“No, Dad, it’s just a lot of people coming and going, and knowing you, you’ll want to be in the middle of everything.” He faced Pastor John. “I thought it was at the church?”
“Last year Lorrie Ann turned it into a live Nativity with animals. We used the unfinished youth building, but it’s finished now. Everyone wants to keep it outside, so I thought about the covered pavilion here on the ranch. Carol had told me it was used for the huge company picnics before y’all sold the business.”
Dub nodded and settled back down. Karly sat next to him and patted his leg. She leaned in and whispered, “Dub, you have to stay calm.”
He gave her his charming smile and patted the top of her hand. “Tyler, you can help with the construction of the village. Since you’re getting a tree from the hill, you can also get all the decorations from storage. These kids are going to have the best Christmas ever.”
“Uncle Tyler, can I help get the decorations?” Celeste wiggled down.
“I want to help, too.” Rachel, at eleven, was more reserved, but the sparkle on her face revealed her own excitement. “Bryce can help, too.”
Tyler laughed. “All I did was offer to get a tree from the hill, but how can I tell you guys no?”
All three cheered. Celeste danced across the porch and stopped at the door. “Can we go get them now?”
Pastor John picked her up. “Slow down. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.”
With a heavy sigh, she laid her head on her dad’s shoulder. “Bryce, since you’re in kindergarten you get to be a singing angel this year. I did that last year, but I’m in first grade now, so I get to be in the chorus.”
Bryce slumped, his feet swinging. “I only have one hand to carry the light.”
Pastor John put his hand on the boy’s small shoulder. “I was hoping you would lead the group. Do you think you can do that for me?” He gave Tyler a quick wink.
“Yes, sir!” Bryce sat up straight. “Mr. Tyler, you were right.”
She really wished she could hate Tyler. Life would be so much easier. “How about some lunch?” Karly helped Dub up and wrapped her arm under his. “All this talking has made me hungry.”
Dub nodded. “So you had a good time on the ranch with Tyler?”
“Yes, sir, you have a beautiful ranch.”
And a beautiful son who will break my heart if I let him.
Keep your goal in sight, Karly. You need a solid and safe future for you and your son. That means no Tyler Childress.
Chapter Eleven
The therapist had been at the ranch all morning working with Dub. Now he and Bryce were napping, leaving Karly to explore the small wooden box of recipes she had found in the back of the pantry a week ago, the day after their ride.
Curved on the top lid was “Happy Mom Day to the Best Mom. Love Tyler.” The crude writing melted Karly’s heart every time she looked at it.
Each index card was written in the same graceful cursive. Notes and doodles gave insight into the personal family connection for the most important recipes. She pulled the sugar cookie recipe again. Two little hearts decorated the upper corner with Dub’s and Tyler’s names written next to them. She had tried making the cookies three times now and found new ways to fail each time. She had one week until Thanksgiving to get all the recipes perfected. Today she would get the cookies right.
The last pieces of the village were going up today and everyone was bringing a baked good to celebrate. She wanted to take the cookies. She read each line and followed the directions. With the oven preheated, she slid her first batch into the stove. Setting the timer, she went to the computer to read over the study guides for her GED classes. Number one on her list was to get her high school diploma. She found the dates the test was given in Uvalde and circled them on her calendar.
She had ordered her birth certificate, and as soon as it arrived, she could finish signing up for the classes. That process hadn’t been easy. Karly had known her mother was Hawaiian, and now she knew she herself had been born there, too. Anthony had also changed her birthday a couple of times. She’d had to do some digging to get the document she needed to pave the way for her future.
Karly jumped at a noise behind her.
Adrian stepped back. “Didn’t mean to frighten you. We knocked on the door. What has you so engrossed you didn’t hear us open the back?”
On the other side of her, Tyler leaned over and looked at the screen. “GED classes?”
Karly turned off the monitor. The timer on the oven went off. Saved by the bell. Using the mittens, she pulled out two sheets of cookies. So far so good. They didn’t look burned.
“I have perfect timing. Nothing better than cookies straight out of the oven.” Adrian pulled a flat wire rack from the bottom cabinet and set it next to the stove top. “Here’s the cooling rack.”
Tyler had a spatula ready. It wasn’t fair that all the men on the ranch seemed to know more about cooking than she did. “What are the two of you doing at the house together at this time of day?”
“Picking up Dad’s tools for the finishing touches on the Bethlehem village.” He nudged a cookie with the edge of the spatula. “I talked to the therapist. He said Dad’s recovery is going well. Is he napping?”
At the thought of Dub, she smiled. “He said he needed to do some reading, but when I checked on him he was sound asleep. He still insists he doesn’t need a nap. He’s talking about going to the barn in the morning to check on the horses.”
A scowl on his face, Tyler turned to Adrian. “I’m not sure he’s ready to go traipsing around the barn.”
With a shrug, Adrian scooped up a cookie. “I found he does what he wants, whether he should or shouldn’t.” He popped the cookie in his mouth and immediately choked, his eyes widened and she could see his throat working.
