Racing Christmas

by Shanna Hatfield

  Thankfully, no one seemed to expect her to jump into the conversations. She ate her meal while surreptitiously casting stolen glances at Shaun and Dani. The more she studied the two of them, the more her heart ached for what might have been.

  Quit fussing about what you don’t have and focus on what you do.

  Brylee swallowed back a sigh as her father’s words marched through her thoughts. She’d been eleven and desperate for a dirt bike because the neighbor boy had one. After begging nonstop for a week, her dad looked at her and said those exact words. It made Brylee mad, but then she took the words to heart and looked at all the wonderful things she did have, like a perfectly good bicycle, and her own horse as well as plenty of other things to keep her occupied in her free time.

  Her dad was right then and now. Maybe things wouldn’t be any different if Shaun hadn’t run out on her. Maybe they would have divorced in six months if they’d stayed married. Maybe they’d have two or three beautiful babies with curly red hair and incredible gray-blue eyes and be happier than she could imagine. There was no way to know what might have been and no sensible reason to dwell on the “what ifs.”

  Another look at Shaun and Dani made Brylee take a long drink of her iced tea, emptying the glass.

  “Mama, can I go outside for a while?” Dani asked. She wiped her mouth with the napkin Shaun handed to her and slid off his leg.

  “Yes, but stay in the yard unless someone else is out there with you.”

  Dani hummed an energetic tune as she wandered around the table, patting Pops and Jason on their arms before she stopped next to Brylee’s chair and looked up at her. “Want to come with me?”

  “I’d love to,” Brylee said, pushing back from the table. “Everything was delicious, Lisa. If you want my help with the dishes, just let me know. “

  “You go on with Dani. These guys can handle dish duty.” Lisa grinned when Shaun groaned in protest.

  Dani took Brylee’s hand and led her down the hallway toward the front door. On the way there, Brylee slowed her steps, studying the dozens of photographs lining the walls. There were photos of Shaun and Lisa, as well as their younger sister. Megan, along with Shaun’s mother and grandmother, had gone to Boise on a shopping trip and were killed in a three-car pileup on the freeway. Shaun had only been fifteen at the time, but he’d told her how hard it was to lose all three of them in the same day.

  Brylee thought his family had been so overwhelmed with grief and loss that they’d forgotten about him for a time. Not that anyone could blame them, but she often wondered if Shaun didn’t have some issues he needed to work through because of it. Then again, he really did seem to have matured and grown into a good, strong, kind man these last few years. Clearly, he still loved to tease and play a joke, but he was hard-working, dedicated, and committed to his career. He was also gentle, protective, and loyal to those he loved.

  She couldn’t see the Shaun she’d come to know the past month behaving like the boy she’d married. For all the ways he was the same, there were twice as many that illustrated how much he’d changed.

  Regardless, she wasn’t giving him, or anyone, the chance to trample all over her heart again. She’d sworn off love, relationships, and her dreams. Right now certainly wasn’t the time to change her mind.

  “Come on, Brylee,” Dani said, tugging on her hand and pulling her out the front door.

  They stopped for a moment to pet Lucy and Linus before Dani took her hand and led her out the front gate and down the graveled lane toward the barn.

  “We probably shouldn’t go too far, Dani. I’ll have to leave soon.”

  “It’s okay. They can see us from the house. Mama will yell if she wants us to come back.” Dani smiled up at her, baby teeth glistening in the sunlight. The pink sundress she wore swished as she hopped and skipped in a pair of hot-pink sneakers.

  Suddenly, she stopped and jerked on Brylee’s hand. “See the snake?”

  Brylee had seen it. In fact, she’d already started backing away from it when Dani yanked on her hand again. “It’s okay. It’s a bull snake. The bad snakes make a rattle sound like this.” Dani offered her imitation of the buzzing noise a rattlesnake made as she continued toward the barn, dragging Brylee along with her.

  Even when they were well past the snake, Brylee turned back to make sure it wasn’t pursuing them.

  “Are you scared of snakes?” Dani asked, looking up at her as they neared a fenced-in pasture close to the barn.

  “Yes, I am.”

