Christmas at Colts Creek

by Delores Fossen

  Janessa sighed again. “You shouldn’t get attached to her,” she reminded them all. For the umpteenth time. “She’ll be leaving with her parents soon.”

  She got a couple of murmured “Of course” comments, which made it seem as if they did understand. But their actions said differently. Velma Sue and Sophia went across the room with Margo, and all three stayed put, looking down at the baby even after Margo eased her into the crib.

  “The three of us agreed to call her Sweet Pea for now,” Margo whispered, sparing Janessa a glance. “I mean, it’s better than just saying her or baby.”

  Maybe, but Sweet Pea was a nickname, which was perilously close to an actual name. Something they shouldn’t be doing. That should come from the baby’s parents.

  Janessa checked the time. “I’ll call Teagan’s sister, Char, and see if she’s picked a name yet. The hospital gave us a deadline of fourteen days to fill out the paperwork with the baby’s name, but the sooner we get that done, the better.”

  “I agree,” Sophia answered, and she didn’t even spare a glance. It was all about the baby.

  Janessa was truly thankful for all the help, but it wouldn’t hurt to find out if Char would be able to get the baby sooner than she’d planned. Obviously, Velma Sue, Sophia and Margo were going to get attached, along with being very much involved. The chart next to the changing table was proof of that.

  Someone, probably Sophia, had come up with a spreadsheet to show the eight-hour shifts and to spell out who would be watching the baby and when. Janessa wouldn’t be “on duty” for another twenty-four hours. However, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be spending some of that twenty-four hours with the baby. She was after all the foster mother. Even if she hadn’t been, though, she would have wanted that time with the newborn.

  While Janessa went downstairs, she took out her phone and sent a text to Char, asking her to call her the first chance she got. She’d already sent Char and her husband, Mark, many pictures of the baby, but Janessa fired off another. This one was of the baby being discharged from the hospital. They were no doubt chomping at the proverbial bit to be with their little girl.

  She walked into Abe’s office and got a pang of guilt when she saw the file folder on the desk. It contained the research for the Last Ride Society. Research that mainly Teagan and Rowan had done. Janessa still had weeks to complete it, but she’d basically put both Abe and the research aside. She’d just have to schedule it in along with taking care of the baby, her work for Bright Hope and the winter fling she intended to continue with Brody. She was more eager to focus on all three than find out why her father had become the man he’d turned out to be. Maybe that meant she’d found some kind of peace with him after all.

  She went to the storage room, hoping that Teagan or someone else had actually opened the presents. But no. The remaining ones were still wrapped. Eleven for her birthday, eleven more for Christmas. Gathering her breath, she went to the birthday corner, sat down on the floor and started opening.

  One thing was for certain—Abe hadn’t known how to go small. Or pick out gifts that would be fun for a girl aged one to twelve. Case in point, when she ripped open the present for her second birthday, she found a horse. Not a cute stuffed pony like the one in the nursery. Nope. This was a wooden painted deal like from a carousel at an amusement park. The only thing you could do with it was look at it, but since the baby might enjoy the bright colors, she set it aside to haul up to the nursery.

  The present for her third birthday continued to confirm Abe’s clueless gift choices for his toddler daughter. It was a sign with the Colts Creek Ranch name and logo, a black colt chomping grass in a pasture. Oh, well. Since it might go with the nursery decor, she set it aside, too.

  Janessa tackled birthdays four and five at the same time, ripping off the paper with both hands. They were more building replicas. One of the stables, which should please Sophia and Margo, and another one of the barns.

  She tore through more paper, not really taking the time to even study the gifts until she had them all unwrapped. When she was done, Janessa stepped back and realized that with the house and pasture already in the nursery, Abe had given her replicas of the entire ranch, right down to the bunkhouse, gazebo and even the gardens. It made her more than a little sad. She wasn’t sure if Abe had been trying to show off with these things or give her a clear visual of what she could have if she lived at the ranch.

