“I think that’s probably a pretty good guess,” Jordan agreed.

“Don’t be surprised when you open your gift from me, young lady,” Mister Henry told her. “It’s got nothing to do with that new bedroom of yours, and I can guarantee you it’s not gonna be purple.”

Early Friday morning, Theo was woken up by the buzz of her cell phone against the top of her bedside table.

“’Lo?”

“Are you still in bed?” Delaney asked.

“It’s Christmas break. If Indigo is asleep, so am I.”

“Well, sorry about this wake-up call. I got tox screens back. Mina was drugged.”

Theo forced her eyes to open. “She was drugged meaning it wasn’t alcohol you found in her system, right?”

“Not unless The Copper Queen is serving a side of Xylazine with their drinks these days.”

“Xyla what?”

“It’s a veterinary sedative, usually used on horses. It’s been a problem lately. It’s being mixed into other drugs like heroin and cocaine. I’m guessing Mina wasn’t into that sort of thing?”

“I think it’s safe to assume that she wasn’t.”

“This guy was serious, Theo. He sedated her, and he broke both of her ankles. Let’s hope he did things in that order. At least that way we can be sure Mina didn’t feel much pain.”

“I know I need to tell Ashley. I’m just not sure how.”

“It sucks delivering bad news.”

“It really does.”

“What do you have going on today?”

“I have a date with Odette, Indigo, and a bunch of paint cards at Hollis Hardware.”

Delaney chuckled. “You wanna trade lives for a while?”

“I couldn’t do what you do, sweetie, and no one would appreciate it if I tried. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, well, it can’t hurt to ask, right?”

“You want me to buy you a candy bar at the hardware store?”

“How about two? A Milky Way and a Baby Ruth.”

“You got it. Hey, Delaney? Just so you don’t forget. I love you.”

Theo heard Delaney sniff. “Yeah,” she said, “I know.”

Delaney disconnected the call and Theo let her phone drop to her chest.

“Mrow!”

Two-Step jumped onto the bed and sauntered over to Theo. The cat looked like he had tried to be an orange tabby, but apparently most of the ink had been used on his brother, Tango. The cartridge had held out from the tip of his tail to the tops of his front legs. He was white from there down to his feet.

“Dude,” Theo told him. “Be grateful you’re a cat. Being a human can be rough sometimes.”

An hour later, Odette met Theo and Indigo at the hardware store where Indigo carefully chose nineteen color cards.

“I never realized there were so many shades of purple before,” Odette ruminated.

“How many can I pick?” Indigo asked. “Can I choose a color for each wall?”

Theo thought about that for a second. “Well, I guess I don’t see why not. It is your room.”

“Okay,” she said, holding onto her collection. “I need to think about it for a little while.”

“Do you want me to help you put those in your pockets so you don’t lose them?”

Indigo nodded and Theo split the pile, putting some in each pocket of the little girl’s coat.

“Alright,” Odette said, taking Indigo’s hand. “You’re coming to the farm with me so your Antee can finish up her Christmas shopping.”

Indigo twirled one of her ponytails in her fingers. “Odie says we’re gonna have blackberry grilled cheese sammiches for dinner, Antee.”

Theo looked up at Odette. “Is this true?”

Odette smiled as they walked toward the door. “Your blackberry hot chocolate the other night gave me the idea. Goat cheese, mozzarella, blackberries and basil on sourdough bread,” she said.

“Well now,” Theo pouted, “I’ll be thinking about that the whole time I’m shopping.”

They parted ways in the parking lot, but not before Theo rained kisses on a giggling four-year-old.

Theo had already done most of her shopping. She’d sent off gifts to Boston for Trix and her fiancé, Jude. Kendra, the sassy secretary that still ran the law offices of Adams, Kennedy & Brandeis with an iron fist had already sent Theo a text saying her gift had arrived. A carefully packed box had been shipped to London just after Thanksgiving, and because she and Jordan were redecorating Indigo’s birthday for Christmas, she’d bought things like books, art supplies and a monthly science themed subscription box she knew the child would be crazy about.

She’d already bought a beautiful scarf and matching gloves for Ashley, and a day planner the woman had been admiring. Theo figured Ashley wouldn’t spend the money to buy the planner for herself, so she’d done it for her. She thought she was done buying for Ashley, but the conversation the two of them had while decorating the tree had put another idea in Theo’s mind. She decided she was going to find a nice box and begin filling it with holiday ornaments and other decorations so that Ashley could have some things to hang on her tree next Christmas. Since it wasn’t a gift she planned to give Ashley until the following year, she had twelve months to come up with a good collection. She started the project by walking through the quirky, one-of-a-kind shops in town and began gathering.

When Theo got back to the office, she was surprised to find Ashley sitting at her desk.

“You do realize we’re closed, right?” Theo joked after she’d dropped her bags in her inner office and come to sit with Ashley.

“Yeah,” Ashley shrugged. “Wyatt’s at work, and I don’t really want to be by myself. Every shop and office on this street is decorated for Christmas, and I’ve gone to see Vivienne three times.”

“How much coffee have you had to drink?”

“Three times,” Ashley said, her eyes wide. “Three different coffees.”