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room. “We’re here.”
    Austin paused in scooting his grandmother’s chair in to the table that no longer sat twelve. “So you are. Here I’ve got a place just for you.” He patted the table, halved in length, next to his seat.
    While Misty maneuvered right up to her spot, Hannah sat across from the little girl with Caroline on her right. On a white tablecloth with lacy trim were ivory-colored china with gold edging, crystal goblets and gold utensils. The room mirrored Caroline’s elegance.
    “Daddy, can I talk?”
    For a few seconds a puzzled expression crossed Austin’s face before he started laughing. “This isn’t Grandma Kline’s. Sure you can, munchkin.”
    “It’s snowing outside. Can I go out after dinner?”
    “We’ll have to protect your casts.”
    “That shouldn’t be hard. We can throw a couple ofraincoats over both of them.” Hannah unfolded her white linen napkin and spread it in her lap.
    “And your father finished the ramp this afternoon.” Caroline passed the platter of roast beef to Hannah.
    “Great. I won’t have to stay on the deck.”
    The smile on the little girl’s face touched Hannah with joy. “The first time I saw snow I made the biggest snowman I could.”
    “We could make one. I love making snowmen.”
    “Hold on, Misty Taylor. If it’s snowing, you don’t need to go down that ramp. It could be slippery.”
    “But, Daddy, you know how I like to catch the flakes on my tongue.”
    “I’ll carry you.”
    “We can make snow ice cream instead. All we need is some evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla, and a couple of eggs and, of course, snow.” Hannah shifted her gaze to Caroline. “If you don’t have evaporated milk, we can use regular milk. I know several ways to make it, depending on what you have on hand.”
    “Can we, Granny?”
    Enthusiasm in Misty’s voice caused Hannah to smile. “You haven’t made snow ice cream before?”
    The little girl shook her head. “Granny?”
    “It sounds like fun. I think we have everything, even the evaporated milk.”
    “I don’t think I ever made any. I did put a snowball in the freezer once and used it on Dad in the spring.” Austin took the platter Hannah passed to him and forked several slices of the meat, then proceeded to cut some for his daughter who only had the use of one hand.
    “Yes, I remember my son had a knot on his forehead after you threw it.”
    Misty crunched her brow in puzzlement. “Snow’s soft.”
    “Yeah,” Austin said with a chuckle, “until you put it in the freezer and it hardens into ice. I have to say Dad wasn’t too happy with me, so don’t try it, munchkin. I hid in the barn for the rest of the day.” A faraway look entered his eyes. “I hadn’t thought about that in years. The stunned look on my father’s face was priceless. It was about fifty degrees, and he’d been working so hard his forehead was sweaty. I actually thought it was a good time to use the snowball.”
    Caroline smiled. “I never told you, but your dad thought it was, too. After you hightailed it to the barn, he burst out laughing, picked up what was left of the snowball and used it to ice his head until he could get inside and get a bag of ice.”
    “He did?” An incredulous expression hiked Austin’s eyebrows. “He acted angry when I saw him that night.”
    “All a pretense.” Caroline gave Hannah a bowl of potatoes, carrots and onions. “How about you? Did you ever get into a snowball fight?”
    Hannah scooped the vegetables onto her plate. “No, I hadn’t seen snow until I came here.”
    “No snow?” Misty asked with surprise.
    “Not in southern California.”
    “So that’s where you lived before coming to Montana? Where in southern California?” Austin’s interrogative tone marked his words as it had in the Jeep while he drove her to the ranch earlier that day.
    “Los Angeles,” Hannah said, gripping her fork. She felt relatively safe with the true answer because in Los Angeles County the