“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.