A/N: Still don't own CSI. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Previously: "Roll in the hay. Want to play?"
"Oh yeah."

Johanna and her mother were busy in the kitchen when Nick came downstairs the next morning. "Morning, Nick," Johanna said, her hands covered with flour as she sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on rolled out dough. "Coffee's hot. Mugs are in the cupboard to the right of the sink."

"Thanks. Morning, Nancy." Nick fixed himself a cup of coffee as he watched the women work.

Nancy stirred something in a pot on the stove. "Good morning, Nick. Do you like caramel rolls?"

"Yes I do, ma'am." He crossed over to stand behind Johanna. Keeping his voice low so Nancy wouldn't overhear, he whispered in Johanna's ear, "You left a bit of hay in my bed, sweetheart. It must
have been caught in your hair." She flushed crimson, shaking her head as she started rolling the dough. Speaking normally once again, Nick asked Nancy, "Is that the same recipe that Johanna has?"

"It sure is. Has she made them for you?"

Nick sipped his coffee. "She has. Are you the first ones up?"

Johanna chuckled as she sliced the rolled dough and started placing them into a pan. "Not by a long shot. The guys are already out, and I think Dad's in his office."

"The boys should be back by the time these rolls are done; Ian seems to know just when they come out of the oven, because that's when he shows up," Nancy added as Johanna finished filling the pan and slid it into the oven. Pouring the freshly made caramel sauce over her pan of rolls, Nancy slid those into the second oven and set the timer. "They'll appreciate hot rolls and coffee."

Sure enough, just as the timer dinged for the rolls, Johanna's brothers trooped into the house, their faces red from the cold. "Smells good in here," Ian said, standing by the warm oven after shedding his winter gear. "Caramel rolls and cinnamon rolls?"

"Oatmeal, too," Nancy said, pouring the hot cereal into a serving bowl. "It's almost done; Gage, could you let your dad know breakfast is ready?"

"These aren't just any cinnamon rolls, Ian," Johanna said. "These are orange cinnamon rolls." Nick's stomach rumbled; he loved Johanna's orange cinnamon rolls.

Ian reached for one of the piping hot rolls, only to earn a swat to the hand from Nancy. "Aw, come on, Mom, I'm hungry!"

"And you can just wait until we're all at the table, my dear." With that, Nancy carried the platter of rolls into the dining room.

Shaking his head, Ian grabbed the large bowl of oatmeal as Johanna reached for the pitcher of fresh squeezed orange juice in the refrigerator. "I had ulterior motives when I made the rolls," she admitted, handing the pitcher to Nick before grabbing the coffee carafe.

"What's that?"

"I've been wanting your potato soup ever since I booked the plane tickets here."

Ian chuckled as the three entered the dining room. "Well, I suppose I could whip up a batch today."

"A batch of what, Ian?" Cal asked as he came in.

"Johanna wants some of my potato soup." Setting the oatmeal bowl down, Ian plopped in his chair. "If it's okay with you guys," nodding towards his brothers, "I'll make some today."

Cole shrugged. "It's fine with me. I've got work to do with Dad, and some equipment to fix."

Gage nodded, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "I'm okay with it. It gives me time to work Mercy, then I'll ride out with the hands for the afternoon check." Cal raised his hand, and the table quieted as he said the grace for the meal. Reaching for a roll, Gage glanced at his sister. "Want to be my hazer?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Who's helping you these days?"

"Beau, Mick, and Aaron. Mick usually runs as my hazer, but I don't think he'll mind a day off," Gage answered with a grin. "I'll call them after breakfast."

As Johanna scooped oatmeal into a bowl, Nick leaned in close. "Riding in this cold? I don't think your doctor would approve. And is hazing light riding?" he asked softly.

She smiled. "Relax, honey. There's an indoor arena out beyond the barn. We don't keep it as warm as the barn, but it's warm enough," she murmured. "And all things considered, hazing is pretty simple. You can come watch, if you want." Passing the oatmeal, she accepted the platter of rolls. "Mom, can we do some shopping together in the next few days? I haven't gotten all my Christmas
shopping done yet."

