She shrugged. “It could have been worse, believe me. We were okay here and, most important, we were all together. Claude and Mary loved us and did the best they could to show us that. We were lucky, really.”
“That doesn’t make it any easier.”
“No. It doesn’t. But nobody’s life is perfect, right?” She smiled a little and he was fiercely drawn to her. He gazed down at her, thinking how easy it would be to lean in a little more or, better yet, pull her out of the chair and into his arms.
He drew in a breath, his heartbeat loud in his ears.
At the very last minute, before he would have acted on the insane impulse, he tossed the list in front of her and forced himself to ease away from the desk and from her. “This is what I found that needs to be fixed. It’s a pretty long list but many of the things on there aren’t necessarily urgent. I figured I would focus on the most important and see how far I get.”
“Let’s see.” She picked up the list. While she perused it, she absently licked her bottom lip and he almost threw his good intentions out the window and kissed her anyway.
“You’re right. It’s a big list.”
“I figure I can knock off many of those things in a few hours of work today or in the morning, especially if I can pick up the supplies now.”
She looked worried, suddenly. “Look, I’ve been thinking. I appreciate your help but I can’t take advantage of you like that.”
Go ahead. Take advantage of me, any way you want.
He shook his head. “We’ve covered this. I’ve got nothing to do right now. In truth, you’re doing me a favor by giving me something to do, so just let it go. Please. And speaking of going, I need to. Joey will be out of school in a few minutes. I’ll take him home to change into work clothes and then we’ll run to the hardware store before we come back here. I’ll see you in an hour or so.”
She looked as if she still wanted to argue but he didn’t give her a chance; he simply picked up the list from the desk and headed out the door, before he did something really stupid.
* * *
Hope waited until he walked out of the office and she heard the outside door to the lodge close before she sank back down into Uncle Claude’s chair.
She pressed a hand to her stomach, where an entire ballet troupe of butterflies seemed to be performing the Nutcracker Suite.
Had Sexy Navy Man really just almost kissed her? Maybe she had misread the signs—that slight flaring of his pupils, the way he suddenly couldn’t seem to take his gaze off her mouth.
Maybe he hadn’t wanted to kiss her. Maybe she had a piece of lettuce stuck in her teeth or something.
She wanted to believe that explanation. It would be simpler—though, of course, more embarrassing—than trying to accept the idea that a gorgeous guy like Rafe Santiago might be interested in her.
She drew in a shaky breath, trying to remind herself he wasn’t her type. At. All.
The few casual boyfriends she had allowed herself over the years in college and then through her time in the Peace Corps and while she was teaching English had been the lean, erudite, scholarly types. Guys who would rather stay up all night discussing philosophy or politics or art than making love.
Something told her Rafe Santiago would not be that sort of man.
Not that she had any intentions of finding out. Neither of them had time for this sort of distraction right now. If this happened again, she would have to just be blunt with him and explain she had too much on her plate right now to worry about a sexy sailor with hazel eyes and a broad chest that made a woman think he could bear all her troubles without even blinking...
She drew in a sharp breath and placed her hands on the desk. What was the point in angsting about it for another instant? Good grief, the man hadn’t even kissed her. If he had even been considering it, he obviously came to his senses. She would focus on that and be grateful one of them, at least, was thinking clearly.
She turned back to the inventory list just as she heard the outside door to the lodge open.
“Hope? Are you here?” she heard Faith call.
“Yes,” she answered. “In the office.”
A moment later, her sister poked her head in the doorway. She was wearing a ranch coat, boots and jeans—and a concerned frown.
“Who was that guy I just saw driving away?” she asked. “I didn’t recognize the vehicle.”
Only the most fascinating man she had met in a long, long time.
“Do you remember I told you about the boy who knocked out my window the day I arrived? He is going to work off his debt to me by helping out around here, since I’m in desperate need. His uncle was just checking out the situation before he brings his nephew out after school. He’s offered to help with some of the basic maintenance while we try to whip this place into shape.”
Faith gave her a sharp look. “While you try, you mean. Keep the rest of us out of this, if you please.”
While her sister might have reluctantly agreed to let her open The Christmas Ranch, she had obviously not reconciled herself to the idea completely. She wasn’t openly hostile but every time the subject came up, Faith was quick to point out that the struggling cattle side of the ranch took precedence.
Hope adored her older sister and always had, even before the tragic events of that long-ago December. Faith was the strongest person she knew, with a tough resilience that was tempered by soft compassion.
When they moved from place to place as girls as their parents took new missionary assignments, Faith had always been the one to make friends first and to help her younger sisters find their way.
That shared trauma had forged a stronger-than-usual bond between all three of the sisters and Hope regretted this conflict between them.
She held out the old picture from Claude’s desk. “Look what I found while I was cleaning today.”
Faith moved closer to take a look. “Seems like a lifetime ago,” she said. “Look at my hair. What was I thinking, with those huge bangs?”
