Christmas At Love House: Bittersweet Interlude (Bull Rider #3)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  Kase curled next to him and pointed. “Why is that on your head?”

  “I had a cut, so the doctor had to fix it. It’s a bandage to keep it clean.”

  “Like you get hurt when bull riding but this time on your head?”

  “Yeah, kinda like that.” Caulder held his hand out to Velia when she came out of the bathroom. She looked a little pale. Her eyes were red. Had she gotten sick over all this? He needed to have them both in his arms.

  Instead of joining him, she pulled her hair into a ponytail. “I need to help out downstairs.”

  “No.” No? “I mean, come join us for a few minutes first. You heard our moms. They have it under control.”

  “Don’t go to sleep,” she suggested, curling next to Kase. “I know I don’t have to tell you how to handle a concussion.”

  “I don’t have a concussion, Velia. Everything is good.” He wrapped his arm around them and closed his eyes. Yes, he did have a concussion, but why add one more worry to her list of what to worry about? It was bad enough when he worried about it.

  “Caulder, I know better—”

  “Shhh… Boy’s falling asleep. Me, too.”

  ***

  A tap on the door woke Velia from the nap. She glanced at Caulder and Kase who slept. Scooting out of bed, she opened the door with her finger against her lips. “Mom. I never meant to sleep this long.”

  “Not a problem, my dear. I made tea, poured a brandy for Caulder, and made hot chocolate for our little bambino.”

  “That’s kind of you. Thanks. I won’t disturb them. Let’s go down.” She closed the door behind her. “I feel awful for not helping you, Dolly, and now Judy. What would I ever do without you?”

  Lidia stopped on the first landing. She touched Velia’s arm and tears filled her eyes. “What would we ever do without you? Dear God, Velia. We almost lost you and our boy.”

  She pulled her mom into a hug. “No, mamma, don’t cry. I’m right here. My darling son and husband are all right, too. Dio took care of us.” It took all she had to not cry herself.

  Lidia squeezed her tighter. “Your father is right, you know. About protection for your family—”

  “Come, Ma, let’s go down. Caulder will never go for it. He’s done everything in his power to keep us safe, and he said he’d wire the property. I don’t care what he does as long as it isn’t building a safe room. I’ll not live with that memory.” Velia shuddered and brought her mother to a halt. “Nothing happened inside our house. No one would’ve gotten in.” Velia looked at her pleadingly. “Please, don’t worry.”

  “Papa will be another story. He insists.”

  “This is our house, and my family. Papa will not rule what goes on here.”

  “Well, you tell him that, figlia mia.”

  “I will…when the time is right.” She looped her arm through her mom’s as they continued into the family room where their families waited. Velia picked up the cup of tea and took a seat beside her dad. “Hi, Dad. I’m all rested now after a long and unexpected nap.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I missed you. I’m so happy you’re here.”

  “Sì. You needed it. Where’s our little boy? I’ve hardly seen him since we arrived.”

  “I suspect he and Caulder will be down any minute.” She no sooner said it before Caulder strolled through the door with Kase, bent forward as if that hid his pain from family.

  “Daddy, my grandpas’ are here.” Kase ran over and threw himself onto Aiden’s lap. “Hi, Grandpa Aiden. Me and Daddy had a nap. Wanna play?”

  “Hey, you, bambino, come over here to see me, too. Eh?” said Ric.

  Kase scooted off Aiden’s lap and ran to Dolly. “Grandma!” That lasted less than a minute before he rushed over to Ric to give him a hug. Lidia was next. “Can I have a cookie, nonna Lidia?”

  “How about we get some hot chocolate?” She took his hand and they went into the kitchen. On the way out, she peeked over her shoulder. “Caulder, would you like a brandy?”

  “I’m ready to get some coffee.” He glanced at Velia while he covered a yawn. “I’ll put on a pot.”

  “Seeing Kase makes me miss my family,” said Jase. “We’ll be together in a few days.”

  “Is there a chance of getting them here?”

  “Heck, Caulder, I don’t know. It’s a long flight across the country. We best stick to my original idea. Easier for me to fly that long than her and my kids.”

