Courage: A Heroes of Big Sky Novel by Proby Kristen & Proby Kristen

Author:Proby, Kristen & Proby, Kristen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781633500877
Publisher: Ampersand Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2021-06-21T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

~Natasha~

“Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?” Kelsey asks. We’re all in the kitchen together, all four of us baking pies for the holiday dinner we’ve been invited to attend up at Ellie and Liam’s home on Whitetail Mountain.

I was grateful when Ellie called. Being around friends to keep my mind off the fact that this is our first holiday season without Monica and Rich is exactly what I think we all need.

“It’s a day to count our blessings,” Sam says and kisses Kelsey on the head. “And to be grateful for all of the good things in our lives.”

“Oh.” Kelsey frowns as if giving it a lot of thought. “I’m thankful for Mrs. Delgado. Because she’s nice and reads good stories.”

“There you go,” I say with a grin and slip the last pie, a huckleberry-cherry, in the oven. “I think our work here is done for now. I have these little tables set up for the pies to cool, so be careful, okay?”

No one acknowledges that I’ve said a word.

“Guys, I need you to be careful around the pies so you don’t knock them over. Got it?”

Not even a glance my way.

“Yo!”

Three heads jerk up and stare at me like I’m crazy.

“I’m speaking, and you need to listen. No funny business around the pies so they can cool and not end up on the floor. Okay?”

“Okay,” they—even Sam—say in unison.

“Can we have pizza now?” Kevin asks. I told the kids earlier that if they helped with the pies, we could have pizza because my oven would be in use all day, and I wouldn’t want to cook dinner.

“I know I’m hungry,” I say with a wink and reach for my cell. “Let’s order some goodies from Ciao, shall we?”

“You’re speaking my love language,” Sam says solemnly.

“What, food?”

“Ciao,” he replies, making me laugh.

I place the order for two pizzas, extra bread, and some tiramisu to share for dessert.

And when we’ve consumed every morsel of pizza, every sweet bite of dessert, Sam and I crash on the couch in remorse, our bellies full as we watch Kelsey and Kevin dancing around the living room from the sugar rush.

They make faces, making us laugh. Kevin starts to run circles around the living room, and Sam plays like he’s trying to catch the little boy.

Then Kelsey joins in the fun, running to and away from Sam, giggling.

But then, they start running laps through the kitchen and the living room, laughing and tagging each other.

“Okay, guys, that’s enough.”

But, of course, they don’t hear me.

“Hey, Tash says that’s enough,” Sam says, but they’re laughing and in the crazy zone now, where they no longer speak English as a first language.

They only speak silly.

I get up to stop them, and then everything happens in slow motion.

Kevin, laughing, takes off again through the kitchen. Kelsey reaches out to tag him, and he jerks away, knocking himself right into the table set up for the pies.

He stops so abruptly that Kelsey crashes into him, and then, to my absolute horror, all six pies go crashing down to the floor.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.