Chapter 3

The dark, gloomy morning filled her with a sense of foreboding she couldn't shake. It had never stopped snowing, which meant the roads were impassable. She said a silent prayer, hoping with every fiber of her being that Bill had stayed at his parents.

After a cold cereal breakfast, "I know daddy said he would get the tree decorations from the barn when he got back but we can start on some of our own before he gets here. I saw popcorn on a tree at the Mall one time that looked 'yummy'. We can pop it in the fireplace and then make strings of it for on the tree." She opened kitchen cupboard doors and drawers to get all the necessary supplies.

"Show us how, Mom," Jake said, "I really want to see the tree with some decorations."

"Me too, me too," yelled Chance, not to be outdone by his older brother in anything.