  Caulder stood. “You know best. At least you’ll be together for Christmas.”

  Velia frowned when her father got up to follow Caulder and her mother to the kitchen. Should she follow? She’d give it a few minutes to see what her dad was up to. Glancing around the room at family made her smile. “Thanks to all of you for being here. Every single one of you was needed in the past few days.” Now, she had better go rescue Caulder from her dad or they’d have a guard posted at the door in a short time. “Excuse me. We’ll talk later.” She got up and sauntered into the kitchen.

  ***

  During the late afternoon two days later, Velia came back from picking up Garnet, Caulder’s grandmother, at Dolly and Aiden’s house.

  Dolly spoke to Velia after she settled Granny in the family room and entered the kitchen. “Preparations are set.” Her voice had been filled with pride. “We’ll eat an early dinner in about forty minutes. Natale was a big help since she had arrived so early and knew your dinner plans.”

  Velia poured herself a cup of coffee as well as heated tea for Granny. “My cousins are great and it was fun going over the menu with them. Where’s Torre, by the way?”

  Foley brought an empty glass to the kitchen and leaned against the counter beside Velia. “He took Caulder’s car and went to look at your dad’s race horses about an hour ago. I’m surprised you didn’t see him over there.”

  “Well, I was busy with Caulder’s grandma.” She took hold of Foley’s sleeve. “Come, let me reintroduce you to her.”

  “Oh, I just spoke with her. She remembered me from your wedding.”

  “She’s a sharp one,” Velia said with a smile.

  Foley nodded. “Since bull riding was part of the guys’ plan the other day and didn’t work out, Torre went to check it all out.” Foley sauntered toward the mudroom, slipped into his coat and boots, and headed outside to shovel snow around the front of the house.

  “Natale, would you call Torre to come home, please?” Velia wanted him here to congregate with the family. He seemed to prefer being alone. Why? Did he still have a headache after the concussion? Had he been hiding emotions he didn’t want to share with the others? After all, he missed his mom this time of year. Between all the upcoming holiday preparations, she’d try to get a minute alone with him. She wanted so much for the three of them to be happy.

  Happy times would come again. They’d set aside what happened those days ago. Persevere like always. Personally, she’d had enough heartache to last a lifetime. She met Caulder between the dining room and kitchen when he came down from resting. “Granny’s here. Go give her a hug and spend some time with her.”

  “Yes, boss ma’am. Did you tell the nurse she could leave?”

  “Of course. No need to be snarky. Dinner isn’t that much longer.”

  Caulder ran his hand over the top of his head. “I’ll talk to her after a cup of coffee. My head is fuzzy like I’ve been drugged. I have to go check Dad’s barn.”

  She took his arm when he attempted to enter the family room, an excuse to get away from her scrutiny. He didn’t fool her. “You know you weren’t supposed to be sleeping, by the way.”

  “Bullshit. I told you I don’t have a concussion. Quit saying I do. Besides…it’s like days later, Velia, and doesn’t count now.” He strode away from her.

  Excuse me for caring. They both glanced over their shoulder at each other, and he winked. It was awfully hard to stay mad at that man. Velia went up to Caulder’s aunt and took her hand. “I’m so happy you’re here. I haven’t had much time to spend with you s
ince you’ve arrived, Judy. Consider this an official welcome to our home, albeit, late. Jase wasn’t expecting you to come.”

  “Well,” said Judy Carlson. “I’ve been through their bout of surprises, now I’m paying them back. It’s time I got back here to visit my dear sister-in-law, Dolly.” She hugged Velia. “Your home is lovely. More beautiful than the pictures Caulder had sent over the last few years.”

  “Thank you. I admit, we do come home as often as we can now to enjoy it.” Velia glanced over her shoulder at Dolly and her mom. “What can I do out here?”

  “Point us to the good china, so we can set the table.” Her mom glimpsed the antique china cabinet in the corner. “Ah, there it is in that lovely cabinet.”

  “Remember, it was from Caulder’s grandmother. She let us have it.”

