How many times had she told her younger siblings that there was no excuse for mean-spiritedness? Besides, she’d learned long ago there was danger in protesting too much.
Meg gestured to Lexi’s shopping cart. “Looks like you’re getting ready to do it up big for Christmas.”
“We’re not always in Jackson Hole for the holidays, so we’re going all out and having everyone over next Saturday night,” Nick said.
“Nick and Lexi live part of the year in Dallas,” Meg explained to Cole.
“Although I grew up here, I’ve spent the past fourteen years in Texas,” Cole said to Nick. “My business holdings are based out of Austin.”
“Great town.” Nick nodded approvingly. “The live music scene is awesome.”
While the two men launched into a discussion of all things Texas, Lexi pulled Meg aside.
“How’s it going? Be honest. I was stunned when I heard the news—”
“It’s okay,” Meg said, realizing it was true. Yes, considering their past, being thrust into such close proximity was a bit awkward, but so far Cole had been a gentleman. He’d praised her cooking, had encouraged Charlie to help her carry bags inside and had even supported her “getting to know you” game last night. “We’re figuring it out.”
“Lex, not to break this up, but we did tell Coraline we’d pick up the children—” Nick held up his smart phone so his wife could see the time “—in five minutes.”
“Yikes, I didn’t realize it was this late.” The look Lexi shot Meg was filled with regret. “Coraline runs a B and B and does all the cooking, so she’ll need to get supper started. Addie, our oldest, is a good little helper, but Grace is a toddler and into everything.”
“We need to rush, too,” Meg said. “Charlie is at a birthday party and we’ll have to pick him up before long.”
“Do you have any plans for the holidays?” Lexi asked, her gaze widening to include Cole.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” Cole said. “Right now I’ve been taking it day by day.”
“Well—” Lexi glanced at her husband, who gave her a barely perceptible nod “—we’d love it if you’d celebrate with us next Saturday. It’s always a good time when everyone gets together. Travis and Mary Karen will be there, and David and July. Derek and Rachel are in town, so they’ll come. As well as a few single friends. And all the children, of course. We’re planning on eating at six.”
This must be the party Travis had mentioned. Of course, he’d offered to cancel, saying he’d love to spend more time with her.
At the time, things had been in such an upheaval, making plans for the Saturday prior to Christmas had been the furthest thing from her mind. Unfortunately, now the holiday was less than a week away.
“If you plan to settle in Jackson Hole, it would be a good way to get acquainted,” Nick said with a warm smile.
Meg cast a sideways glance at Cole. He appeared receptive to the idea but this was something they should discuss privately.
“Thank you so much for the generous offer,” Meg said. “Can we get back to you later today?”
“No rush,” Lexi said. “Anytime this week is fine. If you decide to come, don’t worry about bringing anything. We’ve got the food completely covered.”
Once they were alone, Cole turned to her. “Why did you say we’d get back to them? Why didn’t you just accept?”
“Because you and I needed to discuss the offer.” Meg carefully placed apples into a plastic bag then twist tied it shut and handed it to Cole to place in the cart.
“I’d have gone along with whatever you decided.”
“Thank you for that,” Meg said. “But I believe that parenting is a joint effort. When Travis and I were helping raise our siblings, we discovered early on the importance of not only being on the same page but of presenting a united front.”
“My mom and dad didn’t operate that way.” He grabbed a head of lettuce and dunked it into the cart with a high lob. “And my stepdad and my mom were too busy bickering to think of anything else.”
Meg hadn’t known much about Cole’s home life back in their high school days. Oh, she’d heard the gossip. How his mom had remarried less than six weeks after his father had died. Then, less than a year later, how she’d taken off with a “boyfriend,” leaving Cole and his brother behind.
Meg had seen Cole’s stepdad only once, coming out of a downtown bar at two in the afternoon, drunk.
“Of course—” Meg chose her words carefully, wanting to be fair “—if you’d like us to consider other parenting styles, I’m certainly open to the possibility.”
Cole waved a dismissive hand. “Making joint decisions and presenting a united front works for me.”
“It’s all about communication.” She stressed the last word, remembering how he’d dropped her so abruptly and refused her calls.
“So.” He picked up a shiny purple eggplant, stared at it for a moment with a puzzled look on his face before putting it down. “What do you want to do about the party?”
Meg added bananas, oranges and a pineapple to the growing mound of food. “On one hand, I think it’d be fun for Charlie to play with my nephews. And we’d know many of the people there. The food is bound to be fabulous. Travis raves about Lexi’s cooking.”
“On the other hand…” Cole prompted, adding a gallon of milk and a carton of orange juice to the basket.
“Charlie just lost his parents. Is being tossed into such a busy environment really what he needs right now?” Meg sighed. She’d often thought the world would be a better place if children came with instruction booklets.
“Well, he has some upcoming days off school. That will give him lots of one-on-one time with us.” Cole’s brows pulled together in thought. “Having children to play with might be a nice break for him.”
Cole made a good point. Meg had never considered it from that perspective before. Now, she recalled how excited Charlie had been about attending this birthday party. Playing with kids his own age had been a big part of his life prior to his parents’ deaths. The boy probably did miss the interaction.
“I could text Lexi and tell her we accept their offer,” Meg said. “Or I suppose I can wait and tell her at church tomorrow.”
“Church?” Cole couldn’t have looked more shocked if she’d said they were going to an orgy. “I didn’t say anything about church.”
“I don’t know about you, but church is a part of my life,” Meg said with a smile. “I know Charlie is looking forward to going to Sunday school tomorrow. I thought we’d go to church, then while he’s at Sunday school have breakfast at The Coffee Pot. According to my brother, the café is still ‘the’ place to go on Sunday mornings.”
Meg hadn’t been surprised to hear that the small café had retained its well-deserved reputation as having the best breakfast menu in Jackson.
“I guess it’s better than sitting at home staring at four walls.” Cole maneuvered the cart down the canned vegetable aisle with surprising agility. “That’s when I start thinking about Ty and Janae and the unfairness of it all.”