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I eyed the contents of my cart, thought about my massive list, and resisted the urge to look at my watch. "Absolutely," I answered, without wavering.
* * *
Slade
"A little to the left, maybe."
Blake looked at me, rolled his eyes Heavenward, and shifted the tree in the stand. I was knelt at the base, waiting for Nan's final approval so I could secure it in place and start hanging the lights.
"Hmm, that may have been a little too far left. What do you think, Audra?"
Audra Dean, the ranch's first-ever foster child, now, a fifty-five year old feisty widow, cackled with delight. "I think it was fine the first five times, and it's fine now. Now let these poor buys put it up, so we can all get on with our day! There's lots to do!"
"You're right," Nan sighed. "But maybe just a little to the right."
I held my breath as Blake tipped the tree ever so slightly to the right, and when he gave me the nod, I screwed it in, not waiting for Nan's approval. I didn't want to be here all night. What I wanted to do was go find Merry, who had spent hours in town on Nan's errands and ran up to her room without a word to any of us, the second she had returned.
Something was off and, as her Daddy, I wanted to know what it was.
I secured the bolts holding the tree in place and stood. Turning to Nan, I kissed the top of her fluffy white head and grinned. "It's perfect, Nan. A beautiful tree. Now, for the lights." I dug in the bin and extracted four tightly coiled strands of white twinkle lights. The tree stood almost nine-feet-tall, brushing the top of the arched ceiling. "Where's the ladder?"
"That's what I forgot," Nan grumbled, even though she wouldn't have been able to haul the seven-foot hunk of metal into the house by herself, anyway.
"It's in the garage. I'll get it."
As I walked through the house, I thought I heard footsteps on the stairs. Oh well, the house was full of people, by now, and getting fuller by the minute. I paused at the kitchen door, frowning at the entrance to the garage, which stood open. Dang kids.
I descended the steps into the garage and flicked on the light. The ladder stood in the back corner. I started toward it, when a soft whir halted me. Turning, I looked towards my truck. It was running. I was certain it hadn't been, a minute ago.
I opened the door and found Merry ducking to hide below the steering wheel. I cocked my eyebrow at her and fixed her with a stern gaze. "Why, hello there, little girl. Going somewhere?"
She cringed and sat up quickly. "I needed to run back to town, and I still had your keys. I didn't think you'd mind. I knew you weren't going anywhere."
"So you decided not to ask or to tell anyone you were leaving?"
Her eyes narrowed, and she squinted at me. "That's not a rule."
"The second one isn't, but it's about to be. What the heck are you thinking, trying to sneak off like that, little one?"
Her face fell. "Please don't be mad, Daddy. I just need to run into town, really quickly. I didn't mean to be naughty."
"What is it that you need so badly that you couldn't be bothered to ask to use my truck?"
She made a face that would have been utterly adorable, if I wasn't so damn worried, and mumbled something I couldn't understand.
I grabbed her chin with the crook of my finger and tilted her face upward, forcing her to look at me. "What was that?"
"You know," she whined, her eyes bulging in their sockets. "Girl stuff."
"Girl stuff?" I questioned dumbly, mulling over the words until it hit me. "Oh. Oh." I nodded. "Well, that's understandable then, I suppose, but don't let it happen again, little one. At least, tell someone you are leaving, next time."
"Yes, Daddy." She bobbed her head and smiled, leaning towards me to accept the kiss I offered. "Thank you. I'll be back soon. I don't want to miss the party."
"See that you don't. I love you," I added, nodding as I leaned over her to buckle her in and shut the door. If she noticed that I had finally said the three little words, she didn't react, but I hadn't expected her to. Merry would say them when she was ready. I had just needed to make sure she knew. Not just that she knew, as I suspected she did, but that I had left no room for a single doubt in her mind as to what my feelings were.
I watched as she pulled out, before going to grab the ladder.
When I entered the living room again, I was smiling, but my heart felt like it had been ripped from my chest. Deep down, I had really wanted her to be pregnant.
