Supper time

Wyatt musters up a small smile and returns Aerith's kiss. Giving a slight nod, he slides out of the booth and stands. "Okay... thanks."

Cradling her face a moment with his palm, he gives her cheek a rub with his thumb. "I'll call you later about supper. Don't work too hard."


Sparky almost seems to hesitate, then nods at Rosetta's answer. "Okay. I'm gonna take one of the guys with me to run some errands in town later, but I'll be back in the afternoon. If I don't see you before supper, I'll wander in when my stomach starts to growl."

Offering the best smile he can, Sparky tries to relay that things would be okay. Another nod, and he was out the door, heading to the barn.


"Oh." Gage seems to try and figure out why he'd want a tree, but he could see it was something Sapphire enjoyed, so maybe he would too. "Okay. I guess we could do that then. But you will have to show me how to decorate it."

Chewing his food thoughtfully, he furrows his brow, deep in thought like he was much of the time. He often took a long time to shape his words before he spoke, trying to put the pieces together before asking questions or giving answers. "I don't see how everything is connected..." He continues to ponder. "I see like, lights and trees and all that stuff... and then there's santa claus or whatnot that kinda seems silly... then I see these little scenes... like.... a barn or something. I've seen a lot of them when Officer Drake has driven me through town. It's got like, these people and a baby and usually a star or something on top. It looks religious 'cause sometimes they have these angels around it too. I haven't figured out yet what that has to do with santa claus and Christmas trees though..."

He glances to Sapphire with innocent ignorance. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"


Gunner sits at his desk, fooling with some paperwork until he stops, staring off into space. He'd been there two hours now, and hearing about Jason and Katie, a new burden was in the air. He wished he would have been able to go... then maybe it wouldn't have happened.

"Gunner?" Susanne comes around the corner of his cubicle. She smirks at him a little. "You gonna do any work today or just stay in your own little world?"

"Oh." He reaches for several stacks of papers. "This is for you - those printouts you wanted. And I also filled out those three reports and got that profile paperwork done. Umm..." He flips some pages with his thumb. "These are for Reese. I compiled those figures he wanted. If you could pass those along, that would be great. I've also almost completed that list of queries so as soon as that's done, I'll get that to him."

Susanne's eyes widen as she takes the stack of papers. "I guess I was wrong. Who put a bee under your butt this morning?"

Gunner gives her a grin. "Guess I finally had a good night's sleep."

"Well good. I hope you have another one. At this rate, you're gonna have a week's worth of work done in one morning!"

As she walks away, Gunner's eyes follow her, a smile still on his face. Taking a deep breath, he dives into work again, his eye on the clock.


Things in Texas move steadily. Though awkward without Mick around, everyone pitches in, making things as easy as possible. Chores are done, errands are run, breaks are taken, and the normal day-to-day tasks are completed. Jeff takes on BJ for most of the day, filling time with nature walks, a hunt for "the great last grasshopper" from some story, and stealing cookies from the kitchen like two stealthy cat burglars. It's only late in the day that Jim and Becky take back over again, playing some games and making popcorn balls at the house.

Jade spends her time in and out of the barn, stealing free moments with Dan, then winding up with Wendy, Angel then Becky to help out with little tasks. Another irate call from her mother goes ignored, as for the first time, Jade leaves her cell phone in the bunkhouse. She'd found refuge in one of the empty bunks, quietly moving her things from the main house. She didn't want to be a burden to Rosetta, and finding her own alone time was nice too.

Eventually, seven o'clock rolls around and most are starting to gather in the main dining room. All the visitors had their own supper at their normal visitor's dining room, while the main hall for all the ranch personnel was filled up as usual. Chattering, laughing and dishes clanging fills the air as it did most nights. Clint had convinced Wendy to join everyone else tonight, so they wind up at a table with Jade, while Jim and Becky keep an eye on BJ. Jade makes sure a spot is saved for Dan too, forming the "younger corner" of the room. Soup and sandwiches are served and everyone is hungry.

Outside, Sparky's boots crunch on the gravel as he heads to the main house. He'd squeezed in time for a shower and a change of clothes after chores, though he knew he'd have to make a few more rounds after supper before bedding down for the night.

Getting to the porch, he pauses at the door. Hesitating with his hand in the air, he finally rings the doorbell. He'd walked right in this morning, but tonight... tonight, he leaned more toward formality, at least for now.