Chapter 6
"I can't believe this traffic! No wonder we always stayed home for Thanksgiving," Jenna mentioned as she watched another car pass her truck on the drive back to Sweet Grove.
"Everyone's in a hurry to get somewhere, but it seems worse since we have a loaded back end," her mother replied.
Jenna was driving slower than usual because she didn't want a tub of picture albums—or anything else—fly out of the back of the truck. They had tied down the load with straps, but you never know.
They planned on getting everything sorted, packed and home by Tuesday, or Wednesday morning at the latest. Then Jenna realized there was an access to the attic in the master bedroom closet ceiling. Not wanting to leave until she knew the attic hadn't been used, she hauled the ladder from the garage and set it up.
She felt dismayed when she pushed open the wooden panel and shined her phone flashlight around the unfinished space. There were rows of tubs up there, stacked three high.
It took a couple of hours to move the tubs out of the attic. Jenna eased them down the hole and down the ladder as far as she could. Her mom caught them as they slid down the angled ladder and then stacked them in the master bedroom. Some tubs were light and others very heavy. Both women were exhausted and had aching backs and arms by the time the thirty-two bins were downstairs.
Turns out they were items Jim and Becky had inherited from their parents and ancestors. Of course, Jenna didn't know the people in the unmarked turn-of-the-century cardboard photos any more than Amie would, but Jenna hated to throw them because it was Amie and RJ's ancestor’s past.
They repacked the boxes as tight as they could, only throwing away papers and clothing that would have no special meaning to the children. The only clothing Jenna saved for Amie was her mother's wedding dress, and what was probably one of her grandmother's wedding dress and veil.
It took longer than they expected, and they had to buy even more tie-down straps to keep the load safe on their way home.
Her mom's phone rang, probably the fourth time, since they started driving.
"Yes, Ken, we're getting close to the turn off. We should be home in a half hour."
"Drive straight to the Cooper Ranch instead of going home," Jenna heard the muffled voice of her dad as it echoed in the truck cab.
"Why?" her mother asked, but didn't look surprised at his answer.
"Got Thanksgiving dinner ready here. Riel just pulled the turkey out of the oven. We'll heat up everything else we bought at the Sweet Grove Market yesterday, so it will be ready to eat once you pull in the drive."
"Thank you!" Mom smiled as she looked at Jenna. "We appreciate you taking over the meal. I thought I'd have to pull a casserole or something out of the freezer to eat for our Thanksgiving."
"Men can cook when we have too. We're just glad there's a TV in the kitchen so we can watch football at the same time."
Jenna couldn't help smiling at her dad's remark, although it made her melancholy at the same time. When Riel and Jenna remodeled the farmhouse kitchen for their future home, a TV was one extravagance Riel insisted on having in the room. It wasn't a huge TV screen, but a small one fastened to the wall above the kitchen sink. They could sit at the kitchen island and watch noon news or weather reports during their lunch.
Her mom said goodbye to her dad and turned off her phone.
"I'm glad they fixed the meal for us. Hopefully there wouldn't be too much of a disaster in the kitchen since they bought most of the food."
"Why do they have the meal at Russ's house instead of yours?" Jenna felt uneasy calling it Riel's house since it was supposed to be her home too, until she called off their engagement.
"I'm sure it has something to do with the new flat screen TV in the living room," her mom answered sweetly, "since I refuse to have one in our living room."
Jenna laughed knowing that was an ongoing battle between her parents.
Tension eased out of Jenna's shoulders after they turned of the four-lane highway and on to a simpler two-lane road leading home.
"I wonder how the children are doing with Dad? I can't believe he couldn't get the Skype working on your computer."
"I'm sure the children are adjusting. Ken's rarely on the computer, unless there's an online cattle auction he wants to watch, and then I usually set it up for him."
Jenna's eyes started watering when she turned down the drive of the Cooper Ranch. This place had been her healing place after Tug died, and where she found love again with Riel.
