Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,48

hole in the wall. “Here are your menus. I’ll grab you some horseshoes.”

They all took a seat as Buddy grabbed an armful of horseshoes and brought them over, hanging them on a hook at the side of their table.

“I have a suggestion,” Theo said. “We should all get Mountain Burgers.”

Lila scanned her menu for a description but couldn’t spot it. “What’s a mountain burger?”

Theo beamed conspiratorially at Rex, who giggled. “It’s a secret, off-menu burger, and I promise, you’ll love it.” Rex snickered again. “And if you can eat it all, you get a little trophy with a real gold nugget on top.”

“It’s gigantic!” Rex said with a laugh.

“Shh,” Theo told him, his finger over his smiling lips. “Let’s let her get one and see.”

“Fine,” she said, ready to take the challenge. “We can all have Mountain Burgers.”

“Did I hear you say you are all getting the Mountain Burger?” Buddy asked, stepping up to their table.

“Yes, sir!” Rex said, his eyes nearly squinting shut with his enormous grin.

“All right! Two adult Mountain Burgers and one kiddie Mountain Burger, coming up. What will you have to drink?”

“I’ll have a glass of iced tea,” Lila said.

Buddy clasped his hands together. “Perfect. And you, Theo?”

“I’ll do the same.”

“Excellent,” Buddy said.

“Milk for me, please,” Rex told him.

“Got it. Enjoy the horseshoes.” Buddy headed off to the kitchen.

Theo stood up and pulled the horseshoes from their spot on the side of the table, handing one to Lila and one to Rex. “Think you can do this?” he asked Lila, as he deftly spun the horseshoe around his finger.

“Of course,” she said, faking confidence. Lila held hers with both hands, the weight of the thing substantial. She dared not be careless with it. It would certainly hurt if she dropped it on her foot or something, which wasn’t out of the question. She stepped up to the pit and Theo came up behind her.

“You want to hold it like this.” He took her hand, making her work to hide her smile, and set the horseshoe in her palm, closing her fingers around it. “Then it’s kind of like bowling, but you really have to give it a good toss when you let it go, to make it sail far enough to get it into the hole. Want me to show you how?”

“I think I’ve got it,” she said.

“You sure? You might want me to show you.”

“I can do it.” She didn’t really know if she could, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

Lila stared at the hole, swinging her arm a few times, getting her aim. On the third swing she let go with a heave, closing her eyes as the horseshoe left her fingers. When she didn’t hear the thud of it hitting the floor, she opened them and slapped her hand over her mouth as the horseshoe went into the hole. Bull’s-eye!

“Dang! Lila got it in first try!” Rex jumped around, slapping his leg with his free hand.

Theo stared at Lila wide-eyed. “How did you do that?”

She had absolutely no idea. Beginner’s luck, she guessed. “Skill,” she said instead, with a smirk.

“Theo, you go next,” Rex said. “You have to show her up.”

Theo laughed, stepping up to the spot and holding out his hand while squinting one eye to focus on his shot. “I’m a champion at this,” he said.

“You’re all talk,” Lila teased, making Rex throw his head back in amusement.

Theo’s arm swung back and then forward, the horseshoe sailing from his hand and landing with a thud on the bags, short of his mark. His mouth hung open. “Hang on a minute. What?” He went into the pit and retrieved his horseshoe, inspecting it. “I need another one,” he said. “There must be something wrong with this one.”

Lila couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from her lips.

Theo went over to the table and replaced his horseshoe with another while Rex took his spot, lining up for a smaller hole in the wall under theirs, obviously made for kids. He sunk it in the hole on his first shot.

“Yeah!” Rex danced around.

“Nice shot, Rex!” Lila took a second horseshoe. After a couple of practice swings, when she had her momentum, she let it go, and into the hole it went. “This is surprisingly easy,” she said.

Theo took his new horseshoe up to the line and spent a minute strategizing. Then he tossed it. It bounced off the wall a few inches from the hole and landed on the bags. “Is this