Home For The Holidays

by Elena Aitken

  Rob chuckled. “I’ll go get him changed.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Cole said. He was too confused by his reaction to speak with Sunshine, and he wanted to apologize to Rob again for what had happened when they were alone. But when they reached the baby’s room, Rob waved his words away.

  “Believe me, this kid has gotten away from all of us a time or two. He’s as slippery as a fish. Aren’t you?”

  Jack laughed and allowed Rob to change his pants and socks.

  Cole decided to make the most of the opportunity. “I was thinking. Maybe there’s a way I could work together with you and Morgan. I… think I’ll get some land soon,” he said. “We could plant some more vines on my land and you could teach me what I need to know to tend them.”

  Rob shook his head. “I appreciate the idea, but the vineyard is something that’s going to take years to grow into a business that can support us, let alone someone else. I’m sorry, but we’re stretched to the hilt and I promised Morgan we would keep things simple until we start to make a profit. I still help out Jamie and Ethan with their businesses, and Morgan helps Autumn. That’s what keeps us solvent.”

  Cole nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. “I have to figure out something to do. If it’s not cattle and it’s not horses and it’s not grapes, how can I earn a living? I don’t want to go back to running the rifle range.”

  Rob thought about that. “Tell you what; you should talk to Evan Mortimer. The man’s a genius and he’s rich. He and Bella—you remember Bella Chatham right?—bought Carl Whitfield’s old mansion when he decided to pack it in and return to California. Carl tried to get it back when he returned to town.” Rob chuckled at the memory. “But Evan and Bella were too attached. Poor guy; he’s been looking for a suitable place ever since. Anyway, they built a new veterinary hospital and shelter there, and Evan’s working with Jake on sustainable ranching practices. He’s got a herd of bison now that Jake helps him with and he’s thinking of branching out to more specialty products. Between the two of them, they ought to have some ideas.” He finished slipping socks over Jack’s feet and stood the little boy up. “So, you and Sunshine are home for good, huh?”

  “Definitely.” He filled Rob in on the restaurant. “I’ve got my work cut out for me sprucing it up before Christmas. I’d better head to town in a few hours and make sure the contractor got that problem cleaned up.”

  “I’ll come and give you a hand.”

  “How on earth do you do it?” Sunshine asked when Morgan handed her a cup of tea. Her hands were still shaking and she thought she’d have nightmares tonight about losing Jack.

  “Do what?”

  “Work and be a mom? I can’t believe you’ve started a winery and you don’t have Jack in daycare.”

  “Rob and I work things out between us. I have a backpack Jack loves to ride around in, so I try to get as much done as possible with him in there. Then it’s just a big balancing act. Sometimes I work early in the morning, sometimes late at night, sometimes while holding Jack and sometimes alone while Rob has him.” She brought a second cup over to the table and sat down across from Sunshine.

  “That sounds exhausting.”

  “It is. But I think it’s worth it. I’m not ready to put Jack in daycare. That might change when he’s a little older, though.”

  “Claire does it.”

  “Claire has to. There’s no way she could tote a toddler around while she works in other people’s houses.”

  “Can I ask you another question?” Sunshine fidgeted with her napkin.

  “Sure.” Morgan blew on her tea and took a sip.

  “When you’re at home with Jack alone, don’t you ever get lonely?”

  “I did at first, but now I have a plan in place to prevent that. I call it Glepf.” She set her cup back on the table.

  “Could you spell that?” Sunshine laughed.

  “G stands for girlfriends. When I realized I was starting to go stir-crazy, I went to every playgroup and mom activity there was and hit up all my other mother friends for their schedules until I had a list of at least ten moms I could call when I got bored, lonely or stressed out. L stands for lunch. It’s hard to eat out with kids, but I can sometimes pull off a quick lunch with other moms. We also take turns getting grown-up takeout and eating together at our houses where we have safe places for the kids to play.”

  “You should write a book about this.”

