“Hardly.”
“Grandpapa is very cross,” Grace muttered.
“Grammy’s not. She’s nice, and so is Nana,” Alex said. “Maybe they’ll adopt you. They make thebestcookies.”
“Don’t worry. My mother and mother-in-law are famous for—” Merry made air quotes. “adoptingeveryone.”
“Do they both live in Huckleberry Falls?”
“My mother does. My in-laws own a ranch outside of town, but they’re still fairly close.” Turning toward the children, she asked, “How are you two—”
Merry burst out laughing. Alex, with little care, was happily stuffing hay into the stretchable netting, the result reminding Carlisle a bit of a sausage-shaped porcupine. His daughter, a bit like her great-grandfather, had approached stuffing her netting with great care, making sure nothing stuck out of the netting.
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay if the straw pokes out. We only use the netting because we have to move these when we’re done. Usually, when you make a scarecrow, you build it in a field where it’ll stay put.” Humor chimed in Merry’s voice as she said to her son, “I think that’s enough straw for that arm, honey.”
“But Grammy’s round,” he said, shoving in another handful. “Put more in, Grace. You’ll see. Grammy gives the best hugs because she’s soft and squishy.”
Merry turned her back to the children, covering her mouth. Her mirth was contagious, and Carlisle found it difficult not to smile too.
“I suppose your mother wouldn’t care to be described assoft and squishy?” he whispered.
“Definitely not.” She glanced back at the children where Alex was now helping to stuff more straw into Grace’s side. Merry said, “Let’s do the legs.”
She pulled out a giant pair of what looked like some kind of support hose.
“Do those belong …” Carlisle let the words fade out at Merry’s flat look, but then the corner of her mouth twitched, a twinkle in her eyes again.
“No, the stockings aren’t my mother’s. I bought these at the store.” She stretched out the hose sideways, he assumed to accommodate the straw. “Start stuffing.”
Carlisle spent the next two hours in quite the most pleasant evening he could recall in a long while. The scarecrows didn’t look finished, but Merry assured him she and Mrs. Montgomery would put the final touches on them, when they set them up in front of the shop. He wished he and Grace would be there to see them.
Later, when they reached their lodgings at the bed-and-breakfast, they were both drowsy. Grace barely said a word as she climbed into her bed. She kissed his cheek, pulled her stuffed bunny close to her chest, and closed her eyes. It had been a lovely evening spent in the company of his daughter.
Yet it was Merry’s bright eyes which stayed in his mind as he fell asleep.
3
Over the next two weeks, Alex’s grumblings about missing Grace kept the evening spent with her and her father on Merry’s mind. Her son had made a glum Cowardly Lion as they’d walked down Main Street on Halloween, especially when they’d stopped outside Torta and had seen the scarecrows they’d made with the Wyndhams. Even Annie’s offer of a special chocolate treat hadn’t perked up the little boy.
Merry had to keep reminding him that Carlisle had said they’d be in New York. Alex would ask when they’d return. She’d then have to tell him she had no idea. The poor little guy missed his new friend so much, Merry would have to remind him several times each day and more on the weekends. Maybe that was why she’d dreamed of the man a couple of times herself.
So, she was relieved to see her son with Grace, when Merry arrived at the daycare to pick him up a couple of weeks after the scarecrow activity.
“Look who’s finally back, Mama, and she brought me a present.” Alex turned around and lifted a large Lego box with a picture of the New York City skyline on the front. “Grace said she’ll help me put it together.”
“That’s kind of you and your father, Grace.” Merry took the box from her son to examine it. While it was probably pocket change for the little girl’s father, it was still way more expensive than a souvenir key chain.
“Can she come over tonight?” Alex asked, his sweet face bright at the possibility.
“It’s fine with me, but you know Grammy’s coming over to help design our Christmas tree for the festival. I’m afraid you two will get frustrated without an adult there to help with the Legos.”
The door opened behind them, and a woman’s voice called, “Get your things together, Grace. It’s time to go.”
Merry didn’t recognize the gray-haired woman who swept over to sign Grace out of the daycare. The woman had her hair pulled into such a tight bun it made Merry’s head hurt a little in sympathy.
“My new nanny,” Grace muttered.
“Ah, you must be Alex,” the woman said, looking at him over the rim of her glasses. “Grace has driven her father and I insane with her constant pleas to see you. Hopefully, now she has given you that gift, she will finally let it go. Come along.” The woman, who carried herself like a drill sergeant, took Grace by the hand and marched the child from the building.