  Janessa kicked, shoved and pushed the mountain of paper aside and was steeling herself up to tackle the Christmas presents when she spotted the small package on the floor. It wasn’t wrapped in the glitz and sparkle of the others. It was a simple white box with a tiny pink ribbon.

  Puzzled, she picked it up and read the label. To Janessa, for Your 13th Birthday. From, Your Father.

  She had to mentally shake her head. She’d turned thirteen only months after she’d told the judge she wanted to live with her mother. Abe had stormed out and not spoken to Sophia or her again until Janessa came to Last Ride. Janessa had been sure he’d washed his hands of her that very day.

  So, why had he bought the gift?

  She was still considering that when Brody walked in. Even a puzzler of a gift couldn’t hold her attention when this particular hot cowboy came into the room.

  “Having fun?” Brody asked, tipping his head to the mountain of wrapping paper.

  “I am now,” she told him.

  Brody didn’t disappoint. He walked straight to her and kissed her. That really got her attention and held it until he’d had his way with her. Well, as much of a way as he could have with just a kiss.

  He pulled back, smiled. “When I saw you in your car earlier, I wanted to do that.”

  “I had something similar in mind. Maybe involving more tongue and more...inches.” Janessa bumped her body against his just in case he’d missed the dirty reference.

  “I happen to have some inches.” He kissed her again, letting her know that he hadn’t missed diddly-squat with her cute wording.

  This kiss went on for several incredible moments, but when she went to pull him into her arms, Brody held back. “It’s cold out there, but I still worked up a sweat.”

  “Yes, I know.” She laughed. Kissed him. And licked his lips. “You’re a walking, talking sweaty fantasy. Did you come in here to fulfill that fantasy?”

  “After a shower and the rest of my morning meetings, I could arrange that.”

  She didn’t even bother to hold back her disappointment. Sex right now would have been a bad idea anyway since Margo, Velma Sue or Sophia could come looking for her.

  “Seriously, what are you doing in here?” Brody asked.

  “Enduring blasts from the past.” She showed him the small gift box. “Did you know Abe got me a gift after he lost the custody battle?”

  Brody shook his head. “But then I didn’t know he’d gotten you all of this. What will you do with this stuff?”

  “To be determined, but some of it will go into the nursery. You know, the nursery that isn’t supposed to have a lot of things in it because it’s just temporary. Right now, it looks like a storefront for Infants R Us at Christmastime.”

  Brody smiled again. “How’s the baby?”

  “Well looked after. They’re calling her Sweet Pea.”

  He made a sound to indicate he’d picked up on her mild disapproval about that. “Cute. I’m going to grab a shower in my office bathroom and then I’ll go up and look in on her before my meetings start. Anything you want me to emphasize to the three GeeGees?”

  “GeeGees?” she asked.

  “Yeah, that’s how I heard Margo refer to herself when she was holding the baby in the hospital.”

  “Great,” Janessa muttered. “I’ll talk to them.” She hooked her fingers over his belt buckle, pulled him closer and kissed him.

  “When can I see you about those inches?” he asked
when she eased back.

  “Tonight. I’m apparently not on the spreadsheet for baby duty.”

  “Good. I’ll see you later, then.” He kissed her one more time before he headed out.

  Janessa just stood there, enjoying the view when he walked away. The man had a superior backside. That image occupied her thoughts for a couple of seconds before she looked at the gift box in her hand again. She would have opened it, but her phone rang, and she saw that it was from Char. Good. Maybe they could get this name business worked out.

  “What’d you think of the pictures I texted?” Janessa asked the moment she answered.

  “Beautiful. She’s such a beautiful baby.”

  Janessa went still. She’d only spoken to Char two other times, but she thought she heard something off in the woman’s voice.

  “Is everything okay?” Janessa asked, and she got a flutter in her stomach, not a good one either when Char hesitated.

