The Rancher's Christmas Bride

by Brenda Minton

  Why had she thought he wouldn’t really hurt her? But he wasn’t playing. This wasn’t a game to him.

  As she contemplated her next move, she saw that a woman had joined the men. Lucy.

  Seeing the other woman brought back the previous evening’s lesson. She focused on Alex’s sister and Lucy nodded, as if she knew.

  Blood was dripping down Marissa’s arm. She tried to move, testing just how he was holding her. He squeezed her wrist and yanked it behind her back.

  “Don’t try anything funny.”

  “What would I try? I’m a teacher. It isn’t like I’m armed. You have the knife. And I have the cut to prove it.”

  Get mad, Lucy had said the previous evening. Get mad but don’t lose focus. Don’t get stupid. Always have a plan. It’s one thing they do in their protection business, Lucy had told the ladies. They always knew were the exits were located. They always had an exit plan.

  Julie’s dad stopped walking. He twisted her arm until she felt her wrist twist. Exit strategy. She couldn’t use that arm to hit him. He had a knife. She’d taken a drama class in college.

  “I think I’m going to faint.”

  “Don’t you dare,” he warned. “Stand up straight.”

  “I can’t.” She took a deep breath. “My arm, the blood.”

  She went limp, hoping beyond hope that it was the right move and praying God had a moment to spare. As she went down it seemed to throw him off balance. He struggled to hold her dead weight and the knife. She took her opportunity and drew her arm back and into his nose, then she knocked him under the chin with her head. He reached for her but she slid to the side and ran.

  Alex caught her up against him. “Shh, you’re okay. Calm down.”

  “I can’t,” she sobbed against him. “I can’t be calm now.”

  “Good job,” Lucy said, appearing at her side. “Let’s get that arm cleaned up.”

  “Did he leave?”

  “Pastor Matthews is talking to him. The police are on their way.”

  “Julie and her mom?” Marissa asked as she leaned against Alex.

  “Both safe.” Lucy nodded at her brother. Without warning he scooped up Marissa in his arms and carried her inside.

  “People should go ahead and eat,” she told Lucy as they hurried through the fellowship hall. “And tell my grandfather that I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”

  “Lucy will tell him. And stop talking.” Alex sounded gruff. And angry.

  “Why are you mad?” she whispered against his shoulder.

  They were in a hallway and he headed for the living area at the back of the shelter.

  “You have to ask?”

  She did have to ask. And she should also tell him that she could walk just fine. Her arm had been cut, not her legs.

  She should have told him to put her down. But she didn’t. Because his arms felt strong and safe.

  * * *

  Alex held Marissa a little closer. He could hear the sirens in the distance. He knew how sirens affected her. He also knew that she didn’t have a clue how deep the gash on her arm was, or she wouldn’t have been so nonchalant about serving lunch.

  She’d asked him why he was angry. He was angry because he’d been helping Pastor Matthews and she’d been outside. He hadn’t been there. If he’d been with her, he could have kept her safe. As it was, he’d been unable to do anything. He’d had to stand there while that idiot sliced her arm. He’d watched as she went limp and fought to get away.

  He’d been pretty proud of her and he guessed it had something to do with Lucy’s self-defense class.

  Marissa had rescued herself.

  He carried her through the door of the family room of the shelter and placed her on the daybed. Marissa curled up on her side, grimacing as she tried to reach for her arm. It was then that he realized Lucy had followed. She put a towel against the wound and held it tight.

  “Doc is getting his bag out of the car. He’ll be here in a minute,” Lucy said softly. “Marissa, are you feeling okay?”

  Marissa opened her eyes. “By okay, do you mean horrible?”

  Lucy laughed. “I was hoping for better, but I’ll take it.”

  “I didn’t realize how bad it hurt until just now.”

  Alex stepped away for a moment. He needed to take a deep breath and get control of his temper. Lucy shot him a look over her shoulder. “Get a grip, bro.”

  “I’m not twelve.”

  “Children,” Marissa said in a whisper. “I’ll call the principal.”

  “I should have been there,” Alex said as he scooted a chair close to the bed. “I’m sorry.”

  “When did you become responsible for me? Or for keeping the whole world safe?” Marissa asked, her eyes a little hazy as she looked down at her arm and then at the wrist that was swelling.

  “He’s always had this complex,” Lucy revealed. And she really shouldn’t have. “He wants to keep everyone safe. But even the best of us can’t always be there to stop tragedy.”

  “If I’d been there...” he began.

  His sister gave him that scathing look she had. “Stop. If you’d been there, you could have what? Gotten hurt, too? Stopped our dad from locking me up? Stopped the bull from barreling down on one of your best friends?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to protect the people you care about.”

  Marissa lifted her head a few inches. “I’m so glad you care, but really, I did this. I also took care of myself. So stop. You did rescue me off the side of the road. That doesn’t mean you took me home to raise.”

  “You’re already raised.” The tension drained from his body. “And I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “How’s our patient?” Doc hurried through the door. “Looks like she’s going to be fine. That’s a dandy of a cut, though.”

  “Did they get him?” Alex asked.

  “Still trying to talk to him.”