"Of course! We can go after lunch if you want, as long as you don't mind stopping by the store for a bit," Nancy replied.

After breakfast the family separated: Cal, Cole, and Nancy went back to the office, Gage went to make his calls, Ian disappeared to his room, and Johanna and Nick cleared the table and cleaned up
the kitchen. "Have you finished your Christmas shopping, Nick?" Johanna asked as she rinsed the pots and pans before loading them into the dishwasher.

"Some of it's finished, but I've still got a few things to get." He'd already purchased the most important gift. "I don't really know what to get for your family." Searching the cupboards, he found the Tupperware and stored the rolls, passing the platter to Johanna.

"Do you want me to jot some ideas down when Mom and I are out?"

Nick nodded. "That would help. I'm planning to use my keen investigative skills to find out what they'd like, but I would take any suggestions."

Johanna chuckled. "You'd best keep your 'keen investigative skills' sharp when you're dealing with Cole, then. He can be a bit hard to read sometimes."

He would keep that in mind. "What about everyone else?"

Pouring detergent into the dispenser, Johanna shut the appliance and started it. "Ian's fairly open and easy to read. Gage…well, you've dealt with him before. Mom and Dad are both pretty easy to read as well." Crossing the kitchen, she grabbed three insulated mugs from the cupboard. Gage came in as she was filling the mugs with coffee. "Are they in?"

"They'll be here within the hour."

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Nick sprawled contently in bed that night, Johanna cuddled against him. "So was Ian's potato soup as good as you remembered?" he asked.

"Better," she answered drowsily. "How's your elbow?"

He had been roped into helping hold the steer straight in the makeshift chute; on Gage's last run the steer had slammed against the side of the chute, and Nick had banged his elbow against the metal getting his arm out of the way. "It's sore, but I'll survive. Did you and your mom have fun this afternoon?"

Johanna stretched. "I can't believe I forgot how many stores Mom can cover when she puts her mind to it. I think we hit every store in the mall, plus the other department stores in town."

"Did you get your shopping done?"

"I got most of it done. I didn't want to get Mom's present with her there, so I had it put on layaway and I'll pick it up in a couple days." Idly she drummed her fingers against Nick's bare chest. "You can come with and get the rest of your shopping done then, if you want."

Nick smiled in the darkness. "Sounds like a plan." After a pause he asked, "So what did you get me?"

Johanna pressed her face against his side to muffle her giggles. "You'll have to wait and find out on Christmas Day, just like everyone else."

"I really have to wait five days?" Nick jokingly complained.

"You bet your boots you do, cowboy." Rolling onto her stomach, she laid her head on her crossed arms. "So what did you do this afternoon?"

Nick shrugged slightly. "Well, I hung out in the kitchen when Ian was making the soup, helped him with some of the prep." He didn't mention what all he and Ian talked about that afternoon. "Then I lost myself in the library downstairs for a while; took a little nap in there, too." Rolling on his side, he gently rubbed Johanna's back as he changed the subject. "How many games did you win tonight?" They had spent the rest of the evening after chores and supper playing games in the large family room.

Johanna was practically purring under Nick's gentle caress. "I went out first in Scrabble, but Mom had more points. Dad trounced me in chess; he always does. And I lost track of all the card games with you guys." Her voice was growing drowsy again. "What about you?"

"Won a few, lost a few. You're right about Cole; he's hard to read." Nick didn't mention that Cole had intercepted him after dinner…

"Nick." Cole waited until Johanna carried dishes into the kitchen before speaking quietly across the table. "Johanna mentioned you go riding together."

"Yeah," Nick answered slowly, unsure as to where the conversation was going.

"Meet me in the barn tomorrow morning at 5:30, and dress warm…very warm."

The conversation was over as quickly as it had begun. Cole hadn't mentioned the conversation again during the evening, but Nick hadn't forgotten it. He had a suspicion he was in for a long, cold morning.

TBC...

Oh boy...methinks Nick's in for an interesting-and cold-morning! It's looking like Amigo will be wrapped up in perhaps a half dozen more chapters. I know, I know, I said that back in chapter 23, but this time I think I mean it.