by Wilde, Lori
Edith looked down Betty and wrinkled her nose. “I have to change because of a dog?”
Abby shrugged. “We all have to make adjustments. Betty is part of the family, and we have to be sure to keep her safe.”
Edith’s eyes narrowed and her mouth thinned. “She’s a dog. I’m a person.”
Abby nodded and ran over to hug her grandmother. “You’re a person, which is why you know how important it is to be kind to animals like Betty. She needs you to help take care of her, Gramma. Just knock on the front door, and I’ll put Betty in my room and then you can come in. Easy-peasy.”
When Edith still seemed to waver, Abby gave her a big hug and a smacking kiss on her cheek. “You’re the best gramma in the world.”
That sealed the deal. Edith sighed and then flashed a weak smile at Suzannah. “Guess I’ll knock from now on,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind, dear.”
“Not at all. I think it’s wisest.” The change in protocol delighted Suzannah and especially delighted that it had happened in such a way as to not offend Edith. The woman was always welcome in their home, but it was only polite to knock before entering.
She was also very proud of her daughter. Abby had handled the situation in a way that Edith’s feelings didn’t appear to be too hurt. She was now sitting with Abby and Stephie and watching as they tried to teach Betty how to sit on command. The two girls weren’t having much luck, so Edith offered a few suggestions.
Watching them made her happy. She was glad that Edith was part of their lives, and she always would be. No matter what happened with Zach, that much would never change. Edith was Abby’s grandmother and that would never change.
When the doorbell rang, Suzannah hurried to open it.
Zach came in carrying supplies for Betty. Before she could say more than just hi, two of her neighbors stopped by. For the next half an hour, Suzannah was busy getting everyone set with cookies to decorate.
Because she was too busy to talk, she paired Zach with Edith. Maybe they could bond.
“Edith, will you help Zach get started?” She flashed a smiled at both of them.
Zach rewarded her with one of his lopsided grins. He’d flashed that grin at her countless times over the years, but today, it made her pulse pick up and that flustered her.
Edith looked from Suzannah to Zach and back again, narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.
“I’m sure Zach can do this by himself. I’ll go help someone else,” Edith said and walked away from him.
Zach came to stand beside Suzannah. “She’s not happy,” he murmured. “Maybe I should go talk to her?”
Suzannah drew in a deep breath. “No. Leave her be. Let’s just give her time.”
Edith perched near Abby and Stephie. Suzannah went around the room to make sure everyone had what they needed, then she settled next to Zach at the other end of the table from Edith and the girls and together they started decorating cookies.
As they worked, she and Zach laughed and joked, seeing which one could create the most outrageous Christmas cookie. Zach made a snowman with a nose so long it reached to his chest. Suzannah one-upped him by using a big glob of black icing to fashion a pork-pie hat on Rudolph’s head.
“I remember when Keith was little,” Edith said loudly, cutting into their conversation. “Keith loved Christmas cookies, and he loved George Strait’s song “Christmas Cookies.” Do you remember how he’d put on that song when you were baking cookies, and waltz you around the kitchen, Suzannah?”
Suzannah stopped, a chill running across her skin. She looked at her mother-in-law.
Edith shot her a wily smiled and said, “He was such as a wonderful husband, wasn’t he, Suzannah?”
Suzannah knew what she was doing and why. Edith worried that Suzannah was forgetting about her son, but this approach was unfair. She glanced at Abby, worried that Edith’s words would hurt her, but Abby was giggling with Stephie and not paying her grandmother any attention.
Suzannah glanced at Zach.
He smiled and shook his head, forgiving Edith. The man had the patience of Job.
Suzannah couldn’t help feeling sorry for her mother-in-law. Losing Keith was hard on all of them, but Suzannah had to move on and the more time that passed, the more Suzannah was convinced that this was the right thing.
“Excuse me a moment,” she murmured to Zach.
She walked over to Edith intending on saying something a little sharp, nothing mean, just enough to set boundaries. But the grief-stricken expression on her mother-in-law’s face broke her heart.
Suzannah leaned forward and hugged her. “Keith was a wonderful husband, but he was terrible at cookie decorating.”
Edith hugged her back and then said. “Yes. Yes, he was. When he was a kid, I remember making him eat all the ones he decorated. They were too ugly to give to anyone else.”
Abby appeared next to them holding a cookie. “Apparently, I inherited his lack of cookie decorating skills.” She giggled and held up an awful cookie to show her point.
Suzannah and Edith laughed together.
Red and white blobs covered the cookie. “Do I have to eat all the cookies I decorated?” Abby asked hopefully.
“What in the world is that supposed to be?” Edith asked, inspecting the cookie from several angles.
“It’s supposed to be Zach in his Santa costume,” Abby said. She held up the cookie for Zach to see.
“Naw, that cookie looks better than I did in that costume,” Zach said.
Abby chortled. “No doubt.”
“I remember a certain young lady telling me I looked horrendous.”
“Terrible,” Abby corrected. “I said, you look terrible.”
“And that’s better?” Zach teased.
Abby skipped away, laughing and carrying her messy cookie.
Edith followed her granddaughter, throwing over her shoulder. “I’ll show her the right way to decorate.”