She'd never hate the children for needing her, but she wished it had turned out differently, for all of them. If Jim and Becky were still alive, Jenna and Riel would be marrying next month.
"Oh, look at the kids playing with the dogs! They seemed to have made friends with each other."
Jenna slowed down as she drove into the ranch yard. Amie threw a plastic disk into the air and two of the dogs, Kelsie and Tanner, ran after it. Lucy was busy chasing her tail and jumping on RJ to notice the disk go airborne. Muffy, heavy with her expected litter of pups, laid watching the action instead of participating in the fun.
Riel stepped out the front door of the house, so he must have heard the pickup coming down the drive. Jenna couldn't hear what he told the kids, but they came to stand by him on the porch.
"It’s good Riel stepped out to call the kids, or else they would have run to the pickup," her mother observed from her seat. "You should marry him, Jenna, if he'll take you back. He'd be a wonderful father."
"Mom, we've been through this more than once. He didn't want children, so I'm not going to force two on him."
"What if he wants to be their father?"
"I doubt it," she replied when she turned off the engine and opened the truck door. Or did she not want to share?
Her father and Russ joined the others on the porch.
"One, two, three...Happy Thanksgiving!" Everyone chanted on the porch as she and her mother walked up the walk.
"Thank you," Jenna choked out as she bent down on one knee to gather both children against her. She was expecting sobbing children, but it looked like they had survived okay with her dad.
"Looks like we have a lot to unload this afternoon. How was the drive with that tall load?"
Riel asked her, as if things were fine between them.
"Uh, fine. Lots of traffic," Jenna absentmindedly said while keeping her arms around the children.
RJ squirmed out of Jenna's arm first. "Let's eat! I'm hungry!"
“I'll agree to that. Let's eat so we can get back to watching the game," Russ echoed as he put his hand on RJ's shoulder and they walked into the house together.
"Looks like the children are doing okay, Dad. Thanks for taking care of them," Jenna said as she gave her father a hug.
"They've had plenty of help and attention, even from the dogs," motioning to Riel and the dogs sitting on the ground below the porch.
Jenna met Riel's eyes. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome. They're good kids and they'll adjust."
Riel opened the door and motioned everyone to go inside. "If you need to wash up, we'll get the rest of the food on the table."
The warm inviting scents of turkey and stuffing hit Jenna as she walked into the living room.
"Oh, my. It smells wonderful in here," her mom exclaimed as her dad helped her out of her jacket and hung it on the coat rack in the entry way. "And not a hint of burnt pans at all."
Jenna turned away as her parents embraced and kissed, remembering when she and Riel used to do the same thing before she'd given back his ring.
"Wait 'til you see the decorations!" Amie said as she danced in front of Jenna.
"Decorations for what?" Jenna asked as Amie took her hand and led her to the dining room.
"Wow! You've been busy!" Jenna was shocked to see the display of handmade turkeys in the middle of the table. They were a combination of cookies and candy, apparently stuck together with brown frosting, to resemble a turkey.<
br />
"Uncle Riel found how to make them online," Amie explained.
There was also a cut-out paper turkey above each plate, with one of their names on them. "And we traced our hands on pieces of paper, and colored them so they looked like turkeys too. It's called a place setting, so everyone knows where to sit."
"I put out the napkins," RJ pointed to the colorful paper napkins featuring a thanksgiving scene of a turkey between two pilgrims.
“And you both did a wonderful job decorating for thanksgiving,” Jenna praised them.
“We never did anything like this before. Last year we…” Amie started talking until she remembered what they did last year, with their parents.
“You went to a skiing lodge with your parents, “Jenna finished for the child.
Amie nodded, her eyes filling with tears.
“Maybe someday we’ll go back up to Colorado to that lodge again.”
“Things wouldn’t ever be the same without momma and daddy,” Amie whispered as she played with a napkin on the table, “but Pastor Bernie says they are watching over us from Heaven, and we can talk to them anytime we want.”
Jenna turned to look at Riel. “They’ve already met Pastor Bernie?”
