It's a Christmas Thing (The Christmas Tree Ranch #2)(19)

The waitress brought their burgers, fries, and shakes. Both of them were hungry. They settled into silence as they devoured their food. Clara ate like a little lady, taking dainty bites and drinking her shake without slurping, the way most kids would. Clearly, someone, probably Annie, had taught her proper table manners. Rush couldn’t imagine Sonya having the patience.

He couldn’t help wondering how Clara had adjusted to Andre. Did she call him Daddy, too? But there was no point in wondering, Rush reminded himself. All that mattered was knowing she was happy and well cared for.

“Why did you go away, Daddy?” The question came out of nowhere, slamming into him with the force of a fist.

“Because your mom wanted to marry Andre.”

“But why didn’t you come back and see me?”

That was a tough one. Rush groped for the right words, not wanting to put the blame on her mother. “Because I knew I’d be sad when I had to leave you again. I was afraid you might be sad, too.”

“But I would have been happy that you came.” Her words were too wise for her years. She broke his heart.

He put money on the table to cover their bill and the tip. “If you’ve finished eating, let’s get on the road. It would be nice to get to the ranch before your bedtime.”

“Okay. I’m done.” She slipped into her coat by herself and took his hand as they walked out to the parking lot. Snowflake was waiting on the booster seat. She picked up the toy, snuggling it close.

“I’ll bet you could learn to buckle yourself in,” Rush said. “Let me hold Snowflake while you try.”

He gave her instructions, showing her where the straps crossed and how the buckles fastened. When she made a mistake, he corrected her gently. Rush had always loved teaching her things. Clara was a quick and eager learner, but it took her a good ten minutes to master the complicated harness. When she finally did it right, he clapped and cheered for her. “That’s my big girl,” he said. “Now you’ll always know how to do it.”

She grinned and held out her arms for Snowflake. “Let’s go, Daddy,” she said. “I want to see your ranch.”

Rush closed the door, climbed into the driver’s side, and started the Hummer’s powerful engine. “Don’t expect anything fancy, like your place,” he said. “My ranch is a working ranch. The house and barn are old. My partners and I are fixing them up as best we can, but that takes time and money.”

“Oh.” She was quiet for a moment. “Can I play with the animals on your ranch?”

“The cows and horses are too big to play with,” Rush said. “They could hurt you, even if they didn’t mean to. But you can play with Bucket.”

“Is he a puppy?”

“No, he’s a grown-up dog. We don’t even know how old he is.”

“Why don’t you know? Doesn’t he have a birthday?”

“Dogs don’t have birthdays.”

“Some dogs do. I saw one on TV. He even had a cake.”

“Okay. But Bucket doesn’t have one.”

“We could give him one.”

“Maybe.” Rush decided to change the subject. “Do you have any pets at home?”

“I can’t have a pet. Andre’s allergic.”

“That’s too bad.” Rush remembered how she’d loved the small pets that had come to his clinic.

“Will Bucket be happy to see me?”

“He will. He’s a friendly dog. But he’s not a little dog. He’s more like middle-sized. He gets dirty, so you won’t want to hold him. But he loves to chase sticks, and he’s really smart. He even helps us herd the cows and horses.”

“Do you have snow . . . ?” She spoke through a yawn.

“Sometimes.”

“Can we have music on the radio?”

“Sure.” Rush found an easy listening station that played Christmas music. The strains of “The Little Drummer Boy” drifted from the speakers. He kept the volume low.

The next time he glanced in the rearview mirror, Clara was asleep.





Chapter 5


It was almost twilight when Rush turned off the highway south of Branding Iron and drove down the narrow lane toward home. The last rays of sunset gleamed on the snow as they drove through the ranch gate. By now, Clara was wide awake. She bounced and squirmed in her booster seat, looking out the window and peppering Rush with questions.

“Are we here?”

“Where are the horses? Where’s Bucket?”

“Can we play in the snow?”

“Where will I sleep?”

Tired as he was, Rush answered each question as patiently as he could. But the last one had him stumped. Before leaving, he’d had no chance to get her a bed. Unless his partners had taken care of the problem, he would spend the night on the sofa, while Clara slept in his bed. “We’ll see,” was all he said.

As he pulled the Hummer up to the house, the porch light came on. He climbed wearily to the snowy ground, retrieved her suitcase from the back of the vehicle, and came around to open the door and help the little girl out of her booster seat. She clung to his coat with one hand, clasping Snowflake with the other.

“Oh!” She gazed at the snow, seeing it up close for the first time. “It looks so soft and fluffy. Can I touch it, Daddy?”