Kate closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat and felt the vibration of his purrs. She wrapped her tail around his waist and slowly raised her right hand to massage the back of his neck. Her left hand rubbed is back. She sat quietly listening to any noise. It was close to sundown that Kate barely heard sleigh bells. The snow had fallen all day and anyone out in the weather had to be crazy. The snow was falling harder and the sky was a dark grey. The noise did not approach up the steep grade. The wind howled and whined. Kate whispered in Jaspers cat ear, "It must be near supper time. Nothing is getting through that. I bet the snow will be over the door tomorrow. I hope you and Matt can go hunting. There is plenty of game. Do you want to help me see what we can rummage for dinner?"<br/><br/>Kate stiffly got to her feet and held Jasper's hand. There was plenty of wood for the fireplace. She led him into the kitchen. "I am sorry I am not as good a cook as Ann. I can heat leftovers. Kate gathered pasta, ground beef from the icebox, cheese, and cream of chicken soup. She added frozen mushrooms, peas, and carrots. She found some frozen bread and chocolate brownies. She added all the ingredients in a pot and set the temperature to low. Then she had Jasper boiling water and added pasta. She poured water into a kettle and measured dried leaves and jasmine into a tin cup with tiny holes.<br/>"We can roast chestnuts by the fireplace and have honey cakes tomorrow."