All Chapters of The Saddle Creek Series: Chapter 261 - Chapter 270

Arriving at the house, they went inside first to make way for the trees. As Ronnie opened the door, she heard out-of-tune singing of "Rudolf" and the fragrance of peanut butter and chocolate, baking sugar cookies and some other scent she couldn't identify lingered in the air. She stopped before she turned the corner from the living room into the family kitchen and den area. Mitch wasn't prepared for her sudden stop and ran into her, almost knocking them both to the floor. Mitch peeked around her. Wyatt sat on a bar chair, dressed in one of Aunt Sally's old aprons, trays of cookies in front of him and based on the flour on the sleeves of his shirt, he'd helped make cut-out sugar cookies.Now he was decorating. Wyatt held in his hand a medium-sized pastry bag filled with what looked like brown frosting; a reindeer cookie placed in front of him. "Ms. Marie, should I make him all brown and then a red nose? I think this one looks like Rudolph.""Wyatt, sweetie, you can make it any color

Mitch glanced from the tree to Wyatt. "Good job, Wyatt. We have a couple more boxes to look through. Wanna help me?""Sure, you have so many.""Yes, we do, many years of collecting and saving. You'll have some like this too when you grow older." Ronnie tapped his nose."I will, wow." Wyatt skipped the short distance to Mitch and told him."Wyatt, look at these, they're stockings to hang at the fireplace. Aren't they fancy?" Ronnie held them up."Yeah, but none of them have my name on, do they?" Wyatt stood beside her, his hands behind his back."I think the one with your name will be at the house of your new family," Mitch answered. "It's going to be exciting for you this year. A new family, a new house, and probably a new school. You have so many things to look forward to." Mitch continued to hang ornaments."I don't think so. I haven't had a stocking or a tree or presents, or any of that stuff. Nothing." Wyatt sputtered.Ronnie saw the look of desperation of flight cr

Ronnie took everything out of Wyatt's small suitcase and placed it on the bed to take inventory. He only had a few shirts and some 'hi-water' short pants. No sweaters, or long pants. He'd have to wear the pants and every shirt he had. Two pair of clean underwear included but looked way too small. "Okay, sweetie, this is what we're going to do. You can wear all these shirts today, so which one is your favorite?" Ronnie asked.Wyatt looked them over like he'd never seen them before, then chose a blue Batman one. Ronnie helped him remove his pajama top and get the T-shirts on one after the other. The outer one he chose was long sleeve and fit perfectly over the others. Then she handed him a pair of pants, the longest ones she could find. "You put clean underwear on last night after your bath, right?" Ronnie asked. Wyatt nodded."You look nice and warm," Mitch proclaimed from the doorway. "Maybe we ell be able to sled ride later after all.""After a few stores, he'll be fine

The following morning, Ronnie woke up late, or so she thought, because there was more light poking in her squinted eyes. She tried to move but something heavy was laying halfway across her chest. "Mugsy, come on, time to get up." But there wasn't any change. She opened her eyes and looked in the childish face of Wyatt. He was laying on her left shoulder, rolled into a fetal position and hanging onto his teddy bear's one arm. Awe! She smiled.There was no way she could get out of bed without waking him. She reached for her phone and checked the time. It was after eight, Mitch had already gone to work, and Mugsy probably got up with him for breakfast. She caressed Wyatt's baby-soft cheek and brushed his light brown hair off his forward. He needed a haircut, she thought. Then his hand released the bear from his grasp and wrapped his arm around her neck. I love you too, Wyatt, my sweet innocent boy. She rubbed his arm that lay across her neck and studied his face. He smiled in his sle

After a quick hug for Ronnie's parents when she met them at baggage claim, she said, "Hi Mom, and Dad, how was your flight?""It was a long, I can tell you that much." Her father, John Travis exclaimed. "I'm ready for a nap.""You're in luck. I happen to know a great B&B that has a room with your name on the door." Ronnie chuckled as she helped load their suitcases into the trunk. "How's Tory and the baby?""The baby really getting cute, and you can talk to Tory yourself and find out how she's doing." Ronnie's mother Janet said, her voice tailing off at the end.Once settled in the back seat, Ronnie asked, "Do you need to pick up anything before we head home?""Nope, I'm anxious to get to that bed you talked about." He father mumbled.During the quiet drive home, Ronnie explained Wyatt's appearance to them and that he may become their adopted son, hence their grandson. When there was no response from the back seat, Ronnie asked, "Is that okay with you?""Oh honey, of cour