  Dani fisted her hands at her waist and vigorously nodded her head, sending her curls flying every direction. “I thought so. Your eyes are this big.” She made circles with her thumbs and index fingers. “Your face looks funny, too. Kinda white, like Jimmy was at the fair before he got sick and puked all over his shoes.” She wrinkled her nose. “It was so gross.”

  Brylee wasn’t sure how she felt about the comparison, but meekly followed Dani as she continued over to the pasture where a fat pony grazed with half a dozen horses.

  “That’s S’mores.” Dani pointed to the pony. “Papa got him for me.”

  “S’mores is a great name for a pony.” Brylee knelt down by Dani as the little girl leaned against the pole fence. “Do you ride him often?”

  “Pops and Uncle Galen help me ride him, but not every day. Pops doesn’t always feel like going for a ride.”

  Brylee looked over at the lively child. “Does Pops watch you while your mom is at work?”

  “Sometimes. I go with Uncle Galen sometimes, too. The rest of the time I go to Sally’s house.”

  “Who is Sally?” Brylee asked, pulling a handful of grass and holding it through the fence. The pony spied it and slowly meandered toward them.

  “She’s my babysitter. There are other kids at her house, too. Mama drops me off there on her way to work.”

  “I see,” Brylee said, relieved that Dani wasn’t left in the care of a busy rancher or her aging great-grandfather. She drew the grass back a little as the pony stretched his lips out to nibble it. Dani reached out and patted his neck while Brylee pulled another handful of grass and gave it to the child to hold.

  “He tickled my fingers.” The little girl giggled. Dimples popped out in her cheeks as she grinned and watched the pony eat the grass she’d fed him. “I like petting him and I like you!” Dani threw her little arms around Brylee’s neck and gave her a squeeze.

  The grapefruit was back, firmly lodged in her throat and making tears sting her eyes. “I like you, too, Dani.”

  The little imp leaned back and looked into Brylee’s face, as though she searched for something. She patted Brylee’s cheeks and tipped her head to one side. “Do you like my grandpa?”

  Brylee smiled. “I like Pops and your papa. They’re wonderful.”

  “I think so, too,” Dani said, placing an arm on Brylee’s shoulder and leaning against her as they watched S’mores wander back toward the other horses. She turned her gaze to Brylee’s. “Do you like Uncle Shaun?”

  Brylee wouldn’t lie to the child. “I do like your uncle Shaun.”

  “Enough to let him be your prince?” Dani asked, full of innocence.

  “Oh, sweetheart, a long time ago your uncle Shaun was my prince and I loved him very much.” Brylee stood and took Dani’s hand in hers.

  The little girl looked up at her with a pout, eye’s starting to fill with tears. “He’s not anymore?”

  How to simplify so much pain and heartache into an answer suitable for a child? “No, sweetie, he’s not now.”

  “Do you wish he was your prince?” Dani stared up at her with eyes so like Shaun’s it made Brylee’s heart pinch.

  “Sometimes, more than anything, I wish he could be my prince again.” Brylee bent down and lightly tapped Dani on the nose. “But that’s our secret. Okay?”

  “Okay!” Dani giggled and started skipping up the lane back toward the house.

  Shaun stepped out onto the porch when they returned to the yard. He grinned as Da
ni ran to him and swung her in the air. “I was just about to come looking for you. Your mom has pie and ice cream inside.”

  “Yay!” Dani wiggled down. “I love ice cream!” She raced inside the house, leaving Brylee alone with Shaun.

  She stopped to pet the dogs again, hoping he’d follow Dani. Instead, he hunkered down and joined her in giving the dogs some attention.

  He cleared his throat and glanced over at her. “Dani seems taken with you.”

  Brylee smiled. “She’s the cutest thing, Shaun. That curly hair and those dimples are delightful. She could be the new Shirley Temple.”

  Shaun chuckled. “Don’t give her any ideas. She already thinks she’s the queen bee of the Circle P. And the kid really can’t sing or act. A career in showbiz is not in her future.”

  “But you love her anyway,” Brylee said, standing and brushing her hands on the seat of her denim shorts.