  “I’m in the hospital,” the woman finally said. “I had a little bit of a scare.” She paused again. “I just found out I’m pregnant, and I started spotting.”

  Janessa did some hesitating of her own. “Are you all right?” she finally settled for saying.

  “I’m better. The spotting has stopped, but the doctor wants to keep me overnight. Obviously, I’d given up on having my own baby so the pregnancy was, well, a shock. A really good shock,” she added with a laugh that didn’t have any humor in it.

  “I can only imagine,” Janessa muttered, and her mind began to spin with the possibilities of how this might play out. She didn’t speak, though. She just waited for Char to continue.

  “It’s twins,” Char finally went on. “Guess all those months of fertility treatments finally worked.” She chuckled again, and while it was filled with nerves, there was happiness there, too. “Anyway, I wanted you to know that my husband and I are still reeling from the news I’m pregnant so we’ll take some time to think all of this over once I’m out of the hospital.”

  “Think all of this over?” Janessa repeated. She pulled in her breath, held it.

  “Yes,” Char confirmed. No attempted chuckle this time. The sound the woman made was a hoarse sob. “I haven’t talked to my sister about this yet so just keep it to yourself for now. But it’s possible we’re not going to be able to adopt Teagan’s baby after all.”

  * * *

  BRODY WASN’T SURE how working couples with a baby actually managed to have sex. Janessa and he certainly hadn’t worked it into their schedules after their hookup in his truck. The “inches” date they’d planned hadn’t panned out because the baby had thrown up her entire bottle. Reflux, Janessa had called it, and it was a big enough deal that Janessa had canceled the date so she could personally feed the newborn and keep her elevated or in “up time” to ensure she held down the preemie formula.

  He certainly wasn’t upset that Janessa had put the baby first. It was exactly what she needed to do, but her baby duties weren’t the only thing that had prevented them from rescheduling their date.

  Both of them had many, many irons in the fire.

  Her, taking care of the baby and dealing with the constant flow of work for Bright Hope House. Him, running the ranch, trying to buy a new place and looking for a new ranch manager for Colts Creek. The assistant manager, Clayton, was still debating if he wanted to move out of his current job.

  Brody wasn’t sure Janessa was going to keep the place, but if she did, he wanted her to have options. Especially since she likely wouldn’t be around much to see to the daily operations of the ranch. He tried not to think too hard about that. For now, he wanted to focus on the things he could fix, and he had someone in mind for the manager position. Calling him was something else on his to-do list.

  Janessa was also dealing with the possibility that Teagan’s sister wouldn’t be adopting the baby after all. Brody had learned about that from one of his and Janessa’s quick conversations in his office. That had to be weighing on her, but Janessa hadn’t told Teagan or the “GeeGees” yet. She’d reasoned there was no need to worry them until she was certain there was indeed something to worry about. Brody figured, though, Janessa was probably already trying to work out a contingency plan.

  If Teagan didn’t know of someone else to adopt the baby, then there’d need to be a search for suitable parents. No way would Janessa just leave that to the foster system. Hell, neither would he. That had nothing to do with the don’t-get-attached-to-her warnings that Janessa had repeatedly told them. It simply had to do, well, with wanting what was right for her.

  Brody fired off the emails with the holiday work schedule to the ranch hands and got started on the contracts and invoices. Definitely not his favorite part of the job, but paperwork was part of ranching.

  He looked up when there was movement in the doorway of his office, and for a moment he thought it might be Janessa. Over the past week, she’d gotten into the habit of bringing by the baby just so they could say hello. Often, there was a kiss or two to go along with that hello, and Brody realized he’d started looking forward to it. But this time it wasn’t Janessa.

  It was Rowan.

  With his hands bracketed on both sides of the doorjamb, Rowan stood there and stared at him. One look told Brody something was wrong.

  “What happened?” Brody demanded.

  On a heavy sigh, Rowan stepped in and shut the door. Hell, this was not going to be good.

  “Are you in some kind of trouble?” Brody asked.

