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.They got the toboggan and pulled it back up the hill.They all stayed out sledding for a couple of hours, and then, chilled and wet, headed back to the house.They shed the wettest layer in the front hall, and then all went upstairs to put on dry clothes.When they got back downstairs, Owen built a fire in the den.Emily's cheeks were flushed and her curls were still damp.She had put on a turtleneck and jeans.Ann noticed things she hadn't really seen before, Emily's slender hips and long legs, her slightly muscular shoulders and arms accentuated by the clinging knit of the turtleneck.Both Ann and Emily had brought books so they settled down to get some studying done.Katharine had some calls to make, and Owen needed to do some work on his computer in the study.Emily sat in a large overstuffed chair near the fire while Ann stretched out on the sofa.The only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the occasional rustle of pages being turned.At one point, Emily looked up and saw Ann watching her, her book lowered.Ann smiled a little and picked her book back up.After that, Emily refused to look, although she felt Ann's gaze from time to time.About three o'clock, Owen came in to the den."We never had lunch.Aren't you two getting hungry?" They both realized they were."How about an early dinner at Isadoro's?""Do you like Italian food?" Ann asked Emily."I love it," Emily answered."Good," Owen said."Let's all get changed and we'll go."Emily was glad she had packed some nicer clothes.She wore a red cashmere sweater with tan slacks.The cashmere felt very soft on her skin.When she was done dressing she ran a brush through her hair.Ann knocked on her bathroom door and came in to the bedroom.Her black hair shone.She was wearing a navy turtleneck with gray wool slacks.The navy of her sweater made her eyes seem a paler blue than usual."You look," Emily started to say without realizing, then decided to go ahead and finish her thought, "beautiful.""Thank you," Ann said, turning a little red."So do you," she said earnestly.They stood there for a moment, very aware of the tension in the air.It was broken by Owen's voice from the hall."Girls," he called out, "are you ready?""We're coming," Ann responded, and they both went out the door of Emily's room to join her father in the hall."Well, well," Owen smiled, handsomely dressed in a dark grey suit."I am one lucky man to have three such beautiful women all to myself." Ann and Emily just laughed and went down to get their coats.Katharine was already downstairs, dressed in a green pantsuit, which was very flattering on her.Owen drove the Land Cruiser into town and pulled up at a quaint building.Isadoro and his wife, AnaMaria, greeted the Hights enthusiastically and were gracious in their welcome to Emily.They were served a wonderful salad, followed by homemade pasta topped with a delicious red sauce, and a smorgasbord of meatballs, chicken and pork chops in more sauce.Their wine glasses were never permitted to empty, and Emily found that the wine went quickly to her head.She began drinking water, not wanting to let the wine get the better of her.The dinner conversation was animated.Since it was early, and there were few other diners present, Isadoro and AnaMaria joined them for short periods of time.At one point, Owen said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to go to L.A.tomorrow, Kath.""Oh, Owen," she said, placing her hand on his, "do you have to be there in person?""I'm afraid so, honey," he responded."Why don't you come with me? We can go to San Diego after I'm done with business and have a little vacation.""I don't know," she began."Mom, you should go," Ann chimed in."We're leaving tomorrow anyhow.It would be a great time of the year to go to California.""It does sound like fun," Katharine said, giving in."Good!" Owen turned to Emily."Don't ever be the boss, if you value time off."She smiled and agreed with him.Then as Owen and Katharine discussed their plans, she turned to Ann with raised eyebrows.Ann shrugged and smiled a little then turned to her angel hair pasta with a great deal of concentration.They all declined dessert, preferring to return to the house for Katharine's apple pie.When they got back to the house, they changed back into comfortable clothes before reconvening in the kitchen."Tell me about your business," Emily said to Owen."Well, it primarily involves working with independent biomedical and pharmaceutical companies who might be duplicating each other's work in an effort to keep everything secret, and trying to get them to work jointly on various breakthroughs.Then we get the ideas to the companies with the technology to put it all into mass production.""That must take you all over the world," Emily said."It does.It gets old, but it's part of the job."Emily nodded slightly."What does Michael do?""He's working for an investment firm in New York," Katharine told her
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