“Yeah. He was missing you, clearly, but he put it like that instead. Or well, he said Mr. Raven was feeling sad.”
“Ah.” I squeezed her shoulder. “Thank you for being good to and with him.”
Pay exploded out the door with an offensive amount of energy. “Auntie Demi? Do you think Mrs. Jenn has time to bake today?”
“I don’t know, munchkin. We can ask. You guys have Aria today, too, because I need to do work things.”
“Oh, okay!” Pay grabbed my hand, then looked up. “Do you want to come have breakfast with us in the house?”
I glanced at Demi. I normally had breakfast for myself and Pay at the cabin, but apparently there was a preexisting plan.
“I called ahead and Mom has breakfast ready. I’m sure there’s enough for you, too, given that everyone else will be there as well.”
Everyone else.I couldn’t help the way my gaze was drawn to the cabin across the space between.
“I’m sure he’s already at the stable and will come eat, too,” Demi murmured, her eyes filled with warmth.
“Yeah, okay. Let me put on my boots and I’ll be right after you guys.”
“Yay!” Pay jumped off the porch steps, and it occurred to me that this was one of the first times I’d seen my son this excited to just start the day. He’d always been pretty easygoing, but he was more animated now, as if someone had injected happiness into him.
Demi glanced at me knowingly, but with Aria in her arms, she followed Pay without saying anything.
Once I was ready, I walked toward the main house. I inhaled the morning air, smiling at what my senses told me. It was going to be a nice, sunny day, which meant that Hawk and I could continue building the “horse agility course” as it was now called by everyone.
As I took off my boots on the front porch and walked into the louder than expected house, I realized it was pretty much the normal breakfast time. There was a lot of family around, which suddenly felt a bit overwhelming.
Hawk got up from his seat next to Crew. “Morning, Mal. You can take this one; I’m going to go do some paperwork before we start.”
“The course?” I confirmed, while trying not to think about sitting next to Crew around the crowded table.
“Yeah, I think we can finish most of it today and the weather seems good,” Hawk replied as he took his plate to the sink.
“It does look good. Knock on wood,” I said and rapped my knuckles on the table.
“See you there!” Hawk kissed Jenn’s cheek in passing as she lifted the coffee pot at me.
“Coffee, Mal?”
“Yes, please.”
I sat and glanced at Crew, who smiled at me. I smiled back, then started to doctor my coffee.
Speaking of doctors, Emery walked into the kitchen and took a seat next to his twin. They put their heads together for a moment, Demi telling him something that made Emery chuckle.
Pay sat next to Mike and they were having a conversation about something or other. Mike took it very seriously, even though his expression held the fond amusement of any parent or grandparent who had heard a child this enthusiastic about something.
“They’re talking about corvids,” Crew told me, being closer to Pay’s end of the table.
“Ah. His favorite birds.” I smiled. I could see Mr. Raven on the end table nearby where Pay must’ve placed him for safekeeping while he had breakfast.
As if on cue, my son’s eyes went wide. “No way!”
“Yes way,” Mike replied, chuckling. “We can do that if your dad says it’s okay.”
Pay’s head whipped to look at me, his expression filled with excitement. “Daddy can we? Mr. Mike says there’s magpies living by the event barn. Can we try to be friends with them?”
“Befriend them,” I corrected, knowing that was what he’d been trying to say. “Of course you can. You should research what magpies consider as high value food and start from there.” I lifted a hand when he almost fell out of his seat in excitement. “But, I don’t have time to do much with you unless it’s my day off, so you should try to pace yourself with this project.”
