Page 38 of Two Hearts' Christmas Homecoming

When Lex barked out a laugh, everyone went quiet glancing their way.

But Gabe’s father-in-law saved the day. In fact, Lex had a feeling that it wasn’t the first time.

“Yes, I agree dear. It’s a wonderful thing—what Gabe and our daughter are doing—opening up their home to kids who have none and creating a larger family,” Lucy’s father Cal said, looking at his wife, Jenny, who’d obviously said no such thing. “I can’t help noticing how well everyone seems to be getting along. It’s like a well-run squadron, isn’t it Harry? Hopefully, when you’re deployed, things will run just as smoothly.”

“Yes, sir, I sure agree with that, Grandpa Cal,” Harry answered, smiling at everyone around the table.

And then Cal winked at Lex, grinning.

Lex grinned back at him, deciding that he seemed to be a pretty good guy. They’d only met once so far, and Lucy had some brothers and sisters too. But they’d decided to wait on some of the introductions so it would be easier for the kids to remember who was who.

Even though she had a few waitresses hired, everyone assisted when the winery opened, because the first few days were pretty hectic for Lucy. Amy was even helping with the prep work in the kitchen. Even though they had a small parking lot cleared across the road, there were cars lined up everywhere.

“I think we’re going to have to go with taking reservations, Luce,” Gabe said when everyone took a seat outside on the deck at the end of the first evening. “This is going to be way too much for you to handle on your own if we don’t. I knew we’d have a crowd since we’re offering something different, but I never expected it to be like this.”

Lucy heaved a sigh. “I didn’t either. If this keeps up, I’m going to need someone to assist in the kitchen too. Especially during the week, since Amy’s going to be at school.”

Izzy grimaced. “I can waitress in the evening but I’m not much help at all in the kitchen.”

“Neither are any of us,” Harry said, glancing at Lex and Zane.

“I’ll help, Mommy,” Caleb called out.

“I know you will, sweetheart, but you have to go to school too,” she answered, smiling.

“Let’s see if it’s more manageable once we start taking reservations,” Gabe suggested. “We might be better off hiring some college students to start with. Who knows? Things could slow down after a week or two.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Lucy agreed with a nod.

* * *

The winery stayed busy through the fall. Surprisingly, there was always a full house during the week for lunch, and not just during the weekend. They were even considering opening during the evenings the following summer, but if that was the case, they’d have to take on extra employees. Gabe was worried that they were trying to do too much, but Lucy seemed certain that they could handle it. Besides, at the rate that they were growing their family, one of the kids would more than likely show an interest in the business as time went by.

Lex was home alone quite a bit by the time Zane went off on tour with Eve, although Harry was spending more time at home too since he was only taking a few more classes before he was off to the Air Force Academy after Christmas.

Lex and Harry became a little closer, and while he was still at home, he helped Gabe by tutoring Lex in math. Lex had suddenly been picking up the pace, at least with reading and writing, although he had to work a lot harder with arithmetic.

“You’re doing great, Lex,” Harry said one morning in October, looking puzzled. “I can’t believe how quickly you’re beginning to pick up on words. I’m surprised by some of your book choices when I see what you have on the shelves.”

Lex grimaced. “A lot of it has to do with the fact that Amy’s been reading to me two or three nights a week. You remember that trick I seem to have of picking up on words?”

Harry nodded. “I sure do.”

“I remember everything that she reads to me.”

Harry’s eyes went wide. “You’re kidding me—right?”

“No. I’ll give you an example,” Lex said, before reciting a couple paragraphs fromThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Harry was obviously astonished. “Does Dad know?”

“We haven’t talked as much about personal stuff since the winery was opened.”

Harry suddenly looked thoughtful. “I know that you’ve been bussing tables and helping out at the winery, but you’re probably getting bored. Plus, I think that Mom and Dad have hired enough help. They don’t really want any of us working there and feeling obligated to do it. You know how you’ve been trying to find some kind of job to earn some decent money?”

Lex nodded. “My reading skills are kind of screwing that up for me.”

“Do you have any interest in working around planes?”

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