“Thought Pastor would give them some comfort,” Riel answered. Jenna noticed RJ had moved to stand against Riel. RJ had his right arm wrapped around Riel’s leg and his left thumb in his mouth. The child only sucked his thumb when he was tired or upset, so Jenna needed to change the subject, or she’d ruin the meal they’d put so much effort into.
“Well it looks like you’ve started a new tradition for us by decorating the table. Did you help cook the meal too?”
“I tore up the bread for the stuffing,” Amie looked up at Riel.
“You did a fantastic job, Amie,” Riel praised her. “And you sprinkled tiny marshmallows on the sweet potatoes too.”
“I counted out the silverware and helped Grandpa Russ put them on the table,” RJ added after he took his thumb out of his mouth.
“And I bet Grandpa Ken is ready to help you both wash your hands since you’ve been playing with the dogs. Then find your place to sit and we’ll bring the food to the table,” Riel told the children.
Jenna stared at Riel as he calmly instructed the children. He handled them as if he’d been around children all the time.
She excused herself to wash her hands and splash water on her face. This wasn’t what she expected when she arrived home. She was relieved that the children were doing okay, considering the circumstance, but she expected them to be at her parent’s house for a quiet meal.
Everyone was sitting at the table when she returned to the dining room.
“Okay, everyone grab hands while I say a prayer,” Grandpa instructed as Jenna sat down by Riel. She noticed their place settings were side-by-side when she looked over the table before. Now she had to hold his hand during the blessing.
“Dear Lord. On this Thanksgiving Day we’re more than thankful for our food, our homes, and our loved ones. We’re also thankful for your guidance and support as Amie and RJ join our family. We know your new angels, the children’s parents, will watch over them day and night as they adjust to living with us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”
Riel squeezed her hand before letting go, but looked at RJ across the table instead of her. “Everyone grab a bowl of food, take a helping, and then pass to the… RJ?”
”Right!” RJ answered, although he held up his fork with his left hand. Was the boy going to be left-handed? Another challenge for both then since she was right-handed.
The meal was very good, considering it was bought or made by Riel. Jenna had done all the cooking for them and Russ, so she didn’t know about his cooking skills. The turkey was moist and tender, and the homemade dressing was delicious.
“Do you want to eat the pies now, or wait a while?” Riel asked when they’d finished the meal.
“Let’s wait, Russ suggested. “I need a nap to settle this good food we ate first. Riel, Amie and RJ, that was an excellent Thanksgiving meal you prepared.”
“Thanks, Grandpa!” both children answered at once, then Amie turned to Riel. “Can we show Aunt Jenna and Grandma Sherry our rooms now?”
Why did all the adults around the table look at her now?
Riel took a deep breath before answering, “Sure, let’s take them down the hall to see your bedrooms.”
Your bedrooms?
“Riel you didn’t—"
Jenna’s mom quickly squeezed her forearm to silence her. “Yes, we’d love to see your rooms. Lead the way, children.”
Chapter 7
Jenna was upset with him. Riel understood why, but right now he didn’t care that she was mad at him, because the children’s needs came first.
Jenna stood inside Amie’s room, probably shocked because what used to be Russ and Riel’s office, now had cotton candy pink walls. Glittery butterfly decals in pastel shades danced on the wall above her bed.
“I have a new bedspread which matches my butterfly theme too,” Amie proudly announced while jumping on the twin bed a few times before running to the closet, which had held file cabinets, instead of clothes, for at least three decades.
Right now, all the files were in cardboard boxes in the bunk house. Russ needed to sort and pitch through the papers anyway, so this forced him to do it sooner than later.
“Look what Uncle Riel did with my closet! I can reach everything!” Riel added a second closet pole at a lower height, so she could reach her own clothing.
“What a beautiful room, Amie!” Jenna’s mom exclaimed.” And I love the sheer fancy curtains.”
The ruffled white curtains were draped open and tied to the sides of the window casing with pink ribbons.
