Annette watched as Amy frowned, concentrating on the row of candles in front of her. Taylor, Emma, and Vicky were also observing, all of them in a circle around the small girl as they sat in the back garden under the big oak tree. "This is hard, Mom," Amy sighed after thirty seconds of dead silence.

"Most things worth doing are hard, dear," Annette replied softly. "Some of them are very hard indeed. But the only way to reach your goal is to strive for it. And sometimes you fail no matter how hard you try, but that doesn't mean you should give up too easily."

Amy looked at her, her face screwed up in thought as she considered the words, but she nodded slowly after a while. "I think I understand," she said, looking back to the candles. Taylor put her hand on her sister's shoulder and smiled at her when the girl glanced sideways, getting a smile back, then Amy concentrated once more.

A few seconds passed in silence before a wisp of smoke rose from the second candle along, the wick glowing faintly red, until suddenly there was a faint pop and a flame danced above the wax cylinder. Amy's face broke out into a broad smile as Vicky whooped in glee, Emma laughing happily and Taylor grinning in satisfaction.

"You did it, Ames!" Vicky cried excitedly.

"There's no need to shout quite so loudly, Vicky dear," Annette laughed. The blonde settled down from bouncing around where she sat but still looked excited. "Well done, Amy. Now, put it out."

Amy nodded without looking away from the flame as she leaned closer and stared fixedly at it. The lit candle ignored her entirely causing her to frown and glare harder.

Rather suddenly the entire thing slumped into a puddle of molten wax, there was a distinct whoosh sound, and a gout of fire leaped into the air to a surprising distance. Amy yelped and fell over backwards, Vicky emitted a yip as well and performed an interesting sideways roll that had her almost upside down against the tree trunk and staring wide-eyed at the small conflagration, Emma shuffled a little further away and giggled, and Taylor simply sat there watching with an amused look.

"Oops," she said. "Wrong way, Amy!"

"I know that, Tay," Amy said, sounding annoyed, or as annoyed as a seven year old could. "I slipped."

Annette was doing her utmost to not burst out laughing, the expression of annoyance on her adopted daughter's face being absolutely hilarious, but she felt it wouldn't really help the girl's confidence. "Everyone makes mistakes especially when they're learning, dear. Don't worry about it." She pointed at the flaming bowl of wax, which was starting to consume the candles on either side, and said, "That's enough of that, thank you."

The fire immediately went out, a small curl of smoke rising into the still morning air and emitting the scent of lemons. Amy sighed a little, looking at the mess. Stroking her hair, Annette smiled at her. "Don't worry. We have lots of candles left."

Amy perked up when it became apparent that her mother really wasn't upset and she smiled up at the older woman. "Can I try again?"

"Of course. But I think it's Emma's turn now, you can go again once she's tried, and Vicky. Take a moment to try and work out where you went wrong and how to fix it."

Nodding the girl settled down and watched as Annette picked up the box of new candles, replacing the now-cool pile of wax with some fresh targets. Taylor leaned sideways and gave her a one armed hug. "That was really cool, Amy," she chortled. "WHOOSH!"

Vicky fell over and rolled on the grass laughing her ass off as Amy sulked a little, but she quickly cheered up and started giggling too. By the time Annette had everything sorted out all four girls were laughing like idiots, Taylor miming some sort of explosion every now and then and all of them shouting "WHOOSH!" at the tops of their voices. Watching fondly, Annette shook her head, then got up to fetch some more drinks.

Inside the kitchen she found Danny sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, reading a magazine. He looked up at her, smiled, then peered out the window at the girls who were just starting to calm down. "I can't see any way in which teaching a collection of mischievous young girls how to set things on fire with their willpower could possibly go wrong," he commented mildly as he went back to his magazine. She poked him in the shoulder with her forefinger, causing him to snicker.

"Hush, you. I'm sure they'll be careful."

He glanced out the window again, then shrugged. "True. After all how much damage can they do with whoosh?" he said slyly. "Make sure to teach them unwhoosh next..."

Sighing very quietly, Annette put the fresh jug of juice on a tray along with some cookies, then headed for the door again. "Sometimes you are entirely unhelpful, you realize?"

"Oh, certainly, it's one of my most attractive features," he chortled, putting the magazine down to follow her.

"Just you keep thinking that," she snorted, looking over her shoulder and grinning at him. "It's your turn next, after all."