  “I sure do. Every single one of the Price men are wrapped around her little bitty fingers.” Shaun stood and motioned for Brylee to precede him inside. “Seems to be a thing with the women we love.”

  Brylee ignored his comment and made it back to the kitchen where Lisa served slices of warm peach pie with mounds of vanilla ice cream. When she finished eating her piece, Brylee grinned at Lisa. “I may not need to eat for a week after all this good food. Thank you so much.”

  “My pleasure.” Lisa smiled at her. “I’m so glad we got to see you, Brylee. Please don’t be a stranger.”

  “That’s right, honey. We’d sure like to see you around here again,” Pops said, leaning over to pat her arm.

  Brylee didn’t know what to say. Jason seemed to sense her struggle because he stood and carried his plate to the sink. “We better get on the road. After we drop off Brylee’s rig, we still have to head to Kennewick and help unload the stock.”

  “Thanks for a great meal, sis.” Shaun gave his sister a hug then gently patted his grandfather on the back. “You did good with those spuds, Pops.”

  The old man laughed. “A lot of years of practice, son. Your grandma used to have me help her peel them sometimes. Never really minded because I’d steal kisses each time I finished one.”

  “No wonder it took forever to get dinner sometimes,” Jason teased.

  Pops shook an arthritic-plagued finger at Jason. “Oh, you be quiet. I caught you and Judy smooching in the kitchen plenty of times.”

  Shaun smirked at his sister. “That’s nothing. I caught Lisa and Tyler…”

  The glare of death Lisa shot at him made him close his mouth before he finished tattling on her. “Don’t you need to get going?” she asked, giving Shaun a playful push.

  “I don’t want them to go, Mama,” Dani said, wrapping her arms around Shaun’s leg. He swung it in an exaggerated motion as he made his way toward the front door.

  Pops held out an arm to Brylee and she took it with a smile, walking with him to the door while Jason and Lisa spoke quietly in the kitchen.

  Outside, Dani insisted on Shaun giving her a piggyback ride, which he did, before backing up to the porch and setting her down when Jason walked outside with Lisa.

  “Come on, sweetie, give me a kiss,” Jason said, swinging Dani up in his arms and raining kisses on her cheeks.

  She giggled then wrapped her arms around him, giving him a big hug. “I’ll miss you, Papa.”

  “I’ll miss you, too, honey. You be a good girl and I’ll see you in a few weeks, okay?”

  “Okay!” Dani went from Jason to Shaun. She kissed him on his cheek then pulled back and gave him a studying glance. “Don’t be a frog, Uncle Shaun.”

  At his baffled look, the little girl turned to Brylee and gave her a hug. With her arms wrapped around her neck, she whispered in her ear. “Maybe he’ll be your prince again if you believe in him, just like in the fairytales.”

  Brylee smiled and hugged the little girl back before setting her on the porch between her mother and great-grandfather. She hugged the old man and Lisa then backed toward the truck. “It was so good to see you both. Take care!”

  As Jason turned the vehicle around and headed toward the road, Brylee pictured Shaun’s head bent over Dani’s bright curls. He looked so natural with the little girl, so perfect in the role of doting uncle, her mind toyed with how well he’d do as a father.

  The rest of the way home, she could think of little else.

  Chapter Eleven

  The fight or flight response surging up in Shaun urged him to keep going straight. Instead, he turned off the road and followed his dad and Brylee as they drove beneath the Blue Hills Ranch sign that marked the entrance to the Barton family ranch.

  He looked forward to seeing Brylee’s brother, Birch. However, he had an idea her mother might load him full of buckshot if he so much as set foot out of the pickup, which he had to do since they were leaving it there.

  The last time he’d spoken to the woman, her feelings toward him had been undeniably clear. If she could have reached through the phone and choked the life out of him, he thought she would have gleefully done it.

  Brylee’s dad had always been easy going and fun, but her mother seemed just the opposite. She was serious and, from what he observed, a little harsh and judgmental. He always thought Brylee and Birch took after their father, but with him gone the past four years, he wondered if Jenn Barton’s rather negative outlook at life had rubbed off on her kids. He could certainly see her influence when he’d stepped in to help Brylee a month ago.