Once her daughter and mother-in-law settled and were happily decorating cookies again, Suzannah headed back to join Zach. She glanced down at the cookie in front of him.
“Seems like you inherited that bad cookie decorating gene too,” she teased.
Zach had been looking at her, but then he glanced down at the mottled cookie in his hand. He held it up and inspected it with exaggerated slowness. As he studied the cookie, he kept saying to the cookie, “Don’t let her shame you. You’re an exquisite cookie.”
His silliness made Suzannah laugh, and she felt her tension ease.
“Stop it. I wasn’t bullying your cookie,” she said, still laughing at his nonsense.
Zach held the cookie close and pretended to pat it. “Poor, Cookie. Everyone is so mean to you. Don’t worry. I love you.”
Then he took a huge bite out of the cookie and chewed happily. “You are truly wonderful.”
Suzannah burst out laughing and felt a spontaneous hug rising in her, but she stopped herself before she hugged Zach.
Until last Friday, she would have hugged Zach and not thought a thing about it. But ever since their dinner together, everything had changed. Suddenly, the smallest gesture took on new and weighted meaning.
“You’re not supposed to eat the cookies today,” she told him with mock sternness.
“Arrest me,” he said, then he held the half-eaten cookie in front of her. You should eat the rest,” he said, his gaze meeting hers. “Help me commit this crime. We can go to cookie prison together.”
Suzannah froze.
The way Zach was looking at her and the deep, quiet tone of his voice were getting to her. More than anything, she wanted to kiss him.
She took one small step toward him, and she could tell from his expression that he knew what she was thinking.
A small smile grew on his lips as she got closer.
Before she could do anything, though, Abby jumped between them.
“I’ll go to cookie prison with you,” she said, grabbing the remaining cookie and gobbling it down.
Abby’s antics made everyone laugh. If Abby hadn’t jumped in, Suzannah might have kissed Zach in front of her neighbors and friends.
And in front of Edith.
Suzannah couldn’t help thinking that whether her daughter meant to do it or not, Abby had just saved her from making a big mistake.
Chapter 8
In a moment of craziness, Zach had volunteered to help decorate the elementary school auditorium for the winter concert. Two weeks ago, the principle, Mike Lockwood, had coaxed him into it after Mike helped Zach round up some cattle that had gotten out.
Two weeks ago it seemed an easy enough task, but now that the day was here, Zach wasn’t looking forward to it. He had so much else going on, a big part of which was figuring out his relationship with Suzannah.
He arrived at the school just as classes were letting out, parked and was getting his extension ladder from his truck—Mike had asked him to bring it since they were short on ladders—when Abby bebopped up to the tailgate.
“Hi.”
“Hello.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Helping decorate the auditorium.”
“No, no, you’ve got to help with the float decorations.”
“I’m already committed to this project,” he pointed out. “I promised Principal Lockwood.”
“I know, and we appreciate you, but we also need help with the float.” She bounced along beside him as he carried the ladder toward the auditorium. When they got closer, she raced ahead to open the door for him.
“It’s a busy time of year,” she chattered as he walked past her into the auditorium, careful not to whack her with the ladder. “It’s important to pitch in.”
Zach wanted to tell her he was pitching in and then remind her that he had his own ranch to oversee, but the pitiful look Abby gave him tweaked his heart as it always did. He was putty in this kid’s hands.
“Dang it, stop looking at me that way,” he grumbled with a smile. Getting tapped to volunteer was all part of living in a close-knit community like Kringle.
Abby pressed her palms together, in front of her chest, begging. “Please, please, please.”
“Okay, later this week I’ll help with the float. Let’s get ready for tonight’s concert. I don’t want any snowflakes I hang to fall and bonk some kiddo on the head mid-song.”
Abby giggled. “It wouldn’t hurt. The snowflakes are only paper.”
“Doesn’t matter. I still don’t want it happening because I did sloppy work.” Zach set up his ladder in the middle of the auditorium, located the box of snowflakes Principal Lockwood had tasked him with hanging from the ceiling, climbed up the ladder and started work.
He wasn’t the only one working. Other adults were there decorating the stage, and he exchanged greetings with them. To Abby, he said, “Since you’re standing there doing nothing, hand me the snowflakes as I’m ready to hang them.”
“Okay.”
For the next hour, Abby fed him snowflakes as he moved the ladder from spot to spot until finally, the ceiling lay covered with the festive white paper cutouts and it looked like a winter wonderland.
Satisfied with his handiwork, Zach closed up his ladder. “Come on,” he said to Abby. “Let’s get you home. Your mother will wonder where you are,” he said.
“I already texted her.”
“Good thinking.”
“You know,” Abby said as she climbed into the back seat of his truck. “You should take her out to dinner before the concert. That would be a really nice thing to do. Thoughtful and romantic and show Mom what a great guy you are.”
“Your mother already knows I’m a great guy,” he pointed out, starting the truck and backing out of the parking space. “Besides, I thought you promised to keep your nose out of other people’s business.”
Abby sighed dramatically. “I will, but you two aren’t doing anything about this. One dinner date doesn’t make you fall in love. Go out lots and lots.”
