Santa's Sweetheart (The Christmas Tree Ranch #4)(61)

“I didn’t say I was coming, Cooper. Dad ruined my childhood, and he ruined my relationships with men.” Grace had never told her brother about the day she came home and heard her father in the bedroom with his girlfriend. Maybe she should tell him. But what good would it serve now? It would only open old wounds.

“Grace, if you don’t come, you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering whether you could’ve made a difference. I’ve got a cell phone now. I’ll give you the number. Call me when you’ve booked your flight, and I’ll meet you at the airport. Got a pen and paper?”

Grace grabbed a pen and notepad off the nearby credenza and copied the number as he gave it to her. In turn, she gave him the number of the landline at the house. “I’ll see you, hopefully sometime tomorrow,” he said, and ended the call.

Grace sat still for a long moment, staring down at the phone and the paper with her brother’s number on it. How could she go and be there to comfort a man she hadn’t seen since she was Maggie’s age, a man whose betrayal she’d blamed for all her doubts and insecurities?

Then again, he was her father. How could she not go?

After a word with the secretary, Grace hurried back to her classroom. The bell hadn’t rung. With luck, she’d have a moment to tell her students why she wouldn’t be here for the school program tomorrow.

She stepped into the room, excused the volunteer, and gave the students a quick explanation. “I just got word that my father is in the hospital. I need to go to him, so I won’t be around to hear you sing tomorrow. Do your best, have a wonderful Christmas, and I’ll see you when school starts again in the new year.”

There wasn’t time for more. The bell rang, and Grace excused the class. As her students filed out of the room, Maggie met her eyes and gave her a sad little smile. At least Sam’s daughter would know what had happened, and she would tell her father.

Not that it mattered. Sam was finished with her. He had no reason to care.

*

When Maggie came out of the building, Sam was waiting in the truck. He climbed out to help her into the backseat. “Careful,” she said as he lifted her. “You don’t want to hurt your shoulder.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m using my good arm. But I think you must be getting heavier.”

“I’m growing, Daddy. Soon I’ll be big enough to climb up by myself.”

“And someday, when you grow up, you won’t need me at all. I’m not looking forward to that.”

“But that won’t be for a long time.”

“I hope not.” He closed the door and went around the truck to get in. She needed to tell him about Miss Chapman’s father, Maggie reminded herself. But that could wait. He seemed to be in a happy mood. Why risk spoiling it?

“How would you like to go to the hardware store with me?” he asked. “After that we can stop by Buckaroo’s for an early dinner. Okay?”

“You bet.” Maggie liked going to the hardware and feed. It was fun, wandering the aisles, looking at the different tools and trying to guess what they were used for. And the smell of the place was a wonderful mix of machine oil, leather, tobacco, burlap, fertilizer, sawdust, and other aromas she had yet to name. Once she had licked a salt block to see if it tasted like table salt. It did.

“What do you need from the store?” she asked.

“I don’t need to buy anything, but I want to see how Hank is doing. I talked Walt into giving him a job.”

“If he stops drinking?”

“That’s right. Hank deserves a break, but he has to keep up his end of the bargain.”

They parked in front of the hardware store, and Maggie followed her dad inside. Only then did she remember that this was where Sam had been shot. She tried to imagine the spot where his blood had stained the floor, but she knew better than to ask him where it was. The kids at school were saying he was a hero. But Maggie had learned that Sam didn’t like talking about the robbery.

The store wasn’t busy this time of day. Walt Cullimore, the owner, was rearranging a shelf when Sam and Maggie walked in. Hank was nowhere in sight. Maggie’s heart sank. What if Hank had already been fired?

Walt gave them an easygoing smile. “Howdy, Sam, Maggie. If you’re looking for Hank, he’s out back, helping some folks with a lumber order.”

“Don’t bother him,” Sam said. “I just wanted to ask you how he’s working out.”

Walt nodded. “He’s doing fine. Gets along great with the customers and knows the products almost as well as I do. And he’s already come up with some ideas for getting more business. Next year we’re going to clear out that weed patch on the south side of the store and put up a Christmas tree lot, so people can get their trees right here in town. That was Hank’s idea.”

“That would be great,” Sam said. “What about the drinking?”

“No sign of it so far. I’m crossing my fingers that he’ll stay off the bottle and keep going to those meetings. Otherwise, he’ll get fired, and I’d hate to lose him.”

“If you see any sign that he’s getting discouraged or slipping up, give me a call,” Sam said. “We both want to help the man, but he has to help himself, too.”

“I’ll do that.” Walt excused himself to welcome a new customer who’d just come in. While they were talking, Sam and Maggie went outside to the truck.