A Daughter for Christmas Page 4

  “This stage will pass. Before you know it, they’ll be in kindergarten and you’ll be wishing...well, let’s say you’ll be nostalgic about the baby days.” Eve stifled a wince as one of the diaper-clad toddlers lurched across the room to tackle Alice. She held her breath as Alice lay on the floor stunned. But then, as Alice’s arms closed around the baby, a giggle bubbled out. She looked over at Eve as if to say “Mama, did you see that?”

  “Alice, I think that baby likes you. Lacey, I’ll be right back with the tea. Don’t move,” she said.

  Eve ducked into the kitchen where she’d left herbal tea steeping on the counter, returning with two steaming mugs.

  Lacey accepted one of them gratefully and sat back with a sigh. “This is the first time I’ve taken a deep breath in days. Thank you.”

  The Cole family’s Christmas tree was wedged in the corner of the room, lit but not decorated. Eve opened her mouth to ask about it but hesitated.

  Lacey raised an eyebrow. “You may as well spit out whatever you’re thinking. I can see it on your face.”

  “Ah, I just wondered if you have plans for decorating the tree?” Caught, Eve could feel the flush rising in her face.

  With a rueful smile, Lacey shook her head. “I’d planned to get everything ready inside so I could focus on prepping for the party for the kids. All the Christmas preparation got derailed when I found out I was pregnant. The guys keep saying they’re gonna do it, but they’re so busy during the day that I hate to ask them. They’re already picking up my slack by cooking supper and putting kids to bed after a full day of work on the farm.”

  “May I help? It’s kind of my thing, and I’ve run out of things to decorate in the cottage.” Eve grinned. “Yesterday I caught myself wondering how Sadie would look with a red bow tied on her collar.”

  The dog grumbled at the sound of her name before rolling over and settling back to sleep.

  Her new friend laughed. “Please, be my guest.”

  With Alice and Eli occupied playing with blocks on the floor and Phoebe busy careening her pretend grocery cart around the room, Eve began pulling ornaments out of boxes and hanging them on the tree.

  Lacey put on some Christmas music and, for the first time since Eve and Alice had stopped by, she genuinely seemed to relax. “So, what do you do when you’re not Christmas decorating? You mentioned you have experience event planning?”

  Unexpected tears sprang to Eve’s eyes. Impatiently, she blinked them back. She had no time for tears. She’d made her peace with her decision to leave her job a long time ago. Taking her time selecting the next ornament from the box, she willed the ache in her throat to go away. “I worked as an event planner at the Royal in Atlanta. I loved it, but the hours were nuts, and after...everything, Alice needed me more than Atlanta’s brides did.”

  Lacey let the silence stretch, but when her eyes met Eve’s, they were surprisingly warm and direct. “I know what it’s like to give up a career to have a family.” She waved a dismissive hand as she reached down to lift Phoebe into her lap, smiling as the little girl snuggled in for a sleepy cuddle. “Oh, I don’t regret it. I don’t even miss it most of the time. I stay busy with the farm stand, and it’s rewarding, too, in its way.”

  Eve nodded. “I started a graphic design business—T-shirts, mostly—to help make ends meet. My in-laws have offered, frequently, to let us move in with them in Mobile, but I need to make this work, you know?”

  “Speaking as someone who currently lives with her brother-in-law, yes, I do.”

  Horrified, Eve’s eyes widened. “Oh, gosh, Lacey, I didn’t mean—”

  Lacey laughed. “It’s fine. Devin and I are building a house on the other side of the pond. One day it will be finished. But for now, it makes sense for us to be here.” She tucked a pacifier into Phoebe’s mouth, rocking side to side as the baby’s eyes drifted closed. “I’m glad you’re going to be working on the Christmas party with Tanner. He tends to hold himself back from things like that sometimes. I think it’ll be good for him to be all up in the middle of it.”

