Page 16 of Hot Times in Heart Falls, Vignettes Vol 3

Tamara answered slowly. “Not following the rules cost me, but in the end, one thing led to another and I’m exactly where I need to be.” She closed the distance between them, laying a hand on his arm. “I lost my job in Rocky but found you and the girls. I found my home. So yeah, colouring outside the box doesn’t bother me that much.”

“Agreed.” Outside, he could see the rest of the family approaching. “Anything I need to do to get the horde ready to head to Karen’s?”

“Oh, yes.” Tamara picked up the box and wiggled it in the air. “We need to get ready for Boxy.”

2

Karen

The tip of Dandelion Fluff’s tail quivered a second before the white cat pounced. Tyler’s shriek of laughter echoed in the living room where Finn was entertaining the little guy with help from Dandy.

Her heart pounded in her throat as Karen turned half her attention on the action in the kitchen and half on the man she loved more than anything as he picked up his nephew and flipped Tyler upside down, the two of them laughing like hyenas.

Finn always has loved kids.

“Hey, Auntie Karen, we’re ready for you.”

Karen turned to smile at her oldest niece. “You sure about that, Sasha?”

“We figured out the lighting problem. Plus, Jinx and Sasha hung a blanket so we have a plain background.” Tamara stepped away from the phone attached to the tripod, gesturing Karen into position. “If you do the honours, Caleb and I will people wrangle.”

“Excellent. I’m all wrangled out after this week,” Karen informed her sister.

“Lots of visitors?”

“For the last week of February, I expected a lull. Nope—we had seven out of eight cabins filled.”

“Nice.”

“Even nicer, they all went home this afternoon, happy and contented.” Karen gestured to the box. “Take your places.”

It was a fascinating idea. One at a time, starting with the girls, each person leaned over the table and poked their head through the box. Tamara helped adjust their hair or the props they held, while Caleb joined Karen and coordinated from there.

“Look up here,” Caleb ordered Emma, lifting his hand above his head.

Emma’s blonde curls bounced as she tilted her head and raised the wand she’d decided to hold. “Does it look as if I’m casting a spell?” she asked.

“Definitely,” Karen said. “I can picture Petra photoshopping in a spark shooting from the tip of your wand.”

“Perfect.” Emma adjusted position a few times then gave up the box.

Each person had their own twist they wanted to add to the picture. Tyler wanted to ride the hobbyhorse Finn had made for him to play with at their house.

And he wanted to wear Caleb’s cowboy hat.

“It’s too big for you,” Caleb told him gently.

“I know.” Tyler jammed it on his head anyway and crawled into the box.

Caleb exchanged a glance with Tamara, who shrugged. “It’s for fun, so why not?” she tossed back.

Karen barely kept from laughing as Tyler poked his head out, nothing but his mouth visible under his daddy’s hat.

“Hey, Ty. Got an idea. Kneel on the table.” She marched forward and rearranged the hobby horse so it looked as if it was exploding out of the box. “You might want to stay close in case things tip over,” she told Tamara.

“Can do. I see what you’re doing.” Tamara tapped her son on the nose. “Lean out of the box, and I’ll get that hat settled so we can see your smile.”

In the end, it took a piece of rope and Caleb standing on the table so he could hold his son in mid-air, but the final picture had a happy Tyler riding his hobby horse right out of the box.