A Daughter for Christmas Read online

  He watched as Garrett reached for his pocket and looked at his phone, saw the look on his brother’s face go from relaxed to alert. Tanner straightened.

  Garrett started toward the back of the church, calling Devin to follow him. Tanner stepped into the aisle in front of them. “What’s going on?”

  “The barn’s on fire.”

  “What barn?”

  Garrett motioned to Abby. “Time to go.”

  “What’s going on?” She had Charlotte in an infant car seat, hooked over her arm.

  “Fire call. Barn’s on fire.” Garrett pulled his keys out of his pocket. “I’ve got to go.”

  Tanner grabbed his arm. “Garrett. What barn?”

  “Our barn. The new barn. The operator said the tenant called it in.”

  “Eve?” Tanner’s stomach flipped as he followed his brother out the door. “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know anything yet. Can someone get Abby and Charlotte home?”

  “I will.” With Phoebe on her hip, Lacey stepped out the door of the church. “I’ve got an extra car seat base in the back of my van. I’ll come back to the house after I drop them off.”

  Devin clicked open the van door and buckled Eli into his seat before taking the infant carrier from Abby and locking it into place in the rear seat. He rounded the van and kissed his wife on the head. “Be careful. I’ll see you soon.”

  Tanner slid into the front seat of the truck. “Devin, come on.”

  It had probably been less than three minutes since Garrett got the message about the barn being on fire, but it may as well have been an hour. Tanner had to get home, had to find Eve and make sure she and Alice were okay. That barn was awfully close to the cottage.

  And the barn. All that work. All that time and money. He couldn’t think about it. Not now. He had to focus on one thing at a time.

  “What happened?” Devin shot a hand through his hair. “We were about ready for the final inspection. This sets us back a year, at least.”

  “Let’s wait and see how much damage there is. There’s on fire and then there’s on fire. Maybe it’s just a little smoke damage.”

  They turned into the driveway at Triple Creek Ranch just as the firetrucks arrived. Tanner pulled over to let them pass. Garrett would be able to direct them where they needed to go, but they’d need little direction. In the near distance, flames were already licking the sky.

  Tanner threw the truck into Park and ran toward the cottage. He had to find Eve and Alice.

  Her voice stopped him. “Tanner.”

  He spun around, toward the farmhouse. Eve was sitting on the top step, a blanket wrapped around Alice, who was in her lap, asleep. Sadie lay on the next step down, her head on Eve’s foot.

  Thank You, Jesus.

  Her face was streaked with tears. He sat down beside her, put his arm around the two of them and breathed for what felt like the first time in ten long minutes. “You’re okay. What happened?”

  “I smelled smoke just after I put Alice to bed. I walked outside and saw sparks, like a bonfire. I called the fire department, but Tanner, I think it’s too late. Everything was in there. Everything for the party. All of my shirts. Your cotton. That beautiful barn.”

  The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach was back. The loss of the barn was a huge blow to all he and his brothers had been trying to accomplish. “There wasn’t anything you could’ve done to stop it by the time there were sparks. If you hadn’t seen it and called it in, the cottage could’ve burned up, too.”

  He couldn’t think about her and Alice being caught in the fire. Instead, he brushed the hair away from her face before he stood, stopping to unlock the door to the farmhouse. “I have to go see if I can help. Upstairs, the room on the right has two single beds. It used to be Devin and Garrett’s. You two stay there tonight. Get some rest. We’ll be able to tell more in the daylight.”

  She stood, too, shifting Alice so that her head lay on Eve’s shoulder. She didn’t even try to argue, just stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. “Please be careful, Tanner.”

  Halfway down the steps, he turned back. “I will. I promise.”

  * * *

  Eve was awake before the sun came up. She’d heard the sound of the trucks as they left in the middle of the night, the murmur of voices downstairs and Tanner’s weary, restless footsteps on the stairs as he came up to go to bed.

  Alice had blessedly slept through most of the uproar, waking only briefly as Eve tucked her into bed. She’d been excited to spend the night in the small dormered bedroom that still showed signs of being inhabited by little boys.