  Eve had been steadily decorating the tree with ornaments that looked like they represented generations of Cole children. The plaster of paris handprint she picked up next had a lopsided Tanner carved into the bottom. It was hard to imagine stoic, manly Tanner being a child with a hand that small. As she hung it carefully on a branch out of reach of little fingers, she shot Lacey a quick smile. “I think it will be good for both of us to have a project this Christmas.”

  “No doubt.” Lacey settled into a more comfortable position with the baby sleeping across her chest. “Do you think you could come up with a design for Triple Creek Ranch? I’d love to put some T-shirts out at the farm stand. A little free advertising for us, a few sales for you?”

  “I’d love that! Thank you!”

  “My pleasure. Now I’m going to see if I can get this little miss into bed without waking her up.” Lacey stood, gently shushing Phoebe as she stirred.

  Eve smiled. She remembered those days. There was nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment when you closed the door on the nursery, its occupant sleeping safe and sound in bed.

  She picked up the last ornament, a glass cowboy boot, the shine slightly dulled with time. Eve imagined Tanner’s mom lovingly hanging it on the tree when he and his brothers were little boys, fascinated by cowboys, entranced with horses and rodeos. She swallowed hard. The problem with understanding grief was that empathy could hurt. She blew out a breath, took a step back and admired the tree.

  “Let me grab Eli and see if I can get him down, too. I try to keep them on the same schedule.” Lacey bustled back into the room, stopping short. “Oh, Eve. The tree looks beautiful. Thank you so much. You two made my morning go by so fast, and the babies have had such fun with Alice.”

  She scooped Eli off the floor and was met with a resounding howl. “Can you tell Miss Alice thanks for playing with you?”

  In response, Eli buried his face in his mom’s shoulder and rubbed his eyes. Lacey laughed. “Okay, then, it’s off to bed with you.”

  As Lacey left the room again, Eve said, “Want to have a race to see who can pick up the most toys? Winner gets an extra cookie at lunch!”

  Alice picked up toys as fast as she could, Eve right behind her, laughing breathlessly as they bumped into each other. “No fair, you’re short. Closer to the toy box.”

  Alice giggled and threw another armload into the big basket next to the fireplace. She crossed her arms with an impudent smirk, her eyes full of laughter.

  A few minutes later, as they were walking down the lane toward home, Alice slipped her hand into Eve’s, her feet skipping every third step or so, arm swinging. And just for a brief moment, Eve caught a glimpse of her daughter before the incident, before trauma stole her voice and left her with fear.

  Eve whispered a prayer of thanks, gratitude overflowing. The brief glimpse was enough, for now, to show her that the move to Alabama, to Triple Creek Ranch, had been right. Very, very right.

  * * *

  After a quick stop by the house to refill his coffee mug, Tanner rode out to check the animals’ feed before the weather turned. The temperature was warm today, but rain was coming tonight, and after the rain, the cold would follow. That was the winter weather cycle in Alabama this time of year. Rain, cold, warm-up, repeat. And then, just for fun, toss in some tornadoes and straight-line winds.

  When he swung Toby into the lane that would take him by the cottage, he told himself he was just going to say thanks for the casserole. Eve was on the swing outside with her tablet. Alice, as usual, was close by—on the porch steps with her crayons and coloring book, his dog at her feet.

  Eve looked up with a smile. “Howdy, cowboy.”

  “Ma’am,” he drawled, as he tipped his hat. When Devin was on the rodeo circuit, Tanner had seen him make an entire crowd swoon with that move. Tanner
just felt stupid. “What are you working on?”

  She looked down, a shock of shiny dark hair falling forward over her face. When she looked up, her cheeks were pink. “Lacey asked me to draw up some T-shirt designs for Triple Creek Ranch. Maybe sell them at the farm stand?”

  He stiffened slightly, feeling his control over what went on at the ranch slip once again. But it was a good idea that could benefit both Eve and the farm. “Can I see?”

  She clutched the tablet to her chest for a moment, as if to shield it from his eyes, but then her grip relaxed. “Sure.”