"Oh, damn," he moaned. "I still remember what happened last time..."

"Quite a few people remember that, Danny," she said as they went out onto the back porch and descended the steps to the lawn. "Mother especially. She thought it was hilarious."

"Mal does have a lively sense of humor," he agreed placidly.

"That's one way to put it," she giggled. "Here you go, girls, have a little break and calm down, then Emma can try again."

"Thanks, Mom," Taylor and Amy both said in sync, before looking at each other and laughing. Soon they were all sitting on the grass nibbling on cookies, Danny and Annette leaning against the tree and watching the children.

After a few minutes, Annette got up and went over to the young people, sitting cross-legged where she had originally been. "All right, let's see how Emma does, shall we?"

The red-headed girl nodded as both Vicky and Taylor patted her encouragingly on the back, Amy leaning forwards with her elbows on her knees and her chin propped in her hands to watch closely. Settling herself, Emma stared at the candles in an evaluating manner for a moment, then pointed. "That one," she said firmly.

"Go ahead," Annette nodded. Her forehead furrowing slightly, the girl concentrated. "Feel the candle, feel the wick, understand how it fits together, then gently push energy into it," the older woman advised softly. "Make it heat up, getting hotter and hotter, closer and closer to catching alight..."

Emma frowned more, unconsciously leaning forward herself. "Nearly..." she whispered. "Nearly..."

Smoke began to rise from the wick as the very end of it glowed barely enough to be visible in the shade under the tree. Everyone watched silently as she visibly strained. "Come on," she muttered under her breath.

Moments later a tiny pop sounded once more, and the wick lit. Emma relaxed so suddenly she nearly fell on her face, but she was grinning widely. "I did it!" she squawked in glee.

"You did, yes. Well done, Emma," Annette said in an encouraging tone. Glancing at Danny, she nodded. He looked back and smiled slightly, before sipping some more juice. The other three girls gathered around Emma and congratulated her.

"I finally did it!" Emma squeaked happily.

Letting them celebrate for a moment, Annette finally clapped her hands. "All right. Do you want to try to put it out?"

Emma looked at her, then at Amy who smiled, Vicky who nodded, and Taylor who mimed whoosh yet again while grinning slyly. Rolling her eyes with a sigh, but seeming very pleased with herself, the girl said, "OK. Don't get mad if I mess it up, please?"

Reaching out and putting a hand on Emma's, Annette smiled gently at her. "I'll won't get mad, dear. You're learning and mistakes happen. I didn't get mad at Amy, I won't get mad at you, I promise. Now calm down and give it a try when you're ready."

Nodding, the young girl closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, then fixed the candle with a firm gaze. "Go out," she commanded, projecting confidence. Which was slightly altered by her immediately adding, "Please?" to the instruction, which made Annette once more have to bite the inside of her cheek to avoid laughing, it was such a pleading tone.

Thirty seconds or so of straining concentration later, with the other three whispering encouragement, the candle abruptly poofed out, a wisp of smoke curling from the extinguished wick. Emma relaxed suddenly and laughed brilliantly while Taylor dived across the short distance between then and hugged her. Amy and Vicky clapped.

"Well done again, dear. You're learning fast." Annette smiled at the red-head, who looked very satisfied and not a little surprised.

"Me next!" Vicky cried, waving a hand. Nodding, Annette indicated the candles.

"Go ahead, Vicky. Remember, slow and careful, don't just dive right in, you understand?"

"I remember, I can do it," Vicky said confidently. The other three girls exchanged glances and shuffled a little further away making Danny snort with amusement. Vicky ignored them as she scowled ferociously at the candles. "Listen, you're going on fire, because I'm telling you to," she lectured the wax cylinders. "So don't talk back."

Leaning forward to the point she was in danger of falling on her face, she aimed her glower at the candle next to the one Emma had been using, and went silent. Annette watched, glancing at Danny with a small smile as the girl strained. "Don't overdo it, Vicky, or..."

The candle suddenly exploded with a loud pop and sprayed little bits of warm wax over all of them, the remaining wick flashing into char almost instantly. All four girls squeaked in shock and recoiled. Annette sighed a little. "...that might happen. Again."

"Uh oh..." Vicky wiped wax off her face, the small white fragments sticking to her fingers, and looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Aunt Annette."

