A Christmas Homecoming (Bar V5 Ranch)

by Melissa McClone

  These kids needed more than an award, more than a Wednesday afternoon together. They needed rides to and from practices after school or games on the weekends. They needed someone to meet them when they got off the bus and hear about their day, both the good and the bad parts. They needed one-on-one attention, something hard to get when a life—not theirs—hung in the balance and some disease, often with a name they didn’t know how to say, ruled their world.

  But a once a week meeting was more than Ellie had growing up. She’d explored the hospital, slept on chairs and couches, and hung out with the blue jacket volunteer ladies. As she got older, she’d worked on homework in the lobby and become a candy striper volunteer.

  “Don’t get your hopes up, kid.” Clayton, fourteen years old, had a chip on his shoulder the size of Yosemite’s Half Dome. “Some of the gingerbread houses are way better than the others. The judges will see the bad ones when they look at the village.”

  Ellie walked over to him. Clayton’s sister had a brain tumor, and his parents had separated. His world was crashing down around him. Ellie understood him being negative.

  “Each gingerbread house is unique like you are. None are perfect. Nothing is.” She remembered her discussion with Josiah yesterday in the great room. “But when you put things together, like these gingerbread houses into a North Pole Village, you create something special. Something others will notice as a whole, not as individual pieces and parts.”

  Hope flashed in his eyes, and then he shrugged.

  Clayton wanted to win, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. She understood. Being disappointed enough times did that to a person, especially a kid.

  Willa made her way around the four tables. She treated the Buck’s Place kids like her grandchildren. “If I was the judge, I’d award you the grand prize.”

  The kids exchanged glances. Some nodded. Others rose up on their tiptoes as if in anticipation.

  Ellie smiled at Willa and then looked back at the kids. “The gingerbread houses will dry while I clean. I’ll deliver them to the Graff Hotel. For those who can’t go to the stroll to see the gingerbread competition display, I’ll take pictures and video for you.”

  “Some parents are here,” Willa announced.

  Ellie glanced at the clock. Six on the dot. “Okay, that’s it for today. Great work and I’ll see you next week.”

  “Don’t forget anything.” Willa headed to the door. “This room needs to be empty for the next group.”

  Ellie helped the kids gather their coats, hats, gloves, and backpacks. Most came straight from school. Some would stay longer at the hospital if their siblings were spending the night upstairs.

  Turning Buck’s Place into something more than a once-a-week meeting had been the number one item on her Christmas list for a while. Maybe this year, Santa would give her what she wanted. She handed Savannah her lunch box.

  As Willa signed out children to their parents, Ellie rolled the garbage can toward the first table. Usually the kids helped pick up, but this place was a disaster zone. Cleaning up the candy and smeared icing was going to take time and require a mop.

  “I don’t know what the gingerbread competition is like, but I’m impressed with their houses...and you.”

  At the sound of Josiah’s deep voice, the hair at the base of her neck prickled. Her fingernails dug into the garbage can’s plastic liner. She looked over her shoulder.

  He stood behind her with a smile on his face and a white plastic bag from the hospital gift shop in his hand.

  She kept walking. “I thought you’d be back at the Bar V5 by now.”

  “Change of plans.”

  She froze. Those words had given her nightmares as a kid. She studied him from head to toe, same clothes he’d had on before—brown jacket, scarf, khaki pants, button-down plaid shirt, boots—but the stuff she couldn’t see frightened her the most. “Are you okay?”

  “I mean a literal change of plans. Nothing to do with my health.” He came closer and touched her arm. “I’m fine, relatively speaking. There’s no reason for concern.”

  Relief shuddered through her.

  “Old habit. Glad you’re well, relatively speaking.” She pulled disposable gloves out of her apron pocket and put them on. “But I thought Ty or Meg was picking you up. I hope they know where you are, or Nate will have the entire town looking for you.”

  “I used your contact list and told them I’d get a ride back with you.”

