Chapter Nine – Ladd
Ladd
The storm David had seen coming over the mountains moved in quicker than we thought it would.
The snow was coming down at a rapid pace, but nothing that we hadn’t ever seen before, of course, living in Colorado.
My mother, grandmother, Vivianne, and Liz spent most of the rest of the morning and early afternoon baking.
David and I popped in every now and then to offer to sample the goods.
Each time, though, we’d been roped into helping in some way.
It was worth it, though, to get the samples.
Once most of the baking had finished, it was time to decorate the trees in the arena. My mother dished out orders and we all followed them.
“Ladd, would you mind bringing down the two remaining boxes of decorations?” my mother asked as she motioned for me to set the box of decorations down that I’d carried from the attic at the house.
“Just two left?” I asked.
“Yes, your brothers brought most of them out here. After you’ve gotten them, Vivianne is at the dog and cat tree now, so you can help her finish that one up.”
I looked past her to see Vivianne holding up a couple of decorations with a perplexed expression on her face. The ornaments were all handmade decorations that the kids at the elementary school made for the tree.
Trying not to laugh as I watched her glance around before placing them onto the tree, I turned and headed back to the house, then stopped. David had somehow already beaten me to it, and was still carrying one box while pointing to one he’d just set down.
“Perfect timing! Can you grab this one?”
“Are these the ones Mom just sent me to get back at the house?”
He rolled his eyes. “Grandma sent me to get them. They need to learn to communicate.”
I looked at the box at his feet. “You’re leaving me with the bigger box?”
“Hey, I hauled it out of the attic and down to the barn. Afraid you can’t handle it?”
“Shut up,” I said, lifting it without any issues.
Once we had the boxes at the right trees, I walked over to Vivianne.
The entire barn smelled of pine, with all of the Douglas firs set up inside the arena.
It was heated, which made it pleasant. Dad and Derek had built platforms for each tree to sit on, along with the wrapped presents, so they weren’t resting on the sandy arena floor.
“If you’re wondering about the cats and dogs, the kids at the elementary school made the decorations. They all got to vote on the themes of the trees. When cats and dogs won, my mother racked her brain trying to figure out where to buy cat and dog ornaments.”
She laughed. “Who thought of having the kids make them instead?”
“Mike did.”
She nodded. “Smart.”
“Yeah, it was a great idea.”
She placed another ornament on the tree. “There’s a huge store in Denver that is nothing but Christmas decorations.”
“Really?” I asked, placing a white and yellow cat decoration at the front of the tree.
“We should take a drive there sometime and see what they have. We might be able to find some cute decorations for your mom’s trees.”
“That would be fun.”
We worked in silence as we finished up the tree with a handmade cat tree topper that would most likely only make it one more year…and that was if it lasted through this year.
Vivianne looked around the barn and smiled. “How many trees are there total?” she asked.
“Seven.”
She turned toward me and grinned. “That’s a lot of trees.”
“Seven is my mother’s favorite number, so she uses it in weird ways. Like, seven trees. But she probably needs that many. Last Christmas, each tree was packed with gifts.”
“That’s really nice that the community gets together like they do for this event.”
I nodded. “Yeah. It was a good idea Mom had.”
Vivianne started to walk toward another tree waiting to be decorated. “And this one?” she asked, pointing at the boxes.
“This one is the horse-themed tree.”
Rubbing her hands together, she asked, “Shall we?”
“Let’s dive in.”
I opened a box, and Vivianne reached in and lifted out a smaller white box. She smiled. “This one gets special packaging, I see.”
Laughing, I replied, “You’ll see why. It’s not usually stored in this box.”
“How did it get in there then?” she asked.
“Dad probably got it out and put it in there. That’s probably why it was on top.”
She opened the box, then sucked in a breath as she took out a gold and white horse. “This is stunning.”
Smiling, I reached for it. “This was the very first ornament that was donated for this event. No one knows who sent it, but it’s from Tiffany and Co.”
Her eyes went wide. “Are you serious? Someone sent this anonymously? Why would they do that? It has to be worth a fortune.”
I shrugged. “Dad thinks maybe they thought we would sell it or something? My mother fell in love with it and said it would be on the Christmas tree every single year she hosted the event for the kids.”
“Do you put it on your tree afterward?”
