guess it’s a good thing my mom went ahead and bought Catherine the newborn-size First Christmas onesies.”
“I’ll dress her in one after I change her in the morning,” Zak offered. “Do you want the red one with the white reindeer or the white one with the candy canes?”
“Either is fine. She can wear one today and one tomorrow.” I smiled at my daughter. “It looks like she’s gone back to sleep.”
“I’ll take her,” Zak said as he got up and lifted her into his big, strong arms. She was so tiny and he was so big. I knew he would move heaven and earth if he had to, to keep her safe and happy.
After he changed her once again and settled her into the bassinette, he carried me to bed and lay down next to me. I listened to his heartbeat as he gathered me into his arms and we drifted off to sleep. I knew Zak and I would share many amazing Christmas Eves with each other and our family as it grew, but I also knew I would always remember the perfection of this magical night as Zak, Catherine, Charlie, and I welcomed the magic of our first Christmas as a family in a dark room lit only by the fire and the tree.
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Recipes
Candied Cherry Slices—submitted by Vivian Shane
Cherry Coffee Cake—submitted by Darla Taylor
Marie’s Minty Chocolate Chip Cookies—submitted by Marie Rice
Magic Cookie Bars—submitted by Pam Curran
Candied Cherry Slices
Submitted by Vivian Shane
An old recipe passed down from my grandmother. Always a tradition for me to make at Christmas.
1 cup butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2¼ cups sifted flour
1 cup pecans
2 cups candied cherries (cut in quarters)
Cream butter and powdered sugar. Blend in egg and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Stir in pecans and cherries. Chill one hour. Divide into thirds and shape into rolls. Wrap in wax paper and chill 3 hours. Cut into 1/8″ slices. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 325 degrees for 12–15 minutes or until delicately browned on edges.
Cherry Coffee Cake
Submitted by Darla Taylor
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 21-oz. can Lucky Leaf Cherry or Sweet Dark Cherry Fruit Filling
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 tsp. water
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs, one at a time.
Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.
Pour into greased 9 x 13-inch pan.
Spoon fruit filling over top, swirl.
Bake 40 minutes until golden.
Cool. Blend confectioners’ sugar with water and vanilla, then drizzle over cake.
Marie’s Minty Chocolate Chip Cookies
Submitted by Marie Rice
Back before there was such a thing as mint chocolate chips (gasp!), I came up with this idea in high school. I wanted to add a peppermint taste to my chocolate chip cookies, specifically for making Christmas cookies.
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tbs. cinnamon
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. peppermint extract
2 eggs
12-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and extracts until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Lightly spray baking sheets. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto the sheets. Bake on middle or upper rack for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown and no longer wet. (This will vary from oven to oven. Each oven I’ve used has needed a slightly different amount of time to cook thoroughly without burning the bottoms.)
Cool for a couple of minutes on baking sheet and then move cookies to cooling rack to finish cooling (if they last that long!). If reusing the baking sheet for another batch, use spatula to scrap the sheet and then respray before placing more cookie dough on the sheet.
Notes:
* For a stronger mint taste, replace the vanilla extract with more peppermint extract.
* Mint chocolate chips can also replace the semisweet chocolate chips.
Magic Cookie Bars
Submitted by Pam Curran
These are yummy and rich.
½ cup margarine or butter
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
1 14-z. Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk)
1 6-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate morsels
1⅓ cups coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, melt margarine
in oven. Sprinkle crumbs over margarine; mix together and press into pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Top evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly. Bake 25–30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool thoroughly before cutting. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
Books by Kathi Daley
Come for the murder, stay for the romance.
Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:
Halloween Hijinks
The Trouble With Turkeys
Christmas Crazy
Cupid’s Curse
Big Bunny Bump-off
Beach Blanket Barbie
Maui Madness
Derby Divas
Haunted Hamlet
Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies
Christmas Cozy
Alaskan Alliance
Matrimony Meltdown
Soul Surrender
Heavenly Honeymoon
Hopscotch Homicide
Ghostly Graveyard
Santa Sleuth
Shamrock Shenanigans
Kitten Kaboodle
Costume Catastrophe
Candy Cane Caper
Holiday Hangover
Easter Escapade
Camp Carter
Trick or Treason
Reindeer Roundup
Zimmerman Academy The New Normal
Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook
Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries by Henery Press:
Pumpkins in Paradise
Snowmen in Paradise
Bikinis in Paradise
Christmas in Paradise
Puppies in Paradise
Halloween in Paradise
Treasure in Paradise
Fireworks in Paradise
Beaches in Paradise – June 2018
Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:
Romeow and Juliet
The Mad Catter
Grimm’s Furry Tail
Much Ado About Felines
Legend of Tabby Hollow
Cat of Christmas Past
A Tale of Two Tabbies
The Great Catsby
Count Catula
The Cat of Christmas Present
A Winter’s Tail
The Taming of the Tabby
Frankencat
The Cat of Christmas Future
Seacliff High Mystery:
The Secret
The Curse
The Relic
The Conspiracy
The Grudge
The Shadow
The Haunting
Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:
Murder at Dolphin Bay
Murder at Sunrise Beach
Murder at the Witching Hour
Murder at Christmas
Murder at Turtle Cove
Murder at Water’s Edge
Murder at Midnight
Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mystery:
First Case
Second Look
Third Strike
Fourth Victim
Fifth Night – January 2018
Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mystery:
Finding Justice
A Tess and Tilly Mystery:
The Christmas Letter
Road to Christmas Romance:
Road to Christmas Past
USA Today best-selling author Kathi Daley lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken. When she isn’t writing, she likes spending time hiking the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home. She has authored more than seventy-five books in eight series, including Zoe Donovan Cozy Mysteries, Whales and Tails Island Mysteries, Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries, Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Series, Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mysteries, Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mysteries, and Seacliff High Teen Mysteries. Find out more about her books at www.kathidaley.com
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