  No. No. No.

  She wanted to help Josiah. She was happy to make a list for him. But she didn’t have time to take care of him.

  Not right now.

  Ellie took a breath. She needed to remain calm. “I’m going to be cleaning this mess for at least an hour, maybe longer.” To make her point, she tossed candy, cookies and tubes of icing into the garbage. The items thudded against the bottom. “After I’m finished, I have to take the gingerbread houses to the Graff Hotel and set up the North Pole Village display. I won’t be able to run you to the ranch for dinner in between.”

  “No worries. We can get something to eat before we leave town.”

  Dinner? With him?

  That sounded like a...date. Excitement buzzed. Nerves knocked louder than Jacob Marley’s chains.

  She imagined a table for two at the Main Street Diner—a flickering votive candle, maybe a single flower in a bud vase. Romantic, but not over the top. Just right for a first date. They would order their own entrees, but share a dessert. Then afterwards, they would...

  Reality set in. No dating guests.

  Her rule, not the Bar V5’s.

  She needed to focus.

  “It’ll be too late.” Her shoulders sagged, but she forced herself to stand tall. She didn’t have time to worry that he might get tired or hungry or need a place to rest. “You should be at the ranch relaxing not running around town.”

  “Standing for a few minutes or sitting in a car isn’t running around. I know my limits.”

  Not according to Nate, but the words were better left unsaid.

  Josiah tucked her cellphone into her apron pocket. “Appreciate the loan.”

  Her stomach churned, whirling like water in the Bar V5’s hot tub. This was her fault. If she hadn’t given him the phone, he wouldn’t have been able to contact anyone. He would be back at the Bar V5, and she wouldn’t have to worry about him now.

  So much for trying to do the right thing.

  “Do you have a pair of gloves I could use?” He removed his coat and tossed it over a chair. “This looks colorful and...messy.”

  “Everyone was picked up on time for once.”

  Willa’s voice made Ellie jump. She’d forgotten anyone but Josiah was here. “Thanks for your help today.”

  “I always have fun with you and the kids.” Willa checked out Josiah the only way a seventy-two-year old grandmother could—with blatant curiosity. “Who are you?”

  “Josiah Whittaker.”

  Willa grinned. “You finally came home.”

  Ellie wanted to groan. Every blue jacket lady would know he was here two point three minutes after Willa left the community room. “Josiah is staying at the Bar V5. I’m driving him back.”

  “After we clean.” Josiah’s grin was more charming cowboy than sophisticated CEO. “Go enjoy your evening. I’ve got this covered.”

  “Good. I can make it home in time to watch my game show.” Willa waved. “See you at the stroll.”

  As soon as Willa left, Ellie looked at Josiah. Handsome and helpful, a potent combination best admired from a distance. Too bad she kept forgetting that. “I’ll call the ranch and have someone pick you up. You can wait in the lobby.”

  “We’ll get out of here faster if we work together.”

  She picked up a pastry bag filled with white icing. The frosting dripped down the side and onto the floor. That should bother her, especially since she was on cleanup duty, but she was too hyperaware of the gorgeous man standing next to her.

  Josiah hadn’t
been interested in her when they’d been teenagers—four years age difference aside. Her brother had died over a decade ago. They lived in different worlds now. They had nothing in common, except the Bar V5, but he kept glancing her way, and he was offering to clean. No normal guy would want to pick up a mess he hadn’t made. Not unless he was a neat freak or he wanted something. A fling, maybe?

  “Why are you doing this?” she asked.

  He lifted one shoulder. “Just some eccentric rich person thing.”

  He’d thrown the words she’d said last night back at her. Maybe she deserved it. But most people had an agenda. She wondered what his was. “You really want to help?”

  “Yes.” He reached out to her. “Gloves, please.”

  Ellie tossed the icing into the garbage. “This is icky, sticky work.”

  “That’s why I want gloves.”

