“She’s at school. I took her,” he says calmly while handing me a cup of hot chocolate.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because you were knocked out and I figured you needed to sleep in. Amara was good. She ate bacon and toast before I dropped her.”
Still processing that I’d actually overslept by hours, that I missed Amara this morning, thathetook her to school, and thathe’dcooked breakfast, all I manage to say is, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, sit and let me feed you.”
“Can you cook?” I ask, truly curious.
“I get by but I’ve mastered bacon, eggs, and toast. Plus, there’s gourmet jam for the toast,” he says and I can’t help the smile forming on my face.
I’m amused at and appreciative of all things him and the sight of this fine ass man standing in my kitchen in front of my stove is breathtaking. I want to enjoy every moment, so I take my happy ass to the table, sit, and watch as he fries my bacon, scrambles my eggs, toasts my bread on the grill pan, and fixes my plate. When he places it in front of me, he watches me intently until I take my first bite. Part of me wants to keep him in suspense but the anxious look on his face causes me to give him immediate feedback.
“These eggs are so delicious and fluffy. So good. Thank you,” I tell him.
“Wasthat the last brown sugar butter bar?” Amara asks as she places the bar of soap into the box.
“Should be. Do you have any more stickers?” I ask for confirmation.
“No. They’re gone. That’s not why I asked. It’s my fav and I need another bar in my room,” she says.
“Another batch will be ready in five days,” I assure her.
Jubilee is tomorrow and we are getting ready by packaging and labeling all of my soaps and jams. Since Amara is out of school this week, she has been a big help, but so has Meleck. My barn is rewired and the freezer is back in there. Meleck finished it Sunday morning, and that night, I started a new batch of soap. All sixty-five bars are setting.
Things on the ranch are perfect. Meleck was offered a spot at the Circle Bar G ranch, but thankfully, he declined. He’s working on my roof, which means we have him longer. Honestly, I don’t want him to go, not to another ranch or anywhere. I likehim here with me and I like the routine the three of us have developed.
Today, he’s at The Phoxes Den. His uncle, Mr. Rufus, called him early this morning because there was some electrical emergency in the milking barn. Because it’s the day before Christmas Eve, no one else was available. So as a favor to his uncle, he went.
“Did you count the boxes before you closed them?” I ask Amara and she rolls her eyes.
“We do this every year,” she huffs.
“Just amuse me.”
“Yes,” she sighs. “I counted and there are one hundred in that box. Total, you got one hundred brown sugar, sixty-five peppermint, and one hundred lavender. Do we have to wrap the broken pieces?” she asks and I hear the angst in her voice. We’ve been doing this since eight this morning and she’s getting tired.
“No. I’m going to bag them up and just add a label to the bag. The pieces will be ten dollars a bag. I’ve got it, you’ve done enough and I appreciate it,” I tell her and she smiles.
“I can help with that too,” she offers but I decline.
“I got it. Call Kimmie. She can come over if you want.”
“Can she stay and just go to Jubilee with us tomorrow? You know her mom doesn’t really like to go. She can help us sell.”
“She can if her mom says yes,” I say and she hops up off the sectional. Before she runs off, I add, “But Traci has to text me. I’m not trusting you two. A text, Amara.”
“Okay. I’m gonna call her right now,” she says before jetting out of the living room. Not even five minutes later, she rushes back in here. “Check your phone. She said yes and texted you.”
“My cell is in my room,” I say and she runs off before I get my last words out.
“Here,” she says as soon as she’s back with my phone. “The notification is on your screen.”
“Thank you but can you sit for a minute? I need to talk to you about something,” I say and her smile drops.
“Is everything okay?” she asks with too much worry and concern, so I immediately assure her.
