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Jace shoved the remainder of his cookie into his mouth with a nod and hopped like a frog across the floor, making Victoria laugh. Then he stood on his tiptoes and set the lid on the counter. Butch turned his attention to Jace, trotting next to him, his tail whipping through the air furiously. Jace pulled out a biscuit and held it up above the dog’s nose, which was a struggle since Jace wasn’t much taller than Butch.
“Sit, Butch.”
The dog flopped his butt on the floor, his tail thumping against the tile. The dog took the biscuit gently from Jace and lay down, enjoying his treat.
“Tell him he’s a good boy.”
“I should get Jace home and start dinner. Thanks for letting him hang with you.”
“Anytime. He was such a big help this morning decorating and he did most of the work on the cookies. I sat back in a chair with my feet up, barking orders.”
“No, you didn’t! We worked together.”
Victoria hugged him hard. “You are sweet to give credit when it’s due.” She let him go and patted Clark on the arm. “You know you two are always welcome to come up here and eat with us. I still cook like my kids are at home instead of grown and living on their own.”
“I appreciate that.” Clark cleared his throat when his son tried to sneak a second cookie. “Jace.” His son froze at the deep warning tone. “Come on.”
Jace slunk back toward him, obviously disgruntled, but Victoria called out to him, halting his pouting.
“Jace, do you think you can convince your dad to come up here for dinner next Saturday? We want to thank him for the great job he’s doing.”
Clark didn’t have time to react before Jace whooped. “I can do that!”
“And if you two don’t have any plans for Thanksgiving, you get your tushes up here. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for this year. My family is healthy, our farm is thriving, and you came back into our lives, bringing my favorite kid with you.”
Jace beamed.
“We’ll be there,” Clark said, taking the cookies from Jace. “Thank you again, Victoria.”
Jace tugged on his arm. “Dad! I’m hungry.”
“All right, we’ll go home and eat.”
“It’s no problem at all. See you tomorrow, Jace.”
“Bye!”
Jace grabbed his free hand, dragging him out the door and down the steps. When Clark didn’t match his speed, Jace raced ahead around the corner of the house and out of sight for a moment. Back in California, Clark would never have let go of Jace’s hand, but being among the evergreen trees created a bubble of tranquility he hadn’t experienced in the years he’d been away.
Clark followed a little way behind Jace as he burst through the door of their home and ran straight to his bedroom, bouncing with every leap. Clark peeled off his gloves with a chuckle, slipping them into the pocket of his jacket. The cozy three-bedroom cottage had a small kitchen and dining room that opened into a comfortable furnished living room. Down the hall was a Jack-and-Jill bathroom between two of the bedrooms and at the far end was the master. It was more spacious than the one-bedroom apartment they’d lived in and you couldn’t beat the yard outside.
Clark hung up his coat and blew out a breath. The temperature in the house was colder than it was outside. The stove in the corner helped with keeping the house warm so they didn’t have to run the heater all the time and Clark had spent the summer gathering firewood to keep them stocked until the spring.
Jace came running back into the living room, dancing behind him as Clark started a fire.
“Dad!”
“One second, buddy. It’s cold in here.”
“Dad, it’s almost Christmas.”
Clark put the guard back in front of the mouth of the fireplace and stood up, facing his son with a smile. “I seem to remember that. Vaguely.”
“I know what I want.”
“What’s that?”
“A puppy.”
