Page 25 of Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas
“Speaking of eating things, something smells really good,” Camille said as she glanced over at Micah, who scowled and ducked his head. Despite his frown, he seemed more bashful than angry. “What’d you make?”
“Tacos.” He moved over to the stove to check the contents of a pan, and Camille fought a smile. His grumbles and grumpy manner reminded her a little of his uncle Joe. As he turned away from the stove, she quickly glanced around the kitchen so he wouldn’t guess that she’d been amused by him.
Although the room’s layout seemed old-fashioned—with the traditional window over the sink and room for a long table rather than any sort of a center island or breakfast bar—the ceramic tile floor looked like it’d recently been installed, and the colors of the walls were modern and obviously freshly painted. The appliances appeared to be newer, too.
“Did you redecorate recently?” Camille asked.
“Grandma and Grandpa had it done as our early Christmas present, right after we moved in.” Maya grabbed Camille’s hand again, this time towing her through an archway into the living room. “I’m glad. It was kind of dark and creepy in here before that. Come see the rest of the house.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Zoe said, following them. Micah took up the rear silently. “Everything was just…old. This is much better now, though.”
The living room was large and homey, with more of an emphasis on comfort than fashion. Camille noticed her mare and foal sculpture on one of the shelves next to the flat-screen TV and felt a glow of pride. Having that little piece of her here made her feel as if she was part of their cozy home, almost one of the family.
“Dad’s office is in there,” Maya waved toward a doorway before heading up the stairs. “He hardly ever uses it, though. Most of the time he’s outside or in the shop or on fire calls. When he has paperwork stuff, he does it at the kitchen table while we do our homework.”
Camille could easily picture the homey scene of the whole family gathered around the table in the evening, and that warm glow reignited in her chest.Careful, she warned herself.This is just for lunch, and then life will return to normal.The problem was that she wasn’t sure she wanted it to. She’d always been perfectly content with her peaceful, solitary existence, with her art and her cat and plenty of precious alone time. This was just a case of the grass being greener, especially since she was already caught up in the whole nostalgic, Christmas-wonderland feel of the ranch.
And, as much as she hated to admit it, she was even more caught up in Steve.
Chapter 6
“This is my room,” Maya said.
“Mine, too.” Zoe slipped past them to bounce on the lower bunk bed. The room wasn’t huge, but it was cute and tidy, with lots of books lining the shelves.
Camille walked over to the closest desk. Drawings of mechanical things were held down by metal parts and a stack of equipment manuals. “I bet this is yours, Zoe.”
“Yeah.” Zoe gave a slightly sheepish smile and a half shrug, as if she was bracing for teasing. Camille remembered the feeling of having interests that none of the other girls at school shared, and she hated that Zoe was caught in the same position.
“Are you back to working on the flying luge, or are you sticking with the all-terrain wheelchair?” she asked, not sure of the best way to reassure Zoe that being passionate and brilliant and different weregoodthings.
“I can’t decide,” Zoe said with a groan, falling back on the bed dramatically. “While I was grounded from the shop this week, I did a bunch of research, and I’m moving away from the idea of a hovercraft and more toward a jet pack.”
Camille studied the top drawing on Zoe’s desk as she considered that. “That seems like a good idea. The size of a jet pack would fit what you need it to do better than a hovercraft. If you want your friend to use it inside, though, you’re going to have to be careful about the kind of emissions it produces.”
“That’s true.” Sitting up again, Zoe got the look that Camille was starting to recognize as her thinking expression. “My research also changed my mind about the all-terrain wheelchair.” When Camille gave her an interested eyebrow lift, she continued. “I’ve been too stuck on the idea of a chair with a motor. If I want something that can handle stairs and go over rough ground, I need something that moves like people or animals do—on legs, rather than wheels.”
“Like a robot?” Micah asked from where he was leaning against the doorframe.
“Yes and no.” Zoe bounced a little on the mattress, her whole face alight. “I don’t need the processing power of a robot, just the ability to move. It’d be more like a robot suit, or robot stilts, even.”
“So, two prosthetic legs connected to a body brace?” Camille asked, trying to picture Zoe’s idea in her head.
“Maybe? I don’t know. I’m just starting to research what’s out there, and I really want to make something soon, so Wyatt can visit the ranch.” Zoe grimaced. “If he has to wait until I build him a jet pack or robot legs, it could beyears.”
“Can I try out the jet pack when you make it?” Maya asked, her eyes huge with anticipation.
“Sure, but only after the prototypes stop blowing up.”
Camille couldn’t hold back an amused snort. “How do you know the prototypes will blow up?”
“Everything blows up at first,” Zoe said matter-of-factly. “I just need to get through that phase without freaking out Dad too much.”
Even as she laughed, Camille had to wince at that. “And without losing any fingers.”
“Well, yeah. That’d be good, too.” Zoe blew off that restriction as if it wasn’t of any consequence, and Camille felt her laughter rise again at the girl’s matter-of-fact tone. Swallowing her amusement, she moved to examine Maya’s desk as a distraction.
The younger girl’s workspace was more varied, with drawings mixed with what looked to be handwritten stories and some homemade jewelry, but Camille quickly spotted a common theme: horses. On the wall behind the desk, Maya had pinned up pictures of her and her pony at shows and on trail rides and just playing around—including one of her pony wearing a Santa hat. A rainbow row of ribbons underlined the pictures.
