Laurel smiled and waved at her grandmother.
“That I do,” Gladys replied. “And since I’m just here for physical therapy, I’ll be going home soon. The rest of these poor souls have to suffer through your tight budget.”
Gladys hurried over to Laurel, hugged her tightly and then allowed herself to be led from the room.
“That didn’t sound good, Gran,” Laurel observed.
“They’re stealing Christmas,” Rose chimed in.
“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Cameron asked as he came up behind them.
Rose shot him a look. “Of course it is, but I’m all about the D’s.”
He looked perplexed and Laurel found herself smiling, because she knew about the D’s. Her grandmother’s hand on her arm made her feel better than she’d felt in weeks. Since her bakery had failed, then she’d learned the man she’d been dating was also dating another woman, upheaval seemed to be too calm a word to describe how her life had felt.
For a moment she forgot that a man named Curt Jackson existed and he was more than likely her father. Somehow her quick trip to Hope, a needed visit with her grandmother, had turned more than a little bit complicated.
Cameron Hunt stepped around her, pushing open the door to her grandmother’s room. He made quick eye contact with her and she smiled. She would leave in a couple weeks but he would always fill a space in her memories. He’d been the person with her when she met her father for the first time.
Not her mother. Not her grandmother.
This man.
Chapter Three
Cameron stood there awkwardly, watching as Gladys looked her granddaughter over. He should leave. He couldn’t even explain why he’d decided to visit today, other than to make sure Laurel and Rose got here safely. Not that they’d needed an escort.
He had things to do. He was building a house. He had horses that needed working while the weather was good. He didn’t need to be involved in this reunion. He lived in Hope because the town was peaceful, and he was in need of peace.
“Who is Curt Jackson?” Laurel’s question jerked him back to the present. He looked from the younger woman to her grandmother.
Of course, Gladys didn’t look shaken. If she could take on a half-broke horse, she could handle a question like that. But then Rose pulled the kitten out from her pocket. Gladys noticed the animal and her eyes widened.
“Is that one of Cam’s kittens?” Gladys asked.
Rose immediately put the kitten back in her pocket. “What kitten?”
“I can promise you, young lady, my vision is very good.”
Cameron put a hand on Rose’s back and gave her a little nudge toward the door. “Let’s go find the vending machine.”
“Thank you, Cam.” Gladys gave him a winning smile.
“Hey, what’s up with that?” Rose asked as he guided her down the hallway. “I wanted to visit with Gladys, too.”
“I’ll buy you a candy bar.” He had a suspicion Laurel needed to talk to her grandmother about more than her stay in the nursing home.
“Is that a bribe?”
“It is,” he answered.
“It’s wrong for them to take away the tree and gifts from these people,” Rose told him as they entered the lounge with the vending machines. “I don’t think it’s about Christmas. I think they’re just being cheap.”
“I would agree.” His guess was that the new owners planned to flip the business and wanted to cut corners and increase profit to make it look like a good investment.
Rose glanced at him after perusing the selection in the vending machine. “We have to do something.”
“Not my place,” he answered.
“I’ll have to come up with my own plan, then.” She held her hand out. “Dollar please.”
He handed over the money and tried not to worry about Rose coming up with a plan.
“Do you think she’s pretty?” she asked.
“Who? Dora?” He pretended ignorance.
“Good try.”
“I think she’s none of my business,” he told the teen. He looked at his watch. “And I have to go.”
“Chicken,” the girl clucked.
He refrained from rolling his eyes—something a grown man shouldn’t even think of doing. “I’m not going to respond to that. I have an appointment with my contractor.”
He ignored the look she gave him. He wasn’t chicken, he just needed his space. He needed his horses, a few head of cattle and no awkward looks as people pretended they weren’t staring, weren’t wondering what had happened to him.
“What about Gladys?” Rose continued, following him down the hall.
“What about her?”
“She has to stay here for twenty days. They’ll ruin her Christmas.”
“Rose, Gladys isn’t going to be here at Christmas. I know Gladys and she’ll be done with this place before then.”
“She can’t just leave, can she? It’s like prison. When they put a person in a place like this, they lose their freedom. The doors are locked. Didn’t you notice the doors are locked? You’re a lawyer, you know how these things work.”
“I have a law degree. But I’m not a lawyer.”
“Yeah, yeah, your face, and all of that. But you know how it works. Legally they can keep people here.”
The girl was truly frightened. He could see it in her eyes. She might try to act like life was all fun and games, but Rose had been through some hard times. Gladys was probably the first properly functioning adult in her young life and she was giving Rose a first taste of a normal and safe home.
“Gladys is here voluntarily. It’s a twenty-day program to help her with physical therapy and to regain full use of her arm and shoulder.”
“So she can leave? She’ll come home?” Rose stood in front of the door, not allowing him to leave. “I won’t have to go to a foster home with strangers? Or a group home?”
“Rose, I am not an expert at these kinds of cases, but I think you’re safe.”
“If they try to take me, will you be my lawyer?”
