Page 33 of One Kind Goal

Chapter Six

After they’d built an impressive army of snowmen, Morgan, Sawyer, and Nia went into the cabin where Morgan made them hot cocoa. They basically had an all-cookie lunch, diving into the basket Isabel had brought over.

“These are the best cookies I ever had, Daddy.” Nia licked chocolate from her fingertip as Sawyer handed her a napkin.

“They are exceptional.” He held up the last bite of the one he’d been eating. “Can’t buy cookies like these in a store.”

“Mommy buys the gross cookies,” Nia said, using the napkin to wipe her mouth.

“Gross cookies?” Morgan raised a brow.

“Yeah.” Nia scrunched up her nose. “They have raisins.”

Sawyer stopped mid-chew. “You don’t like raisins?”

“No way.” Nia shook her head, her black curls bouncing about her head.

“I don’t like them either,” Sawyer said.

Morgan loved the look of awe on his face as he regarded his daughter and contemplated their newly discovered similarity.

“What else don’t you like?” he asked Nia.

She squinted and angled her head back to look at the ceiling. “Umm . . . I don’t like oatmeal, green beans . . .” She wiggled in her seat. “Yogurt makes me want to puke.”

Sawyer laughed. “I’m with you on the yogurt, Nia-bunny.”

They both shuddered in disgust then Nia looked at Morgan.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’m sorry to report I like all of those foods.”

“Boo . . .” Sawyer gave her a thumbs down while Nia giggled.

“Keep booing and I’m ordering you a heaping bowl of yogurt for breakfast tomorrow.” She swiped Sawyer’s remaining cookie bite from his hand and popped it into her mouth.

He scowled, but his lips turned up into a smile a second later.

“Can’t we have cookies for breakfast tomorrow?” Nia asked.

“Uh-oh, Sawyer,” Morgan said. “We’ve created a monster.”

He shifted the basket around. “I don’t think there will be enough cookies left for breakfast tomorrow. We’ve put a significant dent in this stash.”

“I’m sure Isabel can direct us to more,” Morgan said.

“What else is there to do here, Daddy?” Nia asked.

“Why don’t we drive into town and find out?” Sawyer swigged his glass of milk. “C’mon.” He stood, collecting his trash and taking his glass to the sink to rinse.

Nia scrambled off her chair. Carefully, she folded her napkin to contain the crumbs and brought it to the trash can. She came back to the table and eyed her empty glass.

“Mommy doesn’t let me carry the glasses to the sink.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I drop stuff. Usually I have a plastic cup.”

Morgan wrapped her hands around her own glass, demonstrating how to hold it securely. “Walk slowly.” She stood and turned toward the sink. “And keep a firm grip.” She deposited the glass next to Sawyer’s in the dishwasher.

“You can do it, Nia-bunny,” he said, looking over his shoulder to watch.