“No. Dad packs it back up and takes it to the bank, and it stays in a safety deposit box there until next December.”
“Should we let your mother do the honor of hanging it?” Vivianne asked.
I handed the ornament back to her. “It usually goes on last, after all the other ornaments are put on, so it doesn’t get bumped or knocked off.”
“That’s a smart idea.”
Vivianne carefully put the ornament back into the box and set it aside.
We worked in silence as we placed the decorations on the tree.
One look around the barn showed nearly all the trees were decorated.
I guess that was one good thing about the snowstorm—no one had anything else to do.
Even the ranch hands were in here helping.
“It’s time for the last ornament to go on the tree,” my mother exclaimed as she made her way over to me and Vivianne. “Oh, the horse tree looks amazing!”
Smiling brightly, Vivianne replied, “It has nothing to do with us, but with the adorable ornaments on the tree.”
Mom picked up the box and took out the horse, handing it to Vivianne. “How about you do the honors of placing the last ornament, and the most precious one of all?”
“Are you sure?” Vivianne asked, glancing around to seek everyone’s approval.
My mother laughed. “Yes, I’m sure! Here you go. Place it front and center.”
Taking the ornament from my mother, Vivianne stared at the tree for a few moments before reaching out and carefully placing the ornament onto the Douglas fir.
When she stepped back, I took her hand in mine as she whispered, “It’s perfect.”
There was a moment of stillness and reflection in the barn as everyone took in the sight.
Young kids who had nothing and no one would fill this barn on Christmas Day to get presents from strangers who’d cared enough to take the time out of their busy lives to shop for them, or to donate money. It was a beautiful thought.
I leaned in and spoke into Vivianne’s ear.
“New Year’s Eve, these trees will get added to the bonfire that my father builds with the rest of the Christmas trees from the ranch.
The ranch hands usually have a tree in their cabin, my grandmother has a tree up, and my mother puts up two trees at the main house.
It’s a huge party here on the ranch, and my parents invite friends and family.
All the ranch hands attend as well. That’s how they celebrate New Year’s Eve. ”
Vivianne let out a soft breath. “I love that.”
Clapping her hands and cutting off the serene moment, my mother turned and faced everyone. “Thank you to everyone who came and helped decorate the trees. We still have lots of presents to wrap, so if you’d like to volunteer, you know where to go!”
“Does your mother know what sleeping in is?” Vivianne asked in a whispered breath.
“No, she doesn’t. No one does if you live and work on a ranch.”
She nodded her head.
“Derek, do you boys have plans for lunch?”
Derek nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I made a lasagna for us yesterday.”
My mother beamed at him. “Smart man. Since it’s storming, why don’t you boys take the rest of the day off?”
Derek, Luke, Ronnie, and Smitty all glanced at each other, then over to my father.
Days off from ranch work was rotated among the guys, so for all of them to take the same day off was almost unheard of.
Smitty was still dressed in his coat, with his hat and gloves in his hand.
I would guess he’d just come in from most likely checking on the other barn, making sure the water hadn’t frozen and the heat was on.
Dad cleared his throat. “We still need to rotate a few tasks, like making sure none of the water troughs have frozen over. I’m guessing everyone who needs to be brought in has been?”
Smitty nodded. “Yes, sir. Derek and I rounded up everyone earlier when we saw the sky turning dark. All the horses who need to be in the barn are in, fed, and watered. All blankets are on and water troughs checked.”
“Dad, why don’t we let the boys have the day off,” David suggested. “Between me, Ladd, Mike, and Jason, we can take turns checking on things.”
My father shrugged, then looked to Derek. “How does that sound to you?”
Derek grinned and nodded. “That would be much appreciated, thank you, sir.”
“Then it’s settled,” Mom said. “You boys take a much-needed break. The rest of you, let’s clean up the boxes and put them in the loft. Then I want everyone to get washed up for lunch.”
Everyone got to work, and before you knew it, the only thing in the barn was the Christmas trees.
“And the horses stay in their stalls all night?” Vivianne asked as I handed David the last box to bring up to the loft to store.
“The ones that come in each night, yes. I’ll give you a full tour of the barn, since you didn’t get to see all of it.”
I glanced up the steps. “You got that, David?”
“Yeah!” he called down. “Just don’t be too long, you know how Mom is when she says it’s time to eat. It’s time to eat!”
“We won’t be late.”