"These things happen, dear," Annette said with resignation as she made the bits go away. "Admittedly mainly to you, but..."

Danny was heaving with silent laughter where he was leaning on the tree trunk, causing her to look at him and raise an eyebrow in disapproval, but it didn't stop him. Taylor and Amy were now giggling furiously and Emma appeared impressed. Vicky didn't seem to be able to work out whether to be embarrassed or proud and settled on an odd mix of the two.

Once the laughter died down, Annette resumed the lesson, which went on for another pleasant hour filled with only a few minor incendiary incidents. Overall she was very pleased with the results, as were the girls, although Amy was still having trouble with the make fire stop part of the process. "I think that's enough for today, girls. We can try again tomorrow. No sense wearing ourselves out, is there?"

"No, Mom," Taylor agreed, hopping to her feet and dragging Amy and Emma up with her. "I'm hungry, anyway. Let's have lunch!"

"I think that can be arranged," Danny said, also getting up. "In fact I was thinking a small barbecue might be a good idea considering how warm it is at the moment." He squinted at the blue sky which was entirely clear, the sun indeed warm for the time of year.

"It's warm here," Vicky pointed out. "But it's still snowing in the front yard." She looked mildly puzzled but he only chuckled and tousled her hair as he passed on his way to the house.

"Which means we can have a barbecue then make a snowman," he commented, making her grin again. "Sounds like fun to me."

"Yeah!" the girl agreed, standing up and following along with the other girls. Annette watched as they all helped, more or less, as he set up the barbecue, feeling that things were going very well indeed.

She looked at the remaining six candles and smiled. Each lit in turn, then went out, before she stood and collected everything, putting it back into the box for next time.


Amy stood next to her sister as their father led all of them to the end of the garden, where the trees formed a canopy that met above their heads and blocked the sky from view. She put a hand on the trunk of one of the trees, feeling the bark with a smile. She'd never seen such large trees until she'd come to live with her new family and they seemed to make her feel welcome as they passed. Looking at Taylor she saw her sister looking back with a smile. Behind them, Emma and Vicky were whispering with their heads together, the other girls seeming as happy as she was.

Their mother brought up the rear, carrying a picnic basket with the remains of the barbecue lunch they'd had earlier in it. Meeting her eyes, her mom smiled back at her.

Returning the expression, Amy looked forward in time to see Dad stop and turn to them. "All right, girls, this time I'll show you something that not many people ever learn to do," he said. "It's something of a family skill. Taylor knows what I'm talking about, and so does Emma, but I think you're old enough to learn how it works for yourselves."

Amy felt excited. She loved all the things she was learning since she'd come here, and each new lesson was even better than the one before it. She could hardly wait until she was old enough to try some of the things Granny Mallie had told her about, the things that were in her birthday book. She and Taylor spent quite a lot of time after they were supposed to be asleep talking about all the things they'd get to do one day…

Until even Bob under Taylor's bed sleepily asked them to shut up for a while, in fact.

Amy liked Bob. He was a nice monster. Most of them were, except for Richard, who really was a poo-head sometimes. Taylor was right about that.

They'd only had to beat him up a couple more times until he finally got the idea, though, so that was nice.

Turning to the arch of trees in front of them, under which was gloom and shade that looked far deeper than Amy knew it should be since they were probably near the back of the yard, her dad started walking again, quite slowly. "Follow me and watch what I do. Feel what I'm doing as we walk. It's not hard, but it does take concentration to do it properly," he said over his shoulder. Everyone followed, the girls looking around and up with interest.

After twenty feet, Amy became aware that something had changed, and concentrated on the lessons her parents had taught her over the last months. She could feel something changing around them, but couldn't quite work out what.

They walked on. A hundred or so paces further, Amy looked around, suddenly realizing that they were now walking down what seemed to be a leafy passageway through the forest, the floor soft and spongy underfoot from the old leaves that carpeted it. Her eyes widened as she saw the trees on either side of what was almost like an ancient road no one had driven down for years were much, much larger and older than even the ones in the back yard. Slowing she peered through them, seeing shafts of sunlight dappling the ground into the distance, the golden light reflecting off green mossy wood and the occasional fallen log. At one point she could just about make out what seemed to be huge blocks of dark stone, far off into the trees, also mossy and indistinct. The sounds of their footsteps seemed muffled, while there were birds chirping all around them, with the hum of insects adding to the overall effect.

