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“I falled on the stawers. Hurts my yeg.”
I chuckled. Yeg. I loved kid vocabulary. It was adorable. “You have to be careful, okay? You’ll give your poor uncle a heart condition.”
“Uncle, hell, what about his mama who had her arms full of baby and was helpless to stop it?” Georgia had her arms full of baby now. Katie lay against her sound asleep.
“Yeah, let's not give any of us a heart condition, okay?”
“I twy. What's makes you face broked?”
The chuckles around the room had me rolling my eyes. “It’s not broken, much. I had to help someone learn a lesson. It’s the cowboy way of handling things.”
“No, it's not.” Georgia scowled at me.
It was, but whatever. I sat him in his chair, gave Abbie a kiss on her cheek, and moved to steal baby Henry from Bree.
“You baby thief. If you wake him, I’ll skin you.”
“If I wake him, I will put him back to sleep.” I cuddled him for a minute then gave him back. I tried to steal Katie, but there was no need. Georgia handed her over so she could go fix Toby and Abbie’s plates. “Where’s Tanner?”
“With his daddy getting changed. He had a potty training mishap.”
I nodded and walked over to where Keisha stood, once again holding Atticus.
“Do you need your bag from the truck?”
“No, we’re good.” I kissed her cheek and smiled. “Go have a seat, I’ll fix your plate and bring it to you.”
“You don’t—”
“I want to. You can go sit by Abbie. Tater can find another seat.” Chuckling, she moved to the table and sat. Once Georgia was done and had her own plate fixed, I handed over Katie and moved to fix our plates. Even with the pain in my body, my heart was so full right now. This was going to be the start of something I’d wanted for the longest time.
Happiness and my girl by my side.
4
Keisha
Over the last two months, I have learned a lot about myself and the others around me.
Easton was in jail—his confession of what happened that night, his attack on my horse, and the sheer knowledge that he could have done so much more…hopefully they kept him for a long while.
I’ve been all but inseparable from Danny since the fight. Danny—man, I’d missed the signs on that one. But I was glad he was here with me now. Atticus too seemed to love him. I’d be jealous, but I got just as much time as the baby. He was never the one to say, ‘Hey, let's leave him with your parents’ or ‘Does he have to go?’ Oh no, quite the opposite. Danny was the best kind of man like that. He’d come in, speak to everyone, then go find my kid. I got a hug and a kiss first, but still.
Be still my heart. The man has helped heal so much I didn’t even know was broken inside of me.
It’s the time of year that's all about thankfulness. Family. Togetherness. I’ve had all those things my entire life with my parents, but getting it from Danny and his family too…it's a lot to soak in. I’m literally full of happiness. It’s almost sickening. Just makes me love it all the more.
As we strolled through the tree lot, I was overwhelmed to say the least. Atticus was off with the other kids, in a wagon so they could enjoy this exploration. This place—there were trees literally everywhere, and yeah, I knew the word tree lot said it all, but still. Good lord. We were following Mrs. Abigail, Georgie, and Bree as they hunted for this year's tree. It has to be just right in order for it to take center stage in the Cannon home. Georgie’s words, not mine.
Their annual Christmas party was the talk of the town—even more than the town's Thanksgiving dinner at the center—so I got it. Their home was always decorated inside and out with garlands, lights, and a collection of Christmas decor fit for a fancy store in New York.
This year, I got to be a small part of the magic that transformed their farmhouse into a winter wonderland. To say I was excited would be putting it lightly.
“How long does this usually take?” I asked, leaning into his side. I’d seen so many gorgeous trees already, but they’d just waltzed on by them.
We’ve already been out here for a half hour already.
He chuckled. “When it was just Ma not too long; adding Georgie and Bree to the hunting party—well, it can take a long while. It gets aggressive too.”
