“Of course it’s for you. And here’s one for Dave, and Brett, and Mrs. Bennett.” Pat ho-ho-hoed his way around the room.
After everyone admired their gifts, Thomas and Dave pushed their chairs away from the table.
“Wait here,” Thomas said as he and Dave ran into the living room.
Within a couple of minutes they were back in the kitchen.
“We don’t have a Santa hat,” Dave said. “But we’d like to wish everyone a happy Christmas.”
“And thank you for letting us work at the ranch,” Thomas added. “You didn’t have to do that. We appreciate it a lot.”
They gave everyone a gift. Mrs. Bennett even got a kiss on each of her cheeks.
“Oh, my,” she said. “This is the prettiest perfume bottle I’ve ever seen.”
Thomas beamed with pleasure. “Dave and I decided to buy our gifts together. We found the bottle in an antique store in town. You like pretty things and you always smell nice.”
Mrs. Bennett gave each of them a hug. “Thank you. It’s a lovely gift.”
Thomas and Dave both looked at Pat.
“Well, look at this. It’s just what I’ve always wanted.” He pulled a gel pack out of its wrapper.
Brett had no idea what it was for. “What do you do with it?”
Pat held up what looked like a thick, woolen pillowcase. “You warm your gel pack in the microwave, then slip it into its case.”
Dave showed Brett the pictures on the outside of the box. “Mr. McConachie feels the cold, so we thought this would be perfect inside his tractor.”
“He sits on it,” Thomas said when Brett was still confused.
Pat pulled out a chair and demonstrated its usefulness. “I’ll have the warmest bottom this side of the Rockies.”
“We’ll never get you out of the tractor now,” Mrs. Bennett said with a smile. “You’ll be feeding the cattle before anyone else is awake.”
“I don’t know about that, but it is a wonderful present,” Pat said.
Dave looked at Brett. “You need to open yours now, boss. But be careful. It’s fragile.”
Brett pulled off the Christmas paper and held the small, square box to his ear. “It’s not ticking. Can I shake it?”
“No,” both boys said quickly.
“Open it from the top,” Thomas said.
Brett pulled the sticky tape away from the box and stared at the disc-shaped gift. “Is this what I think it is?”
“You always forget to recharge your phone,” Thomas said. “So we bought you a fancy recharger. All you need to do is lay your phone on top of the disc. The man in the store said they’re great.”
“We took it out of its box so you wouldn’t know what was inside.” Dave handed Brett the original packaging. “It’s got a twelve-month warranty.”
“Thank you. I’ll plug it in and try it after breakfast.”
Mrs. Bennett looked at the disc. “Maybe you should read the instructions first?”
Thomas grinned. “Instructions are for when you get stuck.”
Mrs. Bennett sighed. “Remind me of that when you can’t get it to work.”