“I thought they looked like clouds.” Then Amie pointed to the ceiling. “Uncle Riel and Grandpa Ken added clouds to the ceiling too.”
Riel bought three bags of fiber fill, pulled apart the fiber, and hung the “clouds” a foot from the ceiling using clear fishing line.
“Where you get such a neat idea?” Sherry asked Riel.
“We searched the internet for room decorations and Amie liked the hanging clouds.” Riel shrugged, not thinking of the overnight shipping costs for everything they’d ordered online.
Riel didn’t miss the smile Jenna’s mother tried to hide. Riel was a man of action and yes, he’d readily admit his goal was to get the kids settled in his house before Jenna came home. This was where the kids belonged since they were going to become his and Jenna’s family. He just prayed Jenna would come to her senses about their engagement.
“Come see my room!” RJ jumped up and down in front of Jenna. “I have all kinds of balls on my walls!”
The spare bedroom, which Jenna and Riel had recently painted a nice gray beige, was now a bright sky blue. RJ’s bunk beds, chest of drawers, and his toy chest had replaced the queen-size bed and matching dresser, which were stashed in the bunkhouse for the time being.
The sports theme RJ picked for his room wasn’t a surprise with his dad’s profession. Decals of a variety of footballs, baseballs, basketballs, and soccer balls bounced around the room on the walls. And since they were peel and stick decals, RJ moved them around on his walls on a moment’s whim. Riel made himself a mental note to order another set of decals, because this first set would be worn out and not stick at the rate they were being moved around.
The two bedspreads on the bunk bed, which cost way more than Riel planned to spend on one alone, were light blue, navy, and gray plaid with brown basketballs and footballs mixed in the design.
And the bottom bunk bedspread now had smears of dried mud on it, thanks to last night’s rain and RJ’s shoes and Lucy’s paws.
Riel had washed more clothes and towels in a week, than he usually did in a month. But he wasn’t complaining, just adjusting to all the food spills and dirt two young children could make in a day.
“Where’s your teddy bear, RJ?” Jenna asked as she looke
d around the room.
“Oh, I must have forgot it in Uncle Riel’s bedroom. I’ll go get it,” RJ announced before running from his room with Amie right behind him, probably to retrieve her stuffed toy she slept with too.
“They’ve been sleeping with you?” Jenna asked. Her arms were folded across her chest in a defensive mode.
“More like they were sleeping in my bed with Lucy. The three of them pushed me out of the bed after an hour.”
“It’s been musical beds around here this week,” Ken explained. “Russ was the smart one who moved over to the bunkhouse. I’ve stayed in his room and Riel bounced between his room and the kids’ rooms.”
“You’ve stayed here too, Dad?” Jenna asked.
“Except for chores at home, I’ve been here all week. We’ve kept the children busy during the day, so they’ve been okay, but grief hits them at night when their parents weren’t here to read their bedtime stories and tuck them into bed.”
Ken pointed at Riel. “Riel’s done an excellent job of taking care of the kids. I’ve just been his backup, and furniture mover.”
Thankfully Ken, and several people from their church, helped paint the rooms, move furniture around, and transform the bedrooms for the children.
And brought enough casseroles so Riel only had to heat one up for their noon and evening meals. He didn’t realize there were so many ways to make mac and cheese, but apparently the cooks were thinking of what the young children would eat.
“Here’s my bear, but I think Lucy slobbered on it,” RJ held it out for Riel to look at.
He examined the stuffed toy as seriously as he could, although it looked as dirty and scruffy as it always had.
“I think Aunt Jenna can wash Bubba’s face and he’ll be clean and ready to go to bed with you this evening. Deal?” Riel held out his fist, so RJ could bump it.
“Deal!” RJ swung his tiny fist at Riel’s, making the connection stronger between them each time they did it.
Riel handed the stuffed animal to Jenna, who carefully took it without touching his hand.
“Kids, we grownups need to talk a bit, so please go check on Grandpa Russ.”
First Street Church: Love's Double Blessing (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Clear Creek Legacy Book 2) Page 4