Tyler’s reaction was just as bad. His jaw muscles tightened, and his face did a couple of weird contortions. On his way to the refrigerator he grabbed two glasses. “Want some milk?” His voice sounded as if it had gravel in his throat.” Glasses in hand, he passed one to Adrian “Um...what did you put in the cookies?”
She glanced at her latest attempt. They looked so good. Picking one up, she studied it. They couldn’t be that bad. The cookie looked perfect. “I followed the recipe.” Taking a bite, she spit it out in her hand. “That’s horrible.” She wanted to cry. Why did every mother in the world know how to make a simple cookie but her? What was wrong with her?
Adrian finished his milk. “My guess would be you used baking soda instead of baking powder. Mia did that once.”
“There’s a difference?” Karly was horrified they had seen her failure.
“Okay. I can try again.” Tyler went to grab another cookie.
“Karly, really, it’s okay if you can’t cook. Everyone has different skills. These aren’t that bad.” Adrian shook his head as he lied to her.
“I’m a mother and housekeeper. I should be able to bake a cookie.” Both men had a panicked look in their eyes. She was so close to crying and they knew it. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed. Giving them her best smile, she gathered up the offensive treats, took the one out of Tyler’s hand and threw them in the trash. “I’m okay, guys. A bad batch of cookies won’t ruin my day.” She made sure to give them her biggest smile. “No worries, no drama with this momma.”
Tyler looked at her as if she had gone crazy. Adrian patted her on the back.
“Really, Karly, you are great at other things, like working with the teen parents. The kids were asking about you last Sunday. Tyler, she’s a natural. She needs to think about joining our program full-time. We’ll buy the cookies.”
“Thanks.”
Both men still looked a little lost. “Go get your tools and go build something. Bryce and I will be out later for the costume rehearsal. I’m fine. I promi
se it takes more than a few awful cookies to bring my world down.”
The men headed out the back door as she grabbed the flour. She was going to make these cookies if it was the last thing she ever did.
Before she could start mixing, she heard the door open again. She sighed in frustration. Tyler came back into the room. “Hey, I forgot to give you the mail. You have something official looking from Hawaii.”
She gasped. This was it, her birth certificate. Her hand had a slight tremor to it as she took the FedEx envelope from him.
“Are you okay?”
She looked at the envelope, then back at him. “It’s my birth certificate. I’ve never seen it before.” Blood pounded in her ears.
He moved closer. “How have you not seen it? How did you... The classes. You need it to get your GED.”
She nodded. “I’m so sorry. We moved so much I never finished school. I want to... I mean, I need to fix this if I’m going to build a safe future for Bryce.”
“You. Are. Amazing.” He looked at her as if he believed that.
“I thought you would be mad or appalled. I’m a high school dropout. I haven’t done anything right.” She had spent weeks in fear of his reaction if he found out. Now she stood in front of him and waited.
Thrusting his chin at her, he smiled. “Open it.”
She took a deep breath and pulled the tab. Carefully, she pulled out the sheet of paper. Tears welled up in her eyes and her throat burned. With trembling fingertips, she touched her mother’s name. Laura Kalakona Morgan. Her mother had been married to someone else other than Anthony. She looked at her father’s name. Philip Morgan. Her father’s name was Philip Morgan. Her name was Karly Kalakona Morgan. She shook her head. A drop of water landed on the paper.
“Here.” Tyler took the paper from her and wrapped his arms around her. She had a father. A father named Philip Morgan. “My father is Philip Morgan. I never knew that.” Was he alive? Had he abandoned her and her mother the way Bryce’s father had done to her?
She stepped back from Tyler. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting to get all emotional over my birth certificate. I’m a mess.”
“You just saw your father’s name for the first time. Seeing your mother’s name, too, after all these years. You’re perfectly normal. You just found out you might have family in Hawaii.”
She had even thought of that. “No. Even if I do, they didn’t want me.” They had left her with Anthony.
“How do you know that? Because your stepfather told you?” He raised an eyebrow.
She adjusted her ponytail. “Good point. Right now I have to focus on getting my GED and getting ready for Thanksgiving. You do realize it’s only a few days away.”
He laughed. “From what I understand, we are going to John’s place. Lorrie Ann and her family are going to be there. With the Ortegas there that means Maggie, her aunt, will be in charge, all we have to do is show up and eat. Stop worrying about everything. Get signed up for your classes and come see the work your son has done on the set.” He gripped her upper arms and looked her right in the eyes. “Are you okay? Do you want me to stay?”
Shaking her head, she said, “No.”
“Are you sure?”
She smiled at him. “Yes, I’m sure. Seeing my parents’ names caught me off guard. Go on. I’m sure they’re wondering where you went off to.”
He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, a simple gesture that almost brought her to her knees.
“I’ll see you out in the pasture, right?” He started walking backward out of the kitchen.
“Yes, we’ll be there.” Now she had to get those family cookies done if it was the last thing she did. Family. She might have family in Hawaii.
God, what do I do with this information?
* * *
The cool breeze brought the smells of evergreens and coffee as it ruffled through her hair. She tossed her favorite red poncho over her left shoulder.
