Oops. He’d forgotten about that. “I blame Noah for that. He promised that horse was perfect for a novice.”
She cast a wary glance at the stable as they passed. “And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“I’ll be choosing the horse this time.” Not to mention that he and his brother were both a lot wiser now.
“It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s an unpredictable animal.”
They bumped the rest of the way up the long drive in silence. He couldn’t help wondering if what had happened on Friday was playing a part in Lacie’s sudden overprotectiveness. Because when they’d taken Kenzie to see the horses last Monday, Lacie had been fine.
“Pretty lights,” said Kenzie when they pulled up to the ranch house. Obviously the heated exchange between him and Lacie hadn’t affected her.
He eyed the colorful strands of lights that now adorned the railing of the deck and smiled. Evidently the grouchy old coot they’d run into at the supercenter last week had found his Christmas spirit. And perhaps it had something to do with the little girl in the back seat.
Emerging from his vehicle, he noticed Andrew’s truck parked on the other side of their father’s dually.
“Looks like Andrew and Carly are already here.” Considering Noah, Jude and Daniel lived at the ranch, it looked like he, Lacie and Kenzie were the last to arrive.
He helped Kenzie from the back seat and held her hand as the three of them made their way onto the long deck. Fresh snow crunched under their boots, yet despite the gray clouds overhead, he couldn’t help feeling that this was going to be a good day.
When they entered the ranch house, the first thing Matt smelled was pine, reminding him of Christmases from long ago. His heart warmed. Deciding to cut down a real tree had been the right thing to do. In this house, nothing else would do.
After removing their boots in the mudroom, they continued into the family room with its wood-burning stove and overstuffed yet oh-so-comfortable furniture. And there in front of the picture window was the tree. Smaller than he was used to seeing, but magnificent nonetheless.
“There they are.” A grinning Dad set his coffee cup on the off-white counter and started toward them from the adjoining kitchen. Stopping, he looked straight at Matt. “Glad you could make it, son.”
A lump formed in Matt’s throat. It had been a long time since he’d felt welcomed in this house.
He did his best to shake off the emotion. “I wouldn’t have missed it, Dad.”
“Lacie, good to see you again.” The old man patted her on the arm.
“Thank you for inviting us,” she said.
Lowering his gaze, Dad smiled at his granddaughter. “And how are you today, Miss Kenzie?”
“Good.” She leaned into Lacie. Something Matt had come to expect whenever his daughter was feeling shy or insecure.
Hillary approached then. “Hello, everyone.”
Carly followed and hugged Lacie. “I’m so glad you’re here.” His sister-in-law then knelt in front of Kenzie. “Megan’s been looking forward to seeing you again.”
His daughter straightened and smiled, obviously feeling more confident. “Where is she?”
Carly stood. “She and Andrew are at the stables.” She looked at him now. “Noah is giving her a riding lesson.”
Kenzie gasped, her face beaming. “I want to ride the horsies, too.”
“I’m sure we can arrange that.” Hands resting on his denim-clad hips, Dad continued to watch the little girl.
Recalling their conversation in the Jeep, Matt glanced at Lacie.
Her eyes were wide as she looked at Carly. “Lessons, huh?”
“Oh, yes. Megan loves horses, so the more knowledge she has about them, the safer she’ll be.”
He’d have to remember to thank his sister-in-law later.
“You think we have a helmet small enough for Kenzie?” He eyed his father, hoping that the mention of safety equipment would help put Lacie at ease.
“Sure. We got all sizes.”
He figured as much, considering Abundant Blessings Ranch not only offered lessons but trail rides during the summer months. Something Noah had been working toward expanding into a full-blown rodeo school.
“Can we go now?” While Lacie might be nervous, Kenzie was more than ready.
Dad looked from his granddaughter to Matt then Lacie. “I don’t know why not.”
“But she’s only five.” Lacie fiddled with the zipper on her coat. She still wasn’t sold.
“Ah, she’ll do just fine,” said Dad. “You can even go down there with her.”
“C’mon, Aunt Lacie.” Kenzie tugged on her arm. “Let’s go.”
Still looking none too certain, Lacie reluctantly followed Kenzie across the wood laminate flooring toward the mudroom.
Matt fell in beside her, determined to put her at ease. “Don’t worry, Lace. I’ll be with her the whole time.”
However, the glare she sent him said he hadn’t reassured her at all.
Chapter Fourteen
Lacie had a bad feeling about this.
Following Matt and a helmeted Kenzie down a long aisle lined with stalls, she drew in a shaky breath, the smell of hay and horse filling her nostrils.
“My brother Noah helped me choose the perfect horse for you.” Matt smiled down at Kenzie.
“What’s its name?” She tilted her little face to look at him.
“His name is Toby.”
“He’s a boy?”
Matt chuckled. “That’s usually how it works.”
He was putting her on a male horse?
Passing another stall, Lacie eyed the big fellow Matt had introduced them to last week. The one he said was Noah’s horse. The dark brown creature was huge.