It was absolutely amazing and oddly felt welcoming, like she was at a friend's house and the friend was pleased to see her. The girl was too young to really put it into words properly but she found she was smiling. Taylor turned to her and said very quietly, "It's cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Amy agreed happily, taking a deep breath of nature-scented air which was entirely free of any artificial smell she could detect. "So cool."

"Woah," Vicky breathed from immediately behind her. Amy looked at her nearly-sister, then to where she was staring, to see a deer watching them from only twenty feet away. It stood there without moving as they passed, only lowering its head as Dad waved to it.

Once they'd gone past it, Amy looked back, to see the deer had vanished without trace. She grinned, impressed all over again.

"Did you feel what happened as we opened the Way?" Dad asked, turning and walking backwards, which made Amy gape for a moment. It was a neat trick she decided she needed to learn how to do.

"There was something..." Vicky frowned. "Like a… cobweb? We kind of walked through it."

Dad nodded, smiling as he pointed at Vicky. "That was what we call the interface. You'll learn how to properly feel it, and eventually how to use it, but that's a very good first effort, Vicky. Amy, did you feel it too?"

"I felt something weird, I think." Amy thought back. "When we passed that big tree that looks like it's waving at someone?"

He nodded again. "Yes. Well done. We'll move on and you see if you can feel it again. When we get tired we can stop and eat the rest of our lunch, have a break, then head back."

He turned and walked forward, not fast but with the gait of someone who was in a familiar place and was entirely comfortable. Amy noticed that Mom seemed to be smiling to herself and looking around like she was really happy, and Taylor was wandering along humming cheerfully to herself. Vicky kept stopping and staring up at the trees, trying to spot one of the birds they could hear up there, while Emma had a little grin on her face and appeared to be enjoying the walk.

Feeling that this was a lot of fun, Amy trotted after the rest, looking about herself in great interest while carefully trying to feel another interface.

An hour passed as they made their way along the not quite overgrown nearly-road, the scenery occasionally changing between one step and the next. Each time this happened, Amy did her best to feel where and how it did. She compared notes with Taylor, who seemed to be much better at this task than any of the rest of them, but not as good as Mom and Dad were. Every now and then they paused to look at a particularly interesting scene. Amy really liked the time they were walking through tall mountains with a view far out over a forest way below them, a big lake glinting silver in the distance and huge birds of some sort circling high above, their cries faintly audible at their position.

It was like something out of a book, she thought, one of the stories Granny Mallie told them sometimes. She was almost certain she'd even spotted a castle just like in a story, way off in the distance on top of a smaller hill, so far away she could barely make it out.

Eventually they emerged from the woods they'd been walking through into a large clearing doused in brilliant warm sunlight, wild flowers abundant in many colors with bees and other insects contentedly humming all around them. Mom said, "I think this is a good place to stop, Danny, the girls will get too tired if we go on much further today."

Taylor and Vicky almost protested, apparently enjoying the walk, but Amy and Emma both were a little relieved as they were getting ready for a break. Dad nodded, leading them up a small rise to the top, where they could look out over the rest of the clearing and the large pond on the far side. "Let's sit down here and have a rest, then a snack," he said. Mom pulled a huge blanket out of the basket she was holding and tossed it to him. He soon had it spread out on the grass and they all sat on it. Shortly Amy was lying on her back looking up at the sky and the clouds slowly moving across it, The other three girls all doing the same with their heads almost touching each other as they lay in a sort of cross position.

"That one looks like a fish," Emma exclaimed, pointing at one particular cloud.

"That one is a dragon," Vicky said, indicating another. Amy squinted at it, then agreed. "My dragon is cooler than your fish."

"It's a very big fish," Emma protested.

"Look how big the dragon is!" Vicky replied, waving both hands at the sky.

They had to admit the dragon cloud was indeed very large.

All of them admired it until it slowly shifted form, ending up looking like a big onion. "Aww," Vicky sighed. "I liked the dragon. Who cares about onions?"

"Onions are useful and taste nice," Taylor remarked with a grin in her voice. "Maybe dragons like onions?"

"Dunno," Vicky said doubtfully. "Would big lizards like onions?"

Amy felt Taylor shrug. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Are dragons lizards?" Emma asked curiously.

