I want to ask, but the rest of the gang come trooping into the house. Braden and Will are carrying the tree together, even though I’m sure Braden can heft it by himself.
Macy and Riley are rushing around looking for the Christmas tree stand and water basin while Susanna locks her gun in the gun cabinet.
I go up to Braden and give him a hug. “Daddy, is Poppy okay? Will he be trimming the tree with us?”
“He’s planning on it.” He ruffles my hair and tries to tuck the too-short hair behind my ear. “You didn’t wear your earmuffs.”
I shrug. “Will didn’t think I needed them.”
“What was he doing? Nibbling? That boy’s way too fresh.” Braden sounds grumpy. “Is he handsy?”
“Is this your business?” I hiss under my breath. “You’re getting too controlling. I’m going to sit with the Brant sisters. Maybe they can give me some tips on boys.”
“Don’t forget you’re supposed to be sixteen,” he whispers. “No talking about sex. Watch your pop culture references. You’re supposed to be born in the twenty-first century.”
“Yes, Daddy!” I give him an exaggerated eye roll and march toward the kitchen table where Macy and Riley are flirting with a couple of the ranch hands, or I suppose they are the real cowboys.
“Hey, Sammie!” Will says. “I got you a bowl of soup.”
I turn my face away from him. “Oh, I don’t like soup.”
“You want a sandwich?” he asks, following me.
“No. I don’t want anything from you.” I give him the cold shoulder and serve myself a bowl of salad.
He flashes me a cocky grin. “Wasn’t it fun making double snow angels?”
“Why don’t you make them with Sarah, or was it Melissa? Oh, make them quadruple snow angels. Can’t leave Nanette and Deanna out of the picture.” I brush by him and make a beeline for the table where the young adults are sitting.
They greet me, friendly, but I notice they clam up, because they think I’m too young for their jokes. Instead, they ask me about inane things like how I like Wyoming, whether my mother misses me, and what Christmas is like in the desert.
“Abbie is lying!” Will says, coming toward me, but when he sees everyone staring at him, he shrugs and wanders off to the great room where Damon’s watching TV.
That settles Will for now. I catch Braden’s eye from across the room, but I give him the cold shoulder, too. Just because Will is stopped out doesn’t mean it’s green light time for the guy who goes around bossing me around.
In fact, I’m upset at him for scolding me. When I finish lunch, I retire to my room and find Abbie sitting on the top bunk with her Rubik’s cube.
“All right! Girl power,” I say, climbing up to sit with her. “We’ll show them how fast we can solve this thing.”
~ Braden ~
The Christmas tree is set up inside the guest room so Grandpa can enjoy it. He’s awake now, and his expression is filled with wonder. That’s Grandpa for you. He loves Christmas, and before his health went downhill, he dressed as Santa the entire month of December and held a Christmas Pet Rescue event where he asked children what they wanted for Christmas and of course, promised them a pet.
“Let me out of this bed,” he says, wheezing. “I need to get my suit on.”
“You’re recovering from surgery. You have to take it easy.” I raise the bed so he can be in a more comfortable sitting position.
“I can’t be wearing a hospital gown. At least let me put on Santa’s jacket.”
“Sure, sure, but you can’t get out of the bed.” I take the red elf jacket with the white trimmed cuffs and collars. “I can only drape it over you. Can’t disconnect your IV.”
“That will look fake.” He puts on a Santa hat. “I need to put it on and tie the belt.”
“I can help.” Sammie’s voice pipes from the doorway. “Poppy, if you don’t mind me taking out the stitches on the sleeves and sides, I can sew Velcro to make it stick together.”
“You’ll do that for me?” His eyes twinkle, and a genuine smile lights his face. “This old suit isn’t going to do anything for me next year, so you might as well modify it.”
“You’ll be needing it again next year. I’m sure of it,” she says.
