“Cupcakes are sweet,” Rio said.
“Cupcakes?” Claudie laughed. “It’s been two months. He was buildin’ somethin’, like… like maybe?—”
“Somethin’ ta hold cupcakes! A Chrismus tree!” Rio sounded pleased with himself.
“For two months? He woulda finished in two days. It’s not a cupcake tree.”
“Maybe it’s like…a… Chrismus tree made of… I dunno… horseshoes!”
“Come on, Rio. Ya don’t weld horseshoes in the hayloft. You’d burn that sucker down.”
Mila liked this bunny trail and didn’t want them to abandon it. “What if he built something without welding?”
Cole nodded. “Polyurethane adhesive is a wonderful thing.”
“What fits in a horseshoe?” Rio punched his hand in the air. “A cupcake!”
Claudie snorted. “It’d fall through and go plop, silly.”
“What if he put another one facin’ up? Or two facin’ up?”
“Might work.”
“Damn straight. Woo-hoo, guessed it! Horseshoe cupcake Chrismus tree. High five!”
“Hold on a dang minute. Does he bake?”
“I dunno.” Rio tapped him on the shoulder again. “Do ya bake, dude?”
“Sometimes.”
“See? It’s a horseshoe cupcake Chrismus tree.”
“Nosir. It’s somethin’ way cooler. And I live with Mila. She’s gonna spill the beans.”
“There’s only one flaw in that logic.” Mila turned toward the back seat. “I won’t be spending much time with you between now and Christmas.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re movin’ in with Cole?”
“I didn’t mean that.” The tantalizing prospect had occurred to her but it seemed a little soon. “We’re taking it slow.”
Rio chuckled. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“Hmm.” Claudie sank back against the seat. “Mila bakes.”
“It’s Mila’s cupcakes in the horseshoes?”
“Could be. She’s gonna add somethin’ to it.”
“Okay, then.” Rio leaned forward. “Cupcake horseshoe Christmas tree. Are we right?”
Cole met Rio’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “No.”
“Well, fudge it all.” He flopped back against the seat. “Fluffy fudge it all.”
“Fluffy?” Claudie giggled. “Where did that come from?”
“My mouth. It came from my mouth.”