  Sadie waited by the door for Eve to let her out. She opened the door and peeked out. Tanner’s bedroom door was open, the spread hastily pulled up. He’d barely slept.

  She hadn’t slept much, either. The terrifying second when she’d realized the barn was on fire kept playing and replaying in her mind.

  Lacey looked up from her phone when Eve came in. “Morning.”

  “Morning. You’ve been up for a while.” Biscuits sat on the sideboard beside a plate of ham and a jelly jar of what looked like apricot jam. The twins were in their high chairs, each with a few handfuls of cereal and some pieces of banana.

  “The twins have a motto—babies don’t sleep, nobody sleeps.” Lacey sent her a wan smile. “Devin usually makes the biscuits, but he was so tired this morning.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Not bad. I think maybe the worst is over. I’ll go have some blood drawn later this week and hopefully get the all clear to get back to work. Christmas is a big season. Everyone likes fresh greenery and home-baked goodies.”

  “Your cookies are awesome. Tanner brought me some the first night I moved here.”

  Lacey brightened. “Yeah? They’re a big seller at the farm stand. I need to get back to work. We’re going to need all the income we can get.”

  Eve looked down. She’d done some thinking about that, too, in the middle of the night. She had renter’s insurance, but she wasn’t sure it would cover the new stock she’d lost in the barn.

  Eli threw his sippy cup on the floor, and Eve stooped to pick it up. “Have you been out there yet?”

  “No. The guys will be back in soon for breakfast. Garrett told them they can’t go poking around until the firefighters clear it this morning.”

  As Lacey spoke, the back door opened and Tanner came in, half a dozen egg cartons in his hands. He paused briefly as he saw Eve standing near the table and then continued into the room. “Morning. Alice still asleep?”

  “Yes. She should be awake soon, though, and we’ll get back to the cottage.” She paused, not wanting to know, but wanting to, at the same time. “What’s it like out there?”

  “Total loss. There are some bits and pieces standing but overall, it’s a burned-out shell.” His eyes were rimmed with red, his hands dark with soot as he stuck dated stickers onto the egg cartons and placed them one by one into a large rectangular basket that she assumed would go out to the farm stand shortly. “Garrett’s here with some kind of inspector. They asked us to clear out.”

  Devin came in from the front room, shaking his head. “What a mess.”

  “Mama?” a little voice called down the stairs.

  “In here, Alice.” Eve ducked past Tanner and Devin and met Alice at the bottom of the stairs, lifting her up for a hug. “Did you remember where you were when you woke up?”

  Alice nodded as Eve carried her into the kitchen.

  “Hungry?” Tanner smiled at Alice from the sink where he was washing his hands.

  Alice nodded again, her face half-hidden in Eve’s shoulder.

  “Devin, if you’ll grab the biscuits, we can eat breakfast.” Lacey grabbed a stack of paper plates and handed them out. “We’re going fancy today, people.”

  Abby cam
e in wearing dress pants and a crisp white blouse, carrying Charlotte, who was asleep in the infant seat. “Hey, guys.”

  When the front door slammed again, Garrett came in. He grabbed a biscuit and pulled a chair in from the dining room so he could sit near the rest of them, tossing his jacket on the back of it. “Warming up out there. So. There’s no evidence to support that any foul play was involved.”

  Tanner looked up from his plate, eyes intense, words terse. “Was that a suspicion?”

  “No, but we have to rule it out in a structure fire. Looks electrical to me, but we’ll see what the inspector says.” His response was calmly measured as he poured a mug of coffee. “You have almond milk?”

  “No, Garrett. We’re farmers. We have cow milk like normal people,” Devin snapped.

  “Almond milk is normal for almond farmers, Devin.”

  Tanner closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly opened them again. “You two are worse than the actual children in the room. Alice, do you think you could teach these boys some manners?”

  Still in Eve’s lap, Alice flashed Tanner a wide smile, which in turn brought a deepening of the dimple in Tanner’s cheek.