"Kind of, I think," Taylor replied. She didn't sound entirely certain.

"They're related but not quite the same thing," Mom put in. She waved a chicken leg in front of Amy's face, causing all four girls to sit up and concentrate on the important business of eating, leaving pondering on the relationship between onions, dragons, lizards, and clouds for later.

The fish-cloud drifted off over the horizon unnoticed.

They had a pleasant picnic, Taylor tossing some scraps to a couple of crows who appeared out of the woods and landed near them, giving them careful looks and muttering to themselves while hopping around. Amy watched, fascinated, as the birds croaked and preened, coming so close she was almost able to reach out and touch them. She didn't because those beaks looked sharp, but she could have. One crow even delicately accepted a little piece of chicken right from her fingers, swallowed it, seemed to express thanks with a little chuff noise, and hopped away again. Eventually they flew off to join a few others who were squawking at each other in a big tree some distance away.

When the food was all gone and Mom had somehow made the basket disappear, all of them sat and relaxed. Amy was lying on her stomach picking blades of grass and trying to make a whistling sound with them, without much success, while Taylor and Emma were giggling furiously every time she produced a loud flatulent noise instead. Amy found it even harder to make the process work when she was laughing, and in the end gave up. Vicky had wandered down to the pond and was kneeling on a log peering into the water from only inches away while all this was going on, surrounded by large dragonflies that were zipping around in colorful aerobatics.

Eventually the blonde girl came running back, her knees muddy. "There are frogs in that pond," she said as she flopped on the ground next to Emma. "And fish, and tadpoles, and something icky with great big teeth like this that eats tadpoles..." She made a descriptive gesture, all the girls watching. "...and I even saw a snake! I think." Frowning, she pondered the matter, then added, "It might have been a twig."

They discussed how to distinguish between a twig and a snake for a while, not really coming to a conclusion other than picking it up and seeing if it tried to bite you, which all of them felt would probably work, but wasn't the best idea. A sound from the side caught their attention and they looked around.

"Wow!" Amy stared at the huge deer with enormous antlers which was slowly heading in their direction. It was easily the size of a horse, as far as she was concerned. She'd never actually seen a horse in real life, but she'd seen them on TV and it looked that big.

For some reason she wasn't worried about the animal though. It approached and stopped a few feet from her, lowering its head to inspect all of them, then snorted loudly. She felt warm air on her face.

"Hi, Binky!" Taylor exclaimed.

Amy looked at her in surprise. "Binky?" she queried.

"That's what Taylor calls the poor thing," Mom said from behind them, sounding like she was trying not to laugh. "He seems to have decided to live with it."

The deer shook his head, then gave the distinct impression of sighing a little. Taylor hopped to her feet and ran over, flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him. "I haven't seen you for ages," Amy's sister said. "How are you?"

The deer snorted again and nosed her hair when she released him. "You know Emma," Taylor said, pointing at the red-head who had got up and was standing a couple of feet from her. She moved her hand to point at Amy. "That's Amy, my new sister. And Vicky, she's not quite a sister but she's sort of like that."

Binky took a few steps closer and lowered his head to sniff Amy, who stared up at the large animal with mild surprise, then reached out tentatively and stroked his nose. It was very soft. Vicky, somewhat wonderingly, did the same.

"Would you like to go for a ride, girls?" Dad asked. He walked over and stroked Binky's neck, the deer turning his head to look at him, then back to them.

"Ride?" Vicky echoed in surprise. "We can ride him?" She sounded very interested.

"Yeah, he's really strong and fast," Taylor said enthusiastically. "It's so much fun. Come on, let's ride him."

Amy looked over her shoulder at Mom who was smiling at them all. She nodded. "Go ahead, dear, he won't hurt you."

Not totally certain this was a good idea but willing to give it a shot, Amy got up along with Vicky, both girls joining the other two next to Binky, who watched them closely. "Two at a time, I think," Dad said, rubbing his chin and examining them for a moment. "Let's see. Taylor and Vicky, then Emma and Amy, would probably be best. Emma has ridden him before so she knows what to expect."

Amy watched as Taylor grabbed a handful of fur and with Dad's help heaved herself onto the back of the enormous animal, who just stood there with a look on his face she could only describe as patient amusement. Dad helped Vicky get on too, behind Taylor. "Hang on, he's really quiiiicccckkkkk!"