Gentle or not, why would Matt risk putting a little girl on something so massive?
She double stepped to catch up with them. “I’m sorry, Matt. I just don’t think this is a good—”
“Here we go, Kenzie.” As though ignoring Lacie, Matt stopped in front of one of the stalls and slid the wood-and-metal door to one side. “Meet Toby.” His gaze shifting to Lacie, he motioned for her to have a look.
“Oh...” Hands clasped against her chest, Kenzie eyed the animal with wonder.
Taking a step closer, Lacie peered inside to see a small black-and-white horse. “A pony?” Young and barely trained. She sent Matt a questioning gaze.
He continued into the stall. “A Shetland pony.” He rubbed a hand over the animal. “He’s eight years old.” He sent Lacie a pointed stare. “We keep him especially for kids.”
Suddenly embarrassed, she backed off while he bridled and saddled the horse. She shouldn’t have doubted him. She’d seen how he responded when Kenzie flew into the street two days ago. He’d put his own life on the line to save her. So why did she think he wouldn’t have Kenzie’s best interests at heart now?
Still, animals were unpredictable. What if something spooked the horse or it didn’t want to be ridden? She closed her eyes. After what happened Friday, she was more afraid than ever.
Matt led Toby into the aisle. “We’re ready to go.”
Lacie fell in beside Kenzie. “You listen to everything Matt tells you and do exactly what he says.”
“Okay.”
While Matt continued into the small indoor arena with Kenzie and Toby, Lacie joined Clint, Noah, Andrew and Megan at the railing.
“She’ll be just fine.” Clint winked.
Matt lifted Kenzie into the saddle and got her situated.
“Aunt Lacie, look at me.”
Lacie couldn’t help but smile. She pulled out her phone and opened the camera.
“Smile.” She snapped a couple of shots.
Matt l
ed the animal and Kenzie around the large circle.
Kenzie’s smile had never been bigger, though she also seemed to understand the importance of paying attention to what she was doing.
“That a girl,” said Clint.
Kenzie waved as they passed and Lacie caught another picture.
While Noah, Andrew and Megan discussed her lesson, Lacie turned to Clint.
“Thank you for being so good to Kenzie, welcoming her like this.”
He perched a boot on one of the fence rungs. “You and Kenzie are welcome here anytime.”
She nodded uncomfortably, knowing what she still needed to say. “I also want to apologize for my sister’s actions. Keeping Kenzie away from all of you, not letting Matt know...”
The older man’s smile was one of understanding. “It doesn’t matter how she got here—she’s here now. And we couldn’t be more pleased.”
She again searched out Kenzie. Something wasn’t right, though. “Is it my imagination or is she leaning?” And with every step the horse took, the saddle and Kenzie inched farther down Toby’s side.
“Saddle isn’t cinched,” said Clint.
Matt looked at Kenzie then, but it was too late.
Kenzie toppled off the horse.
“No!” Lacie climbed the rungs, thrust herself over the railing and rushed toward Kenzie. What if the horse stepped on her? He may be small, but he still weighed a lot more than a little girl.
She reached them as Matt lifted Kenzie to her feet.
“You okay, small fry?”
How could he take this so lightly? It wasn’t as though she’d simply stumbled.
Then she heard it. Kenzie was—laughing?
Looking up at Matt, she dusted herself off. “That was fun.”
Fun? She was practically having a heart attack and Kenzie thought it was fun?
Matt barely glanced at Lacie before turning his attention back to his daughter. “Let’s get this saddle tightened up so you can ride some more.”
Feeling like a fool for overreacting, she made her way across the arena.
Clint opened the gate for her. “Looks like we might need to get you on a horse, too.”
She faced him as he closed it, only to see a mischievous grin. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually overreact like that.”
He set a calloused hand on her shoulder. “I guess you’re still pretty rattled about what happened Friday.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“Just a little.” He held up a finger and thumb. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned raising five boys, it’s that no matter how good of a parent you are, they’re still going to get hurt, they’re going to get sick, they’re gonna cry and they’re going to do some of the stupidest things you can imagine.”
She laughed then.
His weathered expression turned more serious. “The only thing we can do is love them.” His dark eyes so reminiscent of Matt’s drifted toward the arena. “And sometimes we don’t even get that right.” He cleared his throat. “What I’m trying to say is that you’re a fine mama to that little girl and, even though he’s new to it, I think Matt’s going to be a great dad.”
Looking over her shoulder, she watched Matt put Kenzie back into the saddle. “I think he already is.”
When the ride was over, Kenzie went on back to the house with Clint, Noah, Andrew and Megan while Lacie helped Matt put things away at the stables. He was unusually quiet, though, and she had a pretty good idea why.
“I’m sorry I overreacted.” Standing in the doorway of the tack room, hands shoved in the pockets of her puffer, she watched as he put things away.
“Nah, I get it.” He hung up the bridle, never even looking her way. “You’re still freaked out from the other day.”
