Christmas Gifts: Cinderella and the Cowboy / The Boss's Christmas Baby / Their Little Christmas Miracle

He stood in the middle aisle of the town pharmacy scratching his head as he gazed out on an array of choices. There had to be fifteen different home pregnancy kits.

He knew about cattle, about horses, tack and grain. But what did a cowboy know about pregnancy tests?

“Can I help you, Jack?”

Mrs. Johnson’s voice echoed through his thoughts.

Just what he needed. Old Mrs. Johnson had been working in the pharmacy since Jack came to town ten years ago. She’d helped him through flu and colds, broken fingers and sore shoulders.

How was he going to ask her for this?

“Hello, Mrs. Johnson. I—I was looking for some more liniment.”

“You’re sure, Jack? You’re standing in front of pregnancy kits.” She paused to give him time to answer. Then, with a once-over that burned him through his clothes, she put on her half-glasses and perused the shelf.

She chose a box and handed it to him.

“This one’s the best, I’m told. Just in case you need it.”

Jack prayed for an early death.

Elizabeth took the sack from him as soon as Jack came into the kitchen. “If you’ll come with me, Kim, we’ll have an answer.”

She led the blonde upstairs to a more private bathroom, went over the instructions and left her to do her thing.

Leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway, Elizabeth kept looking at her watch as her mind raced. As kind as she could be, she had to admit she didn’t want the woman to be pregnant. Not because of the money, but because her children would forever be tied to Kim. They’d have a half sibling who lived with her. And Kim Hall was not the kind of woman she wanted her children associating with.

She checked her watch again. The box said it took only two minutes. What was taking so long?

Just then the bathroom door opened and Kim stood there, her face void of emotion.

Elizabeth could hardly speak. “Well?” she managed.

“I’m not pregnant.”

Keeping her relief in check, she wrapped an arm around Kim’s shoulders. “We should tell the others.”

Elizabeth offered to make the announcement when they reentered the kitchen, but Kim shook her head. Almost magically her personality changed back to the nasty witch from earlier. She stood with arms akimbo and shrugged.

“I’m not pregnant. Satisfied?”

“Yeah, I’m satisfied,” Jack said. “It was worth going to the drugstore and ruining my reputation!”

Elizabeth stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Never mind.”

“Well, there’s no reason for me to stay,” Kim said, already heading for the door. She turned, as if remembering something. Shooting a deadly glare at Jack, she asked, “Does my car work now?”

“Yeah.”

Kim was on her way after that response.

After the click of the door lock, silence descended upon the kitchen.

Elizabeth felt relieved, and she suspected Tom was, too. But no one wanted to be the first to express the emotion.

As she looked up at her father-in-law, Jenny’s cry broke the stalemate.

“That’s Jenny. She’s probably hungry.” She noticed that Carol seemed anxious. “Do you want to go get her, Carol? Just change her diaper and bring her down. I’ll get her bottle ready.”

“Bring her down, Carol.” Tom looked happy at the thought of holding his granddaughter.

After Carol left the room, Jack looked at Elizabeth. “Why did you let her go get Jenny?”

“I thought she deserved to get her. She’d taken care of Brady and Tom and helped entertain Kim. It only seemed fair that she get to take care of Jenny.”

“That was nice of you, Elizabeth,” Tom said.

“Carol is a nice lady.”

“Yes, she is,” Tom agreed.

They all heard Carol coming down the stairs, followed by Brady.

Elizabeth hugged her son. “Hi, sweetie. Thank you for being such a good boy.”

“He was patting his little sister on the back,” Carol said. Her smile said she was proud of Brady, too.

“Carol said I was helping,” Brady told his mother.

“Yes, you were, honey.”

She handed the bottle, properly warmed, to Carol. “Do you mind feeding her while I finish preparing lunch?”

“No, I’d love to.” Carol took the bottle. “I was hoping you’d be gone when she woke up. Now I get the best of both worlds.”

“You deserve it, Carol,” Elizabeth said.

“What about me?” Tom said. “I had to act nice when that lady talked about being pregnant.”

“We’ve all had a difficult day,” Jack said with a sigh.

“Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. Anyone want a cup of coffee?”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Jack said. Tom nodded, too.

Elizabeth poured coffee for the two men. She poured some juice for Brady. Then she began fixing some vegetables to go with the casserole.

When Carol finished feeding Jenny, Tom moved over to visit with Carol and the baby. She put Jenny in his arms, and he cooed at her, patting her smooth cheek and letting her grab his pinky as he did so. “I’m your grandpa, Jenny. Grandpa Tom.”

The baby’s eyes were wide as she listened to her grandfather.

“She seems mesmerized,” Elizabeth said. “I guess maybe because she doesn’t hear a man’s voice very often. It’s just been me and Brady around her since she was born.”

“We’ll have to change that, right, Jack?” Tom asked without taking his eyes off his granddaughter.

“Yeah, we will. She needs to get used to both of us.”

Elizabeth didn’t say anything.

Jack had served himself and started eating, but he noticed that Elizabeth didn’t come down after taking Jenny back upstairs. After a few moments he excused himself and went to get her. He found her in Jenny’s room, slowly rocking the sleeping baby.

Instead of saying anything to Elizabeth, he sat down on the small bed and waited a minute. Then he called her softly. “Elizabeth?”

Her eyes opened and she cleared her throat before finally responding. “Yes, Jack?”

“I wondered when you were coming down for lunch. It’s getting cold.”

“I was just rocking Jenny.”

“She seems sound asleep. I’ll put her in her bed.”

Elizabeth wanted to protest, but he was being helpful.

After he’d put the baby down, he pulled her up from the rocker and led her out of the baby’s room. “Were you planning on skipping lunch?”

“No, but it’s so peaceful, holding a sleeping baby. Today had a lot of disturbing situations.”

“Yeah. I’m glad you thought of the pregnancy test.”

“I’m sorry it caused you some embarrassment.”

“It irritated me most of all.”

“I’m glad we now know.”

“Yeah, she didn’t seem the mothering type.”

“People change. She might have turned into a good mother.”

“Yeah, right.” He took her hand and led her down the stairs.

“Did you think I couldn’t find the table without your assistance?”

“You seem all too ready to skip meals. I think you need to eat a good lunch.”

When they entered the kitchen, Carol made her a plate and Tom pulled out a chair for her.

“What is everyone going to do this afternoon?” she asked as she sat.

“I’m going to be sure you eat your lunch.”

“Jack, you don’t need to help me.”

He just looked at her but he didn’t budge from the chair opposite her.

Carol offered her plan. “I’m going to actually do some work. I didn’t get anything done besides making the beds.”

“There’s too much else needed, Carol. I think you should relax and entertain Tom. Brady is going to take his nap, and Tom won’t have anyone to talk to.”

“Aw, Mommy, I don’t need a nap,” Brady said as he tried to hide a big yawn.

Everyone chuckled.

“I’ll come up and cover you up, sweetie.”

Jack spoke up. “Not until you finish your lunch. I’ll go tuck him in.”

When she started to protest, Brady expressed enthusiasm about Jack helping him. So she remained seated as the two males went upstairs together.

“That was nice of Jack,” Carol said.

Elizabeth said nothing.

“Do you have some laundry ready to be washed?” Carol asked her. “I could do some laundry for you.”

“Yes, I do. You always have laundry when you have children.”

“I’ve heard that,” Carol said, a wistful look in her eyes.

Poor Carol had never had children after losing two babies. Elizabeth’s heart went out to her. She felt even more grateful for her children.

“Do you need to get home early tonight, Carol, or will you stay for dinner?”

Carol turned bright red. “You don’t have to include me for dinner.”

“You always stay for dinner, Carol,” Tom said. “Though I appreciate you asking her, Elizabeth.”

“I’d love to stay, Elizabeth. Thank you.”

“Okay, I’ll get started on cleaning the kitchen, if you’ll gather the laundry. Be sure to look under Brady’s bed.”

“Just like the other two men!” Carol chuckled.

“Hey, we try,” Tom assured both women.

“We know,” Elizabeth said.

