It's a Christmas Thing (The Christmas Tree Ranch 2)

Should he tell her that her mother was back from the cruise, and that Andre was out of the picture? Should he tell her that as long as her mother approved, she could take the kitten home with her?

No, that would be a mistake, Rush told himself. Until everything was settled, it would be cruel to get her childish hopes up—and right now, nothing was settled.

“After your nap, how would you like to go to the mall?” he asked her. “There’s a store there where you can choose your own toy animal, get it stuffed, and even buy clothes for it. You could pick out any animal you want. How does that sound?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want another animal. It wouldn’t be the same.”

After Clara went down for her nap, under a quilt on Rush’s bed, he put on his jacket and walked out onto the porch. The ranch was quiet today, the cut trees all sold except for the few that were left at Hank’s. The sleigh rides were on hold until after Christmas, when they’d start up again and continue as long as the snow and customers lasted. Today the partners were resting and cleaning up after the sale season.

The dark sky and sighing wind matched Rush’s mood. He was at a crossroads in his life, with no good choices ahead. Somehow, there had to be another way to resolve this godawful mess.

Something warm and damp touched his hand. He reached down and scratched Bucket’s head. “Looks like we’re both in trouble, boy,” he murmured. “Too bad you can’t tell me what to do.”

Just then Travis came out on the porch, holding his cell phone. “This call’s for you,” he said, thrusting the phone at Rush.

“On your phone?” Rush asked.

“Yeah. It’s Maggie. She’s on the warpath. You’d better take it.”

What else could go wrong in his life? Rush took the phone. “Maggie? What is it?”

“I just spoke with Tracy.” Maggie’s voice fairly crackled with annoyance. “You and I need to talk.”

“Here?” Rush was still stunned.

“No. Not at the ranch. Buckaroo’s. Twenty minutes. Be there.”

Rush handed Travis the phone. “That’s one tough woman you’ve got there.”

Travis grinned. “We’ll keep an eye on Clara till you get back.”

As he drove, Rush turned on the wipers to brush away the fine-grained snow. Maggie would probably take a piece out of his hide for hurting Tracy. Fine. Let her. He deserved it. And he had nothing to lose except what he might have already lost.

Maggie’s old Lincoln was parked outside Buckaroo’s when he arrived. He walked through the door to see her sitting in the corner booth with two cups of coffee in front of her. As he sat down, she scooted one in his direction.

“Maggie, there’s been a misunderstanding,” he started to say.

“Shut up, Rush.” She shoved a sheet of white copy paper across the table. “Don’t say another word until you’ve read this.”

Rush picked up the paper, skimmed the short text. Then, as his heart climbed into his throat, he read it again, carefully. It was the answer he needed, the answer that could save him—if it was real.

He looked up at Maggie. “Where the hell did you get this?” he demanded.

“Tracy found it online a few weeks ago. She gave me this copy as a backup, to make sure someone would have it, in case—”

“In case what?”

“In case it might be needed later on, when she wasn’t around. At the time, there was no reason to believe it would ever be useful. Now all that has changed.”

Rush forced himself to stay seated and keep his voice calm. Maybe this was why Maggie had chosen to meet him in a public place. “And this is real? A real law?”

“It is. I double-checked it myself.”

“So, if Tracy had this, why in blazes didn’t she tell me about it this morning?”

“Maybe you should ask Tracy that question. You two should try talking to each other instead of just jumping to conclusions. I have a feeling you’ve both got some explaining to do.” Maggie laid a bill on the table, stood, buttoned her jacket, and walked out.

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