I let out a long sigh. "It's not your fault Donna; these things just happen." I shrug. "I'm just trying to find a way to make the best of it. It's just so hard to do that with everything." I wave to the house. "I'm sorry about the cabin."
Donna pulls me in for a long hug. "I know, dear." She pulls away and smiles at me. "Now, lets not stay up here feeling sorry for ourselves. Your mother said she wanted to finish decorating the house."
Great. I love my mother, but she can be overbearing on her best day. And here I was, hoping to finally have my own Christmas for once, something I designed and made with my husband. Well, not anymore. I need to make peace with it; maybe I can carve out some quiet time with Conrad.
The rest of the day is busy; nothing new there. But instead of dealing with horses, it is family members. By the time the day was over, we were all sitting in the living room enjoying an after-dinner hot apple cider. I'm exhausted. And saw Conrad for a total of five minutes alone today. I look across the room to see my father and Burt occupying his time.
Burt breaks off from the group and stands in the middle of the room.
"If I could have your attention." He says, seeming nervous. That's not like him; he's never scared of anything. He opens his hand, gesturing for Donna to come to stand beside him. "I did have this plan to do this in private and more romantic in our home, but our roof had other plans."
Donna giggles, still not getting the hint where this is heading, but I knew. And I couldn't be more excited about it.
"But being with friends and family seems like the perfect place to do it." He pulls the ring box out of his pocket and then, with shaking legs, kneels. "Donna Smith, will you do us the honour of being my wife?" he asks the question.
Donna bursts out in tears, nodding her head yes. With the ring slipped on and a kiss, they hug. I wipe happy tears of my own, then go to congratulate them. My mother is just as excited; she and Donna have become close friends.
"This is so exciting and perfect timing Donna. You always said you wanted a winter wedding." My mother chimes in.
"Oh, we can’t possibly do it this winter. Next is well enough."
"Why wait? We're all here; it doesn't need to be big; we can make it happen with all of us here." Burt says, looking around at us all.
"Of course, whatever you guys want," Conrad says with a smile.
"Then it's settled. The wedding will be on Christmas Eve." She claps.
"That's only a week away," Donna says in shock.
My mom pulls me to her side, squeezing me. "It will be a lot of work, but we will get it done between us all." She beams.
"Donna, don't worry. This will be a fairy tale wedding." I smile at her. I can see the concern in her eyes. But I don't want her to feel guilty about this. Besides, I've all but given up on my low-key Christmas.
CHAPTER4
CONRAD
Idon't think this house has ever been so busy. My whole life, it's been my father and me, and this big house has open rooms. A part of me likes it, even hoped for it. But I can feel sadness in Penny. We were hit with many surprises as of late, and I know she was looking forward to a small and intimate holiday. The last few days have been a clusterfuck; between our busy regular farm work, add-on in-laws and a wedding to be planned, it's not much of a holiday when you think about it.
I don't think I've seen Penny very much these last few days. By the time she comes to bed, I'm asleep or vice versa. Whenever I've seen them here, she's been busy with either her mother or Donna. Zero alone time. None. And it's starting to wear thin.
I stare at the stack of paperwork sitting on my desk. I feel like it's grown just by me ignoring it. Another obstacle is getting in the way of my alone time with Penny.
"Gosh, look at that pile. More breeding requests for Opus." Burt comes into the office.
"If he weren’t making us millions, I would complain, but I can’t,” I mutter.
“No, you can’t, son. This is what you wanted." Burt pats my shoulder. "Penny just finished on one of the yearlings if you wanted to have a minute with her."
That sound like a great idea; I need a break from doing nothing. "She's in the training barn?" I ask him.
"No, her mother had to drag her away for some wedding planning help."
I'm sure she loved that; the wedding planning was non-stop. Add entertaining family plus our regular barn work. It's been chaos. I pull on my jacket and walk back to the house. The dining room is a mess of magazines, laptops, and papers. Donna and Penny were in deep discussion with her mother about something.
"Red roses in winter will be stunning." My mother-in-law suggests.
"I agree; they would look perfect," Penny says.