  Lidia nodded. “Yes, I remember, dear. Not to mention the stone used to make the fireplace.”

  “Of course, they were brought right from her original homestead here on the property. She’s such a sweet lady.” Before tearing up, she got down to business. “I planned on getting the china out for Christmas, but I’d say today is a special occasion just because we’re all together. What say you, mamma?”

  “Sì, all of our families together are always special moments. We need to do it more often.” Lidia turned to Judy. “We’d love to have everyone to Chicago for Easter dinner. You bring your entire family. One day everything we have will belong to our grandkids anyway.”

  Darn it, those tears nearly ran down Velia’s cheeks at her mom’s words. It was true. One day it would all be theirs, and she wanted these families to grow together. Her family grew by the day.

  Velia peered into her mind’s eye, remembering back before Kase was born, and how happy they were to learn she was pregnant. How she did everything she could to hold in the news until the right moment. She stood at the doorway and turned toward the moms and Judy. “Can everyone come into the family room, please?”

  They stopped what they were doing and followed her without question. Velia strolled to the fireplace and smiled at her husband and son. She held her hand out for Caulder. “Can you come over here?”

  “Hon, you’re making me get up when I just sat down?” Caulder looked up at her with a question on his lips. “Are you all right, babe?”

  “I’m fine. You don’t need to get up, honey.”

  It took him a minute to get up anyway, but when he did, she slipped her arm around his waist. Kase crawled onto her dad’s lap. “I don’t know when we’ll all be together like this again, so, I have something to tell everyone. It wasn’t part of my plan to break the news like this…”

  Lidia gasped then wiggled her eyebrows at Velia as if she had known.

  “It was my plan to tell Caulder later, but…we all need something joyful to share in after the recent ordeals.” She gave him a heartfelt smile, lovingly stared into his eyes, and brought his hand to her abdomen. “Honey, Kase is going to be a brother.” Tears did run down her cheeks this time. “I’m pregnant.”

  Caulder grinned like he had been caught with his hand in a bank vault. “I knew it.” He cupped both hands around her face and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. “When?” Without waiting for an answer, he kissed her. “I’m happy you didn’t wait any longer to tell me. Another baby? I’m glad!” Caulder brought her into his embrace. “Not drinking champagne…ah, the other night…remember? It gave you away.” Again, he held her face with both hands and leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. He whispered as his lips trailed to her ear. “Well, so did that little knot in your belly. My lips found it first…remember when they were all over you. All over you?”

  Chills ran down her backbone. If only her cheeks hadn’t warmed at his words. Smiles on their guests’ faces either meant they did hear him, or they were thrilled about the news. She prayed it was the latter. “Well, I guess that’s the good news of the day.”

  “Time for the champagne. I’m about to be a dad again.”

  “Daddy, what are you talking about? You are my dad.” Kase narrowed his eyes in a frown and tilted his head, kind of like Velia would’ve done upon insisting she had been right about something. Without a doubt, the child had a good amount of both of their personalities inside of him—spunk being priority.

  Caulder went to his son and took his hand, leading him right off Ric’s lap. “Come on, son, I’ll tell you all about it. We need to celebrate.”

  Caulder and Kase walked away together and Velia’s heart softened. Her gaze followed after them as they exited the room. “Oh, wow, if we have another boy, that’ll probably make two bull riding sons to worry over.”

  “Velia,” said Dolly. “Something tells me even if you have a girl, there’d be a good chance of another bull rider in the family. Look at who their dad is.”

  Torre came in at that time. “Did I miss something?”

  “Yes,” said Velia, lowering her eyes to her abdomen before gazing back at him. “You’re about to be a new second cousin.” She laid her hand over her midriff. “A baby.”

  “Congratulations. I leave an hour and a half and come back to this? That’s fantastico news for you guys.” He hugged her. Peering over his shoulder when the cork popped, he laughed, releasing her to head to the kitchen. “Champagne. I’ll go help Caulder pour…and drink.”

  Filled with pride, Velia took hold of her mother and mother-in-law’s arms. “I bought sparkling juice for a moment such as this.” She tilted her head, first toward her mom and then Dolly. “Did I fool you two? Of all people, mamma, you knew?”

