Santa's Sweetheart (The Christmas Tree Ranch #4)(66)
“Thanks again for coming.” Cooper used his arm to sweep the snow off the SUV. “I know it was tough in there. But I hope you’re glad you made the trip.”
“You were right—I needed to come.” Grace scooped a handful of snow. It was so fluffy it almost floated away. “Thank you for talking me into it. It’s good to know Dad’s at peace. And now, if you don’t mind, all I want to do is go back to the hotel and sleep.”
“Same here.” Cooper opened her door and gave her a hand up. “Let’s touch base around four o’clock. We can make plans over dinner. When’s your flight home?”
“It leaves on Saturday at eight-fifteen with a stop in Denver.”
“I’ll be staying a couple of extra days but I can drive you to the airport. Good luck with Denver. The weather can be dicey. Lots of delays when it’s bad.”
“I’ll cross my fingers.” When she’d booked the flight, Grace had known that she might miss the Cowboy Christmas Ball. But the children’s activities were covered. And given her strained relationship with Sam, she welcomed any excuse to stay away.
*
Friday evening, after the cremation, Grace and Cooper shared a last dinner in the hotel dining room. The past three days had been emotionally draining, but the two of them had developed a closeness that Grace had missed all her life. That alone would have made her trip worthwhile.
Tonight he appeared troubled. When she mentioned it, he sighed. “When I got back to my room this afternoon, I had a message that Carol had called.”
“That doesn’t sound like good news.” Carol and Cooper had been divorced for nine years. They both lived in the Seattle area and shared custody of their teenage son, Trevor.
“It wasn’t good news. Trevor got arrested for vandalizing his school with spray paint. He’ll be getting probation and a fine, but Carol says he’s out of control. She wants me to take him full-time for a while.”
“I’m sorry,” Grace said. “I hope you can turn things around.”
“So do I. It doesn’t help that his mother’s getting remarried to a man he doesn’t like. I think Carol wants Trevor out of the way so she can get her marriage off to a good start. He’s a good kid, but he can be a handful, and he’s got a lot of anger in him.”
“But you’re taking him, of course.”
“Of course. He’s my son. And I want to do a better job with him than my dad did with me.” Cooper tasted his broiled salmon and added a squeeze of lemon juice. “I’m thinking it might help to get him out of Seattle. I can do my work anywhere. Maybe a move to some small town where he can be outdoors, make some new friends, and learn some new skills, like horseback riding.”
“A small town? Like Branding Iron, Texas?” Grace asked.
He shrugged. “I’ll give it some thought. I’d have to sell the condo. And Trevor might hate the whole idea.” He paused, then changed the subject.
“But we haven’t talked much about you. For what it’s worth, I was sore about your cancelled wedding. But looking back, you did the right thing. The guy was a jerk. You should’ve dumped him sooner.”
“Thanks. I know. If I’d gone through with that wedding, I’d probably be seeing a lawyer by now. Commitment phobia to the rescue.” Grace sipped the iced tea she’d ordered with her meal.
“Maybe you’ve just never met the right man,” Cooper said. “Not that I’m an expert, but if you fall in love, and he’s the one, maybe you won’t get cold feet.”
“You’re wrong about that, Cooper. I did meet the right man in Branding Iron. I did fall in love. And when he wanted more from me, I froze. I drove him away.”
Tears welled in Grace’s eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. “Being here, seeing Dad again, I realized how much blame I’d put on him, when I should have taken responsibility for my own feelings. When I forgave him, it was as if I was forgiving myself, too.”
“Then maybe you can try again with this man. Maybe the second time will be the charm. I want to see you happy, little sis.” He hadn’t called her that in years.
Grace shook her head. “It’s too late. When I walked away from him, I burned all my bridges. He’d have to be crazy to give me another chance.”
Cooper raised a dark eyebrow. “Don’t be so sure. You never know about love.”
*
Later, in her room, Grace packed her carry-on bag for tomorrow’s flight back to Texas. The forecast on TV had assured her that the weather would be clear over Salt Lake City, but the storms had moved east, causing flight delays in Denver. That was a worry, but all she could do was get on the plane and hope for the best.
There wasn’t much to pack. Just a pair of jeans, a pair of nice slacks, a couple of extra sweaters, some pumps she hadn’t worn because of the snow, some underclothes, a nightgown which she’d add in the morning, and the dress she’d worn to honor her father at the cremation.
Though she’d been estranged from her father most of her life, she felt his absence even more keenly now that he was gone—the talks they could’ve had, the visits they could’ve shared. But maybe he would only have lied to her, as he’d lied to Cooper. Maybe it was right that they’d only been together on his last night in the hospital.