  “I don’t have time to write books. E is for exercise. I get a lot of exercise just working with the vines and so on, but I also jog around the ranch with Jack in the jogger stroller when the weather cooperates. We got really big wheels for it so I can go off-road. Now that there’s snow on the ground I put him in a backpack and go snowshoeing. P is for playdates. Playdates are essential two or three times a week. Rotate them around so the kids don’t get tired of the same old places or friends. Don’t get boring.”

  “And what’s F?”

  “Fun. At least once a month I do something that’s just for me. And I mean just for me. Not for Rob, not for Jack. Something I adore. I trade babysitting with a friend, or leave Jack with Rob and give him my full approval to do the same thing.” She took another sip of her tea.

  Sunshine did the same. “You didn’t mention couple time. Don’t all the manuals say you have to go on dates with your significant other?”

  Morgan blushed. “That’s not really a problem for Rob and me. We build in couple time without thinking about it. Maybe we’ll have to worry about that later.”

  Sunshine was jealous, even though she and Cole had been that way too until just a few days ago. Now the chasm between them yawned wide.

  “Glepf. I’ll remember that… when I have kids.”

  “Let’s put it into play right now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ll take you to today’s Moms and Tots meeting. It’s a potluck lunch at my friend Gwen’s house.”

  Sunshine glanced at the clock. “That sounds great, as long as you can give me a ride afterward.” She explained about the ranch. By the time she was done, Morgan’s eyes gleamed with interest.

  “That’s so great. Cole’s going to be out of his mind with happiness on Christmas morning. I want to help.”

  “Thanks. I’d really appreciate that.” Sunshine bit back her desire to tell her about Carl’s offer and confess all her doubts. Would she even own the ranch on Christmas morning? Would she and Cole still be together?

  They had to be. With or without the property.

  “We better get going. Come on. Let’s grab Jack and say good-bye to the men.”

  Cole was relieved to find the plumbing problem fixed and the smell dissipated when he returned to the restaurant later that afternoon with Rob. He’d spent most of the day helping Rob with his chores in return for Rob helping him. Ethan arrived soon after they did, along with Jamie.

  “The place looks great,” Ethan said.

  Cole scratched his head. “You mean it doesn’t look awful. There’s a world of difference between the two.”

  “Well, it’s a little dated.”

  “A lot dated,” Jamie said frankly. “The last time I remember this place open we were just kids. Hasn’t it been used for storage ever since?”

  “That’s what I heard,” Cole said. “Seems a shame, given the location.”

  “Sunshine’ll bring new life to it. How much work do you want to do before Christmas?” Ethan asked.

  “Won’t Sunshine have strong views about what it should look like?” Rob put in.

  “She will, but luckily I have this.” Cole whipped out a magazine he’d rolled up and stuck in his back pocket earlier. It was already open to a page Sunshine had marked months ago and left on the bed in one of the countless hotels they’d stayed at during their trip.

  Cole had stolen it, the idea to purchase her a restaurant in Chance Creek springing fully formed into his mind. “This is what it needs to look like. I won’t be able to order the furnishings in
time, but I want the rest of it all prepped and ready to go.”

  Jamie whistled. “Wow. That’s going to take a lot of work.” They all examined the sleek, modern look of the restaurant in the magazine spread.

  “I know. We’d better get started.”

  “Oh my goodness,” Morgan said suddenly, dropping her scrub brush into the bucket. “It’s past six o’clock. We’re late!”

  “After six?” Sunshine scrambled to her feet and wondered why Cole hadn’t called to see where she was. Normally he would have.

  Maybe he was still mad.

  She’d be forever grateful to Morgan for tackling the main bathroom, and to Claire who’d stopped by with a color scheme she’d loved and made to-do lists for the whole renovation project, categorized by room.

  “We usually eat right at six. I’d better grab some takeout on the way home. And we still have to pick up Jack. Autumn is a saint.”

  Autumn had agreed to take Jack while they worked. Still unsure of her final decision about the place, Sunshine felt guilty about letting everyone pitch in to help, but she knew if she decided to move ahead with the project she had too little time to waste any of it.

