The Holidays on Shadow.

[realmrsreynolds]

Sallie Reynolds is Christian as strictly as anyone is in her where and when; enough to have passed on to her son some form of an actual denomination as he grew older.

Having Jack and Kate and Piotr over this year? The holidays are feeling a lot more hectic, for Sallie, but she's been smiling almost nonstop. She knows Jack's noticed as well; he's

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[jack_f_twist]

There's a little corner of the great room where Jack's busying himself with some old iron something or other and a whole mess of green; it's hard to find a decent tree on Shadow, but no harder than in Texas and at least here he can find one made outta wood 'stead of plastic. It ain't too tall, but it's nice and full and a real pleasant green, and there's some room there for the lights he's stringing now, whistling old hymns under his breath with his hat off and resting on the mantle piece.

It's good to be moving around a little after such a big dinner...especially since, if he knows Sallie, that ain't the last of it.

He's pretty damn sure he smelled pie baking earlier today.

[realmrsreynolds]

The lights are more twentieth-century than Jack probably expected when Sallie brought them home; after the piano recital, the strings of white lights used to decorate the chairs in the audience ended up being toted home.

"And just where did you find this specimen?" Sallie inquires. "All I saw was you hauling off this afternoon with a saw."

[jack_f_twist]

It's not exactly pine or spruce or...any tree Jack ever woulda considered putting up for Christmas before moving here to Shadow, but he's got to admit, as he stands back to cast a critical eye over his work, it don't look half bad with the white lights Sallie'd brought back from the bar.

"Took a bit a doin'," is what he tells her, but he'd been gone most of the afternoon. Typical how Christmas creeps up on him here, like it always has. He shoulda had this tree in last week.

He glances Sallie's way, noncommittal but with the hopeful brightness of I do okay? in his eyes. "You like it? Looks kinda pretty, dontcha think?"

[realmrsreynolds]

"Definitely."

Casting an eye to Jack, "Something we ain't got that you would do, Christmas at home?"

[jack_f_twist]

"Can't think of a thing." He settles himself against the hearth and gives the tree an approving once-over before giving her question some thought and reconsidering.

"Mebbe carols. Momma had a real sweet voice, she loved them old songs."

[realmrsreynolds]

Sallie smiles.

"Suppose Chinese don't quite got the same effect for you."

[jack_f_twist]

"You kiddin'?" He laughs. "Still sounds all tied up 'n angry to me. People talk too damn quick. Uh, you know...tài kuài le. Right?"

[realmrsreynolds]

"You've gotten so much better, though," Sallie offers.

And it's true -- even if some of the other hands on the ranch still ask Sallie from time to time where in the 'verse Jack is from, with that accent of his.

[jack_f_twist]

"Got a good teacher." He offers her a winning smile. "'Sides, gotta fit in somehow."

He's damn full from dinner--a fine spread, to be sure--and shifts his weight a little, and clears his throat, looking away.

"One other thing from home--got you a little something, ain't much 'n you can save it for tomorrow if you want, but, uh..." He fishes in his pocket, comes up with a little box all wrapped nice and pretty in shiny paper.

There's even a bow.

[realmrsreynolds]

:O!

"What is it?" Sallie asks immediately, taking the box in her hand but not opening it.

Sometimes, she really does take all the fun out of things.

[jack_f_twist]

He lifts his eyebrows at her.

"Well, ya gotta open it, dontcha, to find out?"

It ain't much. A thin gold chain, a little pendant that he found irresistable 'coz it's set with a stone that looks all different colors, depending on the light. Something pretty he woulda liked to get for his momma, but it'll look, he thinks, real nice on Sallie.

[realmrsreynolds]

Sallie doesn't follow orders very well, but she abides by this one.

"Oh." Smiling, she looks up at Jack for a second, silent.

"I pay you too much, obviously."

[jack_f_twist]

"You don't pay me near enough," he tells her, with that obnoxious grin quirking at his lips.

Shuffle of boots on floor, and an awkward bend at the waist to put an arm around her shoulders and squeeze before he stands up again. "Merry Christmas, Sallie."

[realmrsreynolds]

"Merry Christmas," Sallie adds simply, torn between pinching Jack's cheek or slapping it for that smirk.

Sallie turns around after she takes the necklace out of the box in front of Jack and puts it on.

"Very stylish." Beat. "With your fashion sense, I am impressed."