Santa's Sweetheart (The Christmas Tree Ranch #4)(60)
“And the Christmas ball? Will you be fit to play Santa?”
“I’ll do my best—for the kids.”
“Have you tried on the suit?”
“I haven’t even opened the box.” Sam shifted his position. His injured shoulder was beginning to ache. “As long as you’re here, Rulon, there’s something I’ve been meaning to mention. That street on the north edge of town—I was up that way a couple of weeks ago. The road has so many potholes that I could barely drive on it. The gutters are clogged, and the empty lots are so full of weeds that fire is a real danger. In a dry winter like this one, some fool tossing a cigarette could burn the whole neighborhood to the ground. And somebody mentioned to me last month that when we do get a storm, the street is never plowed. I’m hoping you’ll send a crew up there to make some improvements.”
The mayor shook his head. “I’m aware of the problems, Sam. But Branding Iron isn’t a wealthy town. We don’t have money to fix up a neighborhood whose residents won’t lift a finger to fix it up themselves. Maybe if they generated more tax revenue, things would be different. But for now, we don’t have funding to help folks who are nothing but a drag on society.”
“I see.” And Sam did. Rulon Wilkins could spend city money to refurbish his office and take his wife to New York, but he wouldn’t pay to help the poor people in his town. Something needed to be done. But what?
One more thing to think about.
“Well, it’s time I got back to running my town,” Rulon said. “You let me know if you need anything, hear? Oh, and I guess I’ll see you at the Wednesday meeting. Maybe you can model the Santa suit for us.”
“I won’t be there. Doctor’s orders. But Buck will be taking care of security at the ball, so my only job will be to play Santa.”
“But Alice specifically told me she wanted to see that suit on you.”
“Don’t worry, Rulon, I’ve got this covered. I’ll see you Saturday night.” Sam edged the mayor out the door and closed it behind him. Then he wandered into the kitchen, swallowed a couple tablets of ibuprofen for the pain in his shoulder, and cut a square of lasagna to put in the microwave.
What would Grace be doing for the holidays? Sam wondered. She didn’t have any family here, and she’d mentioned to him that she was estranged from her father and rarely communicated with her brother. Would she be spending Christmas alone?
He imagined how much fun it would have been, sharing Christmastime with Maggie and Grace—shopping, cooking, wrapping gifts, snuggling in front of the fire. But now that wasn’t going to happen. All he could do was try to make this the happy Christmas his little girl deserved.
*
For the last hour of the school day, Grace had passed out colored paper and had her students make Christmas cards for their families. She was looking forward to going home and booking vacation plans when the secretary’s voice came over the intercom.
“Miss Chapman, you have an urgent phone call in the office. Someone will be coming to supervise your class while you take it.”
Urgent? What was that supposed to mean? Grace hurried down the hall to the office. The volunteer who’d be watching her class passed her on the way. Grace could feel her heart racing. Urgent calls were never good news. But she couldn’t imagine who’d be calling her at school. Had something happened to Sam? Was she needed to take care of Maggie again?
Mrs. Spicer, the secretary, was waiting for her. “You can take the call in the conference room,” she said. “It’s quiet and private in there.”
“Did the caller give you a name?”
The secretary shook her head. “He only said he was your brother. I’ll transfer the call.”
What could Cooper want? They hadn’t spoken since August, when she’d called to tell him about her new job and her planned move to Branding Iron. She’d given him the number of the school because, at the time, it was all she’d had.
Grace walked into the conference room, sat down at the table, and punched the blinking button on the phone. “Cooper? What is it? Is everything all right?”
“No. That’s why I’m calling you. It’s Dad. He’s in the hospital in Salt Lake City. I flew here from Seattle to be with him.”
“What happened? An accident?” Grace pictured her handsome, vigorous father on the day he’d walked out of the house, leaving her and her mother weeping in the front hallway. “Is he all right?”
“His heart is failing, and he’s too weak to survive a transplant. He’s dying, Grace. The doctors told me he has just days left, if that.” Cooper cleared his throat, his voice hoarse with emotion. “He wants to see you.”
“No.” The response sprang from years of bitterness. “I lost my father when he walked out of the house and drove off to be with that woman. The man in that hospital bed is a stranger. I don’t even know him.”
“And you never will if you don’t get on a plane and come. He knows how much he hurt you and Mom. He never got a chance to tell her he was sorry, and he’s never forgiven himself. Give him some peace before he dies. You won’t get another chance in this life.”
“And what about his wife? Is she there with you?”
“She’s long gone. I’ll tell you the whole story when I see you.”