December 12th 2022

Chapter 346
Our Cheers For Him

When they'd been younger, not yet married, dating, and living together, and even before then… probably when they were little more than friends who had not yet owned up to their feelings… one thing Lucas had come to know about having Maya in his life was that his birthdays would never go unnoticed. No, far from that: his birthdays would be acknowledged to the point of mischief, and he knew better than to assume otherwise.

And now they had children. One big girl out in Houston, and six little ones at home, six little girls who were half him and – most important to this day – half her. And in whatever configuration this 'Maya-ness' presented in them, it was there, in each and every one of them. On a day like this, on his birthday… It all aligned to one singular purpose: surprise the birthday man.

Just last night, when they'd all been put to bed, he could see it in their eyes: the big day was coming very fast, and they knew it, and they were giddy. Oh, was it ever going to be good. Lucas would play innocent, like he didn't see any of this for what it was. It wouldn't even matter whether or not they understood that he was just playing, that he in fact knew that they were up to something. He didn't know what they were going to do, and they knew that, so the rest wasn't important. That was the burgeoning bud of another trait they'd inherited from their mother… the teasing. He'd play it up with them, and it would make them giggle and run around, and the result would be the same. He didn't know what they were plotting, but they were plotting, sisters together, and they looked forward to springing it on him.

The hitch in the plan came somewhere around four in the morning when he got a call from the ranch. One of their horses had been sick in recent days, nothing too concerning as of yet, however now it seemed as though he had taken a turn for the worse. They needed him to come in. Maya was already awake by the time he hung up and he looked at her, apologies in his eyes. This was a part of their lives, sure, and it had happened ever now and then since he'd taken up the position from Dr. Alvarez, but today… He didn't want to disappoint the girls.

"Hey, it's fine, trust me," she told him with a smile as she took hold of his face and lightly kissed him. "Happy birthday," she told him, and he smiled back, kissed her again. "Just get back when you can, I'll take care of everything."

"Didn't doubt it for a second," he nodded. "Get back to sleep for now, yeah?"

"You bet I will," she snickered, already shifting back down to get her head on the pillow. "Can you tuck me in?" she innocently asked. Lucas did as asked, leaning to kiss her on the forehead at the same time, which had her biting back a laugh.

So, Lucas got dressed and moved to quietly head out, getting as far as the front door before he heard the thump of small feet in slippers coming halfway down. He looked around to spot Marianne's braid giving her away as it dangled over the banister.

"Get back to bed, pumpkin," he told her.

"Where are you going? Is it a horse? A dog?" she asked.

"Horse," he told her as he moved to stand parallel to where she was above him, on the stairs. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Go on," he pointed back up where she'd come from.

"I want to go with you."

"I'm sure you do, but it's very early and you have school later," he reminded her. He knew very well the likelihood of her getting back to sleep if he just sent her back, but it wasn't a good idea to bring her either. "Why don't you go up and keep your mom company?" he suggested.

"But…" she tried one more time.

"You know, don't ask me how I know this, but I'm thinking she and your sisters might need you for something by the time I get back…" he told her, and there was the smile, the Maya Mischief in her. Yes, she needed to be there for the birthday… stuff. "Okay?" he asked, and she nodded. Rather than run back up the stairs though she ran down the rest of the way, so she might throw her arms around him.

"Happy birthday, Daddy," she whispered.

"Thanks, pumpkin," he hugged her back, bent to kiss her. "Off you go now."

And off Marianne went, upstairs, while he headed out to drive to the ranch. For everyone's sake, the girls and Maya, yes, but truly for the horse more than anyone, he hoped that this would not take long, that things would be fine, and he could return home soon.

By the time he got to the ranch, went and found the horse and got to examine him, the conclusion became that, while the situation itself would not be over by the time he went home, he would at least make it back for breakfast and for whatever the girls had plotted. There were few people on the property at this hour, only those whose job it was to see to the animals where needed, but all of those he crossed paths with had that same 'sorry to have to call you in for this' look, further bolstered for the fact that they knew it was his birthday. He'd meet each one with the same reassurance. There was nothing to it; this was his job, and he was glad to be here.

