AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I swept my arm toward the scene around us. The snowstorm from last night was long over, the sky a perfect blue and the white on the ground untouched. Over in the animal pens, Larry and George and the rest of the llamas watched Aggie and me silently. The other animals were in the barn, safe and warm for the day.
“This is theperfectday to put up Christmas stuff!”
“Or, for normal people, the perfect day to hang out inside in front of a fire and watch Netflix and pig out on leftovers.”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” I said, moving over and preparing to put up the next section of the greenery. “We’re going to be doing plenty of that. I just want to get this up, and a couple strings of lights, then we can call it a day.”
“Fine, fine.”
The smile stayed on my face as I went back to work. The Christmas season was my favorite by far, and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into decorating and everything else that the holiday season would bring. In a way, it was good that Aggie was being a wet blanket, since if it were up to me, we’d be working until the entire house was covered in greenery and lights. I even had a big Santa, complete with sled and reindeer, somewhere in the basement.
“Uh, Aub?”
“Hold on!” I called out, my eyes still on the décor in front of me. “Let me just finish this and then we can take a break.”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Huh?”
“Were you expecting company?”
“Company? What on earth are you talking about?”
I turned on the ladder, whipping around so quickly that I needed to brace myself, so I didn’t take a tumble. When I was facing the other way, I saw what Aggie was talking about.
Two trucks approached the farm, and I slowly made my way down the ladder, dropping from the last few rungs onto the ground just as they came to a stop.
“What’s going on?” Aggie asked, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses.
“That’s a damn good question.”
Aggie and I watched as the engines of the trucks turned off, one then the other. Silence filled the air.
I cleared my throat, preparing to speak once whoever it was got out of the vehicles.
Just then, the passenger-side door of the Tahoe opened, a little leg sticking out. A little boy attached to the leg came next, and when I spotted that head of sandy-brown hair I knew right away who it was.
“Henry!”
The little boy prepared to jump down, but I watched as two big hands grabbed ahold of him before he had a chance. Adam stepped out of the passenger-side door behind Henry.
“Easy, kiddo,” he said, coming out and setting Henry down on the ground. “Taking a jump like that’s a good way to twist your ankle.”
Henry locked eyes on me, a big smile spreading across his face that I couldn’t help but match with one of my own.
“Miss Aubrey!” he ran over to me, all kinds of excited.
It was a bit surreal, and I didn’t have time to react before he closed the distance and threw his arms around my leg. Aggie raised her eyebrows and chuckled.
“Hey, kiddo!” Strange as it felt, I was happy to see Henry. I dropped down to give him a little hug back. I watched as men piled out of the trucks, four in total. And they weren’t alone. A little girl about Henry’s age was seated on the shoulders of Mac.
I suddenly remembered Mac and Adam mentioning yesterday that Henry had a twin. There she sat, her sandy-brown hair pulled into a thick braid and dark eyes darting about, checking out the scene before her. While Henry was all kinds of energetic and rambunctious, however, the girl seemed more reserved, as if she were taking it all in and making mental notes.
“Hen!” called out Adam. “Go ahead and ease up on poor Aubrey before you squish her legs, y’hear?”
“OK!” Henry let go of my legs.
“You want to introduce me to your sister?” I asked.