  As he slid off the horse, he realized Alice’s eyes were glued to the big animal. “You like him? His name is Toby.”

  She nodded but scooted up one step, closer to her mother. He was batting a thousand with the Fallon women today.

  “He’s a big guy.” Tanner walked closer, leaned forward with one foot on the steps, one elbow on the rail. “He’s also a real sweetheart, kind of like Sadie here.”

  Sadie’s stub of a tail thumped wildly as she heard her name. Alice’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

  “He’s beautiful.” Eve stepped up to the rail and held the tablet out to him. “Take a look.”

  Tanner had a sudden fear that he wasn’t going to like the designs, and then what would he say? He soon saw that he needn’t have worried at all. The first design was a logo she’d created out of the T and C of Triple Creek Ranch that had the essence of a traditional brand, a T perched on a C that encircled the R. It was modern and creative and... “Wow.”

  Her eyebrows drew together. “Wow, good? Or wow, awful?”

  “Wow, good. Really good.”

  “Oh, I’m glad.” She reached over and flicked a finger across the screen. “We can do a saying on the back, maybe like this one.”

  The design was simple but appealing, a circular design that said Fresh from the Farm around the top and Buy Local on the bottom. There were three beets lined up in the center. “I like this a lot.”

  “These are just suggestions. If you come up with something you like better, we can always change it.”

  He slid his finger across the screen. The next design was obviously for kids. It proclaimed in big, bold print: Future Rodeo Champ.

  “I was thinking of doing these in a variety of colors. Girls and boys both could wear it.”

  “These are great, Eve.”

  “I know they’re simple, but that’s what I do, mostly.” She hesitated. “There’s one more design that’s a little different than the others.”

  When he moved his finger across the screen this time, he brought up a clever cartoon of a tractor with a Christmas tree tied to the top of it. Lights were strung on the tree and draped across the window of the tractor. A smile tugged at his lips. “This is really cute.”

  “I’ve been playing with the design for the foster family party. I’d like to donate T-shirts for the kids.”

  “It’s perfect. You could probably sell these or another Christmas design at the farm stand, too.”

  “So you’re okay with me selling shirts here?”

  “Yes, of course.” He flipped back through. “The logo is amazing. I’ve wanted to do something like this, but I had no idea where to start.”

  “I’m so glad you like them. I’ve always loved to draw, but I’m new at design work and I wasn’t sure if... I wasn’t sure.” Her voice was soft, her cheeks staining pink.

  Tanner felt a stab of guilt for that foolish moment of selfishness he’d had earlier. Why was it so hard for him to reach out to others? He waited until she met his eyes before he answered her. “Putting your shirts at the farm stand makes sense. You’re part of Triple Creek Ranch now.”

  Eve’s eyes went suspiciously shiny, and he fought back the instinctive leap of fear that he might have to do something about it. He looked away, ostensibly to check on Toby, who’d made himself at home nibbling the grass along the edge of the lane.

  When he looked back, thankfully, there was no sign of impending tears. He handed her the tablet. “Thanks for showing me. I’ll be your first customer for a Triple Creek Ranch shirt. I’ve got to run. See ya, peanut. Take care of Sadie for me.”

  Placing his boot in one stirrup, he swung up into the saddle. He guided his horse around and clicked his tongue and they took off down the drive.

  * * *

  That evening, as Eve stretched a T-shirt over the press and centered the design over it, she thought of that moment. She’d stood on the step, watching him leave. Alice had tugged on her pant leg, and she’d leaned down. Barely audible, Alice had whispered, “I fink he’s a real cowboy.”

  Eve had laughed, the tiny thread of a whisper so welcome after months of near silence. She’d swung Alice into her arms and hugged her. “I think you’re right. He is a real cowboy.”

  Closing the press, she stepped back, stopping to rub her temple, where a headache was brewing behind her eye. Tanner was the strong, quiet, still-waters-run-deep type. A hard worker. She’d seen him heading out to work in the predawn hours and not returning until well after dark. And maybe it was silly, but she figured cowboys had a code. Some deep, intrinsic thing that made them look out for the underdog, like the cow that gets separated from the herd.

