Lone Star Family Values

Chapter 16

Painter's Paradise

TK sat at the station dinner table tapping viciously at his iPad, searching for ideas for Bailey's birthday. She hadn't said anything about it, hadn't asked for anything, she hadn't even told them it was coming. But he and Carlos had seen in Bailey's file that her birthday was October 14th. She'd be seventeen then and they wanted to make it special for her.

"Gah!" He groaned, pushing his iPad across the table.

"Woah! What's going on in here?" Paul asked walking in from the bunk room.

"I'm trying to figure out what to do for Bailey's birthday and I have absolutely no idea. I've looked up ideas but she's never mentioned anything that she wanted so I don't even have a base to start with." TK said, leaning back in his chair.

"Ahh," Paul said. "I see your issue. You don't know what to get for a sixteen year old girl."

"Seventeen," TK corrected. "Almost."

            Paul laughed.

"Of course, my bad." He said.

            TK shook his head.

"This should not be this hard." He said.

            Paul nodded.

"I think I know what's needed here." He said.

            TK looked up hopefully.

"Yeah?" He asked.

            Paul nodded.

"I think it's time to call for backup."

✵✵✵

"Let's start with the basics. What does she like to do?" Tommy asked.

"Oh that's easy. She loves to paint, I mean anything art related, she's all over it. Reading is big but only certain things, adventure mostly but the occasional historical fiction if it's about a topic that she likes. She loves music, whenever she can she has headphones in. Oh, you know she is the only girl that I've ever met that actually hates shopping. I mean if she doesn't have to go she won't and if she does she'll go to Target before anything else. Well, I guess if it's Barnes and Noble then she'd go every day if she could. I mean she loves her sleep but that won't help very much, umm, she likes to be outside. She uses the back patio furniture more than Carlos and I have in months. She planted a mess of flowers back there; I don't know if you guys have been over since she did it. It is beautiful out there, there's a birdbath and tons of flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. I honestly can't wait to see it in the spring, she really did an amazing job," TK had gotten lost in his own head but when he looked around the room everybody was watching him with soft eyes. "What?"

            Marjan was the first to speak.

"You love her," She said. "You and Carlos both. You talk about her with such pride and joy on your face TK."

            TK was caught off guard by her words.

"I mean, I'm proud of her, yeah. She's been through so much and she's such an incredible person," He said and everybody just watched him with smiles on her faces. "Come on guys, her birthday is in less than two weeks."

            Judd laughed.

"You know everything about her kid, what do you want us to do?" He asked.

            TK groaned.

"I know all of this, yeah. But trying to come up with a gift is hard." He said.