  “Is everyone eating lunch?” Marissa asked as Doc pulled the towel off the cut. She grimaced, closing her eyes as he poked around at the wound.

  “They’re eating. At least it’s a good clean cut. I’ll have to sew it up. You’re not going to like this part. I’m going to give you some shots to deaden that and then...”

  “Here? Now?” she asked, her eyes opened wide.

  “Unless you want to drive down to my office. I’m not like those fine doctors in Dallas. I take my office with me.”

  “But stitches?”

  Alex pulled another chair close. “He’s the best.”

  “You’re going to have to sing to me,” Marissa said with a teasing glint in her eyes.

  “Sing to her, Doc,” Alex said.

  “I think she meant for you to sing, Alex.” Doc pulled a needle and a small vial out of his bag. “We’re going to numb you up a bit. Just be glad this isn’t the old days and I’m not giving you a stick to bite.”

  “Thanks. I think.” She closed her eyes again. “Sing, Palermo.”

  “Silent night, holy night...”

  “Stop,” she whispered as the needle entered her arm.

  “Stop?”

  “You’re horrible.”

  Doc laughed. “The woman is honest. Okay, can you rest your arm on your side? I’m going to clean this up a bit and make sure we’re all sterile. Sterile as we can be.”

  Marissa opened her eyes. “It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?”

  “You’ll feel a sting.”

  She closed her eyes again. Alex thought she was magnificent and strong. He guessed maybe he’d been wrong about city girls. Some of them could hold their own.

  Doc stitched her up and then he turned his attention to her wrist. Alex got mad all over again. Her wrist, small and fine-boned, was bruised and swollen.<
br />
  “It’s going to be sore for a few days,” Doc told her as he wrapped it. “But I don’t think anything is broken.”

  “Thank you. And I have insurance,” Marissa offered.

  Doc patted her shoulder. “This is on the house.”

  “Doc, you say that about ninety percent of the time.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m old and I can do what I want.” Doc stood and gave his patient another good look. “You’ll be okay, just sore and maybe a little jumpy for a week or so. But you did a good thing getting that little girl to safety.”

  “I didn’t think.”

  “Maybe not, but you did a good thing. Now try to rest. I’ll have someone bring you a plate.”

  Doc left and Alex moved a little closer to Marissa. She was watching him, studying his face, and she looked concerned. He didn’t want her to worry about him.

  Before he could tell her that, someone rapped on the door. He called for them to enter and a head peeked in. Dan looked a little bit pale and his eyes were wild beneath the shaggy eyebrows.

  “Where’s my granddaughter?”

  “Come in, Granddad. I’m fine. I promise.” Marissa winked at Alex as she called out to her grandfather.

  “You have visitors,” Dan said as he pushed the door open. Alex wasn’t sure about visitors. But little Julie and her mom, Trish, entered behind Dan.

  “I wanted to thank you,” Trish said as she got closer to the bed. “I don’t know what would have happened if...”

  Alex watched as Marissa held a hand out to the woman, but she made a very pointed look at Julie, and he agreed. The child didn’t need to hear what might have happened.

  “I’m just real grateful,” Trish said as she pulled her daughter close. “Julie is really glad you were there, too.”

  “Me, too.” Then Marissa held her arms open to the child.

  Julie took cautious steps forward, eyeing the bandaged arm and the wrist that had been wrapped. “You’ll be okay?”

  “Of course I will. And you will, too. I promise.”

  “We won’t keep you. We just wanted to say thank you.” Trish took Julie by the hand and led her from the room.

  “I had them make your plate to go,” Dan said in a less gruff than usual manner. Alex had to take a second look to make sure it was the real Dan.

  “I can drive you home,” Alex offered.

  “Trying to get rid of me?” Marissa asked, her expression soft.

  That was a question he didn’t want to answer. Not at the moment. It wasn’t simple. He needed her to leave, before he couldn’t let her go. He needed her to stay, but he knew she wouldn’t.

  Alex was in big trouble.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sun was streaming through the window and Bub moved, pushing and trying to hog the couch Marissa slept on. She moved and an aching back and arm greeted her. After a few minutes she rolled to her side and Bub slid in a boneless heap to the floor.

  The clock on the wall chimed eight times. Marissa shot off the couch, her legs shaking as she righted herself. It was long past time to feed the animals. How had she missed her alarm? And Red the rooster? Surely nothing had gotten the rooster. What if a coyote had found the nuisance bird?

  She reached for her shoes and a sharp, stinging pain in her arm reminded her of the stitches. One sprained wrist and a stitched-up arm. Somehow she hadn’t thought about what a detriment that would be to getting ready in the morning. Actually, it would be a hindrance to the many things she needed to get done today. Not to mention playing the piano. The Christmas performance was a week away.

  With great care she managed to slide on her shoes. As she stood back up, the door of the camper opened. Her grandfather gave her a look. He had the fireproof box in his hands and he sat it on the table.

  “What are you doing up?” he asked.

  “I overslept and I was going to go feed. What have you been doing?”

  He reached for his oxygen tank and gave her a gloating look. “I’m taking care of my livestock the way I’ve been doing it for nigh on sixty years. And you should be resting after the day you had yesterday.”