Torn, Zach bit the inside of his cheek.
On the one hand, he agreed with Suzannah that it was important that Abby not interfere with whatever was happening between them. But not a lot was happening between them at the moment, so maybe a little interference would help.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and met Abby’s gaze. “Tell you what. Call your mom and find out if she wants us to stop on the way and get a pizza for dinner.”
A sneaky smile grew on Abby’s face. “Yes!”
Zach blew out his breath. Since when was he reduced to using a preteen cupid to help him with his love life? When he was younger, he used to date a lot. In fact, it had just been the last few years that he’d slowed down on the dating. Ever since Keith had died, and he’d started spending most of his free time with Suzannah and Abby.
He’d definitely lost his touch in the dating department, but the more he thought about it, the less he cared. He didn’t want to still be good at dating a lot of women. He wanted to be good at dating only one woman—Suzannah.
“Yahoo!”
“What is it?”
“Mom says you’re an angel for getting pizza and don’t forget she likes extra cheese.”
He smiled to himself when he realized how much his life had changed. Who would have thought that fast food pizza and a middle school concert sounded like the perfect evening?
There was no doubt about it. He was a changed man.
* * *
Suzannah sat between Zach and Edith watching as class after class crossed the stage and sang a few songs. The winter concert had been going on for over almost an hour, and according to the program, two more classes had to sing before Abby’s class got its chance.
She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take the tension. The evening had felt edgy and wire-drawn.
Ever since Edith had shown up to join them for pizza at the house, Suzannah felt waves of disapproval radiating off her mother-in-law. Nothing Suzannah said seemed to help ease the strain. Even Zach and Abby made several futile attempts to erase the frown that had taken up residence on Edith’s face.
“Keith loved attending Abby’s little concerts,” Edith whispered to Suzannah.
Suzannah sighed. She had tried earlier today to talk to Edith about how much she still loved Keith and how she needed to move on. But her mother-in-law had waved one hand and walked right out of the house.
Leaving Suzannah feeling guilty and frustrated.
When Edith returned for dinner, she acted like nothing had happened.
Suzannah had hoped she could handle things without confrontation, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that she and Edith needed to have a long talk.
Every time Edith mentioned Keith’s name, Suzannah felt a pang of remorse. She knew Keith would want her to be happy and to move on, but knowing that and putting it into action were two different things.
Thankfully, Zach seemed to understand what she was going through, and he was being kind and patient with her. She knew he’d like to be alone with her as much as she’d like to be alone with him, but no matter how often they tried, Edith popped up.
“Keith loved watching Abby’s concerts,” Edith said to Suzannah again, louder this time.
“Yes, I know,” Suzannah whispered back. “Zach and I both like them too, and I know you do as well.”
Thankfully, before Edith could respond, Abby’s class came on stage. As always, Suzannah felt immense pride in her daughter. Abby was a great young lady. She was kind, and smart, and funny. She filled Suzannah’s days with such joy and making her daughter happy was Suzannah’s main goals. Abby’s happiness meant more to her than her own.
At the moment, Abby along with her classmates were singing loudly and enthusiastically. Suzannah felt the joy fill her. She loved this time of the year, and even with all the tension and all the stress, she loved the people here with her tonight. Her daughter was her world, and Zach meant everything to her. She loved him, and even though she didn’t know yet if she was in lo
ve with him, she was half convinced it wouldn’t take much for her to be all the way in love.
She also loved Edith. She knew how hard losing Keith had been on her. Losing him still was hard on all of them, but Edith seemed really to be struggling with moving on.
Feeling empathy for her mother-in-law, Suzannah reached over and held her hand.
Edith at first seemed surprised, and then she smiled. The more Suzannah thought about it, the more she realized that Edith needed to know that Suzannah would always love her and be her daughter-in-law, just like Abby would always be her granddaughter.
When Zach started to applaud, Suzannah realized the concert had ended. She stood and gave Edith a hug.
“Let’s go get ice cream,” Abby announced when she met up with them later. “The Kringle Kafe is having a special for our school. The class that convinces the most people to stop by gets a basket of cool holiday pens and pencils.”
Edith declined going with them, saying she wanted to go home and rest. As she started to walk away, she hugged her granddaughter. “You were great tonight.”
Abby beamed. “I was, wasn’t I?”
Suzannah shot her a “mom” look.
Abby laughed. “What I meant to say was thank you.”
Edith laughed. “Yes, that’s what I thought you meant to say. You still haven’t told me what you want for Christmas. Since Betty wasn’t what you wished for, I need to know what is.”
Suzannah and Zach both looked at each other. For a second, Suzannah worried that her daughter might tell her grandmother about the Christmas wish she’d shared with her mother and Zach.
Instead, Abby said. “I want a new blow dryer for my hair and lots of hair ties. I’m getting too old to wear it down all the time. Stephie wears her hair in lots of cute styles. I want to do that too.”
Edith gave a genuine smile for the first time in a long time. “I’ll talk it over with your mother and see what I should get you.”
With that, Edith waved and headed off to her car.
Zach looked at Abby. “Since when do you care about your hairstyle?”