  Eve slowly let out the breath it seemed she’d been holding since she first saw the sparks escaping into the sky. Okay, so this was bad. It wasn’t the end of the world. They were all right here, sitting around the table.

  This could’ve been way, way worse.

  Abby jumped up at the sound of the doorbell. “That’ll be the nanny. I’ll let her in, but I’ve got to get to work. Y’all want me to get the kids set up in the sunroom? Alice, you can come and play if you want to.”

  Alice glanced back at Eve, who nodded. “You can go play. I’ll come and get you before I head back to our house.”

  As Alice left with Abby, Eve said to Garrett, “I’m assuming the cabin is okay?”

  He nodded. “It’s fine, no damage other than it smells like smoke. Everything smells like ash outside, though. It’s hard to tell what’s what.”

  Tanner leaned back. “So what now?”

  “We get the report from the fire inspector and we get insurance to cut us a check. Then we rebuild,” Devin said as he came back into the room. “Unless we can shore up our existing barn, I’m probably going to have to rent some barn space somewhere. I have new clients bringing their horses for training starting next month.”

  “I’ve got a call in to the insurance agent. I’m not sure the cotton will be covered, but maybe.” Garrett took a huge bite of his biscuit. “We should know more by tonight.”

  Abby stuck her head back in the kitchen. “Insurance guy’s here.”

  “What about the decorations for the party? Weren’t those being stored in the barn? And, I mean, what about the party? We have two hundred people coming in less than a week. How are we going to pull this off now?” The party had not been first in anyone’s mind for obvious reasons, but at Lacey’s words, everyone fell silent.

  “Eve? Any thoughts?” Tanner asked the question, but everyone’s eyes were on her.

  “All the decorations I made for the party and everything Lacey had already ordered was being stored in the barn.” Eve’s eyes filled. “I had seven boxes of T-shirts in the barn, too. I can’t replace them, so I can’t fill orders, and without that income, I don’t see any way I can stay here.”

  “What?” Lacey gasped. “No—you have to stay.”

  Eve shrugged. “I have to call in to my insurance agent, too, but because the boxes were in the barn, I don’t think the shirts can be covered under my rental insurance, and if your insurance doesn’t cover the contents of the barn, I’m out of luck.”

  Tanner stood and dumped his plate in the trash can. “Nobody panic yet. We’re only twelve hours into this mess. Things can and will change.” His hand dropped on Eve’s shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”

  * * *

  Picking up his hat from the hook near the door, Tanner settled it in place as he walked out onto the front porch. The stench of soot and ash permeated the air, overwhelming the more familiar scents of earth and animals. It was hard to stay positive, but once again, everyone’s eyes were on him. Watching to see how he reacted.

  He leaned his shoulder on the post at the top of the porch steps, shoving his hands in his pockets as he squinted out at their ranch. Truthfully, he was devastated.

  They’d worked too hard and risked too much to get to this point, finally able to make a profit in the coming year. He pulled his hat farther down over his eyes as his brother Devin came out the front door, the distinctive sound of his cane hitting the ground alerting Tanner to his presence.

  “Stop brooding. It’s gonna be all right. We’ve weathered worse.” Devin leaned on the opposite column at the top of the stairs, watching as Garrett disappeared around the corner with the insurance agent.

  “Yeah?” Tanner tipped his head to the side. “Maybe. There are a lot of unknowns right now.”

  Eve came out the front door, her bag over her shoulder, Alice behind her, her backpack clutched in her arms. “We’re heading back to the cottage.”

  He nodded. “Sounds good. Thank you, Eve. If you hadn’t called the fire department, things might’ve been even worse.”

  “I wish I’d noticed it earlier. I’m so sorry.”

  “No. There’s nothing you could’ve done that would’ve prevented this.” Tanner squinted, just making out a small wisp of smoke trailing upward toward winter-gray clouds.