  She handed him a pair and then picked up a disposable bowl full of candy. “I can’t believe you’d choose to do this over having a delicious dinner at the ranch, but go for it.”

  “Why wouldn’t I want to help? You’ve inspired me.” He pulled on the gloves, looking more like a dreamy doctor from a TV drama than a cute cleaner. “I love that you created an organization for siblings of sick kids and called it Buck’s Place.”

  The bowl slipped from her hand and hit the tile floor. Red, green, white, blue, and yellow candy coated balls rolled away like marbles.

  Ellie should be on the floor picking up the candy, but all she could do was stare at him. “How do you know about Buck’s Place?”

  He kneeled and scooped up the candy. “Gladys told me. She said you never have enough volunteers.”

  “Gladys should know better than to talk with strangers.”

  Josiah looked up at her. “Is that what I am? A stranger?”

  Ellie bent over to grab the candy. He was right next to her. His yumminess was all she could smell, and his hazel eyes looked brown not green. Pools of melted milk chocolate she could drown in. Heaven help her. “I’m not sure what you are.”

  “Honest answer.” He grabbed more candy. “While I was talking to Gladys, I filled out a volunteer application for Buck’s Place.”

  A good thing Ellie was on the floor or she would have gone down. Hard. Splat. And made a bigger mess.

  “You’re a guest at the ranch.” Ellie’s muscles tensed. Her voice sounded as skeptical of his actions as she felt. “You need to concentrate on your health.”

  “You don’t have to do everything on your own. Accepting help won’t hurt you.”

  Ellie tightened her gloved fingers around the candy. The balls were hard so didn’t crush.

  Unlike her dreams.

  She’d love help. She wanted someone to work with her to make Buck’s Place all it could be. She wanted someone she could rely on. But she’d been disappointed so many times growing up and as an adult, doing things herself was easier. Safer. “I gave you the gloves.”

  “You did.”

  “I know why you’re really here.”

  Josiah’s motivation had nothing to do with her. He didn’t want a date or a fling or anything else her imagination might dream up. She looked over at him, still on the floor, next to her.

  “Buck.”

  “I’m not doing this for Buck.” Josiah stood and tossed the candy into the garbage. “I want to help you.”

  Ellie’s heart bumped. She almost tipped over. She righted herself without dropping the candy.

  He was saying the right words, ones she longed to hear. And boy, they sounded good. Her temperature shot up ten degrees. A longing ached inside her. But then she remembered the other man who’d wanted to help her for all the wrong reasons and the disaster that had turned into. She didn’t want to think Josiah was like that. Like...Tanner.

  “Why me?” Her voice was whisper soft. Like the kids at Buck’s Place, she’d learned not to get her hopes up.

  “You help people. Guests, kids, probably others you don’t let anyone know about.” Josiah’s gloves looked like he’d been finger painting. “I need your help.”

  “You?”

  He nodded. “My doctor wants me to walk each day, but not alone. I thought you could walk with me in exchange for my volunteering with Buck’s Place.”

  This sounded like the deal her brother had made with Josiah back in high school. A trade-off to get what he needed, not help her.

  Ellie’s excitement deflated. Okay, she knew better than to have high expectations, but she felt less buoyant than a few seconds ago. Still, his reason was better than others. “You want to make a deal?”

  “Yes, though I’m getting the better end of it. You’ll have seven days of walking versus my one day of volunteering.”

  This organization had never been about Ellie, but others like her. She’d named Buck’s Place after her brother as a memorial. No reason not to let others participate, especially those who’d been part of his life. “Wednesday meetings only last a couple hours, but I spend a few hours getting everything together a day or two before so the time might even out. But I think this is a crazy idea.”

  “I’m going crazy with nothing to do at the ranch. I’m bored. I can’t ride yet, not that I have in years. I can’t walk alone. I can’t go online. My life had turned into a bunch of can’ts. I need to change that.”

