“Were you expecting anyone tonight?” Lizzie’s father asked her mother, who sat up and shook her head.
“Wait here,” he told her as he removed his arm from around her shoulder and stood up.
He went to the door and paused for a moment before opening it.
“Edward!” a voice boomed from the other side. “Glad to see you made it up here safely!”
Lizzie’s father’s face lit up as he called out, “Old Jake! Come on in!”
Lizzie’s mother got up from the couch and hurried toward the door as Old Jake entered the room. He wrapped his niece in a one-armed embrace, almost engulfing her with his size.
He looked the same as Lizzie remembered from her last visit, but this time, he carried a large sack over his shoulder. He looked a little like Santa Claus that way. All that was missing was the r
