Page 32 of It's a Wonderful Knife
I was surprised at how mad he seemed. “It’s seriously no big deal. My parents didn’t believe in coddling me.”
“There’s coddling, and then there’s encouraging your child.”
“Yes. I know exactly what you mean. But frankly, my parents made me stronger. They prepared me for how hard the world can be.”
“I understand you choose to see them that way. I can respect that you feel they did you a service by not… coddling you. But they also did harm to you.”
“Don’t let that dumb story ruin the day.” I grimaced. “We’re supposed to be here having fun. I should never have told you she threw it away. I need to learn to edit my stories because they bother you too much.”
He frowned. “Don’t you dare edit your life stories. I want to hear all the details. It helps me understand you better.”
“Sure, but if you’re going to get upset…”
“I’m notupset, exactly. I just wish I’d known you back then. Maybe I could have been your friend or something. I hate picturing you going through all that stuff alone. If I’d known you back then, I’d have dug that discarded ornament out of the trash.”
“I believe you would have.” I smiled. “I can see you now, digging through the trash to rescue Sparkles.”
He shrugged. “Everyone needs someone to protect their… glitter balls.”
“Uh, definitely.”
As we approached the crafting shed, River was holding the door open. “I was afraid you two weren’t going to make it.”
It wasn’t lost on me his gaze was only on Royce as he spoke. “We’re here.”
“Yes.” River laughed happily. “I’ve saved you seats near us.”
My stomach sank. “How considerate.”
“Isn’t it though?” He smiled at me, looking very pleased with himself.
Once inside the small building, River made sure he was seated on the other side of Royce. I was lucky enough to have Hermina and my biggest fan, Mary Puppins, on the other side of me. Anytime I moved, I had to be sure my actions were slow, or I set the pup off every few seconds.
This is fine. This is Christmas.
I gritted my teeth, repeating that phrase to myself. I simply needed to make lemonade out of lemons. At least as Chloe instructed us on how to make the ornaments, Royce made a point of keeping one hand on my leg. It was a sweet gesture and his way of staying connected with me. However, it was still annoying how often River touched Royce and tried to get his attention. Even Lucas looked rather irked, and he usually just ignored River’s flirtatious behavior.
Chloe handed out glue guns and glitter, and we spent the next four hours sticking things onto other things. When it was all said and done, I felt my attempt as a seven-year-old had been much better. Girdy’s ornament was bright pink with silver stars and, frankly, the prettiest of them all. Royce’s ornament was clean and straightforward, like him. River’s was gaudy and over-the-top, also like him. Lucas didn’t finish his, and Hermina spent most of her time trying to keep Mary Puppins out of the glitter.
By the time we left the crafting shed, it was lunchtime. Elle had bacon burgers and homemade fries waiting for us when we entered the dining hall. I pulled the bacon off my burger, glancing around guiltily. Royce laughed when he noticed and took my bacon and put it on his burger.
When lunch was over, it was time to go horseback riding. That was a special treat I hadn’t seen coming. The person leading our group was Leo. He had the horses saddled ahead of time, and thankfully, I ended up with a gentle mare named Mabel. I’d never ridden in my life, and I was terrified of the big gray mare,untilLeo had me feed her a handful of oats. Her warm breath on my palm and the gentle tickle of her whiskers reassured me she wasn’t out to murder me.
Leo led the small group of us around the edge of the fenced-in portion of the farm. Fortunately, Mabel was only interested in following the other horses because I had no idea how to steer her. Cloudy or not, the view was stunning. There were acres and acres of deep green trees surrounding us, and the distant black sky was ominous-looking but breathtakingly beautiful.
Once the ride was over, Leo took us to the barn to help brush down the horses. That’s where we were when an irritated-looking Jax came in to find Leo.
“I need to talk to you, Leo,” he rasped. When he realized Leo wasn’t alone, he forced a smile. “Oh, howdy, folks. I just need to borrow Leo for a sec.”
Leo frowned. “I’m kind of busy, Jax.”
Through gritted teeth, Jax said, “I can see that, but this is important.”
Grimacing, Leo tossed his brush down onto the hay. “Be right back, folks.” He followed Jax outside the barn.
“Wonder what that’s about,” I said softly.
Royce nodded. “Yeah, Jax looked a little hot under the saddle.”
