Daddy's Christmas Miracle: Santa in a Stetson

Kathryn gathered up her bag and the three of them left the room. Colt turned to her. “There’s an en suite bathroom in your room. After you’ve freshened up, feel free to come downstairs and watch TV or do whatever you’d like. I have work to do, but I’ll ask Noreen to make you coffee or tea, whichever you prefer.”

“If you have a cola, I’d like that.”

“I’ll get it for you,” Matt offered.

“Thanks. I’ll be down in a minute.”

The second she found herself alone and closed the door, her breath came rushing out. Until just now she hadn’t realized she’d been holding it. There was no one to blame but Colt Brenner for her body’s uncharacteristic reaction.

Afraid to dwell on thoughts of him, she put her bag down and reached for the phone to call her mother because she’d promised. When her mom didn’t answer, she left a message on her voice mail that she’d arrived safely.

After she hung up, she saw that she’d received several work messages and one from Maggie. Her pulse raced, fearing something might be wrong. Kathryn phoned her immediately, anxious to hear her sister’s voice.

“Kathryn?”

“Maggie? What’s happened?”

“Why nothing. I’m driving through Federal Heights right now, but couldn’t wait to talk to you.”

Kathryn frowned. “About what?”

“You know what. I was the one who opened the plane door. I stood right behind you when Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome reached for his daughter. My jaw must have dropped a foot. It’s a good thing Jake didn’t see my reaction.”

Heat crept into Kathryn’s cheeks.

“Cat got your tongue? I thought so. When you find it, call me back.”

Click.

Oh, Maggie. If only it were that simple …

He was spectacular all right, but there was layer after complicated layer to Colt Brenner, the man.

On the surface she understood the protective father and successful rancher, yet already Kathryn had picked up on negative vibes he sent out.

Her radar had been fine-tuned in Wisconsin. She was good at reading what was going on in other people’s heads. She’d had to be after having been passed around to different homes month after month, year after year.

No one had wanted the little girl who’d been dumped on them at the farm, but they did their duty. She’d been tolerated and taken care of, but she’d been the proverbial rolling stone, gathering no moss.

The same thing was happening to her now, only this time it was Colt Brenner doing his duty. For his daughter’s sake, he was tolerating Kathryn, taking care of her needs, but he didn’t like being dumped on. Allie’s behavior had placed him in an impossible position.

Allie had put Kathryn in an impossible position, too!

What Colt didn’t realize was that Kathryn didn’t like it, either, but she didn’t take his hostility personally. Through years of dealing with similar situations on the farm, she’d learned not to do that because she understood those families had no vested interest in her. She was a temporary encumbrance until the end of the month when she was happily shifted to someone else’s household.

Her only comfort had come from playing with the youngest children, who were more accepting of her presence in their lives. Unlike the adults, they didn’t see her as an intrusion. She knew Matt Brenner didn’t see her that way.

During the rest of her stay here, she’d befriend him. If he was still downstairs, she’d ask him to help her do one of those puzzles she’d seen on the shelf. Besides hard work and her fantasizing, books and puzzles had helped save her life growing up.

IT HAD GROWN DARK on the way back from the lower pasture. Colt had driven there to haul more feed, but as it turned out, the trip hadn’t been necessary. His stockmen had taken care of it.

He’d used the excuse of work to bolt from the house. Sixteen years ago, he’d been a naive twenty-year-old who’d gotten sidetracked by a woman’s magic and didn’t suspect the ugliness of what it masked until it was too late.

Never again.

The lights from the ranch house beckoned him. While he’d been gone, the wind had picked up. It brought snow flurries portending the storm that had moved in over the mountains. On nights like this, he always experienced a warm feeling of homecoming, but tonight he was aware of an added element because she was inside.

Colt ground his teeth. He wanted Ms. McFarland out of his house and off his land.

The scene that greeted him as he walked in the great room a few minutes later was so domestic and cozy, it caused an upheaval inside him.

“Hey, Dad? Come and look! Now that you’re back you can help us put my puzzle of Brett Favre together.” Favre was Matt’s hero. Allie had bought him the thousand-piece version of the pro quarterback wearing his Vikings jersey and helmet after his football banquet. Colt had planned to work on it with the kids this weekend.

Their guest’s hair gleamed like spun gold in the firelight. She seemed to be concentrating hard. In fact, she didn’t look up as he walked over to the card table Matt had set up in front of the fireplace. For some reason, it set off a rare burst of anger he needed to squelch. “First I need to check on Allie.”

“Katy did it a little while ago. She was still asleep.”

A pair of blue eyes flicked his way. They looked as hot as the fire, yet Kathryn’s response was degrees cooler. “You don’t need to be concerned. So far she’s holding her own.”

He took a fortifying breath. “That’s good to hear. I’ll let Noreen know I’m back so she can put dinner on.”

“Allie shouldn’t come downstairs before tomorrow. To save Noreen the trouble, maybe you and Matt could take a plate up to her room and eat with her?”

“What are you going to do?” Matt voiced the question on Colt’s mind.

“I’ll go up and get her ready, then I have some business to do over the phone. Later on, I’ll come down to the kitchen. But if it will put Noreen out …”

“Why would it?” Colt blurted before he realized he was sounding terse again. “While you’re here, treat this house as your own.”

“Thank you.” She got up from the chair. “I’ll help you finish this later, Matt.”

“Great!”

Colt tried not to watch her leave the room, but the way she moved on those long legs mesmerized him. It didn’t matter what she wore or the way she did her hair. She was a knockout, but he knew so much more lay beneath the surface of Ms. McFarland once you got past her initial beauty.

“She knows almost as much about football as a guy. She says her dad lives for the NFL games.” Was that a fact. “She likes college football better, though. The Utes are her favorite team.”

“Well, they would be, wouldn’t they? Coming from Utah?” He headed for the kitchen. Matt followed.

“Yeah, except she says a lot of people like the BYU. They hate each other, especially because the Utes made the BCS twice. Her dad took her to the game they won against Alabama. Isn’t that cool? She said her favorite player was Paul Kruger. He went to the NFL and plays for the Jets.”

Colt couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard his son this chatty. They found Noreen. “We’re going to eat upstairs with Allie.” He pulled three plates from the cupboard.

“What about Katy?”

“She’ll come down for something later,” Matt explained before Colt could get a word in edgewise. “She’s got work to do.”

“What kind of work?”