Page 52 of Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas
They moved through the rows of trees in a pattern that Camille could tell was familiar to both the horse and the man. Steve’s warmth and the easy rhythm of Buttercup’s walk relaxed Camille, and she felt the stresses of the past day—pastweeks—slip away. She knew the nightmares would return, as would all the hassles and sadness of losing her childhood home, but for now, she was content to lean against Steve and let Buttercup carry them both.
For the moment, she’d let herself be at peace.
* * *
Satisfaction rolled through her as she looked at the fillet weld she’d just finished. It had turned out surprisingly well, considering she was using borrowed equipment. The miniature metal ladder she was working on was only a small part of the piece, but it was just so square and gratifyingly even.
“Whoa.” Maya’s voice was much too close for safety, and Camille turned to see the girl leaning over her shoulder, eyeing the incomplete sculpture. “I wasn’t sure what it was going to be before, but now I’m starting to see it. Dad’s going tolovethat!” She paused. “It is for Dad, right? I won’t tell him about it if it is, I promise.”
Shoving her borrowed welding goggles to the top of her head, Camille gave Maya her best chiding frown. It was hard to hold it, though, since the girl was so happy and bubbly. “If you keep leaning so close, you’re going to get a spark in your eyeball or light your hair on fire, and both of those things would be extremely unpleasant.”
“Sorry.” Despite the apology, Maya didn’t retreat. “You’re done using the torch right now, though, right? I’m okay here?”
“You’re fine for now.” Camille stretched, feeling the usual resistance from muscles that had been held in place for hours. She smiled. It’d only been five days since she’d last worked with metal, but it felt like longer. She was happy to be back at it.
“Is it Dad’s present?” Maya repeated the question, and Camille dropped her arms to study her carefully.
“You’ll keep it a secret?” She had the impression that most kids were terrible at keeping secrets, but Maya seemed trustworthy.
“She’s good,” Will said from his spot on the other side of the workshop, sprawled in an old office chair with a tablet on his lap. “Best secret keeper out of all of us…well, except for me.”
“Hey,” Micah grumbled. He’d set up his sketch pad at a workbench a safe distance from Camille and any flying sparks. Apparently, he was more safety-conscious than Maya. “I don’t blab.”
Will leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. “Yeah, usually, unless you think it’s wrong not to tell. Remember when Zoe and I rigged up that homemade hang glider? You couldn’t tell Dad fast enough.”
“Yeah, ’cause I knew you were both going todie, otherwise.”
Waving a hand, Will said, “We would’ve been fine. Probably. Anyway, my point is that Maya keeps her mouth shut, no matter what.”
Privately, Camille wondered if that was a good thing, but it did mean that her secret was safe. “What about Zoe? Can’t she keep a secret?”
“She’s good, except if you catch her when she’s in the middle of working on something,” Will said. Micah and Maya agreed loudly.
“Dad knows that, too, so he waits until she’s putting an engine back together before he’ll ask her something. That’s how we got caught when we were planning to sneak onto this militia guy’s property when we lived in Monroe.” Will looked disappointed and impressed by his father’s ingenuity at the same time. “He knew we were up to something, but he didn’t know exactly what, so he told her the truck was losing power when he pushed on the gas. As soon as she had the hood up, he started with the questions, and she totally spilled.”
“We got in so much trouble,” Maya said. “I’ve never seen Dad that mad.”
Camille’s respect for Steve’s patience and fortitude had doubled since the start of the conversation. “Can’t really blame him. I mean, sneaking into a militia compound? No offense, but that sounds really dangerous, and not in the fun way that homemade hang gliders are dangerous.”
“It was a dumb idea,” Micah agreed without looking up from his drawing. “If Zoe hadn’t told, I would’ve.”
Tossing a balled-up piece of paper at his brother’s head, Will stretched his arms out in an exaggerated gesture of exasperation. “See? That’s why Maya gets the award of best secret keeper.”
“Nice.” Maya grinned and then turned to Camille. “So, that sculpture you’re working on is Dad’s Christmas present, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. After what she’d just heard, she’d trust Maya with the secrets of the universe. “It’s going to be an old horse-drawn fire wagon.”
Micah’s face lit with interest. Putting down his pencil, he walked over to Camille’s other side to look at the unfinished piece.
“Let me see.” Will stood behind Maya, since he was tall enough to see over her head. All three of them studied it for a few minutes before Will admitted, “I don’t get it.”
“Here.” Camille reached for the sketchbook that she’d begged off of Micah. Pulling out the sketches she’d redrawn after the fire, she laid them out on the table around the sculpture in progress.
“See?” She pointed to a drawing of the side of the fire wagon and then picked up the metalwork she’d completed so far. “This will be this part here.” Shifting to another sketch, she added, “The horses will be harnessed to the wagon like this, so—”
“Oh!” Comprehension lit Will’s eyes. “I get it now. That’s going to be really great.”
Maya was almost dancing with excitement. “Isn’t it? I told you, Dad’s going to love it.”
