Christmas Gifts: Small Town Christmas / Her Christmas Cowboy. Brenda Minton

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СКАЧАТЬ was the sudden attraction to a widower and two troubled girls? She’d passed up plenty of dates more than once. Just the thought of getting involved with someone made as much sense as living in a small town. She couldn’t do it for an extended time. Not for a million dollars.

      Chapter Two

      Mike pulled up to his house, priding himself on keeping his cool with the twins while they were still at school. But how much longer could he cope with it? Even though his daughters were precious to him, they were stretching him to the limit.

      He turned off the ignition and veiled his frustration. “Inside, girls.” He swung open the door and slammed it, his first action that showed his real feelings.

      The girls’ voices whiffled past him as they darted toward the house. He searched for the front door key, but instead of hurrying ahead, he gazed down the street to the large house with the wide stone porch. He couldn’t help but grin despite his stress.

      His mind flew back to the day he’d met Amy Carroll. Ellie had spoken about her so often. She’d been a lovely young girl, full of energy and fresh as dew. She’d flirted with him, and when he returned home, he’d told Laura and they’d laughed.

      He headed to his porch, but his thoughts clung to Amy. Her long brown hair, the color of ripe chestnuts, hung in a slight wave, and her cinnamon-colored eyes had widened when he’d mentioned their first meeting. Color had spotted her cheeks, letting him know she’d remembered the details of that day.

      Bounding up the porch steps, he pulled his attention back to the girls. What would he do with them now? Nothing seemed to work. He stuck the key in the lock and then focused for a moment on each twin.

      Ivy leaned against him as she tended to do, but belligerence heightened in Holly’s eyes.

      When he pushed the door back, she whipped past him while Ivy lingered, wanting to plead her case, he was sure.

      “Daddy, I didn’t do anything. Holly ripped my—”

      “I know what happened. Mrs. Fredericks gave me all the details, including a few other incidents that they didn’t call me in for.” He motioned toward her bedroom. “Change your clothes, and we’ll talk.”

      She slogged toward her room, her face covered by the wounded look he’d come to know.

      He dropped onto a kitchen chair and pressed his face into his hands. He’d made mistakes. He’d spoiled the girls. When their mother died, he’d been lost. But later he was determined to be a father and mother to them. Impossible, he realized now. Instead of guiding them, he’d pampered them and let their misbehavior go unchecked. No more.

      His head ached, and he dug his fists into his eyes willing the pain away. When he lifted his head to the sunshine streaming through the window, the throb remained.

      The previous teacher, Mrs. Larch, hadn’t been able to control the girls. They’d continued to distract the class. He was exhausted and out of ideas on how best to control his girls. If only Laura hadn’t died, maybe then—He shook his head. Why hadn’t he realized how sick she was?

      Regret was useless. If he clung to all of his what-ifs, he would live in the past forever. Moving forward with his life needed to happen now, not only for his sake but for the girls’. He massaged the cords in his neck to ease the tension.

      Amy slipped into his mind, bringing him hope. Until she’d noticed him, he’d watched her talking to the girls when he’d crossed the hall to the cafeteria. The twins were listening to her, and even though Holly’s belligerence still marred her pretty face, so like her mother’s, Ivy seemed to hang on to her every word. How had she done it? He slapped the tabletop and rose. That’s what he needed to do. See if Amy could teach him something. Discipline with love. Could he learn to do that?

      Mike slipped off his jacket, hung it on the back of a chair and strode to the refrigerator. He poured a slosh of milk and swallowed, still feeling a hungering void.

      Noise from the hall caught his attention. He rinsed the glass and set it in the sink while his gaze drifted down the street to Ellie’s tree-filled property. An unfamiliar car sat at the back of the driveway, a sporty hatchback, practical but spirited, with its deep orange color. No doubt Amy had returned home.

      “Daddy.”

      He turned, startled by Ivy’s voice. The two girls stood beside the table, waiting. “Let’s sit in the living room, okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He marched into the room and settled into his recliner. The girls plopped onto the sofa.

      “I’m hungry, so don’t take long.”

      Holly’s sarcastic tone grated him, but he bit his tongue, unwilling to argue. “I don’t want to know what happened today because Mrs. Fredericks told me. I want to know what we’ll do about it.”

      “About what?” Ivy’s wide eyes sent him an innocent gaze.

      “About your behavior.” He monitored his tone.

      “If Holly wouldn’t tear up my—”

      Mike held up his hand to shush her. “This isn’t about a picture or being tripped when you jumped rope or anything else.” He aimed his gaze at Holly. “This has to do with making changes. I’m tired of being called up to school. Do you realize I have to take time off from work to come there and listen to the same old stories about your behavior?”

      “But—”

      “I want solutions, Holly, not buts.”

      Ivy started to titter, and Holly soon followed.

      He stared at them and waited for their silliness to end. He’d hoped to reason with them, to find some solutions. Mrs. Fredericks had given him one, and although he’d negated it, the idea might set a fire under the girls.

      “Sorry, Daddy, but you said—”

      “I know what I said, Ivy. I’m asking for changes. What will they be?”

      The two gazed at the floor, their hands in their laps, and said nothing.

      “Then I have a solution. Mrs. Fredericks recommends that we split the two of you into different second grade classes.”

      “No, Daddy. Please.” Ivy’s volume rose with each word.

      His mind reeled. “Why not? I would think you’d be happy.”

      She shook her head in high speed. “We need to be together.”

      “Why?” His focus shifted from one to the other. “Together isn’t working, so why?” “Because we’re all we got.”

      Hearing Ivy knocked him backward. We ‘re all we got. His heart wrenched. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his thighs. “Then you will make some changes in your behavior, or it will be out of my hands.”

      A frown crept to their faces.

      “Will Mrs. Fredericks make us go to different classes?”

      Ivy’s plaintive look stymied him. “If you keep causing СКАЧАТЬ