Page 3 of His Christmas Star
“I’d love to, boss, but I have to finish chores.”
“Chores can wait. We need to chat.”
I frowned but held my ground. “Today’s not a great day for me to be around other people, Heaven. It’s better if I just keep to myself right now.”
“Eh,” she said with disregard as she grabbed Eden’s hand out of the feed bucket. “If you think I can’t handle your foul mood with one hand tied to my chest, you’ve never seen me wrangle Blaze out of bed when it’s thirty below.”
I snickered, which surprised me. I never laughed on this day. Usually, all I did was cry. “I bet that Texas cowboy isn’t too fond of the Wisconsin winters.”
“He’s lived in Wellspring for over a decade, and he still can’t deal when the mercury dips below zero,” she said with a head shake. “Come on, Amity, Dawn, and Cece are waiting for us.”
I huffed my displeasure, but since she wasn’t taking no for an answer, I followed her out of the barn and towards the house. I was afraid I was about to be an unwilling participant in a Heavenly Lane intervention.
Chapter Two
The table was covered in homemade cinnamon rolls and coffee when we arrived at Beau and Dawn’s kitchen. Heaven situated Eden in her highchair to eat breakfast while Dawn sat across from me, nursing Sammy. Cece with her flaming head of red hair had just come back in from leaving Poppy with Caleb.
“Man, it’s early,” she said, yawning as she brought a cup of coffee to her lips. Dawn, Heaven, and I all laughed because early to her and early to us were most certainly two different things.
“I’ve been up since three,” I said, biting into a cinnamon roll. “Dang, that’s delicious, Dawn.”
She smiled as she stroked Sammy’s hair. “I thought we’d need something warm for fortification this morning. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Like?” I asked, washing the roll down with coffee. It was so good that I wanted to finish it before they started on me about my attitude. That would require an instant departure from me, which meant abandoning the cinnamon rolls for the cause.
“It’s November twenty-sixth today,” Heaven said.
Here we go. How did I know I would start the day with this nonsense? Probably because my attitude sucks, but you don’t need an intervention if you already know that.
I lowered my fork to the plate carefully and squared my shoulders. Ready for battle. “I’m aware of what the date is.”
“Good, then you know that we have less than a month until Christmas,” Dawn said, glancing at Heaven.
“Christmas?” My mental train hit something on the tracks and completely derailed. Why were they talking about Christmas?
“Yes, Christmas. We’re here to plan the Christmas dance!” Cece said with too much enthusiasm.
“Christmas dance?”
“Are you just going to repeat everything we say?” Heaven asked with amusement.
I stood up and patted Eden on the head on my way to the door. “There is no need for me to be part of this discussion. Thanks for the roll and coffee. I’ve got chores to do.”
Heaven stood and pointed at me and then the chair, her lips in a thin line. She didn’t need to speak. I knew what she wanted, but I didn’t understand why they wanted me here. I trudged back to the table and plopped into the chair.
“Good, now that everyone is on the same page, let’s brainstorm,” Cece said, pulling a pad of paper in front of her. “I’m in charge of the food. Heaven, you’re going to get the entertainment covered, and Dawn, you’re planning the evening for the kids, right?”
“Correct,” Dawn said, bringing Sammy to her shoulder to burp her.
“Looks like you’ve got everything covered,” I said so cheerily I made myself want to vomit. “So, I’ll be on my way.”
“You’re in charge of the outdoor arena and the sleigh rides,” Heaven said.
My groan was long and drawn out, leading to Amity’s laughter from the other side of the table.
“My goodness, but you do have a dramatic side.”
All the women were snickering when I finally sat up and tossed my arms up. “Sleigh rides? Heaven, we don’t have a sleigh!”