  “Dev, you ready? We need to hear what the insurance agent has to say.” He sighed and pushed his weary self off the column to his feet. Garrett didn’t like interference, but like it or not, the three of them were in this together. They needed to hear the verdict together.

  Eve’s shoulders sagged. She looked as weary as he felt, sliding her hand down the rail as she took the steps down. Alice ran ahead, her pink nightgown trailing behind her.

  For longer than he wanted to think about, Tanner had felt like the lone caretaker of the ranch, of the family. And he hadn’t felt like he’d done a good job at either.

  They’d come so far, worked so hard to create a vision for the future of Triple Creek Ranch that they all could buy in to. He was sad and he was angry. But most of all, he was determined.

  There was no other option. They would rebuild.

  Devin looked up at him from the bottom of the stairs. “You coming?”

  “Yeah. Right behind you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Despite the fact that Tanner had told her the cottage was intact, relief hit Eve smack in the chest when she rounded the corner from the lane and saw her little house sitting there, all in one piece.

  The lights still sparkling on the garland that she’d looped along the porch rail drew her in, welcoming her home. She loved every inch of this ranch: the tiny cozy house, the sounds the animals made, the smell of the dirt and the plants. She was grateful for every day spent in this little piece of farm paradise.

  Alice had run ahead of Eve, into the house and straight back to her room. Eve moved a little slower, taking it in. Despite the odor of smoke lingering in the air, everything seemed the same. Her eyes fell onto the little workstation she’d created out of the dining room table.

  That was different. She’d known it was going to be hard to make ends meet when she moved here, but she’d held out hope every day that she was getting closer to her goal. She sat down in the hard wooden chair. It was time to be realistic. If she couldn’t figure out how to turn things around, she’d have to move in with her in-laws. She took a deep breath, rubbing her forehead. She was so tired of fighting.

  Brent’s parents loved her and they adored Alice, but her gut told her that moving in with them and living in the shadow of her dead husband couldn’t possibly be good for her or for Alice. Henry and Maribeth needed to build a life of their own. They did and she did.
/>   Eve lifted her head as a squeal came from Alice’s room. Was that—no. That didn’t sound like Alice. She tilted her head and listened closer. The high-pitched noise came again, this time muffled but identifiable. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly what she would find when she checked on Alice.

  Tiptoeing down the hall, she peeked in the door, which was cracked. She could see Alice kneeling in front of the small chest of drawers but not what she was doing, so Eve tapped on the door and pushed it open. Alice slammed the drawer shut and stood in front of it.

  Eve leaned on the door frame. “Whatcha doin’?”

  “Nuffing.” Alice’s big blue eyes were wide, her gaze darting around the room, landing anywhere but Eve’s face.

  “What’s in the drawer, Ali-Cat?”

  Alice sat down in front of it and tried an innocent smile. “Nuffing.”

  Eve stifled a smile. “Are you telling Mama the truth?”

  Alice nodded as, from inside the drawer, Eve heard squealing that sounded, well, like a piglet that was not very happy.

  “Alice Catherine Fallon, did you steal Hamlet from Mr. Tanner’s house?”

  “No, Mama. I wuv him.” Alice pulled open the drawer, where she’d made Hamlet a very comfortable bed of fuzzy blankets and sparkly princess skirts.

  Eve sighed. “We’re going to have to call Mr. Tanner and see if he can come and get Hamlet, because it’s going to be time for him to be fed soon.”

  Alice’s face fell, and Eve knelt down to give her a hug, torn between laughing at the predicament and wanting to ground her four-year-old for stealing. “I know you love Hamlet, but he’s not meant to be a pet or even a helper like Sadie. He’s got to get healthy so he can go back to his mom and live with his brothers and sisters under the trees.”

  Alice drew in a long, dramatic breath and let it out. Eve gave her a kiss on the top of the head and stood. “I’m going to call Tanner and ask him to stop by when he’s finished with his meeting. Hamlet can stay until then.”

  It wasn’t until she got back into the living room and dug around in her bag for her cell phone that she realized Alice had been talking. In sentences.