Page 38 of Daniel
“I think we need to have a word about Prairie,” I said quietly as we twirled around the room, surrounded by friends and neighbors.
His jaw stiffened as he stared at me. “Let me be perfectly clear about one thing before you say another word. She’s the love of my life. I’m going to marry that girl as soon as I know it won’t frighten her away.”
I began to laugh, and he relaxed. “Gee, you’re so serious. I just wanted to tell you that she’s lovely, and I’m super excited that she’s going to be our head painter for the Easter line.”
Daniel shook his head. “Don’t you think for one second that I won’t throw you and your brand new knee over my shoulder and carry you out of here like a sack of potatoes for scaring me like that.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
He bent down as if to scoop me up and I held out my hands. “Mercy!”
He straightened up and we continued dancing. “Seriously, Daniel, her designs are very similar to some of your grandfather’s old sketches. The traditional Easter eggs are going to be a huge hit, and also the chicks and bunnies. Plus, Prairie had a wonderful idea for a basket to put all the toys in, but we’re going to have to figure out the weaving.”
“She’ll make it work,” Daniel said proudly. “My girl is extremely creative.”
“And very talented,” I added. “I like her a lot, Daniel. I know that her family is much quieter than ours, so I’m glad she’ll be meeting new people at the toy factory.”
“She really has an eye for art,” he said, looking thoughtful. “She even inspired me to show her my furniture sketches.”
I stopped, almost causing him to trip over my feet. “Since when have you been designing furniture?”
“Since forever,” he shrugged. “But it’s very different from Dad’s style, so I haven’t shown it to anybody.”
The other dancers around us laughed as I began swatting at his chest like an annoyed cat. “You silly boy. How could you keep something like that from me?”
“Settle down,” he said, grabbing my wrists. We began dancing again, as he looked at me sheepishly. “Dad is this huge designer who’s becoming known everywhere. I don’t want people to think I’m riding his coattails.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
“I’m not sure what I was waiting for. I guess until I got a complete furniture line completed, and my own style square in my mind. But thanks to Prairie, I think I have all of my mental ducks in a row, so to speak. I should be able to design an entire line in a month or two.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m excited as hell.” The way his eyebrow quirked up at my choice of words made me giggle.
The song ended, and we went back to where Prairie was chatting with Mrs. McKenzie.
“Mrs. Claus,” I whispered with a wink, giving Prairie a big hug. “Happy New Year, honey. I’m so glad that you’re here. You are definitely a good influence on Daniel.”
Those lovely eyes absolutely gleamed. “Thank you, Mary. I really appreciate that.”
“If you need any art supplies while you’re designing the decorations for the Easter line, just let me know and I’ll set you up down at—”
“Holly Valley Crafts?” Prairie finished. “Daniel’s already done that.”
I patted my oldest son on the shoulder. “I’m not surprised. He’s good like that.”
Leaning in, I whispered loudly to Prairie, “Don’t tell him I said this, but he’s a good man. You’re a very lucky girl.”
“I am extremely aware of that,” she said with a grin.
Daniel took her hand as they headed back to the dance floor, and I strolled toward three large tables full of my friends.
One of the best things about living in Holly Valley for so long was that I knew everyone, and aside from one or two bad apples they were all wonderful people worth knowing.
Now that my three dear sons were coming home to three lovely young ladies, I felt that my life was about to enter a new chapter. I had gone from mother to soon to be mother-in-law. Soon to be grandmother. Plus the co-head of a toy factory.
With all of these fabulous changes floating around me at the end of an extremely busy holiday season, there was only one thing left to do.
“Ladies,” I announced to my dearest friends, holding out my empty hand, “please tell me there’s some champagne left. I need to hear all of your latest news.”