  “No.” He leveled his gaze on Brody. “But is Mom in trouble?”

  That question certainly hadn’t been on Brody’s radar. “Not that I know of. Why do you ask?”

  “Because this private investigator came to the house last night. Mom stepped out on the porch with him because I’m guessing she didn’t want me to listen, but I overheard him say she hadn’t returned his calls and that he was there because he had to talk to her.”

  That answer hadn’t been on his radar, either, and Brody eased out of the chair. “What was the PI’s name?”

  “Victor Barton. You know him?”

  Brody had a quick debate with how much to tell his brother and decided to spill all. Well, spill as much as he knew anyway. Barton still hadn’t fessed up about the other matter that Abe had wanted him to investigate.

  “Abe hired Barton to look into some pictures and emails he’d gotten over the years,” Brody explained. “Pictures and emails that caused him a lot of personal trouble. Abe thought Mom, my dad or I could be behind them. Did you hear Barton say anything about that?”

  Apparently, this was the day for bad radars because he could tell Rowan was genuinely surprised by that. “You or Mom wouldn’t have done that.”

  “No, my dad would have. At least that’s what Barton believes. I haven’t actually seen proof.”

  But Brody had tried to contact Jimmy. Just yesterday, Brody had gotten Jimmy’s phone number from one of his old friends and had called him. Jimmy hadn’t answered, but he’d left a message saying it was important they speak. Apparently, Jimmy had blown that off just as Darcia had the calls from the PI.

  In his mother’s case, though, she probably hadn’t dodged the PI because she’d done something wrong. More likely she just hadn’t wanted to deal with anything Abe had set in motion. Being accused of harassment wasn’t fun, and it didn’t matter that the accuser was no longer alive.

  “Mom got that picture of Layla,” Rowan pointed out. “Was the PI investigating that, too?”

  “No. But they might be connected. Jimmy could have sent it.”

  And that was the main reason Brody wanted to talk to his sperm-donor/deadbeat dad. Not because of how he’d harassed Abe all these years but because Brody wanted to make it clear that he wouldn’t let the asshole torment Darcia.

  But that didn’t explain why the PI had gone to see his mother.

  M
aybe that was something Abe had instructed him to do? If so, Brody wanted to have a chat with Barton about that, too.

  “What else did you hear the PI say to Mom?” Brody pressed.

  Rowan shook his head. “Mom kept her voice very low, and she didn’t stay out on the porch with the PI for long. Less than five minutes.” He paused. “She was upset, though, when she came back in.”

  Brody cursed. Yeah, he’d definitely be having a chat with Barton about that. “I’m guessing she didn’t tell you what the visit was about?”

  Another headshake. “I asked her if she was okay, and she blew me off. You know, with one of those fake smiles when she wants us to believe there’s nothing wrong?”

  He did indeed know that smile, and along with calling Barton, Brody would drop by to see his mother tonight.

  Brody heard the now-familiar sound of a fussing baby in the hallway, and he figured that Janessa had dropped by for her morning visit. She didn’t knock, though, probably because she thought he was in a meeting so Brody went to the door and opened it. Yep, it was Janessa all right, and she’d already started to walk away.

  “It’s okay,” Brody assured her. “Rowan and I were just finishing up. Tell me if you remember anything else about Barton’s visit,” he added to Rowan.

  “Will do.” Rowan grinned when he turned his attention to the baby. Who was indeed doing some fussing. Her little face was screwed up as if she was ready to let out one of those loud cries she was thoroughly capable of.

  “Hey, Sweet Pea,” Rowan greeted, and he gave the baby’s toes a gentle jiggle.

  The baby’s expression instantly changed, and while she didn’t smile, her mood seemed to shift when she studied Rowan. His brother gave her another toe jiggle, added a “Catch you later” before he headed out.

  Janessa waited until Rowan was gone before she asked the question Brody knew was coming. “Barton visited Rowan and your mom?”