Page 31 of One More Baby for the Boss

“Would you come?” Jack asked Alex.

“I’d love to,” Alex said. “Thank you for asking me, Jack.”

They reached the garden store. “Do you two want to wait here while I go in and get the chicken wire?” Elijah asked them.

“Oh, I’d like to come too, if you don’t mind,” Alex said. “I love garden stores. They always have the cutest little things in there. And I thought I might keep an eye out for something to spruce up my room, too — you wouldn’t mind if I got a succulent or two, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t mind,” Elijah said.

Alex beamed. “Great,” she said. “Maybe you can help me pick them out,” Jack.”

“What’s a succulent?” Jack asked.

“It’s a cactus,” Elijah said.

“There are a lot of different kinds,” Alex elaborated. “Cactuses are one type. Let’s look at what they have, and you can tell me what you think is the best, okay?”

“Okay!” Jack beamed. “Maybe we can put the cactus on the family tree too.”

Alex laughed. “That would be pretty strange,” she said. “But I guess it’s your family tree, so if you want to put a cactus on it, I’m not going to tell you that you can’t!”

“But I’m not actually related to a cactus,” Jack said. “And those are the rules for our family. Right, Dad?”

“What do you mean?” Elijah asked.

“To be on the family tree for our family, you have to be actually related. You can’t be part of the family just because we live together, like some people’s families have. That’s why Alex can’t be on my family tree.”

“You can add Alex if you want to,” Elijah said. If this was going to keep coming up, he felt it would be better to give in on the subject. It made things very awkward every time Jack asked if he could put Alex on his family tree. Even now, she was looking away from the pair of them, pretending to be captivated by a large pair of pruning shears. It was completely transparent — there was no shrubbery at the ranch, so she would have had nothing to prune. But he let her pretend. It was easier to have this conversation with Jack if he could imagine that Alex couldn’t hear him.

“I thought you said Alex didn’t go on a family tree,” Jack said.

“Well, if you can put a cactus on there, you can certainly put Alex,” Elijah reasoned. “And she does help our family a lot. Especially now that she’s going to help you do your papier-mâché, right? That’s a pretty family-ish thing to do.”

“So you think I should put her on the tree?”

“I think it’s your project, Jack, so you’re going to have to decide for yourself,” Elijah said. “You can put whoever you want on your family tree. Whatever you decide is going to be all right with me. Okay?”

“Okay,” Jack said happily.

“Now, go help Alex pick out her succulents while I grab this chicken wire.”

Jack trotted over to Alex, and Elijah went to find the chicken wire. It didn’t take him long to find it, but then he realized he didn’t know how much Alex needed. Elijah shrugged and picked up the biggest bundle. It wouldn’t hurt to have extra. And besides, if they didn’t use it for the project, he could take the opportunity to expand his chicken coop. He’d thought of doing that a few times in the past but had never actually done it. Maybe this would be a sign that it was time to bite the bullet.

He returned to Alex and Jack. They were each holding a small potted plant, and they both smiled when they saw him coming. “We decided on two,” Alex said, holding up the one she had in her hands. “And we did get cacti after all, so that will be fun.”

“And you can’t touch them, Dad,” Jack said very seriously.

Elijah raised his eyebrows. “I can’t touch them?”

“No, because they’re dangerous. They will spike you.”

“He’s right,” Alex agreed. “This is what we were just talking about over there, while you were grabbing the chicken wire. You have to make sure you hold a cactus by the pot, not by the plant, because it’s too sharp to touch. Even the ones that don’t look that sharp, like the one Jack has there. Right, Jack?”

“This one just looks fuzzy,” Jack informed Elijah. “But you still have to be careful, because those are dangerous fuzzies.”

“Got it,” Elijah said, unable to suppress a grin. “Well, I’m glad you told me. I’ll be sure not to cuddle any cactuses.”

They all laughed.

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