Jingle Bell Bride

“I think the color scheme works,” Meg added, her dark eyes twinkling.

“Do you like it, Dad?” Macie beamed, her pink cast artfully decorated with candy cane stickers, white snowflakes and gold stars, Christmas trees and cats and dogs. “And I got to pet Burt.”

“Who’s Burt?” he asked.

“Burt liked that, I’m sure.” Chelsea leaned in to check out the stickers. Her light chestnut hair tumbled across her face, shielding her as she admired Macie’s sticker choices. “Now that’s one fantastic cast.”

“I know,” she said in her high, sweet voice. “Burt is a cat, Dad. You know, what I’m asking for Christmas.”

“I’m well aware.” No secret there. He caught hold of his child’s shoulder, nudging her toward the car.

“I was going to ask for a white kitty, but now I want a gray striped one like Burt.” Macie crunched through the snow with her pink boots.

That was already on his Christmas to-do list. Find a kitten for Macie. Not that he knew where to find kittens. The pet store? Ads in the paper?

The Lab gave a cheerful bark and loped ahead, glancing over her shoulder to smile at them in her doggy way.

“And I want one that hugs me,” Macie reminded him for the fiftieth time.

“I know.” He yanked open the SUV’s passenger door. “I’m still planning on giving you a stocking full of coal. No presents at all.”

“Oh, Daddy.” Macie rolled her eyes, not believing him. He couldn’t imagine why.

He swung her up onto the seat. “Time to go, little one. You’re looking a little pale around the gills.”

“Fish have gills. Not me.”

“Sure you do.” He helped her buckle up, aware of the women standing nearby, especially one woman, although he couldn’t explain it. He didn’t have to turn around to picture her standing ankle deep in snow in her navy coat and with her wavy chestnut hair dancing in the wind.

“Thank you for the stickers,” Macie called over his shoulder.

“You let me know if you need more. We have plenty,” Sara Beth answered, although it wasn’t her that he noticed as he turned to close the door.

“The icicle lights look the best. You were right, Macie.” Chelsea gestured toward the house where two strings of lights flashed in the glancing sunlight. “Thanks for the help, Michael. It’s more than my own sisters would do.”

“Hey, I could have done it,” Sara Beth corrected good-naturedly.

“But I just didn’t want to,” Meg confessed with a smile.

“This is what I get for being the oldest. It’s a burden.” Chelsea rolled her eyes, feigning displeasure, but her smile gave her away.

Had he ever seen a day so bright? He couldn’t remember one. The light blue sky shone vivid against snowy clouds sailing by in speeding puffs. The gleam and glitter of sunshine on the miles of snow stole his breath. And Chelsea shone the brightest of all, making him notice.

Two vehicles rolled into sight, cresting the roll of Wyoming prairie.

“It’s Dad,” she announced and bit her bottom lip.

“Early.” Meg shook her head.

“And the lights aren’t finished.” Sara Beth sighed. “Oh, well. It was a good thought.”

“It was.” Chelsea waved to her father behind the steering wheel. The chains on his pickup chinked as he rumbled around Michael’s SUV in the driveway and pulled up in front of the garage. A familiar beige vehicle lumbered into view. “Hey, there’s my car.”

“Rescued by another sister?” Michael asked as he opened his door.

“Yes, no idea what I’d do without Johanna.” She waved to the youngest of the McKaslin sisters. Johanna waved back, her neon blue mittens flashing behind the glare of the windshield before she pulled into the garage.

“I hope the rest of the light hanging goes well.” He folded his six-foot-plus frame into the front seat, his door thudded shut and the engine purred to life. His window rolled down. “I’ll see you around, Chelsea McKaslin.”

Whether that was a threat or a promise, she couldn’t tell.

The SUV motored away as Macie waved with her good hand, and Dee barked and whined, perhaps disappointed she wasn’t the one going for a ride.

“He was totally good-looking,” Meg commented. “An eleven on a scale of ten.”

“Was he? You know me. I’m not looking.” Although she couldn’t explain why she watched Michael’s SUV rumble down the road and out of sight. It didn’t mean she was interested in him. No way. “I have a no-man plan, remember?”

“I thought it was a five-year plan.” Sara Beth just had to point that out, didn’t she?

“A five-year plan, a no-man plan. Same difference.” She forced her gaze away from the swell in the prairie that had swallowed Michael’s SUV from her sight and turned on her heel, concentrating on the one man she could count on. “Dad.”

Dee spotted him and barked, leaping to race to his side and pant up at him adoringly.

“Hey, girls.” Grant McKaslin patted the Lab on her head. “I see you’re putting up the house lights. Looks good.”

His words sounded strained. Emotion gleamed in his eyes.

“Love the lights!” Johanna bounded out of the garage as the door lowered behind her. “Time for lunch, but, Chelsea, I’ll pitch in after we eat. I can’t wait to see them all lit up.”

“Your mom would be pleased.” Dad said the words they were all thinking. He held out one arm to draw Johanna close, the other to pull in Meg. “Let’s get in and warm up. Chelsea, we found your car at the side of the road.”

“Thanks for bringing her in.”

“No problem. I hope you girls have soup on the stove. I’m frozen clean through.”

Dee raced ahead, tail wagging, leading the way to the front door. Chelsea glanced over her shoulder to catch a last look at the half-finished lights dangling from the roofline. If only Mom were here, she thought, full of longing, but that was not to be. With a sigh, she tapped up the porch steps behind her sisters. As Dad held the door open for them, a gust of wind chased her inside and stirred the icicle lights above as if with a loving hand.

* * *

Michael tucked the fleece throw gently around his sleeping daughter while the TV hummed with a kid’s movie in the background. Clouds had moved in to dim the sun shining through the living room window, hinting at more snow on the way.

Macie sighed in her sleep, snuggling against her pillow pet. Her brown hair tumbled over her forehead, framing her face. Such a sweet girl. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, backed away from the couch and padded across the carpet, careful not to wake her.

The house phone rang. He caught it on the third electronic jingle, lifting the cordless receiver out of its cradle. He recognized the name on the electronic display. “Hey, Steve.”

“Hey.” His colleague sounded chipper. “I’m about to head out with my wife, but I wanted to check on your girl. How’s her arm?”

“Doing as well as can be expected. She’s napping now.” He tucked the receiver against his shoulder and eyed the lunch dishes in the sink. “What are you doing checking up on patients? You just can’t take a weekend off, can you?”