He pulled his hat low and sighed. “I’m not a lawyer but I’ll do what I can to make sure they don’t take you from Gladys.”
She wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug. “I hope she stays.”
“What?” He shook his head at the quick change. “You were just saying you want her out.”
“I mean Laurel. I hope she stays. It would be easier for Gladys to keep me if she had help. The caseworker says all the time that Gladys is eighty and probably too old to raise a teenager. If Laurel stays...”
Yeah, yeah, he got it. If Laurel stayed, Rose would be happy. Gladys would be happy. Everyone would be happy. Except Laurel, he suspected.
Cameron needed to get home and focus on his life, instead of getting involved in the lives of these three ladies.
* * *
“I should have come down when Mom visited,” Laurel inserted. “I’m sorry.”
“Life is full of regrets, Laurel. We can’t let them eat us up. Instead we make the best of the days we’ve got. You learn something about that when you take a hair-turning ride on a half-broke horse.” She took hold of her granddaughter’s arm. “Sit down. I think we have a lot to discuss and Cameron won’t be able to contain Rose for very long. The girl has so much energy. Home sweet home. Have a seat.”
“It’s nice,” Laurel offered.
Gladys sat on the straight-back chair near the window. “Oh, it isn’t nice. It’s necessary. And it’s a reason to work hard on my physical therapy and get home.”
“I’m sorry,” Laurel said as she took a seat on the bed.
“Don’t be. I’m glad you’re here. If I’d known it took surgery to get you here, I would have tried it sooner.”
“Don’t.”
“I�
��m kidding.” Gladys shifted to pull the blinds closed and block the sun, which had suddenly decided to shine through the window. “How long will you be able to stay?”
“I planned on just over a week.”
“I see. Well, I plan on getting out of here as soon as possible. Your mother told me about your bakery.”
Of course she had. “Yes, I guess it was the wrong time to start a business.”
“It’s always iffy when you start up something like that. And I heard about the boyfriend, too.”
“It seems you and Mom have talked a lot.”
Gladys looked surprised by that. “Well, of course—she’s my daughter. We talk several times a week.”
She should have known that. Of course her mother and grandmother talked on the phone. Patricia Adams might dislike her hometown but she loved her mother. Her visits to Hope had been more frequent than Laurel’s. Since Laurel moved off on her own, her mother had returned each summer to spend a week in Hope.
“So your boyfriend turned out to be a cheater. And your bakery went belly-up. Time to reinvent yourself and start over.”
Her mother and grandmother were definitely cut from the same cloth. It was hard to think about starting over when she’d thought the bakery was her new start.
“Has your mother told you that she’s thinking about moving here?”
Another bomb dropped without warning. “No, she hasn’t. I mean, I think she mentioned it in passing. But she also mentioned Florida. Anywhere warm and away from the city.”
“Yes, I know she’s considered Florida but lately we’ve talked more about her moving here. I should have let her tell you.”
“It’s okay. I can handle hearing that she might have plans for her future.”
“Laurel, I’m just so glad to see you.” Gladys reached for her hand. Laurel took the cool, thin fingers in her own and warmed them.
“I’m glad to see you, too, Grandma. Is there anything I can bring you?” She grinned. “Other than a Christmas tree?”
Her grandmother laughed. “You’ll get me kicked out of here. But maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” She was quiet for a moment, then she sighed. “You could bring me a home-cooked meal.”
“I’ll bring you lunch tomorrow.”
They chatted for several more minutes, then silence. Laurel looked down at her hands, wondering, as she often did, if they were “his” hands, Curt Jackson’s. They weren’t her mother’s. Her mom had long slim fingers. Laurel’s fingers weren’t long. She had strong hands.
“Is Curt Jackson my father?” she asked without preamble.
“Oh, goodness,” Gladys gasped. “Well...”
“He was leaving just as I got here, so I know you probably know he was here.”
Gladys nodded. “He was here visiting his mother. She had a stroke not long after his father passed. But the rest, that’s something your mother needs to tell you.”
“So he is my father? Have you always known?”
Gladys shook her head. “No.”
Laurel felt like she was falling apart inside. Like everyone she’d counted on had lied to her. They had, she supposed. Probably with good intentions but it didn’t feel good or right.
“Laurel, your mother had her reasons.”
“Really? She had reasons for not telling me who my father is? Maybe he didn’t want me. Maybe he wouldn’t have been a part of my life. But a name would have been nice. When everyone else in this tiny, gossipy town was talking about me, knowing things or acting as if they knew, it would have been nice if I had known.”
“This isn’t a bad town,” Gladys inserted. “Most of the people in Hope are good people. There are always a few busybodies.”
“Yes, I know.” Laurel wiped a hand over her face, trying to pull herself together. “What do I do now? I don’t want to be the town scandal again.”
Gladys reached for her hand. “You were never a scandal and still aren’t. Thirty years ago, two young people made a mistake. But you’re not a mistake. You’re my granddaughter. You are your mother’s joy. And your father would like to get to know you. He regrets not being a part of your life.”
“That’s something he should tell me himself. You’ll say whatever you need to say to make me feel better. It’s your job as a grandmother.”