  Now, the girl riding with his father seemed much more like the Brylee he’d fallen in love with. She’d loosened up, found her sense of humor again, and actually had fun when she let go of her relentless determination to hate him while winning as many rodeos as possible.

  Jason stopped in front of the single story ranch house. A long porch out front and vibrant flowers hanging in pots along the porch eaves gave a welcoming appearance. Horses raced in the pasture across from the house and someone waved from the barn.

  By the long, gangly limbs, Shaun assumed it had to be Birch.

  Brylee jumped out of the pickup and rushed toward her brother. The two of them embraced and Birch swung her around before he set her down then looked at her leg. Shaun drove past the two of them and parked Brylee’s pickup near the barn.

  He’d barely stepped out when Birch was there, holding out a hand in welcome with a big grin on his face.

  “You’ve grown by at least two feet!” Shaun said as he shook the boy’s hand. He gave him a brotherly slap on the back hug. “I can’t believe it’s you, Birch.”

  “It’s good to see you, sir.” Birch practically beamed at him.

  Shaun recalled the golden-haired boy with Brylee’s cobalt eyes and a smattering of freckles on his nose dogging his every step when he’d visited the ranch six years ago. Birch had been just eight and always looked at Shaun like he was a hero.

  Too bad he hadn’t lived up to the kid’s expectations. However, with the way Birch grinned at him, he hoped he hadn’t fallen completely off his pedestal where the boy was concerned.

  “Drop the sir. It’s just Shaun to you, kid. Are you lifting weights? Playing sports? When did you get taller than your sister?” Shaun asked.

  Birch laughed. “Dude, I’ve been taller than her since I was eleven. In case you haven’t noticed, Brylee is vertically challenged.”

  Shaun grinned. “Yeah, but she makes up for it in other ways.”

  Birch nodded and ducked as Brylee playfully swatted him.

  “So what’s new in your world?” Shaun asked the boy.

  Birch’s chest puffed out a little. “I’m on the freshman football team.”

  “Hey, congrats. That’s awesome,” Shaun said as he gathered his things out of Brylee’s pickup and pulled the keys from the ignition.

  Brylee walked over and took the keys from him. “I’m going to run in and grab a few things. I’ll leave the keys on the rack by the phone, Birch. Do not take it for a joyride.”

  Birch slapped a
hand to his chest. “Me? I wouldn’t do such a thing. That’s more your style.”

  Brylee reached up and affectionately tapped her brother’s cheek. “Don’t be so lippy, young man.”

  He ruffled Brylee’s hair, making her huff in irritation as she headed toward the house.

  Jason wandered over to where Shaun stood with Birch.

  “Dad, this is Birch Barton. I don’t know if you remember meeting him. Birch, this is my dad, Jason.”

  Jason grinned and shook Birch’s hand. “I do remember meeting you, young man, but I wouldn’t have recognized you. You were just a little guy then.” Jason held his hand out at his side to indicate how small Birch had been the last time they’d seen him. “You look a lot like your dad. I’m sorry to hear about what happened.”

  Slowly, Birch nodded his head. “Thank you, Mr. Price. It’s, um… been hard on all of us.”

  Jason glanced over the property around them. “From the looks of things, you’re doing a great job with the ranch, though.”

  Birch pointed toward a field in the distance where men appeared to be working on a piece of equipment. “Thanks to Brylee’s winnings, we were able to hire a couple of guys to help this summer.”

  “That’s great,” Shaun said, keeping an eye on the house. He half-expected an explosion when Jenn Barton realized he was standing outside. “Is your Mom here?”

  “No, she’s still at work.” Birch glanced at his watch. “She usually gets home about half past five.”

  “At work?” Shaun asked. When he’d been around the Barton’s, Jenn had been a stay-at-home mom who spent her spare time working alongside Brad on the ranch.

  “Yep. She got her realtor’s license a long time ago, but she never did much with it. Now, she works at it full-time and does well. Walla Walla’s a growing wine area and a lot of people are looking for weekend or vacation property.” Birch pointed to a vineyard visible on the hill behind them.

  Shaun nodded. “Seems like a boost to the economy. It’s great your mom can capitalize on it.”