  “I’m so sorry.” Sunshine raced to gather up the cleaning supplies while Morgan put the little sample cans of paint Claire had brought on the counter.

  “You’ve got paint in your hair,” she called out as Sunshine passed her.

  Sunshine rushed to the bathroom, saw that she had a spattering of yellow in her hair from when they’d painted patches of color on the wall to test them, and ducked her head under the tap to scrub it out.

  Damp, disheveled and out of breath, she joined Morgan in the car a few minutes later and they drove as quickly as was safe on the snowy roads through the dark streets of Chance Creek, stopping first at the Cruz ranch to pick up Jack and then at the Burger Shack to get dinner.

  “Is Rob going to be mad?”

  “Are you kidding?” Morgan laughed. “I never let him get takeout. He’ll be over the moon.”

  Sunshine wondered if Cole would still be giving her the formal treatment, but when they finally reached Morgan’s house, both men seemed more distracted than anything.

  “Sorry we’re late. I picked up some dinner.” Morgan tossed the bags of burgers on the table, stripped off her coat and got to work on unzipping Jack’s.

  “My favorite!” Rob attacked the bags like he hadn’t eaten in a month. Morgan shot Sunshine a look that said, See what I mean?

  Sunshine had to grin despite the tension that had gripped her most of the day. Carl’s offer had played in her mind over and over again. She’d thought over her options so many times her head was spinning. All she wanted was a hot bath and to fall into bed.

  “Good ol’ American takeout.” Cole fell on his food with almost as much fervor as Rob did. “You can’t get anything like it in Europe. Even at the places that are supposed to be American chains.”

  Sunshine rolled her eyes. “I didn’t let him eat at any of them,” she told Morgan. “I was too busy taking him to the best restaurants Europe has to offer.”

  “Men.” Morgan ruffled Rob’s hair as she carried Jack over to his high chair. She got out a small container from the fridge and put it in the microwave. A few seconds later, she took it out again and dished out small pieces of meat and mashed potatoes onto a plate for him. Jack grinned when she put it on the tray of his high chair.

  “Where were you?” Rob asked.

  “And why are you wet?” Cole glanced up as he took another bite of his burger.

  Sunshine finally managed to peel off her coat and gloves. She washed her hands at the kitchen sink and joined him and Rob at the table. “Just… playing with my hair.”

  “She needed a new style,” Morgan improvised, feeding Jack.

  Cole raised an eyebrow. “Looks exactly the same as it did when you left. Except wet.”

  “It didn’t work, so I took it out again.”

  “Women,” Rob said, leaning back in his chair and reaching out to ruffle Morgan’s hair.

  “Weren’t you in town? Isn’t that why you got takeout?” Cole asked.

  “Uh…” Sunshine thought fast. “Actually… we were with Autumn.”

  Both men stopped eating. “Ethan said Autumn was watching Jack.” Rob put down his burger and wiped his hands on a napkin.

  “She was,” Morgan said quickly. “For part of the time.”

  “So where were you when she was watching Jack?” Cole asked.

  “At… Claire’s,” Sunshine said. Really—what was with the third degree? Couldn’t the men just eat their food?

  “Jamie said Claire had gone out,” Cole said. He put down his burger too. Both men’s expressions told her they were caught up in the puzzle.

  “We weren’t there the whole time,” Morgan said.

  “You’re hiding something,” Rob said to her, leaning back in his chair. “That’s your hiding-something face. What gives, woman?”

  “It’s Christmas. I have secrets.” She popped the last bite into Jack’s mouth, wiped him with a napkin and put the plate on the counter.

  “Nope.” Rob wouldn’t let it go. “That’s not your Christmas present face, that’s your ‘I’m doing something I’m not supposed to do face.’”

  Morgan flashed a helpless look at Sunshine. Cole looked from one woman to the other and his expression grew grim. “What’s going on? Sunshine?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Baloney. Spill it.”

