Snow Angels by Fern Michaels, Rosalind Noonan, Marie Bostwick, Janna McMahan

think our teeth will fall out?” Amanda asked in one giant breath.
    “No, I think you’ll be just fine. When we finish breakfast, we’ll clean our teeth with a washcloth and baking soda if we can’t find any toothpaste. That should do until we get you two home.”
    “No! We can’t go home, Miss Grace! Mommy said Daddy might really hurt her bad next time,” Ashley explained, as tears filled her brown eyes.
    “Oh, honey, I meant back to Hope House.” Grace steadied the skillet before standing up and taking the two girls in her arms. “Listen up. As long as you’re with me, I promise you’ll both be safe. Max is going to try to call your mother and tell her you’re okay. As soon as I’m able to get to the van, we’ll leave. Deal?” she asked.
    “And we can still decorate the Christmas tree, right? Ashley says it’s only five more days till Christmas. Is that true?” Amanda asked, changing the subject so fast Grace had to pause to count the number of days in her head.
    “Yes, that’s right. Five more days, and Santa will be here.” Grace still had gifts to buy, plus a tree to decorate. She hoped to be off the mountain in time to get everything ready before Bryce arrived Christmas Eve.
    Amanda started to cry hard. Giant tears spattered on her dress. She hiccoughed a few times before she could talk. “But…we…won’t…be…home. How…will…Santa…know…where…to…find…us?”
    “He’ll find us, won’t he, Miss Grace? Mommy says he always finds little children. Right?” Ashley asked.
    Some parents didn’t believe that instilling a false image of Santa was healthy. She’d seen it more than once when she was in practice. Grace was all about honesty, but in this case she couldn’t come up with one reason, professional or personal, why a child shouldn’t be indulged in such a fantasy. She’d believed in Santa Claus until she was twelve and remembered the disappointment when she’d learned the truth. But as her mother and father always told her, Santa Claus is alive and well. He just moves to your heart when you’re older .
    “Absolutely! He’ll find you both I’m sure. Now, if I don’t get some help, I’m going to burn breakfast.”
    She removed the skillet from the fire and took it to the kitchen. In minutes, she and the girls were seated at the table, munching on crispy bacon and soft white bread slathered with strawberry jam. With both dogs acting as guards around the table, Grace laughed, watching as Ice-D and Cliff inhaled every morsel that fell to the floor.
    Grace couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed breakfast as much.

Chapter 7
    Max blasted down the mountain like a stick of dynamite. Slivers of ice zoomed past his head as he plowed through a snowbank. He couldn’t put sufficient distance between himself and Grace fast enough. He wanted her out of his house. And the kids, too.
    Emotions he’d put on ice long ago were starting to thaw. He knew what that meant but didn’t want to acknowledge it, telling himself it was too soon. He’d felt guilty the moment he laid eyes on her. All thoughts of bachelorhood, the promises he’d made to himself would be null and void if she remained in the picture. Good thing she was just passing through.
    He was halfway down Blow Out Hill when he spied Eddie’s shiny black Hummer parked next to a county snowplow. Thinking there could’ve been an accident at Maximum Glide, he twisted the throttle to wide open and the snowmobile skyrocketed recklessly to the bottom of the hill. He braked quickly, sending a shower of freshly packed snow shooting through the air like a blaze of fireworks.
    He shut the engine off, leaving the keys in the ignition. He saw Eddie talking to a group of men gathered around the Hummer. Max shook his head. The man adored his ride, never missing an opportunity to pay tribute to the vehicle’s superiority over other four-wheel-drive transport.
    Eddie saw him and waved. “What brings Muhammad down from the