Page 4 of The Mountain that Saved Christmas

“Yes. But also cute,” Mags replies. “We bought a gnome with a cowboy hat and chaps, then went and hung it on the gnome fence. We called him Jim-Bob.”

Red chuckles and wraps his arm around his wife's waist, giving her a gentle squeeze.

“We did too,” Lee adds from her spot sitting in her husband Colt's lap. Lee came to us via Eagle Mountain Ranch where Colt was from too. They're also soulmates. It was their love that brought the Call to Bull Mountain. “George was so lovely, but he did seem like a bit of a one-man show. There weresomany gnomes there that we boughtthreejust to lighten the load a bit.”

“I can't believe I didn't make the connection,” Dee replies with her ever-present Australian accent. “We bought a duck oneanda kangaroo one and hung them on the fence as well.”

“That damn fence must be made of stone with all the weight of those gnomes on it,” Landry says. “Those things ain't light.”

Everyone in the room nods and a low rumble of murmurings fill the air.

“OK. What does George need? I'm guessin' that's why you called this meetin'?” Red calls out, quieting the chatter.

“Yes, sir,” Aggie replies. “Seems that Mr. Rainbow is not just a lover of gnomes, he's also wishin' he could give his little town the Holly Jolly Christmas treatment just like we did last year to Spring Haven.”

“When would you be lookin' at doin' this?” Rhett, the oldest Graham brother, asks before looking over at Red. “I think if we plan accordingly, we'd be able to call in a few ranch hands to cover the daily chores so that we can all go and lend a helpin' hand.”

Red rubs his bearded salt-and-pepper chin. “You're right. We can spare a few days if need be.” He turns to Aggie and Gramma. “When were you thinkin'?

Toby's the one who answers. “We'd leave on the 18th and get back on the 24th, just in time for our own Christmas festivities here.”

Austin, another Graham brother, nods. “Dependin' on Charlie's hospital roster, I think we can all make that work.” He turns to his doctor wife who's already bouncing her head, her attention on the phone she's typing away on in her hand.

The room goes quiet as we wait for her reply. “Yes!” she cries, a wide smile transforming her features. “I'm free as long as I can cover nights after Christmas. That means I'm in! I mean, if everyone else is, of course…” She blushes and I can't help the giggle that escapes me.

I look at the nodding Lee, then Rhett's wife Cora who is a Christmas lover from way back. Dee gives me a thumbs up and Mags is already waving her hand in the air. “I'm a yes. That man deserves the gift of the holidays. If he wants his own Winter Wonderland in Rainbow Springs, I think we're the perfect people to give it to him,” she says.

The men look between each other, their brains working overtime behind their eyes. Without needing to say a word, I can tell that they're all on board with this plan–whatever it may entail.

Because they're all about giving back and helping others. That's why the mountain spirit rewarded them with us soulmates after all.

“OK. Looks like we've got a Christmas road trip to start plannin',” Mags replies, sounding more excited than I've seenher in a long time. Then again, her last road trip ended up changing her life so who wouldn't want to do it all over again?

“I just have two stipulations,” Gramma calls out as we all huddle together to start strategizing. Having won the Holly Jolly Christmas Cup last year and turning the whole of Spring Haven into a winter wonderland, there's a lot of organizing to do.

“What's that Gramma?” I ask.

“Firstly, Toby has made me promise that he can play Santa.”

“He can havethatjob,” Colton replies while everyone else smirks. “I've heard all about what happened when Moose Mountain was lookin' for a Santa. Don't want any part ofthatdrama. The job's yours, Tobes.”

“What's the second rule, Ruth?” Rhett asks Gramma.

“That damn duck stays at home,” she states emphatically, leaving no room for argument.

“I think that goes without sayin',” Austin states.

Red barks out a laugh. “If you thinkanyonecan control Duck Dickward Doofus Norris, you really don't know that duck at all.”

“Maybe he won't realize we're gone,” Cora states, sounding a little too hopeful.

“And pigs can fly,” Tobes says, earning a round of chuckles since Dee's pet Miss Piggy candefinitelynot take flight, but shecanget up to mischief whenever Duck Norris or our pet goat, Nelly, is around.

“We can only hope,” Gramma mutters before looking around the room. “Now, let's get down to business and get Operation Rainbow Christmas started.”

Aggie grimaces. “Not sure that sounds right, Ruthie. I was thinkin' Operation Give a Gnome a Holiday.”

Charlie shakes her head. “That's too wordy.”

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