“I know. I’m the brace-face there. We had fun that season, didn’t we? Do you remember how Uncle Claude made us dress up in little elf costumes while we sold concessions and handed out candy canes to the children?”
Faith shuddered. “I remember being so humiliated when friends from school would come out to the Ranch that I would try to hide in the bathroom so they wouldn’t see me.”
“I remember my friends acting like they were too cool to have fun when they came here but they were always the first ones to go all goo-goo-eyed over the reindeer and always fought each other to be the first one to sit on Santa’s lap,” Hope said.
She paused. “We were so busy that first Christmas, we didn’t really have time to grieve. Don’t you think it was good for us to have something to occupy our time and energy when otherwise we might have been sitting home brooding on the anniversary?”
Faith gave her a long, measured look. “Do you really think I don’t know where you’re going with this? The answer is no.”
She leaned back in the chair. “Hmm. Can you be more specific? I don’t know what question you thought I was going to ask.”
“You want Louisa and Barrett to help you out here.”
Faith had always been entirely too perceptive. Hope could never fool her.
“Nothing too strenuous,” she assured her. “I thought they could help me with a few fun jobs like setting up the Christmas village and decorating the tree in here.”
“They have enough to do after school with schoolwork and their chores.”
Faith was their mother, Hope reminded herself. She knew best. Still...
“Uncle Claude was a genius. I don’t think I fully realized it until today, looking at that picture. Do you really think he wanted to expand The Christmas Ranch that year for his own sake? Or did he do it
to keep three grieving girls busy during that first Christmas without our parents?”
“Distraction isn’t always the best policy.”
“In this case, it worked, didn’t it? Think of how lost we would have been without those silly elf costumes, the sleigh rides, the reindeer.”
“We were much older than Louisa and Barrett are,” she pointed out.
“Yes,” Hope acknowledged. “And we had already had nearly a year to go through the grieving process, while they are still only a few months out of losing their father. I know. The situations aren’t the same. I just thought helping out here might give them something to look forward to in the afternoons. I’ll pay them, of course, and they can use the money for Christmas presents for you and Auntie Mary and Celeste.”
Faith didn’t look convinced. Perhaps she ought to let it drop. She didn’t want to argue with her sister or have one more point of contention between them. Yet when she looked at the picture still in her sister’s hand, she couldn’t help remembering all the good times they’d had here.
In many ways, working at The Christmas Ranch had shaped their childhood as much as those early years as the children of earnest wandering medical missionaries. It had reinforced to her the magic of Christmas and the joy that could be found in bringing that to others.
“Please, Fae. It will be good for them and I’ll make sure they have fun.”
Her sister let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll talk to them. If—and only if—they want to help after their homework and regular chores, I won’t stand in the way.”
She beamed and stood up to give Faith an impulsive hug. “Thanks! You know you’re the best older sister ever, right?”
Faith snorted but hugged her back. “Cut it out. I already said I would let them help you. You don’t have to lay it on any thicker.”
* * *
Maybe Rafe had changed his mind and decided not to come.
Hope frowned at her watch. It was nearly four-thirty. He had been gone for two hours. Perhaps he had decided he didn’t want to become entangled with her crazy plans after all, that she was too much trouble.
No. She couldn’t believe that. He had promised and she sensed he was a man of his word. He must have encountered a problem.
Louisa and Barrett hadn’t come down from the main house either, but she hadn’t expected them yet, with their homework and chores. Meanwhile, it would be full dark by six-thirty, which gave them very little time to accomplish what she had hoped for the evening.
Since the afternoon was moderately warm for November—jacket weather, not parka—she had decided to focus on some of the outside jobs while they had the chance.
Snow was forecast for later in the week and she and the children could decorate the Christmas tree when they were stuck inside. She carried another box and set it on the flatbed wheeled wagon and had just turned to go back into the storage room off the back of the lodge when she heard a vehicle in the parking lot.
A moment later, she saw Rafe climb out of his SUV and open the door to the backseat. Joey hopped out and followed him over to Hope, though she couldn’t help notice he was dragging his feet.
“Hi,” Rafe said in a harried sort of voice. “Sorry we’re late. We had some issues after school with another kid.”
Joey lifted his head and she blinked at the truly impressive shiner he had going.
“Oh, honey. What happened?”
“Nothing,” the boy muttered. He was so full of pain. It seemed to radiate off him in waves and her heart ached for him. He must be so frightened to be without his mother.
She hated seeing anybody hurting and she wanted to help him, but how could she? She wasn’t a counselor or a social worker. She was a stranger brought into his life by accident, who would only be there for a few weeks.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said suddenly. “I really need some help and I think only you can do it.”
“Me?” He still looked sullen but she could see a trace of curiosity in his expression, as well.
“Yes. Come on over here, please.”
She led the way to the reindeer pen, where she had just finished moving the herd.
He gaped at the animals inside the pen. “Are those real reindeer?”
“They are indeed.”
“Are they babies? I thought they would be bigger.”
