The Rancher's Christmas Bride

“Don’t talk like that,” Dan said, inhaling deeply. “You’ll scare the kids.”

Doc shot them a look, his eyes narrowed. “They’re young but they can handle reality. Where did you get this pretty young lady?”

“I reckon that’s my granddaughter. She showed up on my doorstep like a stray puppy and now I can’t get rid of her.”

Once they were inside, Doc got Dan to sit down.

“Did you feed her?” Doc asked, giving her a swift smile as he examined her grandfather. “If you feed them, they won’t go back where they came from.”

“I reckon I fed her a sandwich last night and she had a cup of coffee this morning. To repay me, she nearly killed my best rooster.”

Doc laughed. “That rooster had it coming, Dan. He tried to flog me when I was out there checking on you last week.”

The physician put a stethoscope to her grandfather’s chest, telling him to breathe, then moved it to the next spot. Dan obeyed, but he shivered from time to time, and Marissa could hear the wheezing even without the stethoscope. A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Alex moved to stand behind her. Briefly his hand touched her shoulder.

The comfort took her by surprise. Brief as it was, it untangled the emotions of the past twenty-four hours and brought an unexpected tightness to her throat.

Doc sat back and gave her grandfather a long look. “Now listen to me, you old coot, I’m sending you to the hospital. I called the ambulance before you got here because I figured that cold you’ve had finally knocked you down.”

“I don’t need the hospital.” Dan paused to take a breath. “And I’ve got animals to take care of.”

“You’ve got neighbors who will help.” Doc Parker looked at Marissa, his gray eyes kind. “Can you talk some sense into him?”

How did she talk sense into someone she’d just met? She looked at the gruff man who was her grandfather and she wished she’d had twenty-six years of knowing him. He was salty and rough but already she loved him.

“Granddad...” she began. He looked up, his eyes narrowing. She couldn’t back down. Not when it was something this serious. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay and take care of the animals. You go to the hospital and get better.”

“He’s trying to send me off to a nursing home,” her grandfather said quietly. “I’m not doing that.”

“No, he’s sending you to the hospital. And then you’re going back to your own place to tend to that worthless rooster.” Marissa put a hand on his arm. It seemed a natural gesture, but she was surprised by how easy it was to reach out to him.

“I’ll help her keep an eye on things.” Alex inserted himself into the conversation.

“Keep an eye on her, too. She doesn’t know a thing about cows.” Her grandfather paused again to breathe. The color was slowly seeping back into his cheeks. “Don’t you kill that rooster while I’m in the hospital.” And then he raised his gaze to Alex. “And no fox better get in the henhouse, either.” He took another long breath of the oxygen.

Doc rolled his eyes. “Dan, I’m sending you in for some IV antibiotics and a few tests. That’s all. You’ll be home in a few days at the latest.”

“You’re sure?” Dan asked.

“Pretty close to sure. And the ambulance is pulling in. Alex and your granddaughter can follow unless they want to ride with me.” Doc Parker helped her grandfather to his feet, then he gave Marissa his attention. “Do you need to call your family?”

It was a normal question, but this wasn’t a normal situation. Before she could answer, her grandfather waved his hand and stopped her.

“No, she won’t be calling family. She’s my family. My only family.”

Doc raised a questioning brow. “Is that so?”

Again, Dan answered. “It is if I say so.”

“Dan, you have to let her answer.” Doc glanced at her as he continued to examine his patient.

“Yes, I’m his family. But Granddad, I will tell my mother what is going on.”

“Bah,” he said, waving her away. As if she would go.

Suddenly, the paramedics entered. Alex stood with her as they readied her grandfather. Memories crashed in, and she closed her eyes against the pain that the images brought. It had been so long, but seeing her grandfather on that gurney, it seemed more like yesterday.

In an instant she was ten again. Her mom was screaming. There were police cars. And she was alone, standing on the sidewalk, unable to scream, unable to cry. That day had changed her life. Since then, she had felt alone.

The paramedics were moving. Her grandfather was cursing them. She tried to shake off the pain of the past. A hand briefly touched hers, giving a slight squeeze.

She wasn’t alone.

“Are you all right?” Alex asked in a husky whisper.

She nodded, her attention glued to the scene taking place in front of her. She was okay. But she wasn’t. She was about to fall apart.

“Sit down,” he ordered. He led her to a chair.

She sat, then lifted her gaze to meet his. He squatted in front of her, putting him at eye level.

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

“I don’t believe you. I know what it looks like when a woman is about to come unglued. But trust me, he’s going to be okay. He’s too ornery for anything else.”

“I know. It isn’t...” She swallowed and met his gaze again. “I’m fine. It was just a memory. But I’m okay.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She managed a shaky laugh because he didn’t look like a man who really wanted to talk. “No, not really. I should go. Maybe I can ride with the doctor.”

He put a hand out and helped her to her feet. “I’m driving you.”

“I’m sure you have other things to do. You aren’t responsible for me.”

“I know I’m not, but I found you. Finders keepers and all of that childish stuff. And besides, you don’t want to ride with Doc Parker.” He leaned close as he said it. “He’s had so many speeding tickets, they’re about to take his license.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at his warning. No matter how she felt at this moment, she wasn’t alone.

* * *

Alex walked with Marissa to his truck. A breeze kicked up, blowing dust across the parking lot. In the distance the ambulance turned on its siren, and he could see the flash of blue lights on the horizon. The woman standing next to him shivered violently as if a cold arctic wind had just blown through her. He reached into his truck, grabbed his jacket off the seat and placed it around her shoulders.

He didn’t think it was the breeze that had chilled her. He’d watched her in Doc’s office. He’d seen the moment that past met present—her eyes had darkened and the color had drained from her cheeks. He recognized a person getting hit head-on by a painful memory. It had happened to him more than once.

There were days he could still hear his teenage self tell his father he wouldn’t last five seconds on the bull he was straddling. His father had laughed and said, From your lips to God’s ears.

Thirty seconds later his father was gone. His last words, a whispered, You were right.