  Lidia patted Velia’s cheek. “We haven’t seen you that often, so when you walked through the door the other day, I suspected. You have a glow, figlia mia.”

  Dolly squeezed her arm. “No, sweetheart, I hadn’t noticed. Now, you know I would’ve said something.”

  Velia called Jase’s mom. “Come with us, Judy.” She removed an apron from a hook in the large, lighted pantry off the kitchen and tied it around her waist. She glanced into the dining room. Since their downstairs had an open floor plan, even showing the natural log walls, she could see everyone. For a moment, she peered downward and splayed her fingers over her stomach.

  Now she could proudly do it in the open. This wasn’t how she had wanted to tell Caulder. Holding the champagne bottle, he caught a glimpse of her staring at him. He gave a warming smile and her heartbeat sped up. It always did when he smiled sincerely. She couldn’t put into words how much she loved him. But he knew. He raised the champagne in a salute to her.

  Standing there, nearly hypnotized by his sexy persona, a chill shook her shoulders. Days ago she could have lost the baby. Caulder wouldn’t have known about the pregnancy until then. A tear slipped from her eye and she had to leave the room. “Please excuse me.” She rushed out. Hurrying up the stairs, she closed the door in her bedroom, and stood at the window, facing a sight that could have been a place of devastation. She refused to allow that incident to rob her of the joy she got from looking out at the landscape.

  Right out there the creek still flowed in a rush. My God. Both of my children could’ve been lost. What would Caulder have done if he had lost her and Kase, and then to find out he was to be a father again? He’d not be able to handle it as he had stated. His life would never be the same. As tears washed over her cheeks, she didn’t try to quiet the sobs. This is what she needed and had held back, until now.

  The door opened but she didn’t care. His arms wrapped around her from behind and he lowered his head to rest upon hers. “Darlin’, are you all right?”

  “No. Just like that it came to the surface. I held it all in until I couldn’t any longer. T-the other day could’ve been a horrid day for everyone. Kase and I…and our new baby could’ve died. You dealt with another hellish ordeal.” She turned into his embrace. “Oh, Caulder. I know you’d never be able to go on without us.”

  “Shh. That didn’t happen. Kase is downstairs. You’re in my arms, and our baby is right here with us. It’s an extraor
dinary day. You chose the perfect time to tell me—to give me and the family some serenity.” He smoothed her hair away from her face and stared into her eyes. Dropping to his knees in front of her, he placed their hands over her abdomen, smiling his famous smile. “I love you. Thank you for giving me another child.”

  “I didn’t do it alone, bull rider.” She sniffled and chuckled at the same time. “You’re my whole world. Thank you for giving us a life filled with love.”

  He rose, took her hand to lead her to the bed where he had her sit, and he took a seat beside her. “When were you going to tell me? I mean, your original plan.”

  She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes. Don’t ever let me lose him. A quick glance upward with a pleading gaze was all she did before facing her husband, gingerly placing her hand against his cheek. “Christmas Eve when we were alone. We’re lucky, Caulder.”

  “We are,” he mumbled in a near whisper, his gaze wandering off toward the fireplace. “When is the baby due? Not during World Finals again I hope.” He gave a subtle laugh. “Nah, that’s impossible.”

  Velia sat back and lay flat across the bed. “Remember that little break we had in September? I believe we conceived then. That was a wild weekend with a cowboy. Very sexy if I remember correctly.”

  “Right. I went to town on you the first night, as if we hadn’t been together for months when in fact, it was a week without you. See what you do to me, woman? You give me a reason to make babies.” Caulder leaned back on an elbow, pressed his lips against her throat, and he pulled the opened part of her blouse open to kiss her breasts.

  Velia closed her eyes, lost to his sweltering lips against her skin. It wouldn’t take much more before she gave in to his subtle seduction, but…

  He jerked his head up. “Yeehaa, baby. I did it again.”

  Velia laughed. “No argument here. So, if we got pregnant in September, then we’ll have our baby in the heat of summer. June? July?”