Being there at this hour though, in the quiet and the lack of activity, it did make him think about when the B&B would be open, when they would have guests on the property overnight. They would have to keep that in mind in keeping all their facilities secure, he knew that, but it made him think about the specifics more and more, so much so that it briefly delayed his return home, though not by much. There were the horses and the dogs, sure, but also whatever medical equipment and medicine they had, and all those were the very important things to think about but there were others, too. They were secured now, of course, but once there'd be guests residing on this side of the gate that they opened at sunrise… Much as he wanted to be a trusting host, he could not be a foolish one.

Forget about all that right now… Get home to your surprise…

It was nearly six thirty by the time he drove up to the house so, all in all, he'd gotten away from this delay well enough. By now, he knew everyone would be up and about, or at least awake. Maya would definitely be downstairs, set to breakfast and aided perhaps by one or both of her sisters, maybe Marianne, or some of the younger girls…

When he came through the door, he came upon a pile-up of small blondes asleep on the couch. Kacey was holding on to Lucy, even as Remy rested against her, holding on to Mackenzie… The only one who was awake, being in the process of climbing her little self down from the cushions, was Aubrey. Days away from her first birthday, she was displaying a determination in lowering herself down to the floor. Lucas watched her go, ready to intervene if needed, but his Lucky girl was doing just fine. And when her feet touched the ground, she looked around as though to say 'ta-da!' And she spotted him.

"Hey, Lucky," he whispered, smiling at the way she smiled at him, hand grasping at her own chin. She looked ready to squeal and go 'Dada!' but he held his finger to his lips, and she seemed to understand. Better than that, she made her way over to him, wobbly but self-assured. She was starting to get the hang of this walking thing, no support needed though she did hold on to things in her reach if she found them there. It was not the first time she did it, but as far as Lucas was concerned, it was a pretty good birthday present anyway. When she reached him, he lifted her up and held her close. He didn't mind at all when she grabbed on to his ears. If he was to guess, the girls had been waiting to surprise him… but sleep had claimed them once more, lulled by the cartoon on the screen before them.

"You're b…" Marianne started to say, as she stepped out of the kitchen, and Lucas quickly signalled for her to be quiet, signing and pointing to the couch with one hand. Marianne spied her sleeping sisters and sighed before running back into the kitchen to tell her mother.

"Looks like things aren't going according to plan here either, huh?" Lucas told Aubrey as he carried her to follow the seven-year-old. "Can I come in?" he asked, stopping just outside the kitchen. Marianne sprinted back into view and held up her hands.

"No!" she told him, barely managing to hold on to her smile before it spilled out.

"What about her?" he asked, tilting Aubrey down and making her laugh.

"She can come," Marianne nodded. "It's not her birthday…"

"But it will be soon," Lucas hummed, looking to his youngest and giving her one quick kiss on top of the head before setting her on her feet. Marianne offered her hand, and Aubrey took it, teetering off with her big sister. "I'll be back here then," he called after them, and he definitely heard Maya snorting, back in the kitchen.

He went back into the living room, back to the sleeping quartet, and considered his options. In that moment, he had to admit, he was very tempted to join them for some shut eye. But he also knew that it had meant a lot to them to get to spring their surprise on him, and he didn't want to take it away from them if he could help it. He had to wake them, and the easiest way he knew to do it gently in this situation was to wake one of them up and let the motion take care of the others. If he wanted a soft start, he had to go no further than his little bunny. He crouched in front of Lucy, reached out to lightly brush hair from her brow. She reached up her hand to find his, and when she did, she opened her eyes, saw him there.

"Hey, bun, good morning," he quietly told her as she moved to sit up. As expected, and hoped, this got the others to wake up, too, and they all blinked and realized he had returned. They looked at each other, and a moment later they were scrambling to part down the middle, two and two with a space in the middle, which they patted at. "For me?" he guessed, and they nodded, so he got up and sat down again.

"We gotta have everyone," Kacey declared, looking at her sisters, and they nodded. Remy turned to the two-year-old.

"Macky, go get 'em!" she instructed, and with a gasp Mackenzie scrambled to climb down before dashing toward the kitchen. While she was gone, the triplets piled on to their father, either meaning to make sure he couldn't get away or calling back on a previous birthday where they had done something similar. Did it matter that he could scoop his arms around the three of them and lift them as he stood? Not at all. He had no plans of disturbing any of this. He would sit right there and see what they had planned for him on his birthday morning.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners