“Hey, baby girl! What ‘cha doing out there?” Riley asked.
“Mama said I could go collect some leaves for my art project, as long as I don’t go past the back fence,” Cristie explained.
“What are you going to do with them?” Riley asked.
“I’m going to put them between two sheets of paper and color over the top of them to make an imprint, then I’m going to use them to decorate a wreath I’m making.”
“Why don’t you just use the leaves for the project?” Riley asked.
“Because every part of it has to be made by us,” Cristie answered, rolling her eyes.
“Sounds fun,” Riley said, faking enthusiasm.
“It might be later, but it’s not now,” Cristie said, holding up a red leaf for Sebastian to see.
“Baby, put your leaves away, and get washed up for dinner,” Maia said to Cristie, walking over to kiss the girl on the head before she set the bowls she carried on the table.
“Yes, ma’am,” Cristie said. She stopped halfway out of the kitchen and looked back at Riley. “Doddy, Mama called Aunt Avaleigh to learn how to cook her gumbo!”
“You better hurry then. If I eat it all, it’s not my fault,” Riley teased.
“I’m hurrying!” Cristie answered, as she ran from the kitchen.
“How was your day?” Maia asked Riley.
“A good day. Got the rest of that roof finished. All we have to do is add the new gutters tomorrow and we’ll be done.”
“Good!” Maia answered.
“What about you?” he asked, still holding Sebastian on his hip as he peeked into the gumbo pot.
“Not bad. We spent some time on line, picking out a few last minute gifts. Then we decided we needed gumbo so after we picked up Cristie from school, we called Aunt Avaleigh. I taught Sebastian that butter is life. And now, I’m perfectly happy because my mate is home and all is right in my world.”
Riley rumbled as he hooked his free arm around Maia and brought her in close to his side. “Nothing in this world beats coming home to you and the kids. It’s all I’ll ever need.”
“I love you,” Maia said, looking up into his face.
“Love you more,” Riley answered.
“Unh!” Sebastian said, shoving what was left of his teething biscuit at Maia.
“Butter,” Maia said. “He thinks butter is as important as love.”
“He might be right,” Riley said, pretending to take a bite of Bastian’s biscuit.
~~~
Travis walked up beside Libby who was standing at the paint mixing area of the hardware store.
“So, you think a red frame with white snow painted on it like it’s building up in the corners, with green holly sprigs with red berries in each corner would be best?”
“I do. And it would have all the right colors. Just make sure that it’s big enough for a family of four to stand behind so it looks like they’re all framed in,” Scotty said.
“Okay. We can do that,” Libby answered.
“What do you think about painting one with elves peeking in from the sides of the frame, like they’re looking toward the camera, too?” Libby asked.
“Oh, yeah! I love that. The families could choose which they prefer,” Scotty said.
“Or choose both,” Libby answered.
“Yes!” Scotty answered.
“Alright then, we need the paint for all that. Be sure to include a small can of a flesh tone for the elves,” Libby said.
“Done,” Scotty answered as he set about mixing the colors they’d picked out.
“Got the wood for the tables and the archways for the entrance to the Christmas Village?” Libby asked Travis who’d come to a stop beside her.
“Better than that. I bought collapsible tables. We can move them around wherever we want them.”
“Perfect! Much easier,” Libby said, smiling up at Travis. “So, now what?”
“I’m going to go get enough lumber to make the second frame, then, we head over to the department store. We’ll have to find as much craft stuff as we can.”
“You know what? Get a few extra sheets of plywood. You can cut out some circles, stars and peppermint stick shapes with your scroll saw, drill a hole in the top, and the kids could paint them and decorate them for their ornaments. Much better than having to buy far too many supplies that may not get used. All we’ll need to get is hooks to put through the holes of the ornaments, tempera paints, glitter, a few paintbrush sets, and that’s about it. Oh! Get some sand paper, too, for the edges.”
“I knew there was a reason I couldn’t even think of doing this without your input,” Travis said, winking at Libby.
“Oh, I know. You just want me for my organization based brain,” she said, feigning exhaustion as she fanned herself.
Travis reached out toward her face, cupping her cheek in his hand. Slowly he shook his head while making her look him in the eye. “No, I want you for so many reasons it’s impossible to count. You make my heart smile, Libs.” He looked into her stunned eyes for a moment longer before speaking again. “I’ll go get the rest of the wood,” he said, before walking away whistling ‘Jingle Bells’.
“What is with him?” Scotty asked, not even bothering to hide his smile.
Libby shrugged. “I guess he likes your idea,” she answered.
“It’s more than that. He’s changed lately. He’s not as hard or as bitter as he was,” Scotty said.
“Give it time, he will be,” Libby answered, looking down at all the paint samples spread out on the table before her.
“I don’t think so, Libs. Not this time. It’s like all of a sudden, my brother’s back,” Scotty said, smiling as he looked in the direction Travis had gone.
Libby turned around and looked that way, too. She didn’t speak. She thought about his touch on her cheek. The look in his eyes that she still dreamed of every damned night of her life. She felt a little flare of hope deep inside, and quickly squashed it into nothingness. She’d been hurt enough by Travis and his back and forth emotions. She couldn’t risk it again. “That’s good. I’m happy for you,” she finally said to Scotty. “I’m going to see what else I might be able to find to use as decorations on the village entrance.”
“We have some artificial boughs you could hang, but it might be better to use trimmed tree branches. There’s some lights out there, and you might want to think about some folding chairs too, for if somebody needs to sit down while their kids paint the wooden ornaments.”
“Very good ideas,” Libby said.
“We have some blowup stuff, too. Maybe Santa in a sleigh?” Scotty suggested.
“I’ll go take a look,” Libby answered, smiling at him as she turned and moved toward the Christmas decorations.
Scotty watched Libby walk away. He understood what she felt. She was afraid to hope again. Travis had hurt her so many times she was afraid to believe in what she surely saw with her own eyes.
Travis approached from the lumber part of the store.
“Hey! You find everything you needed?” Scotty called out.