Taylor's voice faded into the distance as Binky took off like someone had fired him out of a gun. The thunder of hooves echoed around the clearing, making Emma and Amy stare, then exchange grins.

"Wheee!" Amy couldn't work out if it was Taylor, Vicky, or both screaming in excitement.

She listened carefully.

Both. Definitely both.

When it was her turn, she screamed just as loudly, and had enormous fun.

It had been a very good day so far.


When they were on the trip home again, Amy asked, "Dad?"

"Yes, Amy?"

"Where can you go with a Way?"

Dad smiled down at her, squeezing the hand he was holding in his own. "Almost anywhere, if you know how to get there. Some places are harder than others to get to, but it's possible to go from almost anywhere to almost anywhere with a little effort. And you can meet some very interesting people in the process."

Amy nodded thoughtfully, looking around at the calm green path they were ambling along. "Does anyone else use a Way like we're doing?"

"Oh, certainly. Lots of people. But not so many you bump into them all the time," he replied, chuckling. "When you do see someone, though, you just greet them and keep going. It's traditional, you see. The Ways are for anyone who can use them and trying to cause trouble here isn't a good idea."

"Who would stop you if you did?" she asked curiously, peering around with interest.

"Various people," he said with another smile. "Some of them would be quite annoyed."

"Some of them are us," Mom called back from where she was walking in front with Taylor and Vicky, while Emma was trailing along behind waving a stick in the air trying to hit the occasional leaf that drifted down from above.

"Also true," he remarked with amusement. "And some of them are much more powerful than us. So it's best to be polite if you meet anyone. Or anything."

"Things are people too," Taylor giggled, making Mom tap her on the head and grin.

"There are a few exceptions, but you probably won't see any of them until you're older," Dad added after a few more steps. "Sort of… well, different traditions, I suppose. You'll learn about them in time."

Rounding a corner in the gently descending tree-lined road, they found themselves looking down a long straight path that seemed to go on until it vanished in the distance. Amy stared at the forest surrounding them and the trees arching overhead, thinking it was a really nice and calming view. They sauntered slowly along, watching the birds flitting from branch to branch, and small animals that occasionally stopped to watch them right back. At one point Amy spotted a bright blue lizard sunning itself on a mossy rock, the creature lifting its head to examine them as they passed. She waved to it, and giggled when it appeared to wink at her with bright yellow-orange eyes. Looking up at Dad she saw him also looking at the lizard, his expression amused.

He nodded once in its direction. When she looked back it was gone.

Another thing they passed was a side path down which she saw a large and old-looking building, with a chimney emitting a faint haze of smoke from the top. The ancient stones were covered with moss and seemed almost to merge into the scenery in an oddly natural manner, as if it had always been there. Through the windows she could faintly make out movement inside, and could hear laughter as if a number of people were enjoying themselves. Dad followed her eyes, then laughed quietly. "When you're older, I'll introduce you to the man who runs that place. You meet some very interesting people inside sometimes."

As they passed an older white-haired and very solidly made man stepped out of the front of the building, the heavy wooden door creaking slightly as he closed it behind himself. He lifted a hand in a wave to Dad, who waved back, then walked around the side of the building and vanished from sight, with the air of someone who had somewhere to be. Dad chuckled again. "Erwin being one of the more interesting ones," he murmured as Amy looked back, trying to make out the words on the old wooden sign hanging outside the building, but failing because it was written in a weird way.

Only a few minutes later, Taylor looked back and said, "Can I try this next one?"

"If you think you can, Taylor," Dad replied with a smile. Her sister nodded, an expression of determination on her face.

"Pretty sure," she replied, looking forward again. Amy could feel the sensation of what she'd come to recognize as the interface as Dad had said coming up. Taylor waved her hands majestically and called in a firm voice, "Open, Way!"

Giggling, Amy followed Mom, Vicky, and Taylor around the corner, with Emma trotting along behind them and Dad making an amused sound deep in his throat. Moments later she stopped in surprise when she realized they were back in the yard behind the house. Peering back, she stared at the arch of trees at the end of the yard with a quizzical expression, then looked questioningly at Dad, who grinned.

"Almost anywhere, Amy. And there are lots of shortcuts."

"Cool," she breathed, before letting go of his hand and running to join her sister and the other two girls. There was still a snowman to make, which needed snow, which needed the front yard.