  Sunshine panicked. Cole rarely got stern. When he did, it flustered her. “We… we…” Her mind was blank. What could she say they’d been doing? She needed to throw Cole completely off her trail. “We… formed a rock band,” she blurted and immediately wished she hadn’t. A rock band? Where had that come from? She stammered on, “We were practicing, okay? Do you have any more questions or can you leave well enough alone for once? Because I don’t want to talk about it.”

  You could have heard a pin drop in the stunned silence that followed her outburst.

  “We weren’t going to tell you about it because we don’t want anyone to know,” Morgan suddenly said. She grabbed a banana, peeled it and sliced it into rounds with a knife. Placing them on the high chair tray, she washed her hands and joined them at the table.

  “Because we aren’t any good right now,” Sunshine added. “But we will be. Soon. Probably good enough to go on tour.”

  Morgan frowned. She opened her mouth and closed it again.

  Both men stared at them like they’d lost their minds.

  Which they had, apparently.

  “A band? Do you even play an instrument?” Cole asked slowly.

  “Yes.” Sunshine was affronted. “I’m awesome at guitar.” She knew three chords. Sort of.

  The men looked to Morgan.

  “Tambourine.” She fluttered her hand back and forth. “It’s a skill.”

  Jamie rubbed a hand over his mouth. “When do we get to hear you play?” he asked finally.

  “Never,” both women said at once.

  “Well, maybe someday,” Sunshine said. “When we’re on tour. But not anytime soon.”

  After a long moment, Cole shook his head. “If you’re so good, I don’t think you should hide your talents. I think you should give a Christmas performance, don’t you, Rob? You two can pull at least one song together by then, can’t you?” He raised a challenging eyebrow and Sunshine quailed. She knew that look. He wasn’t going to back down.

  She didn’t even have a guitar—hadn’t owned one in a decade at least. “I… guess,” she faltered.

  “Good. Can’t wait to hear you. Christmas Eve should be a good time for you two to play—when we’re all together at Ethan’s place.”

  Chapter 5

  Cole couldn’t believe Sunshine thought she was fooling anyone. A rock band?

  Please.

  The two women were obviously up to something, and Morgan especially looked guilty as hell.

  So did Sunshine.
<
br />   He didn’t like this one bit. Rob was right; if this was about Christmas, Sunshine would have laughed the whole thing off and told him to quit fishing. She was up to something that went much further than a simple gift, and he wanted to know what she was planning. If only he didn’t need to spend so much time at the restaurant, he could have followed her the next time she went out, but he’d already planned to meet his friends in town the following day.

  He’d have to ferret it out of her tonight.

  Before he could continue his line of questioning, however, Sunshine went on the attack.

  “Where were you this afternoon?” she asked suddenly and pointed toward the back door. “The snow on your boots hasn’t even melted yet. You must have gotten in minutes before we did.”

  Fuck.

  He was careful not to look at Rob, who’d just taken another bite of his burger, but out of the periphery of his vision he saw his friend duck his head guiltily. Cole hoped like hell Rob didn’t give him away. “We weren’t anywhere in particular,” he said at the same time Rob blurted, “We went out for a ride.”

  “On horseback? In this weather?” Morgan looked from one to the other. “It’s been dark for nearly two hours.”

  “We were slow putting the horses away.” Rob dropped the remains of his burger on his plate and went to grab a beer from the fridge.

  “It took you two hours to put away the horses?”

  “There’s always lots of chores.” Rob sat down again.

  Sunshine was shaking her head. “No, your truck was warm when we walked by. I saw steam rising from it, didn’t you, Morgan?”

  “That’s right. So where were you two?” Morgan demanded.

  “It wasn’t just the two of them. They said they talked to Ethan. And Jamie.” Sunshine narrowed her eyes. “What were you four up to?”

  “Just…” Rob waved a hand, but couldn’t seem to come up with an answer.

  Cole needed to fill the gap. “Man stuff.”

  “What kind of man stuff?”

  “Just… stuff.” Cole couldn’t come up with an answer, either. “You know.”