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"You're welcome, little one."
* * *
Merry
When I finally pulled myself away from Slade and made it down to the coffee pot, I found the kitchen in shambles and Nan knee deep in cookie batter. Two large trays of sugar cookies sat cooling, and two more appeared ready to go into the oven. Gallon size bags full of plain sugar cookies cut into Christmas shapes sat in piles on the counter next to the fridge.
My eyebrows raised as I surveyed the mess, but I chose to ignore it and head straight for the coffee. Whatever this was, coffee was certainly the answer.
Sipping the magic brew helped my brain acclimate as I watched Nan zip around the kitchen. When she began to carefully stack the freezer bags into the freezer, I stopped her.
"You know those aren't decorated, right?"
"Of course, I do. I'm old, not blind," Nan huffed, continuing to stuff bags into the freezer. "I figured the decorating could wait. It takes something extra off my plate and gives all the kids something to do."
I leveled her with a look of disbelief. "So your plan is to wait a whole two more weeks to decorate them?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "After all the fuss over the icing and the cookie cutters, now, you want to wait until two or three days before Christmas and let the kids decorate them?"
"Sure! Why not, it will give them something to do. Keep them busy."
I could currently think of over a hundred reasons why not, and every single one of them had been laid across my ass.
"So, basically, you're saying I got in huge trouble and put us in danger, for nothing?"
"Pshaw," Nan replied, waving her hand through the air. "Water under the bridge."
"Easy for you to say," I muttered, lifting my mug to my lips and draining it so I wouldn't say anything I was thinking—like how strongly my butt disagreed with her sentiment. It wouldn't feel like water under the bridge to me for at least a week.
"Oh, Merry." Nan came up beside me and patted my shoulder. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I really thought we needed that icing. I just wanted to make you happy. But now, the idea of decorating all those cookies when there is still so much to do seems overwhelming. And think of how much fun the kids will have!"
"What kids?" I questioned, peering into my coffee cup. I needed it to start working faster. I hoped she meant actual kids and not the grown adults whom she insisted on referring to as her kids. Most of them would be twice my age by now.
"Oh, Merry!" Nan exclaimed happily. "They're all coming! Every single last one of them. I don't reckon I remember when it was that it happened last. Many, many years ago, I suppose. It was quite a bit less, back then."
"That's great, Nan. How many people is that, exactly?"
"A hundred and eight."
I choked on my coffee, turning my head at the last minute to avoid spraying it all over the unbaked cookies. I was anxious, just thinking about it, but I wasn't surprised. Nan was beloved.
"How many actual kids?"
"Oh, about thirty, I reckon, give or take a few."
Thirty kids. I silently lamented the fact that Nan's house was a dry one and made a note to beg Blake or Slade to take me out for a glass of wine when things started to get crazy. I wasn't sure about the new plan, but once Nan got an idea in her head, there was no point in arguing.
I surveyed the kitchen. "How many more cookies do we need to make, today?"
"None. We're all done. This morning, I'm going to make a three-day menu and a master shopping list, and that's all she wrote for the day. Besides my soaps, of course. Alejandro just told Sophia that he's in love with her twin, Alexis. But he doesn't know that Alexis is really sleeping with his boss."
"Oh," I replied dumbly. "Okay, then."
"I'm fine here, Merry," Nan reassured me. She paused for only a moment, before gasping loudly. "I've got an idea, dear. Why don't you go see if the boys need any help? They'll be doing therapy sessions nearly all day."
I shook my head. So, of course, Nan persisted. "Yes! It's a great idea! You've been here over a week and you haven't even been out to see the horses yet!"
It was a fact I was well aware of. I loved being with the horses. I missed them a lot. The barns had been calling to me, all week. I had imagined going down there a hundred times, just to see if my old favorites were still there and to meet any new horses they might have acquired. I had never been a country girl before coming to the ranch, but the horses had changed me. They had given me a lot. The outreach program and the kids were a different story. I knew well how fragile those kids were and how hard it was to work with them, be around them, and be a positive force in their lives. I could barely be a positive force in my own life.
I shook my head. "Maybe later. I can help you with the menu and shopping list," I offered hopefully.