“Lots of people do. Reindeer are actually often smaller than mule deer. Our herd is from a particularly small strain.”
“Can they hurt me?”
“They’re very gentle, since we have raised them all from very young. They’re more like pets. But you don’t have to go close to them if you don’t want and you should never go near them unless an adult is there, too. Now wait right here and you can help me.”
He leaned against the fence Rafe had just fixed while she slipped between the slats and headed for Sparkle, the smallest of the lot. He came to her readily, always friendly and up for fun, and she attached a leadline to the bridle she had already put on him and led him over to where Rafe and Joey watched. She held the line out to him.
“I need you to hold this for me while I go find a friend to help us.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Do you think you can do it?”
He looked at Rafe as if for permission. His uncle shrugged and after a moment, Joey reached out and grabbed the line from her. She didn’t have to go far to find another reindeer. Twinkle, always curious, had come to see what was going on. Sparkle’s sister quickly let her attach a second line and lead her over to Joey.
“All right. Now you see that wagon over there? We’re going to hook them up so they can help us today. Just hold on to the lead there and come with me.”
“Are you sure this is safe?” Rafe asked.
“Perfectly,” she assured him. Joey’s sullenness seemed to have disappeared and he looked entranced as he followed her through the gate, leading the sweet and docile Sparkle behind him.
He looked nervous but still absolutely thrilled at the responsibility. At the wagon, he held Sparkle’s lead while she harnessed Twinkle and then he stepped away while she did the same for Sparkle.
Just as she was finishing, they were joined by Louisa and Barrett, wearing jeans and cowboys hats.
“Mom says we can help you on The Christmas Ranch!” Louisa said breathlessly, as if she had run all the way down from the main house.
“Did you finish your chores?” Hope pressed.
“Yep. And I didn’t have any homework and neither did Barrett.”
“I finished my math worksheet in class,” Barrett said proudly. “Now all I have to do is read for twenty minutes to Mom and we do that at bedtime, only sometimes she falls asleep before I’m done.”
Her heart squeezed for her sister, who was running harder than Hope was, trying to keep the Star N going.
“Excellent job. Homework and chores first, then you can help me. That’s the deal I made with your mom.”
Louisa made the sort of disgruntled face only a nine-year-old girl could manage. “I know. She said. Only then it will be time for dinner and almost bedtime.”
“I have a feeling you’ll have plenty of chances to help before Christmas is over,” Hope assured her.
Louisa gave Joey a friendly smile. “Hi. I’m Louisa Dustin and this is my little brother, Barrett.”
Barrett eyed Joey up and down, taking particular interest in that world-class shiner. “Hey. I know you. You’re a second grader, too, aren’t you? You have Ms. Sheen, right? I’m in Mrs. Billings’s class.”
“Yeah,” Joey mumbled. He looked uncomfortable around the other children, but she figured after a few minutes of Barrett’s chatter, he would unwind.
“I had Ms. Sheen two years ago,” Louisa said. “She’s super nice.”
Joey didn’t
look as if he particularly agreed and Hope had to wonder if teachers weren’t quite as nice to troublemaking boys as they were to sweet, well-behaved girls.
Hope fought a sudden urge to straighten the boy’s wool beanie and tighten his scarf. Something about this unhappy little boy made her want to hug him close and promise everything would be all right, even though she knew it likely wouldn’t—not when his mother was heading for prison.
“So what’s the plan here?” Rafe asked. “Do you want me to start on the repairs at the lodge?”
“Actually, I had another idea in mind, if you don’t mind. These boxes are the lights that go on the Christmas village. I figured while the weather is somewhat nice, we can hang them all and then test the elves to make sure they work.”
“Oh, yay! That’s my very favorite part!” Barrett exclaimed.
Louisa suddenly looked sad. “We always helped our dad and Uncle Claude do it.”
Hope gave her a quick, sympathetic hug. “I know, honey. I’m sorry.”
Louisa let out a sigh but quickly turned her attention to other things, in the way of children. “Can I help lead the reindeer?”
“I was hoping you would, darling.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to use a pickup truck?” Rafe asked.
She made a face. “Easier, yes. But this isn’t about easy. It’s tradition to have the reindeer help with this part.”
He looked doubtful but followed along holding Joey’s hand after Louisa ordered Twinkle and Sparkle to “Walk on” then led the reindeer pulling the dozen or so boxes of lights about three hundred yards to the area surrounded by a picket fence that contained eight small structures they lovingly called the Christmas village.
Uncle Claude had made each little cottage and the animatronic figures inside. It was one of her favorite parts of The Christmas Ranch—from several buildings containing little wooden elves who actually appeared to be hammering and sawing toys to one containing a family opening presents to Mrs. Claus’s kitchen, where the animatronic Mrs. Clause perpetually removed cookies out of the oven for Santa.
The village even had a little church—steeple, Nativity scene and all—as well as two little animatronic church mice who raced back and forth.
The Christmas Ranch (The Cowboys of Cold Creek) Page 8