  Nate had wanted her to make a list of things for Josiah to do. Daily walks and a weekly meeting would be items to add. “What would your doctor say?”

  He picked up more candy. “I haven’t asked him, but the physical therapist thought volunteering would be good for me as long as I didn’t overdo it.”

  “How do you know if you’re overdoing it?”

  “My chest tightens. My legs hurt. I have trouble breathing. Not hard to tell.” He grinned. “What do you say?”

  She wanted to help him and do what was best for the kids. Having a male volunteer around might be good for the boys. But being near him messed with her senses and made her daydream in ways she hadn’t in a long time.

  “The logical answer is yes,” he answered before she could. “You need volunteers. I’m offering. What’s holding you back?”

  She didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

  “Come on,” he urged. “You have to have a reason. My health.”

  “That’s one.”

  “What’s another?”

  Ellie took a breath and exhaled slowly. She needed to be honest with Josiah. “This summer a guest wanted to help me with Buck’s Place, but his reason was less than honorable.”

  “Huh?”

  “In the words of Willa and a couple of the other blue jacket ladies, he just wanted to get into my pants.”

  She thought Josiah might laugh or smile, but lines tightened around his mouth. “The guy sounds like an ass.”

  “A married one at that.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He threw plates and bags of icing into the garbage can and then brushed his hands together. “But you can’t judge all men because of what happened with one.”

  “I try not to, but it’s hard to forget and not think it’ll happen again. That’s why I’m so wary of accepting help.”

  Among other things.

  He moved closer, a soft smile on his face. “I won’t lie. I’d like to spend more time with you, but as for getting into your pants. There are easier ways to get a woman in bed...” He raised his stained gloves. “...than this.”

  The tension crackling in the air dropped to a mere hum. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I suppose so.”

  “Now, if I show up with fresh orchids I’ve had flown in on my jet and a diamond necklace in a blue box tied with a white ribbon from a certain flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, then you’ll have reason to be concerned about...your pants.”

  She laughed. “There won’t be any doubt?”

  “Subtlety has never been a strong point.” He went to the next table and stacked plates. “Do we have a deal?”

  The fact he
continued clearing the tables without her having answered earned him points. “I’d like you to run this by Nate because he’s my boss and your friend.”

  “That’s a reasonable request.” Josiah rolled the garbage can to the next table.

  She watched, amazed someone in his position would be helping like this.

  What had Nate told her?

  Look beyond the physical changes, and you’ll realize he’s not as different as you think.

  Maybe he was right. She felt drawn to Josiah in a way she couldn’t explain.

  “I have another request.” She tried to ignore the way his tantalizing scent tickled her nose. Bottle that, and she’d be a billionaire. “This one is a deal breaker.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  She nodded. “No hating Christmas in front of the kids. They don’t need that when things are tough enough for them.”

  “No hating.” He held up his hand like a scout making a pledge. “Promise.”

  “Okay.” As soon as she said the word, she wanted to take it back. She felt totally unprepared for this. For him. “I’m going to move the gingerbread houses over to the clean table by the door. It’ll be easier to pack them into boxes and wipe down the dirty tables.”

  “I’ll keep working here.” His smile made her breath catch. “We make a good team.”

  That was what she was afraid of.

  Chapter Six

  Gloves off, Ellie carried the first gingerbread house to the table. The words The Elf Café were written in icing above the door. Peppermint candies covered the roof, and a gumdrop stood in for the door handle. She sensed Josiah watching her. She looked over at him.

  Their gazes met, sending her temperature spiraling upward. Whatever was going on amid the mess felt like the flirting, not a deal to help each other.

  “When did you start Buck’s Place?” he asked.

  “It was my senior project in high school.” She set the house on the table. “I’d been thinking about it for a couple years.”

  “Wish you’d had something like this yourself?”

  Her tongue felt ten sizes too big for her mouth. No way could she answer without exposing her emotions. Ellie felt naked enough with him here, so she nodded.