Katy waved from the tables of baked goods and coffee. “Karly, over here!”
“Mom!” Bryce waved as he ran with the other kids.
For a moment she watched him.
He ran. Like a boy without a care in the world. She closed her eyes and thanked God for all the blessings He had brought to their lives.
Katy Buchannan, the mercantile owner, stood with Lorrie Ann and newlywed Vickie Torres. Her friends—there wasn’t a better word. They also made the best sweets from scratch. She had thrown away her last baking attempt. Her platter was filled with pigs in a blanket. Precooked meat and croissants from a can were her meager offerings.
She was a cheater. Hers would be the last to go, after all the homemade baked goods had been devoured.
Lorrie Ann took the plate. “Thank you for bringing these. They’ll balance out all the sweets.”
Vickie grinned and shook her head. “I can’t even look at another cookie, let alone eat one.” She laughed. “Words I couldn’t imagine ever saying.”
Katy hugged her. “You’re so smart, bringing something other than cookies or cakes.”
Returning the hug, Karly snorted. “You’re all so sweet to not mention I couldn’t bake an edible cookie to save my life. Consider these canned croissant and little sausages my public service.”
Stepping across to the table, Katy laughed. “You’re so funny. You know the guys will expect them every time we have food from now on.”
“They want the good stuff. Not my heat-and-serve fast food.”
Vickie pushed the platter back to her. “Just take these over to the guys and see how many are left when you come back here.”
“No, no. Really, no one even needs to know I brought them.” One day she would actually bake something she would be proud to serve, but not today.
Karly shook her head. These women were crazy, which worked for her. Otherwise they might not be her friends. She smiled and looked at the women standing in front of her. For a moment joy vibrated throughout her whole body. Bryce was running and playing, and she was talking with her friends. Vickie had an eyebrow raised in a challenge.
Katy’s lips were pressed tight in a silly grin. She nodded. They acted as if she was on a mission. Rolling her eyes, she palmed the platter in her hands and turned to march off to the men.
On the other side of the building, Tyler laughed. Not that she had been watching him the whole time. He lifted the wood over his head. Officer Jake Torres, Vickie’s new husband, had the other side.
Tyler’s dark shirt pulled across his back as the muscles of his shoulders bunched and flexed. Together the men hoisted it onto the post while two others used nail guns to anchor it in place. He turned and found her staring at him.
She swallowed and looked down at the pigs in a blanket. She looked up, but this time sought out Pastor John, avoiding Tyler’s intense stare that saw too much. She was so embarrassed about the scene she created earlier. “Are you ready for a break?”
Adrian laughed. “We’ve barely started, and you’re already trying to feed us?”
She nodded to the table where her friends, the wives of many of the men standing around her, stood. “They either think you’re brave enough or desperate enough to eat these pigs in a blanket I made.”
“Are they mad at us?” Tyler leaned against the post with his arms crossed and winked at her.
“There is that option.” She shot back at his grinning face.
Adrian approached her first and took one. He turned it over, checking all sides before popping it in his mouth. There was a hushed anticipation. Karly held her breath. Would he need a drink to wash it down? Oh, she should have brought drinks.
He leaned closer and grinned at her before grabbing a few more. The other guys yelled at him. “You can’t have them all.”
Hands reached for the plate, and before she could
blink they were all gone. The men chewed and grinned.
“These are good. You’ve been holding out on us.”
“Do you have more?” Tyler asked.
She laughed. She had been so worried about not being able to bake. Who knew she could have won them over with canned dough and baby sausages?
“Hey, Ty, stop staring and be useful.” Jake gave Tyler a shoulder bump as he went back to work.
Tyler put his hands into his front pockets. “Red’s a good color on you.”
The spark in his blue eyes made her desire things she was too smart to want. “I think your friends need you.”
He shrugged. “I’d rather do what I’m doing.” He tilted his chin up. “You’ve been hiding your skills. Will you make more when we get home?”
Who knew she would feel so empowered just from cooking something they all liked and wanted? “Anyone can unroll a can and wrap dough around little sausages.” She was being silly stupid for being so proud of the fact he liked what she had cooked.
“Will you make them for Christmas Eve at our house? My mom had standard dishes, but she was always looking for something new.” His voice was so low she barely heard him. “It’s been a long time since I spent Christmas with family.”
“At our house?” She kept her voice low to match his.
Tyler’s clear blue eyes held a trace of sadness that was in contrast to his beautiful smile. For a moment it was just the two of them.
“Yeah.” The grin finally reached his eyes. “Will you make more?”
“Of course.”
“Hey, Ty! Did you come to help? If you wanted to talk to Karly, you could have stayed home and done that,” Adrian yelled at them.
“I’m being summoned.” He winked. “Later.”
“Later.” She stayed there and watched as Tyler joined the men. Before the day was done, they would have a biblical village built in the Texas Hill Country. And she might lose her heart.
Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Maybe she should talk to Lorrie Ann. She knew Adrian or Pastor John could help her. She took a deep breath and headed back to the women. Humming a song, she looked for Bryce. He was running with a long piece of material draped over his head.
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