Once Upon a Christmas by Lauraine Snelling, Lenora Worth

she’d made the commitment. “I’m really sorry.” Sunday was family day in the Stensrude clan and Blythe hated missing it.
    Elsa turned to Thane. “You are welcome to come anyway. Amie will have a good time with our granddaughters.”
    “That’s a bit of an imposition, isn’t it?”
    “Not at all—Mom invites strangers home all the time.” Suzanne laughed. “Not that you’re a stranger, or strange, that is.”
    Blythe smiled over the glare she sent her sister. Knock it off.
    “You can follow us home then.” Arne touched Thane’s arm. “We always have room for two more at our table.”
    Blythe hugged her family goodbye and walked with Thane out to the parking lot.
    “I wish you were coming.”
    “Me, too. You’ll have fun, just don’t believe everything you hear.”
    All afternoon she gritted her teeth and forced thoughts of them all having a good time without her to run away and leave her alone. Thank You, God, for such intense powers of concentration, was her heartfelt prayer.
     
    “It’s nothing fancy,” Elsa said as everyone sat down at the table. “Does that high chair work for Amie?”
    “Sure does, thank you.” Thane gave Suzanne a smile of relief and thanks when she got the tray to snap in place.
    The two nieces sat together on Thane’s other side, peeking around him to wave at Amie and make her giggle.
    “Alison, Brittany.” Suzanne set a bowl of mashed potatoes in the center of the table and took her chair.
    “I hope everyone can settle down so we can have grace.” Arne looked over his glasses at the two girls.
    They grinned back at him and folded their hands.
    Out of the corner of his eye, Thane watched Amie copy the other girls, but with an ease that said his sister had taught her some manners. Maybe Linnie hadn’t given up praying, either. The thought opened the door to the last time he saw her at the jail. LynnEllen, God help you, for I no longer can. The amen brought himback to the table. What if she were telling the truth? He relegated the thought to the impossible bin and let his anger at her tighten his jaw.
    “Here, sweetie, how about some potatoes?” Elsa spooned a dab unto Amie’s plate, then added gravy. “Here you go, Thane. Help yourself.”
    When everyone was served, Elsa jumped up. “Oh, the rolls. They’re probably burned to a crisp.”
    “I was supposed to remember the rolls—sorry everyone.” Suzanne shook her head. Her husband, Jason, nudged her in the ribs.
    “Just because you’re not eating bread, you want us all to suffer.”
    “Right. And if you don’t behave you won’t get any pie and ice cream, either.”
    Jason looked across at Thane. “You got to watch these Stensrude women, they’ll threaten you with no dessert at the slightest offense.”
    Suzanne rolled her eyes. “Like you look as if you’ve missed a lot of desserts.”
    Thane laughed with the rest of them. He caught Jason’s wink, commented on the rolls which, though browned a bit, were still delicious. “Homemade rolls?”
    “Mom wouldn’t be caught dead serving store-bought.” Suzanne smiled at her mother. “Not like her two daughters. That’s why we eat Sunday dinner here.”
    “So we can get a good meal at least once a week.” Jason tried to look pathetic, which set his daughters giggling.
    How I wish Blythe were here to enjoy this. The ten years since his parents died had dimmed his memories ofa happy family dinner. But they returned in a swarm. He and his sister teasing each other. His father making his mother laugh. Thane paused, hoping to hear again his mother’s laughter, his sister’s giggles. But while the pictures came, the sound was too dim to register. Too much sadness buried the song.
    “Drink your milk, that’s good, Amie.” He wiped her face with a napkin.
    “She cleaned her plate all up, what a good girl.” Elsa patted Amie’s hand. “You want some pie and ice cream?”
    Amie nodded. “Ice cream.”
    “Pie, too?”
    She shook her head. “Ice