Tara was confident that she would in time. After all, there was no truer adage than the old one about misery loving company. And Tara needed an ally in the Calder household, a conduit of its happenings. There was no better candidate for that than Sally Brogan.
&n
bsp; This was not a time to press for undying friendship, however. This was the moment to step back and allow it to develop gradually over the next few months.
“Now you go put those towels away,” Tara declared with an affectionate shooing motion. “It’s time I went downstairs before Noah decides that I have completely deserted him.”
By late the following afternoon, the Calders had struck a deal with the young architect, detailed measurements had been taken of the barn, and the pair had departed for Fort Worth with promises to be in touch soon.
Four short days later a UPS truck pulled up to The Homestead. The rear of the van was jammed with packages. The brown-uniformed driver hauled all but a very few of them into the house. Jessy stared in disbelief at the boxes stacked high in the large foyer, with only a small walk space left from the front door to the hall.
Each of them identified the sender as Tara.
On the box marked in big letters OPEN FIRST was an envelope with a note from Tara, addressed to both Ty and Jessy. In it, she expressed her gratitude for their hospitality and apologized for the late arrival of the baby gifts for the twins.
It took the better part of an hour for Jessy to open all the packages. When she had finished, she was overwhelmed by the multitude of gifts. In the toy category, there were elaborate mobiles, fancy rattles and teething rings, and a menagerie of stuffed animals, large and small. Each twin had a complete set of porcelain dishes, plus a full setting of silver baby utensils. In addition, there were clothes—twelve outfits apiece. In Laura’s case, all of them consisted of dressy confections, full of ruffles and lace, complete with matching shoes, hair ribbons, and an assortment of other accessories. With one exception, Trey’s clothes were variations of suits and ties, blazers and matching slacks, with an accompanying collection of little shirts, socks, and shoes. The exception was a cowboy outfit, complete with full regalia—boots with tiny spurs, jeans, a cowboy hat, a yoked-front shirt with pearl snaps, a cowhide vest, fringed leather chaps, and a buckskin jacket.
Hands on her hips, Jessy stared at the mound of gifts. “Would you look at all this?” she exclaimed to Sally, annoyance riddling her voice. “When and where does Tara expect the twins to wear all these fancy outfits? Do you realize there is not one practical item in the whole batch?”
“I know.” Sally clicked her tongue in dismay then picked one of the frillier dresses, her expression melting. “But have you ever seen anything so precious? Laura will look like a little doll in this.”
Jessy’s opinion didn’t change when she glanced at the dainty pink number. She had never been able to abide ruffles and lace herself. The thought of dressing her daughter in such an outfit was equally repugnant.
“This must have cost a fortune,” Sally murmured.
Jessy harrumphed. “She can afford it. Her daddy left her the equivalent of probably seven or eight fortunes. For two cents, I would give most of this away, but I doubt there are enough babies in the whole county to wear all these clothes.” Then her expression softened with grudging fondness when her glance fell on the cowboy outfit. Jessy fingered the cowhide vest and fringed chaps. “I have to admit, though, Grandpa Calder will get a real kick out of seeing Trey in this one.”
“Wouldn’t he, though.”
For the life of her, Jessy couldn’t imagine what kind of thank-you card a person sent to someone who had bought out an entire baby store. In the end she penned a simple note.
Humming to herself, Sally dusted the walnut table next to Chase’s favorite chair, then set everything back on it just the way Chase liked it. Before she stepped away, the telephone rang. Automatically she picked up the extension.
“Calder residence.”
“May I speak to Ty, please?”
“I’m sorry, he isn’t here right now. May I take a message and have him call you back?” Sally searched around for a pencil and paper.
“Is that you, Sally?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Tara.” The tone of her voice turned decidedly friendly.
“Hello. How are you?” Sally paused in her search for the notepad.
“I’m fine. I was wondering—have the presents for the twins arrived yet?”
“They were delivered three days ago. I believe Jessy mailed you a card yesterday.”
“I’ll bet Ty was furious with me when he saw all the gifts.”
“He did think that you sent too many.”
“Well, he was right. I went way over the top. But there were so many things, too precious for words, that I couldn’t stop with just two or three items. You must know how it is, Sally,” Tara declared in that confiding manner. “Being there every day, taking care of the twins, watching them grow—it’s bound to feel like you are their grandmother. It does, doesn’t it? Now, tell the truth.”
“It’s crazy, but I do,” Sally admitted without any qualm.