Gladys laughed at that. “I do love you, honey, but I promise, I won’t say what makes you feel good. If you need honesty, I’ll give it to you.”
“Thank you,” Laurel said as she scooted off the bed and leaned to kiss her grandmother’s cheek. “Is there anything you need me to do while I’m here?”
“Take care of Rose. Make sure if that caseworker calls or comes around that she knows Rose is safe and I’ll be home soon. Every time I take a breath, they threaten to take that girl away. She doesn’t need to be moved again.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Laurel promised.
“And you’ll be nice to my neighbor?” Gladys reached out a hand. “Help me up.”
“I doubt I’ll see much of him. He doesn’t seem to be a social butterfly.”
Gladys smiled at that. “No, but Rose has taken it upon herself to drag him out from time to time. Also, Rose likes church. She’s involved in the youth group. It gives her something to do with her time aside from school, and it keeps her out of trouble.”
“I doubt that.”
Gladys laughed. “Well, maybe you’re right. But still...it helps.”
“Do you still go to Hope Community.”
“I do,” Gladys confirmed. “Don’t get that look on your face. You can’t make judgments based on the people and situations from twenty years ago.”
“I know.”
Something in her face must have given her away because Gladys pointed a finger at her. “You have to go with her.”
“I’d rather not, Gran.”
“There are always things we’d rather not do. But we do them because it’s right. I hadn’t planned on taking in a teenager at my age. Yet here I am. We never know what God has in front of us, Laurel, but we can rest assured He has a plan.”
A knock on the door ended their conversation.
“Come in,” Gladys called in a singsong voice.
Dora stepped through the door, a hand on Rose’s shoulder. The girl squirmed out from under the hand and hurried to Laurel’s side.
“This young woman brought a kitten into our facility and it frightened one of our residents and then climbed the curtains. She and her kitten need to leave.”
“Oh, fine, kick me out.” Rose put a hand over the hissing feline in her pocket. “Me and Christmas. Kicked to the curb like yesterday’s bad news.”
“That is not what I’m doing,” Dora exclaimed. Her gaze shot to Gladys. “Gladys, I am not responsible for eliminating Christmas from this facility. Just the tree.”
“And gifts for residents who have no family,” Gladys reminded. “Don’t worry about it, Dora, we’ll think of something.”
Dora nodded, then gave Rose another hard glare. “The child and the kitten need to leave now.”
Gladys waved her away. “We understand. I’ll say goodbye and they’ll go. Thank you, Dora.”
Dora gave them one last look that said she clearly didn’t trust them and then she left the room.
Gladys climbed onto her bed. “I’ve always liked Dora. She lives in Grove and she’s been the administrator here for years. But this new owner, she’s just caved to them.”
“Probably out of her control,” Laurel offered. “She needs the job and they’re calling the shots.”
“We’ll do something to bring Christmas to the nursing home, Gladys,” Rose said with a big smile. “I have ideas.”
“I can’t wait to hear them! Now, you two head home and feed my animals. I’m going to take a nap.”
Laurel gave her grandmother a hug,
watched as Rose did the same and then they both left. She didn’t know how her quick trip to Hope had changed so much.
Her mother had failed to mention Curt Jackson, a recalcitrant teen, a terrorizing kitten and a reclusive cowboy.
All just in time for Christmas.
Chapter Four
“Can we decorate the tree?” Rose asked as she skipped into the kitchen on Wednesday morning.
Laurel had been in town not even a week but it hadn’t taken Rose long to adjust to the new person in the house.
Laurel pulled eggs out of the fridge. “Want to help me make muffins?” Baking was how she and her mom had bonded, also it had given them time to talk during Laurel’s difficult teen years. It made sense, in light of that, that Laurel had developed a love for baking. She’d found that it helped her relax. The kitchen was where she found peace.
“Sure, but I only have thirty minutes before the bus gets here. Or you could drive me to school.”
“I just might do that. Can you crack eggs and then measure out the milk and melted butter? The recipe is on that card in the stand.”
“You’re really going to let me help?” Rose tossed her books on the counter.
“That’s the general idea when someone says, ‘Do you want to help?’”
Rose cracked an egg into a large bowl. Laurel tried to hide her cringe as the girl reached into the bowl to pull out bits of eggshell.
“Here’s a spoon. If you get shells in the bowl you can use it.”
“No problem, I got them.” Rose wiped the shell on a paper towel. “So about the tree?”
“I don’t know where the tree is. I’m sure Gladys will put it up when she gets home.”
Laurel’s smile dissolved. She reached for the cup of melted butter and poured it in with the eggs she’d beaten. “Yeah, I guess. But that will be almost Christmas. And what if I’m gone?”
“You won’t be gone.” Laurel measured out the baking powder. “Pour in the milk and mix it all together so I can add the dry ingredients.”
Rose did as she was told. “What kind of muffins are we making?”
“Pumpkin.” Laurel handed her the can. “Scoop that out and add it to the bowl.”
Western Christmas Wishes Page 3