The Rancher's Christmas Match

Jack and Isaac had come over to sit next to her, and Isaac was on the phone.

Finally, the seizure ended and Allie lay motionless, her body curling in a fetal position as tears streamed down her cheeks. The dog licked her face and remained still, but near her side. Rebecca waited a moment, then gathered Allie in her arms.

“I’m sorry, Mr. West, this meeting was a bad idea. I can’t do this.” She blinked away tears that threatened to fall.

“Now, let’s all stay calm.” He had a hand on her shoulder, the way a father or grandfather would. She shut her eyes, wondering what that would feel like to have a father who cared.

“I called Carson, and he’s on his way.” Isaac West spoke, his voice steady. He was obviously sober. Sober, steady, calm. How had she missed that?

He stood up and held a hand out to his father. Jack clasped it readily and rose to his feet.

“Can we take her inside now?” Isaac asked.

Rebecca nodded and tried to stand, while still holding her daughter close. Isaac reached for her child, his gray eyes warm with sympathy. Without thinking, she tightened her hold. Allie whimpered in protest.

“I’m only going to carry her inside for you,” Isaac offered.

Rebecca closed her eyes again, aware of the stillness all around her, the stillness of the child in her arms. Jack West’s strong hand again settled on her shoulder as she remained on the grass, cradling Allie close.

“Let Isaac help you. We’ll get you both inside and warmed up. My other son Carson is a doctor. He’ll be here in just a few minutes to examine her.”

She looked down at Allie. Slowly, she loosened her grip and Isaac took the child from her arms. Jack offered a surprisingly strong hand and pulled her to her feet.

The dog, Maximus, remained near Isaac, his intelligent eyes focused on Allie.

“He knew,” Rebecca said, reaching a hand to the animal and letting him lick her fingers.

“He knew,” Isaac said softly, a different version of the man she’d met in front of the store.

This version was a different kind of threat. His gaze rested on the little girl in his arms, concern shifting his features. Less than thirty minutes ago he had been having a hard time walking out of the local feed store. She tried to take her daughter from his arms.

“I can carry her,” she said, as she reached for Allie.

“You help Jack and I’ll manage,” he said, winking at her.

“But you were just...” She was unsure how she should put this without hurting his feelings.

“I’m fine. The balance issues come and go.”

She didn’t know what to say, but she really didn’t have time to think about it. Allie had begun to cry as the effects of the seizure abated and she came back to herself a bit more.

“Trust me,” he said.

Trust wasn’t easy for Rebecca. Especially where Allie was concerned.

Life had proved to her that there were few people she could trust. There were few individuals she counted on. People had a tendency to let Rebecca and her daughter down.

That was her reality.

She’d come to Hope to create a new reality. She wanted Allie to have family in her life, people she could count on and a community she could grow up in. Since she had to start somewhere, she thought she might as well start by trusting this man.

Chapter Two (#ub578e4dd-336f-5012-825d-c75366f888e2)

Isaac knew that life was all about choices. He’d made the choice to join the army, partly to serve his country and partly because he knew it would make Jack West, his father, madder than anything. He’d made a choice that morning to tease the pretty blonde who had assumed he’d been drinking.

The decision to join the military had changed his life. Forever. It had matured him, scarred him and left him with nightmares he wouldn’t wish on anyone. Accepting the ride from Rebecca Barnes was not going to be one of those life-altering choices. It had only been a ride home, nothing more. As he entered the house carrying the little girl, Allie, he knew better than to fool himself into thinking Rebecca was a woman who wouldn’t change a man’s life. She had a past. It was written all over her face. It was the lack of trust in her eyes. It was the hesitant reply when Jack told her she could trust his son.

It was the little girl in his arms, no bigger than a minute and wearing a dazed look in eyes that matched her mother’s.

She whimpered a bit and Rebecca immediately moved closer, bottom lip between her teeth as she studied her daughter.

“You’re okay,” she said. The words seemed to be as much for herself as for her child.

“I’m going to put her on the couch, and if you want, you can grab the quilt off the rocking chair to cover her.” He smiled down at Allie. “You’re okay. I know it always takes me a minute to get my bearings back when I have a spell.”

Mischief lit the little girl’s eyes. “Like when you got carsick.”

He settled her on the leather sofa. “Grown men do not get carsick.”

“You did,” she said with a teasing tone. “But I won’t tell.”

“How much is it going to cost me?” he said, sitting on the coffee table not too far away from their young patient.

“Hmm,” she said, closing her eyes. “I’ll have to think about that.”

Rebecca appeared at his side, quilt in hand. She smoothed it over her child and then leaned down to kiss Allie’s forehead. “You’re okay?”

“Mom...” the child pleaded. For normalcy, Isaac realized. She didn’t want her health questioned. She wanted to run and play and didn’t want people to watch, waiting for her to have another seizure.

The back door slammed and voices drifted to the living room. Carson had arrived. And with him, Kylie. She’d been a friend to Carson when the two were teens. She’d also been a wounded warrior living on the ranch when Carson returned a little over a year ago.

“That would be my brother, our resident doctor. He’ll take good care of you.” Isaac pushed himself to his feet and gave Rebecca more room to sit with her daughter.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” Allie asked.

Huddled beneath the quilt, the little girl seemed smaller. But her eyes were bright and Isaac knew she’d be just fine. He also knew she needed Carson, not him. He needed to escape, because the last thing he wanted was for her to think he was the guy she should count on.

“I’m afraid I have to go,” he told her. “I’m going to talk my sister-in-law into making me a cup of tea.”

At that moment Kylie entered the room with her husband, Isaac’s half brother. Her gaze darted from the child and her mother to Isaac. Carson took over and Isaac slipped from the room, aware of the mother in a way that he wished he wasn’t. He was conscious of her fear for her daughter, and also that she smelled like something soft and floral. He’d been cognizant of her dislike for him and he’d known when that feeling had shifted just the smallest amount.

And all of that meant he needed to mind his own business and let the others tend to Rebecca and her daughter.

Kylie followed him to the kitchen, a large room that was the center of activity for the ranch house Jack had built ten years ago. The house stood as a testament to Jack’s recovery. He’d conquered his past, overcome alcoholism and turned his life around in a way few people had expected.

Then he’d started Mercy Ranch, a place where wounded warriors could find a safe place to heal and start over. The mission and ministry had started when Jack picked Isaac up at a VA hospital. He’d looked around, seen people a lot like himself and realized he could do something for those having a hard time starting over.

The kitchen was blessedly dark, with just the dim lights over the sink for lighting. The headache appeared to be back in full force and the last thing Isaac wanted was to stand around in the sunny living room with a dozen people all talking at once.