  It was fanciful, she thought, as she lifted the top of the press and gingerly peeled the paper off the design. Way too fanciful for the reality of the man, who was just about as down-to-earth as they came, despite the fact that she’d nearly swooned as he’d swung up on that big horse.

  Shaking her head, she pulled the T-shirt out of the machine and clothespinned it to the line she’d hung. Maybe she and Alice were both a little enamored with the handsome cowboy, which was a problem, because it could spell heartache for both of them. Tanner showed no signs of being ready to love again.

  But who said she was ready to find love again? She’d been so busy raising Alice and working. Now, with starting her own business and trying to figure out the best way to help Alice heal, she hadn’t considered it. Not really.

  She didn’t need to. She was fine. Single mother, businesswoman. In fact, what was she doing even thinking about this? She needed to be laser focused on making her business a success. Her ability to stay home with Alice and help her through this rough patch was dependent on it, and her funds were rapidly depleting.

  She sighed. Regardless of her feelings or nonfeelings, knowing Tanner was out there made her feel safer. And safety had been hard to come by lately.

  Way to go with that laser focus, Eve. She swallowed and winced, her throat scratchy. Oh, no. Squinting an eye toward the ceiling, she said, “Lord, you know I don’t have time to be sick.”

  Releasing the lid on the machine, she pulled the transfer paper off the design and left the shirts to cool.

  After checking the front door to make sure it was locked, she turned the lights off, leaving the night-light on over the stove. She stopped by Alice’s room and tiptoed in to cover her up, smiling when she realized Sadie wasn’t on the floor beside the bed but was tucked in bed beside Alice, who had one small arm draped over the thick black neck.

  As Eve brushed the hair off Alice’s forehead, she saw a smile flit across that sweet face. She drew in a breath, letting it go on a sigh. Progress.

  The first drops of rain hit the tin roof of the cottage, and Eve shivered. She checked the thermostat, but it was a solid sixty-eight degrees. Her nagging headache was beginning to pound, but surely that was due to the coming weather change.

  She wasn’t getting sick. She couldn’t be.

  She absolutely did not have time for that.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, Tanner drove the ATV workhorse around the fields of cotton they were prepping for farmers markets in the area and for sale at their own farm stand. The clouds were still spitting rain, and his breath ghosted toward the sky with every exhale.

  He took out his
phone to make a note that he and his brothers needed to cut the cotton and hang it to dry. Because their crop was sold for decorative purposes, they cut and dried it by hand, keeping to the organic growing practices that formed the basis of their business.

  He’d had doubts when he and Garrett first considered organic farming, and the path hadn’t been smooth, that’s for sure. Slowly but surely, though, they’d made gains. And Devin’s work with the horses had given them the room to breathe until they could turn a profit. The three of them were in the black now. Barely.

  As he turned toward the back pasture, he caught a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye. Alice?

  He looked closer, then drove closer, watching as the little girl disappeared into Eve’s house. She left the door cracked, not closed against the cold. Sadie appeared briefly before she, too, disappeared back into the small house.

  Something just didn’t seem right. Where was Eve? Should he go in and check on them? He stared at the door, willing her to come out and wave.

  He was being paranoid, right? She’d been totally fine when he’d seen her the night before. Surely she was just in the back and hadn’t noticed the cold air pouring in. Except that the cabin was a total of 824 square feet, and she definitely would’ve noticed by now.

  He turned off the ATV, put one booted foot on the ground and hesitated again. So far she’d managed to keep her good nature through his unfriendly welcome, the dog moving in, Lacey on doctor’s orders to rest and planning an upcoming party for two hundred people. But having him come barging into her house before breakfast? Yeah, that could be considered intrusive.

  Cranking the ATV, he shook his head. He was a worrywart. Control freak. His brothers told him that all the time.