“Me too,” Roan said. “This is the longest I’ve been away from her since her mom passed.”
“Should we call her and get her input?”
“Let’s do it.” Roan called his mom and asked her to put Trinity on the phone. He switched to speaker mode so Jazzy could get in on the conversation.
“Jazzy and I are making cookies,” he told his daughter. “And we want Christmas flavors. What are your favorite Christmas treats?”
“You’re with Jazzy?” Mrs. Sullivan asked in the background.
“I’m at her house. We got iced in,” Roan explained.
“Hi, Jazzy!” Roan’s mom exclaimed.
“Hi, Ava. Hi, Trinity.” Jazzy took the bread from the popup toaster.
“I’m so pleased you and my son are able to ride out this winter storm together.”
Hmm, what did that mean?Jazzy shot a glance at Roan, who was grinning as he set the ingredients in front of the food processer she’d also bought on his suggestion. She was turning into a real, live baker.
He silently mouthed,Mom likes you, and Jazzy felt her face heat. She liked his mom too, and his daughter, but she wasn’t so sure she wanted his mother putting two and two together. This relationship was so new. Fragile. She wanted it on solid ground before everyone in Twilight knew they were a couple.
“I wanna visit Jazzy,” Trinity said.
“Soon as the ice storm is over,” Jazzy promised. “You can help me make cookies.”
“Yay!” Her high little voice brought a big smile to Jazzy’s face.
“So, Doodlebug, what’s your favorite Christmas flavor?” Jazzy asked, steering the four-year-old back to the topic at hand.
“Candy canes!”
Jazzy met Roan’s gaze over his phone and shot him a what-do-you-think expression.
He shrugged. “Got any candy canes on hand?”
“They’re all over my Christmas tree,” Jazzy said.
They thanked Trinity and Ava, and after a few more pleasantries, ended the call.
“I’ve never had candy cane rugelach before,” he said. “Do you want to give it a go?”
“What’s the worst that could happen, right?” Jazzy shrugged. “We throw it out and start over?”
“What if we added a little chocolate?” he suggested. “Maybe as a drizzle on the cookie after it’s baked?”
“Spot-on.”
“Maybe some cinnamon as well?”
“Unusual combo.”
“All the more reason to try it.”
“Sure.” Jazzy opened the cabinet and grabbed for the cinnamon. “Could you snag a candy cane off the tree?”
“You got it.” He popped into the living room and quickly returned with a candy cane. “Kitchen mallet?”
“Top drawer on your left.” She waved.