It's a Christmas Thing (The Christmas Tree Ranch #2)(32)

She wouldn’t tell Rush what she was doing—not unless she found a real breakthrough. Otherwise, getting his hopes up would only be cruel.

Rush had risen from his place at the table. “You’ve put in a long morning helping me out. I should probably get Clara and give you a break. How long has she been asleep?”

“Maybe forty-five minutes. Is that enough time for a good nap?”

“It used to be. Show me where she is. I’ll wake her.”

“She’s on my bed. You know the way.”

“Yes, I do, thanks to your cat.” He strode down the hall. When Tracy caught up with him, he was standing in the open bedroom door, as if hesitant to step inside. As Tracy looked past his shoulder she saw Clara asleep on the bed in her princess dress, partly covered by the quilt. Her eyes were closed, her lashes like dark velvet against her porcelain cheeks, her mouth a small pink rosebud.

“Now there’s a sleeping beauty,” he said softly. “I’m just grateful she’s not old enough for Prince Charming.”

“She’s beautiful,” Tracy said. “For now, her daddy can be her Prince Charming.”

Or you could be mine if things were very different. Tracy willed the thought from her mind.

At the sound of voices, the little girl opened her eyes. “Hi, Daddy,” she said.

“Hello, princess.” Rush walked to the bed and picked her up. “Ready to go home?”

“Uh-huh. But first, put me down. I want to show you something.”

As soon as her feet touched the floor, she was pulling at his hand, leading him on down the hall to the laundry room, and opening the door.

“Look, Daddy! Look in that big box!” She pulled him over to the box. Rush pretended to be surprised.

“Wow! Aren’t they something!”

“I gave them all names,” Clara said. “The babies are Midnight, Ginger, Tiger, and Snowflake. I love Snowflake best of all.”

“What about the mother?” He gave Tracy a questioning glance.

“She has a name, too,” Tracy said. “So, I guess that makes her officially my cat. Tell him what it is, Clara.”

“I named her Rainbow ’cause she has all the cat colors,” Clara said.

“Rainbow.” Rush reached into the box and stroked the mother cat’s head with a fingertip. “That’s a perfect name.”

“Tracy says that the kittens will need new homes soon. Do you think I could have Snowflake?” The hope in her big brown eyes would have melted a heart of granite. Tracy saw the sadness in Rush’s gaze as he shook his head.

“I wish I could say yes, honey,” he said. “But you can’t take a cat home to Phoenix because Andre is allergic. And if we tried to keep Snowflake at the ranch, I don’t know how well he’d get along with Bucket. That dog can be pretty rambunctious, even if he only wants to play.”

Clara sighed. “Will you think about it, Daddy?”

“I’ll think about it, but thinking might not be enough.” He swept her up in his arms and carried her to the window. “Look! More snow! Who wants to go home and play in it?”

“Me!” Clara was easily distracted.

“I’ve got an idea,” Tracy said. “Why don’t we put on your new snow clothes here, before you leave? Then you’ll be all dressed for the weather. Come on, you can choose what you want to wear.”

“Yay!” She bounded into the living room where the shopping bags had been left and began dumping everything on the couch. After she’d chosen what she wanted, Tracy helped her change into a pink turtleneck shirt with a cat on the front, a blue fleece vest, and jeans. While Rush helped her with her socks and snow boots, Tracy folded the leftover clothes, including the princess costume and sneakers, and put them back in the shopping bags.

In her new outfit, Clara twirled like a miniature fashion model. “Do I look like a cowgirl now, Daddy?” she asked Rush.

“You look like the prettiest cowgirl in Texas,” he said. “Now let’s get your new parka and your mittens on, so we can go home and play in the snow.”

“You’ll need to get the booster seat out of my car,” Tracy reminded him. “The doors are unlocked.”

“Thanks for remembering. I’ll do that when we go outside,” he said.

Clara let him help her into her coat and pink kitty mittens. But she seemed distracted, as if she had something else on her mind. “Daddy,” she said at last. “There’s snow right outside. If we play here, Tracy can play with us. I bet she’d like that, wouldn’t you, Tracy?”

Tracy had been looking forward to curling up on the sofa with a cup of hot herbal tea and a good book; but how could she say no?

“Tracy?” Rush gave her a knowing look. “If you feel like you’ve had enough—”

“No, it’s fine. Go on out the kitchen door to the backyard. I’ll get my coat and boots and join you.”

*

Rush transferred the booster seat from Tracy’s car into the Hummer. He and Clara were pelting each other with handfuls of powdery snow and laughing when Tracy came out onto the back porch. Rush was glad to see her. Having lived most of his life in Arizona, he had a lot to learn about playing in the snow.

Not to mention that she looked stunning in her scarlet wool coat and knit cap, with snowflakes swirling around her.