Holding Out for Christmas (The Christmas Tree Ranch 3)

To her surprise, there was a reply to her query from the Department of Public Education.

Dear Miss Carson:

Thank you for asking about drivers’ education for people with Down syndrome. Unfortunately, we have no public programs that meet this need. For that, we usually refer people to private agencies. I notice that you live near Cottonwood Springs. A driving school there employs a teacher who specializes in students with disabilities, including Down syndrome. If you’d like to learn more, here’s their contact information.

Megan read the message again, including the address and phone number provided. She’d hoped for an easier solution, but at least she had a lead.

She went online and found the driving school’s website. They looked legitimate, and the Public Education Department had recommended them. Scrolling down, she saw that they had evening classes to cover the material in the Texas Driver Handbook and offered assistance, if needed, in taking the written test. Once the test was passed, the classes would be followed by several days of on-the-road instruction.

This could work for Daniel. But he would need someone to drive him to Cottonwood Springs for the series of evening classes, the test, and the hands-on driving instruction. Her mother couldn’t do it, and even if he’d agree to help, it might involve more time than her father could spare. That left her, and no one else.

When she clicked on the link to the cost, her heart sank. The instruction was expensive—several thousand dollars for the program, depending on how much help was needed. Even if her parents agreed to let Daniel take the classes, given her mother’s medical needs, they couldn’t afford to pay.

But she could. She’d been saving for the down payment on a Nashville condo. If she moved back home, she could dip into that money to pay for Daniel’s driver-training classes.

But should she do it—take Daniel’s side against her parents, cancel any plans for her singing career by moving home, and spend the money for something that might not be the best idea? What if her parents were right? What if, after all that work, Daniel couldn’t pass the test? Or worse, what if he were to get his license and then have an accident?

“Megan?” Her father rapped on the closed bedroom door. “Sorry to disturb you.”

“No, it’s fine.” She hastily closed the computer screen. “Come on in.”

He opened the door. “Hate to ask, but I just got a call from Daniel at work. He’s getting off early because of the snow. I’m tied up in the kitchen. Would you mind picking him up? You can take the van. It’ll be safer on slick roads.”

“Sure. I’ll be happy to.” Megan took the van keys from him and zipped on her warm coat.

* * *

Outside, the snow was only a couple of inches deep, but the storm front had arrived in full fury. Snow blasted the windshield of the van as she backed out of the carport. At least the Christmas Tree Ranch should get enough snow for more sleigh rides. Not that it mattered to her anymore. She’d enjoyed the ranch and the friendships with the partners and their women. But those days were behind her now. If she stayed in Branding Iron, she would have to make new friends—not an easy thing for a single woman in a small town. And as for dating, she could write that off.

At Shop Mart, employees and customers were leaving the parking lot in their cars. According to the radio, the freak storm was supposed to be a record setter, with as much as eighteen inches of snow in the forecast by morning. People were being advised to go home and stay there until the roads could be cleared. The van was a heavy vehicle with a wheelchair lift in the back. Megan felt safe in it, but she could see other cars skidding and sliding on the snow-slicked road. Where she could, she gave them a wide berth.

When she pulled up to the Shop Mart entrance, she saw Daniel standing in the sheltered entryway. His arms were around Katy. He had wrapped her in his coat to keep her warm. They came out together and climbed into the backseat. “Can we give Katy a ride?” he asked. “Her dad’s at work, and her mom isn’t home.”

“Certainly,” Megan said. “How are you, Katy?”

Katy’s laugh was like a little tinkling bell. “I was freezing, but it’s nice and warm in here. Thank you for taking me home. You know where I live, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.” Megan drove out of the parking lot and headed back up Main Street to the part of town where Katy lived. “We’ve been talking about our wedding,” Katy said. “I don’t want anything fancy, but I do want it in the church, and I want to wear a pretty white dress and a veil.”

“And when is this supposed to take place?” Megan couldn’t help but wonder if she was being recruited as their advocate.

“We don’t know yet,” Daniel said. “I want to wait until I get my license. This way, I can drive.”

“My dad can get us a little car,” Katy said. “He has lots of cars around the garage. When Daniel can drive, I’ll ask Dad to fix one up and get it running for us.”

“Then we can be a family,” Daniel said. “Just Katy and me and her cat.”

“I remember that little tabby cat,” Megan said. “Daniel gave her to you last Christmas. How is she doing?”

“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Katy said. “She’s all grown up. Dr. Rushford fixed her for me so she won’t have babies. I kind of wanted her to have some. They’re so cute. But he said it wasn’t a good idea.”

The snow was pelting down harder than ever. The old-fashioned Christmas lights, strung across Main Street, were faint blurs of color, barely shining through the swirling white. “It’s so pretty,” Katy said. “But why can’t snow be warm and soft like feathers? That would be so much nicer.”

Megan and Daniel laughed. Around the next corner, Megan could see the neat little frame home where Katy and her parents lived. A maroon Honda, which she recognized as Connie Parker’s, was just pulling into the driveway. “It looks like your mom’s home, Katy,” Megan said, parking behind the car.

“It looks like she’s got packages.” Like the true gentleman he was, Daniel climbed out of the van, helped Katy to the ground, and then strode over to help Katy’s mother carry her packages into the house. Megan watched him from the van. Her brother was doing his best to show what a considerate husband and son-in-law he would be. She knew that the Parkers liked him, but like Megan’s family, they worried about how the two young people would manage as a married couple.

“Let’s go.” Daniel came back to the van. “Thanks for taking Katy home.”