That morning, Noreen texted that she was dropping by for coffee and to grab a few tomatoes from the garden. She was at their door a few minutes later. "In exchange for the tomatoes, I brought three slices of this peach upside down cake my grandma made. She's testing out recipes for the baking contest." Noreen held out a plate covered in plastic wrap.
Wyatt took it from her and nodded. "Looks good and just in time for us to have it for breakfast."
"Cake for breakfast? That's healthy and nutritious," Noreen said as Wyatt poured her a cup of coffee.
"Don't blame me. You're the one who brought it over here," Wyatt said just as the boys came in ready for their breakfast. "Look who came over. Say good morning."
"Barney and Brownie want to say good morning too," Riley said as the dogs jumped around her.
"You dogs, go drink some water. You boys, go wash your hands. Noreen brought us cake for breakfast," Wyatt said as he led the dogs over to their water dishes.
"You look extra peppy and cheerful this morning," Noreen noticed.
"Things got a little shaky between me and Sam, but everything is pretty good now so I'm happy," Wyatt told her and saluted her with his coffee cup.
"What did you do?" she accused him.
"I wasn't the bad guy. I just had to convince Sam I was serious about us. That's not how I lived my life so far, but I do know how to be good," Wyatt insisted.
"If it will help, I can give you detention," Noreen offered.
"No, Uncle Wyatt is a good guy. Don't give him detention," Riley said running in so he could pout up at Noreen.
"Don't be mean to Uncle Wyatt, teacher," DJ said to her as he joined his little brother.
"Yeah, teacher," Wyatt said to add his voice to the clamor.
Noreen raised her arms in surrender. "OK, OK. No detention. Listen to them sticking up for you."
"Thanks guys you saved me," Wyatt told them and Riley reached up his arms for a hug.
"You get a hug too," Wyatt told DJ who smiled. "OK. It's breakfast time."
The boys sat down at the table while the dogs looked up at them like they wanted cake too. Wyatt started filling the cooler with drinks and a few ice packs.
"A cooler full of beverages. I guess you're ready to go and do some painting," Noreen said. "I heard you guys did good work. You're newcomers to town. It's nice of you to provide the free labor."
"I don't mind, but if you take Sam out of the equation, I'll mind a lot. He's coming over any minute now then we're going to go and finish painting that float. He's bringing a picnic lunch," Wyatt bragged.
"Do you know how lucky you are to have found someone like him in a small place like this. It's like you won the lottery," Noreen told him.
"I know it. Believe me. But finding someone like Sam anywhere would be amazing. He's incredible," Wyatt said with a smile.
"Stop that, you're making me want to say aww, and I don't say aww," she said. "But it is nice how you appreciate him, really nice. People who are giving and sweet like that tend to get taken for granted."
"I'll never do that," Wyatt said like he was making a promise. He knew he still had a long way to go before Sam felt secure in the strength of their relationship.
Their work at Lubbock's barn was done by midmorning, just in time to have their picnic lunch. After hiking through the wooded area south of the barn, they came out onto a small field.
The boys and the dogs ran into the sunshine and all that green. Following them out there, Wyatt saw that patches of white and yellow flowers were sprinkled over the grass.
The spot was inviting so they decided to have their picnic right there. Wyatt had stuffed a picnic blanket inside a canvas bag and now he was ready to spread it out and show it off.
Seeing it, Sam laughed. "You actually ordered one," he said on seeing the rainbow blanket spread out on the grass.
"So you remember." Wyatt was pleased. "I promised you a picnic on a rainbow, didn't I? I ordered it the same night I mentioned it, but it only arrived a few days ago. I was hoping you'd come on another picnic with us and I could show it off."
"It's nice," Sam said and kissed him on the cheek. The boys liked it too and they all sat down to eat the picnic lunch Sam made. The dogs looked on jealously, but they had to stick to their own food.
