Page 6 of A Perfect Holiday
Our life together had been so full of turmoil. I guess I had wanted everything to settle down. Duel had been only five months old. I wasn’t thinking about more children then, and the doctor’s warning went in one ear and out the other.
I was immersed in Boone and Duel, in a life I hadn’t envisioned, that had blindsided me out of the blue. Now I couldn’t imagine my life being any other way.
Boone. My gut cramped up just thinking about trying to exist without him.
Everything was going to be okay.
For the rest of the morning, I kept myself busy. I had my morning jolt of caffeine. Talked to River Pearl briefly about her and Aubree stopping by on Monday, and straightened up the house. About midmorning, I started pulling out boxes of Christmas stuff. Boone and I had started a tradition of decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.
I heard a truck engine and my stomach jumped. Peering out the kitchen window, I saw Boone pull up with our Christmas tree tied to the roof, heard the garage door engage and start to rise, and the truck disappeared into the garage.
Wiping my palms along my jeans, I went into the living room just as Boone, cradling a very muddy Duel in his equally dirty arms came into the room.
Duel laughed when he saw me and held out his arms. “Hi, Momma,” he said.
“Aw, no way, buddy. You’re going into the bath before you hug Momma.”
Duel pulled out his shirt and sniffed. “Ew, I need a bath, Daddy. A splashy bath.”
Boone chuckled, his smile flashing and said, “Sure, you can splash around, but you can’t stay in for long. I’ve gotta get the tree in the house. You can help Momma decorate the tree. Yes?”
“The tree smells good.” He looked at me. “I can help?”
“You can.”
Boone nudged Duel. “What else did you say? Tell Momma.”
“I said it’s pretty.”
“And?”
“And?” He furrowed his little brows and raised his grubby hands palms up like he had no clue. I smiled.
“Color,” Boone whispered.
His little features smoothed out. “Oh, ya, it’s green.”
“Yes,” I said, looking pleased. “It’s green.”
Boone toed off his boots and gave me a brief glance before he carried Duel down the hall. In the bathroom, he started the water, and leaning against the doorframe, I said casually, “So you’ve been getting a tree all this time?”
He took off Duel’s shirt and unsnapped his pants, removing his diaper. My adorable little boy reached for me again, and I came into the bathroom and knelt beside Boone. We sat close together, but it felt like we were worlds apart.
“No, I took Duel and Henry fishing.”
“Fishing,” Duel said and laughed. “I caught a whopper.”
“Did you tell him to say that?”
“Yeah, he was more interested in picking up bugs. I had to watch to make sure he didn’t eat them. Henry was amused. He thinks Duel is hilarious.”
“Did he catch anything?”
“Yeah, a couple of big ones.”
“Whoppers!” Duel interrupted.
Boone tickled him, picked him up, and plopped him into the tub. Then dumped in a bunch of his toys—cars, little crabs, seahorses, and a rubber duck. “I gave them to Baker. I hated having to drop him back there. I don’t trust that guy.”