  “I feel much better.” Which wasn’t really the truth. She had an arm in a sling and one wrist wrapped up.

  “Sit down and I’ll get you a cup of coffee. You’ve been taking care of me. Time I took care of you.” He gave her a look and she sat.

  “Why did you bring the box in?” she asked as he moved around the kitchen. She shivered a bit thinking of him climbing around alone in the barn.

  “I’ll show you in a bit.” He pulled eggs from the fridge and set to cracking them in a bowl. “I know you thought I needed to be taken care of, but I’m pretty handy in the kitchen. And I have to admit that I feel better since I’ve started taking Doc’s advice with the oxygen and your advice on eating healthier.”

  “You’ve complained a lot.”

  He shot her a grin. “Yeah, well, I’ve been complaining for a long time. It’s habit.”

  “Why are we having this conversation?”

  He poured eggs into a buttered skillet. “Well, I’ve been thinking that it’s probably about time for you to head back to Dallas and I don’t want you worrying, thinking I can’t take care of myself. I know you have a job and friends. You have your parents. I don’t want you staying here thinking that if you leave, something bad is going to happen. It won’t.”

  “I know that.” Or she hoped she did. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry.

  “You’ve got to get back to your life, honey.” He stirred the eggs and then reached for the coffeepot. “I’m going to be blunt. I know I’m just an old man but I can see that a young woman like you would like Alex. He’s a good kid, works hard, I guess he’s not too ugly even if he does have those ears.”

  She laughed.

  “But I’ve been down this road before. Your grandmother thought the same things about me. She liked the idea of a cowboy and a ranch, until we was hitched and she had to move to Bluebonnet.”

  “I’m not planning on hitching myself to anyone, Granddad,” she informed him. But saying the words out loud, she felt a sense of loss. If she left here, she’d leave so much behind. She would leave behind people and things she never would have known or missed if she hadn’t come.

  She wouldn’t regret.

  If she didn’t go home, she’d let down her parents. She’d also let down the school that had hired her. She had a contract to fulfill.

  Her grandfather turned off the stove and brought her a cup of coffee. A minute later he returned with eggs and toast.

  “I’m going to miss you,” he admitted in a softer voice than she’d heard from him before.

  He scratched his chin, looked at her and walked off. His back was to her as he headed to the stove, but his hand came up and he swiped at his face.

  “I’ll be back. I promise,” she assured him.

  “I’m counting on that.” He returned to his chair with a plate of eggs and toast. “And that’s what the box is about.”

  “What’s in the box?”

  “Don’t get yourself all worked up. I’ll show you when I’m good and ready.”

  He turned on the news, as if he was enjoying dragging this out, making her wait. After he’d finished he took both plates to the sink and did the dishes. Marissa sat cross-legged on the couch, waiting for him to finish. She smiled and pretended it didn’t bother her to be kept waiting. To illustrate that point, she picked up her phone and scrolled through emails and social media.

  Eventually he returned to his chair, picking up the box on his way. He pulled a key out of his pocket and lifted the lid of the box. She couldn’t see what it was that he sifted through, but his eyes had narrowed as he looked it all over.

  “Well, I’ll be. I’d forgotten some of thi
s was in here.”

  “What is in the box?” she groaned, beyond tired of waiting.

  Holding the box with one hand, he used the other to empty the contents, and he placed it all on the table next to his chair. Stacks of money, envelopes and papers.

  “What is all of that?” She leaned to get a better look.

  “My life savings. It isn’t much, but enough to build a house with a couple of bedrooms and a nest egg for the future.” He held up several official-looking documents. “I’d forgotten all about these stocks.”

  “What are they for?”

  “Oh, some crazy idea of your grandmother’s. She told me to invest in technology. That was twenty or thirty years ago. I guess it might be worth something now.”

  With a groan, Marissa fell back on the couch. “You think?”

  His blue eyes twinkled merrily. “Yeah, I imagine. I’ll have to check that out. Maybe the two of us can take a trip to Hawaii.”

  She sat up again, brushing her hair back from her face. “Not Hawaii. Maybe the Bahamas?”

  “A cruise?”

  “Yes,” she said. “A cruise would be good.”

  Her phone rang. She gave her grandfather an apologetic look. “It’s my mom.”

  “You go ahead and talk. I’m going to take care of a few things in the barn. I’m putting this box under my bed. I guess I should trust a bank with that cash and figure out what those stocks are worth.”

  “Hi, Mom,” Marissa answered as her grandfather left the room. “How are you?”

  “The question would be, how are you? Your grandfather called us this morning.”

  The traitor. “Oh, I see. I’ve been meaning to call. I’m going to be in the community Christmas program. I’d love for you all to come.”

  A long pause followed. Her mom cleared her throat. “Yes, okay. And then can we bring you home?”

  “Yes, of course.” After all, she couldn’t hide in Bluebonnet Springs forever.

  They talked for several minutes. Afterward Marissa couldn’t remember all that they’d talked about. Her brain was trying to wrap itself around the thought of leaving Bluebonnet...her grandfather.