Free Family Ties by Danielle Steel Page B

things she had forgotten to order that morning. They always had a simple dinner on Christmas Eve, and she prepared a turkey on Christmas Day, just as she did on Thanksgiving. She had tried to make goose one year and it was awful, so they stuck with turkey.
    Ted got up and took the two bags into the kitchen for her, and Katie went to kiss her aunt hello. Annie looked exhausted and breathless. She had been at one of her construction sites an hour before, to resolve a problem between the contractor and her clients. She still had the plans in a roll under her arm and tossed them on her desk before taking off her coat.
    “Merry Christmas, everyone!” Annie called out to them both, took off her coat, and turned on some Christmas music. Katie complimented her on the tree, and Ted poured them each a glass of eggnog, which was another family tradition. Annie usually added a drop of bourbon to hers, but Kate and Ted liked it plain, just the way they had drunk it as kids. They were all talking animatedly when Liz walked in, carrying three shopping bags full of presents. She always bought the most extravagant gifts of all, and they loved them. Liz was in high spirits as they all wished each other a merry Christmas, and after admiring the tree, and singing to the music, they all cooked dinner together. It was a perfect Christmas Eve. Liz had promised to stay there until she left for Paris, and Annie loved having them all home.
    They sat chatting at the kitchen table until nearly eleven, then got ready to leave for midnight mass. Kate noticed Ted making a call as she walked past his open bedroom door. And she heard him leave someone a message. He sounded upset and looked worried when he joined the others in the front hall. She had made a call herself when she went to get her coat, but it had been friendly and short, and she’d promised to call the next morning. Tonight was a family time that was important to all of them.
    They took a cab to St. Patrick’s, where they went to midnight mass every year. Only Annie took communion, and as she did every year, they watched her light candles for Bill and Jane. She knelt at one of the smaller altars after she did it, bowed her head, and prayed, and there were tears running down her cheeks when she stood up. It always brought tears to Kate’s eyes to watch her. She had never asked, but she knew who the candles were for. Her parents weren’t forgotten, and Annie had been wonderful to their children ever since they’d been gone. Ted gave Annie a hug as she slipped back into the pew, and Kate gently held her hand. Liz was looking strikingly chic as usual, in a huge white fox hat and an elegant black coat with tall black leather boots. She reminded Annie so much of Jane at the same age. She was more stylish than her mother had been, but her face was almost the same. It made Annie’s heart ache sometimes to see it. She still missed her.
    They sang “Silent Night” at the end of the mass, and afterward they walked out onto Fifth Avenue and took a cab home. Annie made them hot chocolate with marshmallows, and then finally everyone went to bed. And after they did, Annie filled their stockings with little thoughtful presents and wrote them funny notes from Santa, reminding each of them to clean their rooms and wash behind their ears, and on Kate’s Santa letter she added a note that she would find coal in her stocking next year if she got any more tattoos. And then Annie went to sleep in the peaceful apartment, grateful that all the people she loved most in the world were home and sound asleep in their rooms. It was her favorite night of the year. It didn’t get better than this.

Chapter 7
    O n Christmas morning Annie got up early to put the turkey in the oven, and she called her friend Whitney, as she had for so many years. They wished each other a merry Christmas, chatted for a few minutes, and Whitney reminded her again to come on New Year’s Eve, but Annie still insisted that she didn’t