A Daddy for Christmas (Christmas in Eden Valley #1)

What did he want?

What did she want?

He could answer, in part, for himself. He wanted her to stay on the ranch where he believed she and the girls would be safe.

And where he could see her on a regular basis? He wouldn’t answer the question except to remind himself again that caring for someone carried the risk of being hurt. He stepped into the cookhouse. No one from the big house was there yet. And no, he wasn’t disappointed. They’d be along in time.

Cookie barreled down on him, enfolded him in her motherly arms and whacked his back hard enough to make most men stumble. But he’d learned to be ready for her greeting. “Where were you last week?” she asked. “We missed you.” She’d already seen him and greeted him at breakfast, but that didn’t stop her from repeating herself. She didn’t wait for him to answer as Seth and Jayne entered, and she turned her attention to them.

“Howdy, Blue.” Seth held out a hand, and the two shook.

A steady stream of people started to file in. Finally, Eddie and Linette entered with Grady and the girls behind them. Clara brought up the rear.

Blue hoped he managed to keep his smile narrow, revealing none of the gladness that tingled along his nerves.

Her gaze skimmed the group until she found him. She acknowledged his presence with a small smile, but the brightness of her eyes said she was as happy to see him as he was to see her. Was she remembering yesterday’s kiss? Wondering what it meant? Where they went from here?

He went to her side. “Good morning.”

She took in his outfit, and her eyes smiled approval. “Good morning.”

“Company.” Cookie bore down on them.

Blue grabbed Clara’s arms, prepared to hold her against Cookie’s onslaught.

“I’m Cookie. And you’re Clara Weston.” She hugged Clara and patted her back.

Then Cookie turned to the girls.

Eleanor shrank back, but Libby stepped forward and gave her name.

Cookie cupped Libby’s face between her palms. “What a sweet face.”

Libby glowed under the praise, then moved aside as Cookie waited for Eleanor to step forward.

“And what’s your name, sweet thing?”

“Eleanor. And how do you know I’m sweet?”

Clara looked about to scold her daughter for such a bold question, but Cookie’s laugh made talk impossible.

“Why, all I have to do is look at your face, see the gentleness in your eyes and I know.” She pulled both girls to her and hugged them. Surprisingly gently, Blue noted.

“So nice to have you all here.” She hurried away to bear-hug the latest cowboys to enter.

Blue took Clara and the girls around and introduced them to the crowd, wondering how many of them she’d remember. Then he led them to a space on one of the benches. The place was crowded, forcing them to sit in a tight spot. He pulled the girls to his knees and smiled down at Clara pressed to his side.

At her trusting smile, his heart filled with hope. He would not allow himself to say what he hoped for.

Bertie and Cookie went to the front, and Cookie led them in a hymn. Never before had the familiar tune and words meant more as Clara sang to his left with a clear bell-like voice, and Eleanor sang on his right knee. She knew every word.

Libby did her best to sing along, too.

For the first time in two years, Blue felt the meaning of the hymn in the depths of his heart. Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tend’rest care; in Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare.

Then Bertie stood before them. “I know you’re all cowboys or wives of cowboys.” His gaze rested on Clara. “And if you don’t fit either category, I expect you’ve seen enough of cowboys to understand what I’m about to say.” He swept his eyes over the entire gathering. “I know you all don’t often give sheep much thought. Maybe you even think of them as stupid creatures. But God often refers to His people as sheep.” He read the Twenty-Third Psalm. “‘He restoreth my soul.’ There was a time I was a poor lost sheep. Life seemed so empty and meaningless. But God found me. More than that, He restored my soul. He prepared a feast of good things. He promised me goodness and mercy all the days of my life.”