That’s progress.
Something’s going on at Harry’s Folly this Saturday because the place is closed.I have no idea what’s happening.Do you?
No.Maybe Harry’s adding some fancy Christmas display.You never know about that man…
Maybe, but I think he would have done it by now.And it’s too early for New Year’s decorations.
Then it could be a big company Christmas party.You know, where they rent the whole place out.
What company?
Don’t know, but with Harry, you can never tell.
Well, keep your ears open because I want to know, and I’m half tempted to park outside the restaurant and see who goes in.
Not me, especially when it’s freezing outside.Anyway, we’ll find out soon enough.We can have breakfast at Lina’s Sunday morning after church and hear the whole story…
Good idea.See you then.
23
“Harry’s shutting down the whole place for a taste testing?”
Ian pulled a navy sweater over his T-shirt, shoved his wallet in his back pants pocket.“You know Harry.He said it’s ‘invitation-only’ and we’re on the list.”
“Did he say who else was invited?”Katie glanced up from the jewelry box she’d been rifling through for her “holiday” earrings.
“Nope.Apparently, the list includes those with ‘discerning’ tastes.”
That comment made her laugh.“He’s going to be disappointed when we tell him we love everything.”
“Agreed.”Ian sat on the edge of the bed, watched his wife of eight days as she got ready for Harry’s taste-testing evening.They’d had a lot of perfect moments these past eight days; nights of lovemaking, mornings waking up next to each other, long conversations about the company, and just being together.
I want you to be a part of Katie’s Soups, and I’m hoping one day our children will be a part of it, too… If they want to...
Children?
A shy smile, as she ran her fingers over his chest.Children.Three?
Sounds perfect.
Life was good.Heaven on earth.Now all he needed was for his brain to slow down so he could figure out what came next.He’d moved the rest of his stuff into the cabin a few days ago, but they’d been so busy working on factory improvements, visiting with Dolly, and making sure Jack was okay, that they hadn’t had much time to talk about those “next” steps.Should he put the condo in L.A.on the market now or wait until spring?How many square feet should they add to the cabin?They needed a nursery, but what about an office?Katie had a doctor’s visit right after Christmas, and he was already thinking about it.The baby would be here soon, and they wouldn’t be ready…
And what about plans for the house they wanted to build on this land?And…
“Ian?”
He blinked, pushed aside thoughts of the new house.“Yes?”
His wife fastened a red-sparkle earring and moved toward him.“You’re doing it again.”
“What?”
“The frown and the furrowed brow.”She stepped between his legs, ran her hands through his hair in a calming motion.“The look that says you need to figure things out, right now.Is this about the addition, or the new house, or are you already calculating the baby’s college fund?Or would this be about the brakes on my car that you want checked out?I did hear you talking to Jack about it.”Her voice turned gentle, soothing.“We’re in this together, and the only thing I’m certain of is that as soon as we think we have it all figured out, it will flip around and land on top of us.”She kissed his forehead, stroked his hair.“Let’s just take one step at a time, instead of wasting all of this extra energy worrying.Isn’t that what an efficiency expert would do?”
Ian shot her a look.“Did you really just say that?”
She tried to hide the smile.“Yes, I really did.”
