Page 24 of Snow Blind

Chapter 8- Chance

Helen arose early onWednesday morning, driving over to Mark and Ruth Neary's home to start the holiday baking. Ruth Neary, the adoptive mother of her man Mustang, and a true Southern Belle, began her holiday baking the day before Thanksgiving. This tradition meant the sweet potato pies, cookies, and pound cakes would be handled today, freeing the oven for the mac and cheese, ham, and turkey baking on Thursday for the big dinner.

However, since neither she nor Mustang would be attending Thanksgiving with his family, she wanted to bring a bit of home to him. It also helped to not have to do all the baking herself to take to Bad Apple's for dinner. In Helen's mind, it was a win-win.

Three hours later, loaded with a loaf pan pound cake, two sweet potato pies, and a dozen of Ruth Neary's famous peanut butter cookies, Helen headed for home. The two-hour drive from Louisville to Plainville wouldn't take much effort. She managed to wrangle a bit of cookie dough from Ruth as well, so that when her man came in from work, their home would be filled with the warm scents of holiday cheer.

To add to her list of making things cozy, when she left Antioch, she stopped in Naperville at a Wayfair Outlet to pick up items for their home in Indiana. Helen wanted to nest and put in touches which made the place feel as if she lived there. Too much of her life with Cherry had been temporary, from military duty stations, temporary housing, and renting places they could leave in a hurry if necessary. For the first time in her life, she was setting down roots.

She would have a favorite chair, a painting picked up at a local art show to hang in the guest room, or aprons for special occasions when they had over friends and family. Remorsefully, she didn't want to admit to looking forward to having Thanksgiving with Bad Apple, because it meant being honest with the sad state of her life with Cherry. They had holiday dinners, but most times, it was a sad bird that came in a pre-ordered meal box that was stuck in the oven and baked for 45 minutes. Now, she was planning and preparing meals from scratch, which actually tasted decent - thanks to Ruth Neary.

The drive home filled her head with happy thoughts. On her next break, she would order a new embroidery machine for the house along with a craft cutter, sewing machine, and one of those wall units for all of her crafting supplies. The next trip home, she'd set up her crafting room. This trip, she planned to work on the guest room for when her father came for a visit. The hall bathroom needed a bit of jazzing up, and the kitchen needed to say a woman lived in the home. Plus, she had a rug for the living room to kill the echo.

At the gate for the home compound, Helen entered her code as the gates opened just enough to allow her truck to drive through. She pulled around the house to the back door, parking the truck to unload the goodies. The keys jangled as she opened the door and raced to the panel to disarm the systems. A loud sigh escaped her lips.

"It feels good to be home," she said aloud.

Slowly, she began to unload the truck. The baked goods came in first, followed by the small bag of groceries for supper plans. Next, she dragged the rug into the home, moving the coffee table and rolling it out. It added immediate warmth to the space without too much color to overwhelm his male senses. A plush throw she tossed over the back of the couch, as she returned to the car, taking out items and placing them in their new homes.

"This Ficus is really needed in that corner," she said aloud, adding the plant. In the other corner she added a lemon tree, and in the master bedroom, she put in a snake plant. "Now the guest room."

A new rug, throw pillows, and a painting over the bed of two intertwined hands were hung. Fresh drapes hung at the windows and satisfied, she made herself a cup of tea. At a quarter of four, Helen checked her watch and began the prep for the arrival of her man.

Dinner would be simple, consisting of a hearty vegetable soup with chunks of beef, cheesy toast, and a side salad, which paired well with the bottle of Shiraz she grabbed to go with the meal. For an added touch, she set the table and lit a couple of candles. A quick shower and her favorite maxi dress were what she had on when the chime sounded to the back door and Mustang entered the home.

He looked at the table, inhaled the scent of freshly baked peanut butter cookies, and spotted the rug in the living room. His eyes went to his woman next. The smile which covered his face said everything Helen wanted to hear from him without the use of words.

"Welcome home Baby," she said, "dinner's ready. Get comfy, drop your gear and come tell me about your day."

"My day just got amazingly better," he said, opening his arms.

Helen walked into the embrace, kissing him with gusto. Mustang held up a finger. There were matters on his mind which needed taking care of before any sweet love could be made, plus the table looked amazing and dinner smelled wonderful.

"I missed you," he said softly, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"All I could think about was getting here," she said. "I spent the morning with Ruth baking, so I have two sweet potato pies and her sour cream pound cake."

"Oh, you did, did you?"

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