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first dress rehearsal for the annual Christmas play held at the local theater, and Dottie was the pianist.
    “I want to boogie home,” he said, “and help Dottie so she’ll be ready to go when the kids walked out the door.”
    MJ had no protest, happy to pick up Angelina early.
    A combination of oatmeal cookies and baby powder infused MJ’s senses when she walked inside the old rambling house. No, baby shampoo, she decided as she gathered up her giggling squiggly daughter. “You washed your hair?”
    “I had to bathe her.” Dottie carried a plate of cookies in from the kitchen. “We did finger painting and one of the children thought she was a canvas.” Three other children ranging in ages from three to five danced around Dottie like puppies after a chew bone.
    MJ laughed. “And I bet you were a beautiful canvas,” she told Angelina, who was the youngest of the bunch. “Sounds like a busy day.”
    “Always fun around here.” Dottie laughed as well, her teeth pearly white in her round dark face. She set the plate on the table and passed out cookies.
    “How do you manage to do it all and bake cookies too?” MJ asked in awe of the woman’s organizational abilities.
    “It’s all in the planning,” Dottie said. “I mix up the cookies ahead of time and freeze the dough, makes baking them easy, and much cheaper than the break and bake kind at the store. Here, have one.”
    “Much better, too.” MJ, never one to turn down Dottie’s cookies, took one and shared a bite with Angelina. Even simple things like watching her little girl chew made MJ’s heart swell. She never realized such a pure, sweet love existed, since only vague images of her own parents’ love danced on the edges of her memories.
    “Hey, cutie bug, where’s my hug?” Tex tweaked Angelina’s ears and grinned. The average person would never suspect gruff old Tex was a charmer with the kids. Around them he became as squishy as a soft marshmallow.
    “Go see Tex while I help Dottie gather up the toys.” MJ gave Angelina a kiss before passing her off to marshmallow man.
    Dottie cheerfully objected to any help but MJ insisted. Soon the living room was tidy. While MJ reclaimed Angelina, Dottie bustled into the kitchen. “Don’t hurry off until I pack you some cookies.”
    Walking down the street, munching on another cookie, MJ took the time to breathe the crisp air of approaching winter. She was doing that more often lately. Stopping to smell the roses and all that crap.
    Only it wasn’t crap. The slower pace gave her a deeper appreciation for life and the nuances she’d never given thought to before.
    Stopping by the local diner to buy hot chocolate to wash down the cookies, she took time to chat with Paula, asking about her son who would graduate in the spring from Texas A&M as a vet. Paula, a widow, worked two, sometimes three jobs to get her son through college. And it had all paid off.
    In her previous life, MJ wouldn’t have known or cared unless it was part of her job. Now it gave her a sense of belonging to a community made up of people who were more than potential assets, enemies or targets.
    Though the sinking sun still shone bright, a definite chill slipped through MJ’s coveralls and light jacket, promising a very cool Texas night. It snowed maybe once in ten years here, but MJ, with no fondness in her heart for cold weather after her experience in Italy, didn’t mind the milder temperatures.
    Since Angel was bundled in her jacket, MJ decided to detour by the park. The inside play area at her apartment was nice, but nothing beat fresh air and sunshine, even if there was a nip of winter in the air.
    “Puck, puck,” Angelina chimed when MJ told her.
    The park, a small oasis of grass, trees and toys in the middle of the town, looked oddly idyllic standing alone with no children playing. Too young to care, Angelina didn’t notice the lack of playmates as she toddled toward a mini-slide just her size.
    Minutes later, Ben seemed