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How boring her life would be.
Kyle wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and they sat side by side in happy silence until their cups were empty.
It didn’t take long to strap the tree on top of the car—it took longer to wrestle it into the schoolhouse and get it set up in the tree stand they had talked about replacing the year before, but then forgot about until it didn’t want to hold this tree up completely straight.
By the time they arrived at the farm, it was well after dinner indeed. The kids had all eaten and were back to playing ball hockey. Buddy came over for a pat, then curled up next to the wood stove again, clearly tuckered out.
Claire offered them bowls of stew, but they innocently replied that they had already eaten.
Kyle set down the Tupperware container of cooled cookies they’d brought back.
“How many of those were a part of your dinner?” Claire asked.
Kyle held up his hands. “I swear, not a one.”
“All right.” She lifted her voice. “Kids! Cookies are here to decorate.”
Ball hockey sticks skittered on the wood floor, then footsteps raced their way.
Laney’s daughter appeared, her eyes lighting up. “Mom!” And then she raced past them. “Cookies!”
“Well, I guess I know where I stand in the pecking order.” Laney grinned at her mom. “Can I help?”
“I’m all set up here with the icing. Do you want to go through the Christmas decorations in the attic? I set aside a couple of boxes for you.”
“Sure thing.”
Kyle caught her fingers in his and tugged her down the hallway and up the main staircase, and then through the small door on the upstairs landing. These stairs were more narrow, unfinished but well worn wood.
“Looks like your mom has been doing some cleaning up here,” Kyle said as he reached the top of the steps and flipped the light switch.
That was an understatement, Laney realized.
The usual crammed space was Spartan and clean now. There were two neat stacks of boxes, one with a note that said Laney, the other that said Evie.
“Okay, something is going on,” she murmured. “Do you think she wants to sell the farm? Not wanting to fix the stove, or get a new one. Cleaning out this space.”
“She could. Maybe she’s ready to move into town.”
“Why wouldn’t she just tell us that?” Laney’s heart squeezed, and maybe there was something in her voice that betrayed her worry, because Kyle turned and gave her his full attention.
“I don't know.” He sat down at the top of the stairs and drew her down to sit next to him. “Do you want to ask her, or wait until she tells us?”
“Wait.” She paused a beat. “Or ask. No, she probably doesn’t want me to ask. So I should wait.” She sucked in a breath. “Argh!”
“Here’s what I think,” he murmured. “If it were something serious, she would tell you. Your mom doesn’t beat around the bush. So if she’s keeping a secret, it’s probably because she hasn’t made a decision yet, and it’s not urgent.”
“You’re right.” She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly. “Thank you.”
“Want to dig through these boxes and see what she saved for you?”
“I guess so.” She rolled over and crawled to the boxes.
“I like this view,” her husband said from behind her, appreciation rumbling through his words.
She glanced back over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Yep.”
