Holding Out for Christmas (The Christmas Tree Ranch #3)(64)

“Yes, I do.” Megan drove out of the parking lot and headed back up Main Street to the part of town where Katy lived. “We’ve been talking about our wedding,” Katy said. “I don’t want anything fancy, but I do want it in the church, and I want to wear a pretty white dress and a veil.”

“And when is this supposed to take place?” Megan couldn’t help but wonder if she was being recruited as their advocate.

“We don’t know yet,” Daniel said. “I want to wait until I get my license. This way, I can drive.”

“My dad can get us a little car,” Katy said. “He has lots of cars around the garage. When Daniel can drive, I’ll ask Dad to fix one up and get it running for us.”

“Then we can be a family,” Daniel said. “Just Katy and me and her cat.”

“I remember that little tabby cat,” Megan said. “Daniel gave her to you last Christmas. How is she doing?”

“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Katy said. “She’s all grown up. Dr. Rushford fixed her for me so she won’t have babies. I kind of wanted her to have some. They’re so cute. But he said it wasn’t a good idea.”

The snow was pelting down harder than ever. The old-fashioned Christmas lights, strung across Main Street, were faint blurs of color, barely shining through the swirling white. “It’s so pretty,” Katy said. “But why can’t snow be warm and soft like feathers? That would be so much nicer.”

Megan and Daniel laughed. Around the next corner, Megan could see the neat little frame home where Katy and her parents lived. A maroon Honda, which she recognized as Connie Parker’s, was just pulling into the driveway. “It looks like your mom’s home, Katy,” Megan said, parking behind the car.

“It looks like she’s got packages.” Like the true gentleman he was, Daniel climbed out of the van, helped Katy to the ground, and then strode over to help Katy’s mother carry her packages into the house. Megan watched him from the van. Her brother was doing his best to show what a considerate husband and son-in-law he would be. She knew that the Parkers liked him, but like Megan’s family, they worried about how the two young people would manage as a married couple.

“Let’s go.” Daniel came back to the van. “Thanks for taking Katy home.”

“You two really love each other, don’t you?”

“Uh-huh.” He grinned.

“Do you have any idea how lucky you are?” Megan spoke past the lump in her throat. She blinked back a tear as she turned down the street toward home.

“What happened?” Daniel didn’t miss much. “Did you have a fight with Conner?”

“I’m afraid so. We broke up.”

“Oh no! Conner’s the best. I wanted you to marry him.”

“Sorry. It’s not going to happen. And don’t ask me why. Talking about it will only make me feel worse.”

“Okay.” Daniel fell silent for a moment. “Can we talk about driving?”

“All right. Are you having trouble with the information in that booklet?”

He nodded dejectedly. “It’s hard. I’ve studied and studied. But there’s still stuff I can’t figure out. What if I can’t pass the test? How can I marry Katy if I can’t even drive her to work or take her to a movie?”

The emotion in his voice tore at Megan’s heart. But telling him about the driving school now would be a mistake. If her doubts won out over her desire to help him, her brother would be crushed. And so would Katy.

The course would last for a couple of months, at most, depending on his progress. The money wasn’t an insurmountable issue, but her parents could still say no. And if they agreed to let Daniel try for his license, she would have to give up her own plans in order to stay in Branding Iron and help him. Even the teaching job her father was urging her to take would be difficult to work around.

Could she do it? Could she give up a couple of months of her precious, selfish time for the sake of two people’s lifetime happiness?

What kind of person would even ask that question?

She wouldn’t tell Daniel until everything was in place—getting his hopes up too soon would be cruel. But she would start soon, by talking with her parents. They were going to take some serious persuading. Once they said yes—if they did—she would contact the driving school.

At least, for now, she’d have something to keep her busy—and take her mind off Conner.

*

Nursing a beer and feeling like two-day-old roadkill, Conner sat slumped in the overstuffed chair, watching the rebroadcast of a PBR event on TV. He had loved the dangerous sport—the challenge of it, the rush, the cheers of the crowd when he lasted eight seconds on a rank bull. Watching it now, knowing he could never do it again, was a form of well-deserved punishment.

Bucket nosed his hand, wanting attention. Conner scratched the dog’s scruffy ears. “Well, old boy, I guess she’s dumped us,” he muttered, half to himself. “Serves me right. I should’ve been up front about knowing her secret. That, or I should’ve been smart enough to act surprised and keep quiet when she told me the truth. Instead, I opened my big mouth and ruined everything.” He took a swig of beer, emptying the can, then crushed it in his fist. “Damn it, she was the one—the woman I wanted to wake up with every morning for the rest of my life.”