“Early.” Meg shook her head.
“And the lights aren’t finished.” Sara Beth sighed. “Oh, well. It was a good thought.”
“It was.” Chelsea waved to her father behind the steering wheel. The chains on his pickup chinked as he rumbled around Michael’s SUV in the driveway and pulled up in front of the garage. A familiar beige vehicle lumbered into view. “Hey, there’s my car.”
“Rescued by another sister?” Michael asked as he opened his door.
“Yes, no idea what I’d do without Johanna.” She waved to the youngest of the McKaslin sisters. Johanna waved back, her neon blue mittens flashing behind the glare of the windshield before she pulled into the garage.
“I hope the rest of the light hanging goes well.” He folded his six-foot-plus frame into the front seat, his door thudded shut and the engine purred to life. His window rolled down. “I’ll see you around, Chelsea McKaslin.”
Whether that was a threat or a promise, she couldn’t tell.
The SUV motored away as Macie waved with her good hand, and Dee barked and whined, perhaps disappointed she wasn’t the one going for a ride.
“He was totally good-looking,” Meg commented. “An eleven on a scale of ten.”
“Was he? You know me. I’m not looking.” Although she couldn’t explain why she watched Michael’s SUV rumble down the road and out of sight. It didn’t mean she was interested in him. No way. “I have a no-man plan, remember?”
“I thought it was a five-year plan.” Sara Beth just had to point that out, didn’t she?
“A five-year plan, a no-man plan. Same difference.” She forced her gaze away from the swell in the prairie that had swallowed Michael’s SUV from her sight and turned on her heel, concentrating on the one man she could count on. “Dad.”
Dee spotted him and barked, leaping to race to his side and pant up at him adoringly.
“Hey, girls.” Grant McKaslin patted the Lab on her head. “I see you’re putting up the house lights. Looks good.”
His words sounded strained. Emotion gleamed in his eyes.
“Love the lights!” Johanna bounded out of the garage as the door lowered behind her. “Time for lunch, but, Chelsea, I’ll pitch in after we eat. I can’t wait to see them all lit up.”
“Your mom would be pleased.” Dad said the words they were all thinking. He held out one arm to draw Johanna close, the other to pull in Meg. “Let’s get in and warm up. Chelsea, we found your car at the side of the road.”
“Thanks for bringing her in.”
“No problem. I hope you girls have soup on the stove. I’m frozen clean through.”
Dee raced ahead, tail wagging, leading the way to the front door. Chelsea glanced over her shoulder to catch a last look at the half-finished lights dangling from the roofline. If only Mom were here, she thought, full of longing, but that was not to be. With a sigh, she tapped up the porch steps behind her sisters. As Dad held the door open for them, a gust of wind chased her inside and stirred the icicle lights above as if with a loving hand.
* * *
Michael tucked the fleece throw gently around his sleeping daughter while the TV hummed with a kid’s movie in the background. Clouds had moved in to dim the sun shining through the living room window, hinting at more snow on the way.
Macie sighed in her sleep, snuggling against her pillow pet. Her brown hair tumbled over her forehead, framing her face. Such a sweet girl. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, backed away from the couch and padded across the carpet, careful not to wake her.
The house phone rang. He caught it on the third electronic jingle, lifting the cordless receiver out of its cradle. He recognized the name on the electronic display. “Hey, Steve.”
“Hey.” His colleague sounded chipper. “I’m about to head out with my wife, but I wanted to check on your girl. How’s her arm?”
“Doing as well as can be expected. She’s napping now.” He tucked the receiver against his shoulder and eyed the lunch dishes in the sink. “What are you doing checking up on patients? You just can’t take a weekend off, can you?”
“I’m trying. We’re going snowmobiling. We’re just about to head out.”
“Sounds fun, so what are you doing on the phone with me?” He opened the dishwasher.
“Fine, so I’m not cutting back on my workload like I planned.” Steve didn’t sound guilty about that, not at all. “Eventually I’ll have to, since the new doctor I hired to help me starts on Monday.”
“I had no idea. Last I heard you were going to wait until January to start looking for someone.” He turned on the faucet and ran a lunch plate through the stream.
“I’ve had my eye on this doctor for a while, she’s available and the timing is right.” Steve’s smile warmed his words. “One of these days I won’t have to come into the office at all. The rest of you are so good, I’ll be absolutely unnecessary.”
“You? No chance of that.” Steve Swift was one of the most knowledgeable doctors around. “No one can fill your shoes.”
“I don’t believe it for a second.” Steven chuckled and it was good to hear him sounding happy. “My wife is calling. Better go.”
“Have fun. No more thinking about work. You’re not on call, remember?” He slipped a plate into the dishwasher rack, trying to imagine the unathletic man on a snowmobile. “And no accidents, got it?”
“Got it. No worries, Laura has done this before. We’re going on a tour up in the mountains. Great, now she’s honking. I really do have to go.”
“Have fun, Steve.” He set the phone on the counter, shaking his head. Seeing Steve broadening his horizons was gonna be very interesting. Maybe because although twenty years separated them, they were very alike. Workaholics dedicated to their profession, men of science and men who didn’t have room for much else in their lives.
What about the new doctor? And why hadn’t Steve said more before this? Why the mystery? Then again, that had been the plan since his health scare. He’d had a minor heart attack, but it had been a wake-up call for Steve. Less time at work, he’d said in the break room one day. More time spent living life to the fullest.
Couldn’t argue with that. The light clink of the dishes as he loaded the dishwasher kept him company in the lonely room. In Michael’s opinion, this was living life to the fullest. He had a job he loved, a comfortable home and a daughter to care for. Speaking of which, he grabbed the phone, dialed his mom and waited for the phone to connect. He swished the soup pan through the water, fit it into the bottom rack and closed the dishwasher door as she answered, sounding breathless.
“Am I catching you at a bad time?” He reached for the paper towel roll.
“No, just came in from running errands. It’s cold out there!” June Kramer blew out a breath for emphasis and something in the background rustled. “The grocery store was crazy. Everyone stocking up for the next storm. They say it’s going to be a doozy. How’s my granddaughter?”
“Napping.” He peeked around the corner. Yep, still asleep.
“Good, she needs rest to heal. Say, I bought cookie makings. Figured she might want to help me with my first batch of Christmas cookies. That ought to be a proper excuse to spend time with her. How does tomorrow sound?”
“I’m sure she’ll like it.” He was thankful to the Lord that his mom was the kind of grandmother who would step in and fill the void in Macie’s life. His mom was gold in a hundred different ways. “Why don’t you take her