Christmas Gifts. Trish Morey

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      Darn that man! He had no idea how hard her life had been. From as far back as she could remember she’d had to be the responsible one, not only during her marriage but her childhood too. She’d taken care of her mother—who never knew Elizabeth’s father—while the woman was strung out on crack. A habit she picked up working the streets of Oklahoma City.

      Not much changed when she got married.

      Even when she was terribly sick during her second pregnancy, she’d made sure to care for and feed Brady. Sometimes it was oatmeal with bananas—what she could make during the limited time she could stand up. One minute.

      Jack Crawford had no right to judge her.

      While she was stewing, the waitress arrived at their table and Jack immediately ordered a steak for her and for himself, too.

      After the orders were in, Jenny made her presence known with a fussy cry. Elizabeth started to get up, but Carol, sitting beside Jenny at the circular table, asked her, “May I pick up the baby?”

      “Yes, of course, Carol. But I can come get her when you want.”

      “Oh, I’d love to hold her. She’s so little.”

      Jack assisted her in picking up the baby. “She may be little, but she’s got healthy lungs.”

      “I didn’t realize she was disturbing you,” Elizabeth snapped.

      “Come on, Liz, she’s not bothering me. Not at all.”

      Elizabeth stared at the table, ignoring him.

      “We love having little Jenny around. She reminds us about how lucky we are to have you and the kids come to our house.” Tom looked at Brady. “Right, Brady?”

      “Right, Grandpa.”

      “Do you have a bottle prepared?” Carol asked.

      “Yes.” Elizabeth bent down to the diaper bag and brought out a bottle for Jenny.

      Carol fed the baby, cooing to her, smiling and obviously enjoying every moment of it.

      “If you ever need a babysitter, Elizabeth, keep me in mind.”

      “Thank you, Carol, but I don’t think I’ll need a sitter.” She had no intention of going anywhere without her children. Besides, where would she go?

      “You never know,” Jack said.

      What was that supposed to mean? She was about to ask when the waitress appeared with their meals.

      Elizabeth had had enough of this lunch and she hadn’t even eaten yet. Still, she forced herself to eat, not wanting to hear any more of Jack’s comments. He watched her throughout the meal as closely as she did Brady, only he made her uncomfortable.

      She couldn’t endure the ride back to the ranch with him.

      “Tom, may Jenny and I ride back home with you and Brady?”

      Jack heard her. “Aw, come on, honey, that’s mean. That would leave me all alone.”

      “I’ll ride with you, Jack,” Brady said as he ate his ice cream for dessert.

      “Good. I didn’t want to ride alone. Thank you, Brady.”

      She couldn’t very well forbid her son from riding with him. Especially not when the boy was so proud of his thoughtful gesture.

      She sat back and drank her coffee.

      When they finally got up from their meal, Jack picked up Jenny’s carry-all.

      “I’ll take Jenny,” she protested.

      “Don’t worry. I’ll carry her to Tom’s car.”

      Then he reached out to take her hand with his empty one, but Elizabeth sidestepped him. Instead she called out to her son. “Brady, be sure to wear your seat belt.”

      “I will, Mommy.”

      Carol said her goodbyes to Elizabeth, adding, “Feel free to rest today, Elizabeth. I’ll be there tomorrow and I can pick up the slack.”

      “Thank you, Carol. It was so nice to meet you.”

      After they got in the car, Tom thanked her.

      “For what?” Elizabeth asked.

      “For being nice to Carol. She’s a real friend.”

      “She seems very nice.”

      “She is. I’d marry her if I thought I’d be around long enough.”

      “I think you should marry her no matter how much time you have left. It’s clear she cares about you. And she wouldn’t be alone if she married you.”

      Tom seemed to give that some thought. “That’s true, and I could leave her enough money, even if I keep the ranch for Brady.”

      Elizabeth realized this was the perfect opportunity to bring up her concerns. “Tom, I don’t think you should worry about Brady. Jack—”

      “You’re right, Elizabeth.” He nodded as he looked at her. “I can’t forget about little Jenny. She wouldn’t be happy with her grandpa.”

      He wasn’t getting the point. “Tom, I can take care of my children.”

      “Yes, Elizabeth, you can. But I need to think about their future.”

      In Jack’s pickup the two males were bonding.

      Brady had numerous questions about Jack’s life as a cowboy. “Can you ride ahorse and shoot a gun?”

      Jack laughed at the boy’s version of a cowboy from the Wild West. “Yes, I can,” he said. “Would you like to ride with me one day?”

      “Can I?” His eyes were big as saucers.

      “If your mom says okay.”

      Brady practically squirmed with excitement.

      “Now it’s my turn to ask you a question,” Jack said. “Do you remember your apartment before you came to the ranch?” At the boy’s nod, he continued. “Did you always have enough to eat then?”

      “Oh, yeah. Mommy always made me eat.”

      “I’m sure she did. But did your mommy eat?”

      Brady gave it some thought, tapping his finger against his head in the exaggerated gesture of a child. “Sometimes. But sometimes she didn’t eat anything. Like when she had Jenny in her belly. She said she didn’t want to throw up.”

      Just as he suspected, Jack thought. “That must’ve been hard. It’s a wonder Jenny is all right.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