Holding Out for Christmas (The Christmas Tree Ranch #3)(28)

“How could you have let him sit on that bench?” she scolded. “Heavens, he could have broken his neck! He could have been paralyzed, even killed!”

“I know, Mom. I feel terrible.” Megan’s burden of guilt, already heavy, pressed down with the weight of a giant anvil. She knew how much Daniel wanted to be treated like the “normal” people around him. But Daniel’s “normal” was defined by his condition. All his life, as his big sister, it had been Megan’s job to protect him. Today she had failed. She had put him at risk, and he’d been hurt.

“And this business of his wanting to drive. I know you’ve been helping him study, Megan. But it has to stop. If he spends all that time, gets his hopes up, and then can’t pass the test, he’ll be devastated. If he does pass it, that will open the door to even more risk. He could be killed or kill somebody else. Please say you’ll respect my wishes.”

“Of course I will.” Megan sympathized with Daniel’s need to be independent, but she could hardly go behind her mother’s back to help him. While Daniel was off work, she could look for other ways to fill his time, like maybe taking him to Cottonwood Springs for some shopping at the mall and a good movie. If he wanted to study for his driver’s test, he would have to do it on his own.

“How about I make some chocolate chip cookies?” she offered, opening the cupboard. “That should make everybody feel better. Then later, I can cook some spaghetti for dinner tonight.”

“Your father will like that when he gets home. Thank you, dear. I’ll be working if you need me. The illustrations for the book are due next week and I still have a lot to do.” She turned her wheelchair toward the doors that separated her studio from the kitchen, then paused. “Sorry, I almost forgot. Derek called while you were out. He said he’d call back this evening.”

Megan reached for the large mixing bowl and set it on the counter. “Did he ask you where I was?”

“Yes. I told him you were out.”

“Thanks.” Megan softened two sticks of butter and added some sugar to the bowl. When she glanced around, her mother had closed the doors and gone back to work.

She added the other ingredients, mixed a double batch of cookies, and spooned the dough onto a cookie sheet. While the first batch was baking, she plugged in the Christmas tree lights and tidied the kitchen and living room.

She wasn’t looking forward to Derek’s call. She’d needed some time away, but he seemed determined not to give it to her. As her boss, maybe he felt entitled to keep track of her. Maybe he was just being needy, or maybe he worried about her being with another man.

A man like Conner?

Yes.

She’d resolved not to date Conner, Megan reminded herself. His tender concern over Daniel today was almost enough to make her change her mind. Almost. But she didn’t need another man in her life—especially one who’d already fallen for Lacy.

“Yum! I smell cookies!” Daniel, looking more rested than earlier, wandered into the kitchen.

Megan gave him a smile. “They’re almost done. Pull up a chair, and I’ll pour you some milk. How’s the shoulder?”

“Better, but still sore.” Daniel sat down and waited while Megan filled a cup with milk and lifted the cookies out of the oven.

“Those look good!” he said. “You make the best cookies in the world—next to Katy. Sometimes she gives me a cookie that she baked at Shop Mart. Her cookies are the best of all.”

Megan lifted two cookies onto a saucer, which she set in front of him. “Look out. They’re hot.”

“That’s how I like them. I like how they sort of sizzle when I dunk them in the milk.”

He was dunking his second cookie when the front doorbell rang. Megan hurried to answer it. By now, it was getting dark outside. She switched on the porch light before she opened the door.

The figure on the doorstep was petite, almost doll-like, with her long blond hair in braids. She was dressed for work in her blue Shop Mart bakery uniform. Her pretty, elfin face wore an anxious expression.

“Hello, Katy,” Megan said, smiling. “Come on in.”

Katy stepped across the threshold so Megan could close the door. “I can’t stay long,” she said. “My dad is waiting in the car. How is Daniel? Somebody told me he got hurt.”

“He’s in the kitchen,” Megan said. “Go on in. You can see him for yourself.”

Katy dashed into the kitchen. She gave a little cry when she saw the sling on Daniel’s arm. “Oh no!” She hurried around the table and hugged him from the right side, avoiding the sling. “Is it bad? What happened?”

Daniel smiled, doing his tough-guy thing again. “It’s not too bad. I fell out of the sleigh, that’s all. The doc says I’ll be okay in a few days.”

Katy kissed his cheek. “I’m so sorry. I bet you were really brave.”

“I didn’t even cry,” Daniel said.

“How about some cookies, Katy?” Megan said. “I’ll put some in a Baggie for your mom and dad.”

“Thanks.” She sat down next to Daniel. “I’ll just share Daniel’s milk.”

Megan slipped a few more cookies onto the saucer between them. Katy broke a cookie in two, dipped one half into the cup, and nibbled it daintily.