“That’s true, I am. But I don’t want you to think that I don’t trust you. I mean, after all, you were the one who saved her. I just stood there like a bump on a log.” If he hadn’t been there, Kenzie could have been killed while she watched.
He stopped what he was doing and finally faced her. “Is that what this is all about?” He moved toward her then. “Are you blaming yourself for what happened?”
All of the emotions she’d been holding in rose to the surface. Her throat thickened. Her bottom lip began to quiver.
She quickly turned away. “I couldn’t stop her.” Looking toward the rafters, she blinked several times. “One second I had a hold of her hand and the next—” A sob caught in her throat. Her body began to shake.
“Look at me, Lace.”
She didn’t want to, but he stepped in front of her and made her do it anyway.
“Aw, Lace.” He took her into his arms and that was it. Everything she’d been fighting so hard to keep inside let loose. All of the pent-up angst, disappointment and failure flooded to the surface.
“It’s all my fault,” she cried. “I should have stopped her, but I didn’t.”
He tightened his hold. “It’s all right. We never know how we’re going to react when we’re put in situations like that.”
“No, it’s not all right.” Her anger spilled out. Breaking free, she moved into the tack room. “Nothing is all right. I lost my job. I’m the reason we don’t have a home. The reason Kenzie isn’t going to be able to wake up Christmas morning and walk down the hall in her own house to a tree filled with presents and Christmas music playing in the background. It’s all because of me.” Exhausted, she dropped onto a bale of hay, covered her face with her hands and, for the first time since she became Kenzie’s guardian, she let her tears fall freely.
When she finally stopped, she lifted her head to see Matt kneeling in front of her with a roll of paper towels.
“Not as soft as tissues,” he said, “but at least they’re absorbent.”
Smiling, she pulled off a few sheets and blotted her face. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” He probably thought her a lunatic.
“I’m not. Now I know you’re human.”
She peered up at him. “As opposed to...?”
“Well, we won’t go there.” Grinning, he tugged her to her feet, but didn’t let go of her hands. “You know, a dam can only hold so much before it breaks. Sounds like you’ve been holding in an awful lot.”
She nodded, her cheeks growing warm.
“You’re not alone, Lacie. I know you think you need to do and take care of everything yourself, but there are plenty of us who want to help you. Me, your mom...me.”
“I know.” Seemed he’d proved that over and over, clear back to that day he helped her with her battery.
He glanced toward the window. “I hate to bring this up, but we should probably head on up to the house for dinner.”
She groaned, covering her face. “I must look a mess.”
“Not at all.” Pulling her hand away, he touched her cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I mean it, Lace. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.” He looked so serious.
Her insides tangled. But she knew better than to allow herself to be sucked in.
She turned for the door. “They’re waiting on us.”
* * *
Matt finished clearing off the worn-out wooden dining room table that had been left behind by the previous owners when he bought his house. The scarred and scratched surface may not be pretty, but it was flat, making it the perfect spot for wrapping presents.
He retrieved the few gifts he’d already bought for Kenzie, along with scissors and tape. Now he just needed Lacie to get here with the wrapping paper and her presents. Since Barbara had agreed to keep Kenzie, they’d decided this would be a good time to compare each of their gift selections so they could see what else they might need, as well as wrap without fear of Kenzie walking in on them
.
Returning to the living room, he turned on some Christmas music and cleared the crumbs littering the coffee table, his gaze drifting from the tree glowing in the corner to the empty fireplace. Something was missing, though he had yet to figure out what that something was. Perhaps it was just the lack of a fire. He’d have to make a point to swing by the ranch to pick up some wood.
A knock sounded at the door.
He opened it to find Lacie holding a large box that obscured her face and plastic bags dangling from both arms, one with two rolls of wrapping paper sticking out.
“A little help, please.” She grunted.
He tossed the crumbs out the door and grabbed hold of the box. “I got it.” He waited for her to enter then closed the door. “You can put the stuff in the dining room.”
She made her way into the space adjacent the living room and dropped the bags into one of four peeling chairs. “Phew! That wasn’t quite as easy as I thought it was going to be.”
He set the box on the table. “You could have asked for help, you know. Or have you forgotten our conversation yesterday?”
Making a face, she tossed her head back. “Don’t remind me. I still can’t believe I did that to you.”
“Uh, just what was it you did to me?”
“As if you don’t remember.” Casting an annoyed eye his way, she shrugged out of her puffer. “Having a meltdown is one thing. Doing it in front of someone else is just wrong.”
“Not if that someone else doesn’t mind.” Actually, he kind of liked that she felt comfortable enough with him to let her feelings out. Made him feel as though she finally trusted him.
Now, however, he’d better change the subject. “Can I get you anything? Water, coffee, hot chocolate—it’s instant.”
“Yeah, I think some hot chocolate would be nice.”
At least he got her to smile. “Marshmallows?”
“Of course.”
Since he already had the water hot on the stove, suspecting that’s what she’d go for, he quickly scooped the powder into a couple of mugs, then added the water and a spoon before grabbing the bag of marshmallows and rejoining her.
The Deputy's Holiday Family Page 14