Free Snowy Christmas by Helen Scott Taylor Page B

heard enough of what had happened over the
past decade to know what he was apologizing for—and it wasn't him
who should be apologizing. It was the Taliban who had taken
Jonathan's sight, and Marcus's ex-wife who'd tried to divide Marcus
from his family.
    Emily rose from her seat near the fire and
sat on the arm of Marcus's chair, leaning in to rest her cheek
against his head. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles,
glancing up at her beneath his thick dark lashes, the firelight
dancing in his brown eyes.
    "As head of the family, from now on I promise
to uphold the values we all hold dear," he said to the room in
general. "Family, Rosemoor, and dogs, not necessarily in that
order."
    "To family, Rosemoor, and dogs," Owen echoed,
raising his teacup towards the Christmas tree, and they all
repeated his words.
    Marcus pulled Emily onto his lap, and they
chuckled when Peggy rose and rested her head on his knee as if she
were jealous.
    "We can share him, Pegs." Emily stroked the
black Labrador's head.
    She had feared this Christmas would be her
worst. Instead it promised to be the best ever.

Chapter
Eleven
    Emily strolled through the crisp morning air, her
breath steaming. Peggy and Snow White dashed around together,
following the trails on the frosty grass where wild animals had
passed in the night.
    Marcus had a meeting with his financial
advisor, who'd arrived with the biggest briefcase Emily had ever
seen. The two men were closeted in Marcus's office, no doubt
talking about the stock market and interest rates. As it was such a
lovely morning, and it was good to be alive, she'd decided to take
the dogs for a walk alone.
    Over the weekend, Chloe had invited her to
stop by to taste the cinnamon cookies she'd baked, so Emily took
the path that led to Rosemoor Farm. Chloe had started her school
Christmas vacation now, so she should be home on a weekday.
    As Emily entered the farmyard, she saw Owen
talking to Ned, their voices lost in the noise from the shed of
bleating goats. Both men shouted hello and waved. Owen's Jack
Russell, Zack, trotted across to greet Peggy and Snow White, but
Ned's grumpy collie ignored them, thank goodness.
    She knocked on the back door of Rosemoor
Farm. A few moments later came the sound of Paddy barking and
jumping up at the inside of the door, and then it opened. Paddy
burst out like a black hurricane, nearly taking the legs from under
her.
    "Paddy, no," Chloe shouted. "Get back inside
now."
    With a clatter of claws, all the dogs charged
inside. Emily toed off her boots and followed, wincing at the trail
of dirty paw prints into the kitchen.
    "Mum's in surgery spaying a cat," Chloe said.
"I'll make you a cup of tea, and you can taste my cookies. I want
your expert opinion. I still plan to study veterinary medicine, but
I like cooking as well." Chloe sounded so grown-up and serious, it
made Emily smile.
    "Thank you. I can't wait. Do you have a dog
towel and a cloth to wipe the floor?"
    While Emily cleaned the dogs, and then their
paw prints from the floor, Chloe made the tea. Snow White and Peggy
checked out the two dogs' beds. A sleek gray cat was curled in the
center of one, so they both squeezed into the other, a big black
dog and a small white fluffy one curled side by side.
    Chloe crouched and stroked the cat, who
stretched with a meow and settled back to sleep again. "Sixpence
always steals one of the poor dogs' beds. Dad says she rules the
roost because she has claws."
    "It doesn't matter. Snowy and Pegs are used
to sleeping together. They're such good friends."
    Emily took out her phone and snapped a
photograph of them to show Marcus. A pang of longing hit her at the
thought of him. It seemed wrong to be walking the dogs and visiting
Rosemoor Farm without him. She was so used to them being together
that whenever they were apart, she felt something was missing.
    Chloe placed a plate of golden-brown
Christmas tree and star-shaped cookies on the table with the
teapot, mugs, sugar bowl, and milk.