A Home For Christmas. Linda Ford

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СКАЧАТЬ more than welcome. Come right in.” He threw the door wide and ushered them inside.

      Wade felt the eyes of a dozen people upon him but he noticed only one person.

      The young lady from town who had scolded him royally. The flash in her eyes informed him she hadn’t changed her opinion of him. No doubt she’d see his visit as an opportunity to further chastise him.

      His hopes for a pleasant Christmas lay whimpering at his feet.

      * * *

      Missy Porter’s mouth dropped open and she stared in a way that was most rude. At eighteen she knew better but she couldn’t help herself. It was that man. The one she’d spoken to in Edendale after overhearing a conversation between him and his niece and nephew. She’d paid his appearance scant attention then, but now gave it a thorough visual examination. He was tall and lean like an old piece of hickory. He wore a dusty cowboy hat and a denim winter coat, faded almost white where the sleeves folded when he bent his arms. She noticed a flash of blue as the light hit his eyes. When he took off his hat as soon as he stepped inside, his brown hair looked surprisingly well trimmed as if he’d recently visited a barber. But it was the determination in the set of his jaw that made her clamp her mouth shut and swallow loudly.

      He was a hard man. One who would not understand the tender hearts of little children.

      She shifted her attention to the two sweet children at his side. With dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, they were almost Spanish looking. The little boy did his best to look brave, while the girl blinked back tears.

      Linette Gardiner, hostess and wife of the ranch owner, Eddie, rushed to the trio, her baby cradled in one arm. “Come in. Come in. Let me take your coats.” She waited while they shed their outerwear and hung it on the nearby hooks. “Now, whom do we have the pleasure of meeting?”

      “Wade Snyder, ma’am, and this is my niece, Annie Lopez, and my nephew, Joey.”

      “So pleased to meet you.” Linette squatted to eye level with the children. “Merry Christmas. I hope you like toys and food because that’s what’s in store for the day.”

      “Oh, yes.” Little Annie’s eyes shone with joy.

      Joey grinned widely, then his smile flattened. He leaned back. “Our mama and papa died and we thought we wouldn’t have Christmas this year.” He shot Wade an accusing look that echoed in Missy’s mind. From what she’d overheard, she knew he hadn’t planned on spending Christmas with them. It had sounded as if he planned to leave them and ride away. What kind of man would do that?

      “I’m sorry to hear about your mama and papa.” Linette met Wade’s eyes.

      “My sister and her husband,” he explained.

      Linette paused, her hand pressed to her chest as if feeling a sympathetic pain, then turned back to the children. “How old are you two?”

      “I’m seven,” said the boy. “My sister is five.”

      “Then you’ll fit right in with the other children. Grady is almost six.” She indicated the crowd of children playing in one corner.

      Joey and Annie clung to Wade’s leg.

      Linette straightened and stepped back. “When you feel like it, you can join them. In the meantime, come and meet everyone.” She introduced Eddie first, then started around the large circle. There were so many young couples—Roper Jones and his wife, Cassie, who had arrived in Linette’s company a little over a year ago. Grace and Ward Walker, who lived on a little ranch nearby. Eddie’s sister, Jayne, and her new husband, Seth Collins.

      As they continued around the circle, introducing yet more newlyweds—Sybil and Brand Duggan, Mercy and Abel Borgard, Blue and Clara Lyons—Missy began to wonder how it was that so many had met and fallen in love on the ranch. She began to suspect there had been active matchmaking going on.

      Her own sister-in-law, Louise, had married Nate Hawkins back in Montana, but it wasn’t until they reached the ranch that their love became real, which half confirmed the suspicions about the ranch’s role in romance. As for herself, Missy had no intention of joining the couples in matrimony.

      An older pair was likewise introduced. Cookie and her husband, Bertie, ran the cookhouse.

      As they were introduced, each one murmured condolences to Wade and the children, until Missy wondered how the children could stand to hear it one more time.

      Missy sat at the far corner. She’d be the last to be introduced and she could hardly draw in a breath as they drew closer to her. All too soon they stood before her.

      “And this is Missy Porter,” Linette said.

      Wade’s eyes grew icy and she knew he recognized her. She’d spoken out of turn when she saw him in town. But when she’d heard him inform the children that he’d make sure they were in a safe place before he left, and when she’d heard their voices break as they confessed how they missed the mama and papa they’d so recently lost, an avalanche of unwanted memories had slammed into her. She’d been thirteen when she encountered the same emotion. She would never forget the shock of listening to the preacher explain that her parents had died in an accident.

      “The horses bolted and the wagon flipped.” The preacher had said more, but Missy stopped listening. The details were too dreadful to hear.

      Her brother, Gordie, was not yet eighteen and he’d not been pleased at being saddled with a younger sister to care for. He never let her forget that she was the reason he couldn’t live the life he wanted. Not that he did much caring. She took over the cooking and cleaning. He took over earning money to keep them, but soon he hooked up with Vic Hector, a very unlikable man in Missy’s opinion, who convinced Gordie there were easier ways to make money. By “easier,” he meant on the shady side of the law.

      When Gordie married Louise and she moved in, Missy had truly gained a sister. They shared the household duties and became friends. But now Gordie was dead by a gunshot wound during one of his and Vic’s escapades. Louise had remarried and Missy was about to be on her own. She meant to face the future without depending on anyone else.

      Except God, she added quickly, lest He think she was being prideful. She certainly didn’t mean to be. No, she wasn’t going anyplace without God.

      There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that He had carried them safely on the journey from Rocky Creek, Montana, through a snowstorm and bitter cold. God had protected Louise and baby Chloe from Vic, who’d thought he owned them and Missy. She shivered at the memory of how Vic had treated her, trying to get her alone, and when he did, pressing against her in corners. Then he’d moved into the Porter house and both Missy and Louise knew he’d be taking advantage of the situation. So they’d fled to Eden Valley Ranch.

      Never again would Missy allow herself to be made to feel she was an unwelcome burden. No more having others tell her what to do and what not to do, where to go and when and how. No, she had plans that would prevent that.

      Before her, the newcomer named Wade tipped his head, breaking into her thoughts. “Nice to make your acquaintance, miss.”

      She knew she wasn’t mistaken in hearing a mocking tone in his words. Hopefully, the others didn’t notice. She tipped her head in response. “Likewise, I’m sure.”

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