Jack knocked quietly on Tom’s door.

“Tom, are you asleep?”

“No. Come in.”

Jack opened the door and found him in the wing chair. “I was thinking about Christmas. Brady was telling me about not having had a Christmas tree yet. He said his mommy promised that one day they’d have one.”

“He’s never had a Christmas tree?” Tom asked, incredulous.

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I told him maybe we could have a tree this year. I was thinking tonight after dinner would be a good time to go shopping for one.”

“Good thinking. Shall we keep it a secret? We could decorate it tonight, too.”

“I think that would be good. We can show Elizabeth what we have and maybe she could buy what else we need.”

Tom smiled. “I’m so glad they’ve come. It will be fun to have a real Christmas again.”

“You will, Tom. You’ll have a Christmas and so will Elizabeth and the kids. I’ll make sure of it.”

“A Christmas tree!”

Brady could hardly contain his excitement when Jack mentioned the possibility of going for a tree that night after dinner.

“Where do we go to get one?” Brady asked him.

“At the Christmas tree lot in town. Do you want to go?” Jack asked casually.

“Can I, Mommy? Please?”

“I don’t know, Brady. Maybe they want to pick out their tree without us—”

“It will be our Christmas tree, Elizabeth,” Tom said.

“And I think Brady would give good advice about the tree,” Jack said. “In fact, as cold as it is, I’m not sure Tom wants to wander around looking at all the trees.”

“Won’t it be too cold for Brady?” Elizabeth asked anxiously.

“No. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Jack waited for her response.

After a quick look at Brady, Elizabeth agreed that her son could go. “Go get your coat and hat and gloves, Brady, and bring them to me.”

“Any requests?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” Tom said. “I think you should invite Elizabeth to go. I’ll help Carol clean the kitchen and we’ll babysit Jenny.”

“Oh, no!” Elizabeth protested. “I wanted Carol to stay so she could enjoy a nice meal, not to babysit.”

“I think you should go,” Jack said. “We might need help choosing the right tree.”

Brady came running down the stairs, holding his coat, gloves and hat out to his mother.

“I think she’s going with us, Brady, so we can get the best tree possible.”

“You’re going, too, Mommy?” Brady asked, his eyes lighting up even brighter.

“Well?” Jack added.

“Yes, I’ll come if Carol doesn’t mind. But you can leave the dishes for me to do. Jenny will be up soon.”

“We’ll see.”

Brady would’ve taken the first tree they looked at. Jack cautioned him to look at a few more before he made his decision.

Amidst the delicate snow flurries floating in the cold night, Elizabeth wandered the tree-filled stands, her eyes as bright as Brady’s. When Jack saw her pause by a stately Frasier fir and circle it, checking it from every angle, he leaned down and suggested Brady go look at the tree his mother had found.

“Mommy, do you like this one?”

“I love it, Brady, but I think it might be too big.”

“I think it’ll be perfect,” Jack said, coming up behind her. He signaled the man running the tree farm. “We’ll take this one, Jonas.”

“Good choice, Jack. That’s the best tree I have this year.”

Brady beamed up at Jack. “We picked a good one, didn’t we?”

Jack patted the boy on his back. “We definitely did.”

“What do we do now?” Brady asked Jack.

“We pay for the tree, and Jonas here will trim the bottom off so it will soak up the water. Then we’ll put it in our truck and drive it home.”

Elizabeth stepped up and Brady put his arms around his mother, as far as his little arms could go. “Mommy, we’ve got our first Christmas tree!”

She bent down and hugged Brady. “Yes, we do, Brady, thanks to your grandfather…and Jack.”

Standing there with the snowflakes falling around them, mother and son looked so content, so beautiful that Jack couldn’t take his eyes off them.

They looked like an advertisement for the holiday season.

The perfect family.

Only one thing was missing. A dad.

Chapter Seven

EVEN though they didn’t decorate the tree that evening, Brady was still excited. Elizabeth was, too, though she tried not to admit it.

Jack watched both of them, enjoying their excitement. He and Tom hadn’t bothered with much Christmas in the past couple of years. After losing his wife, and then his son turning his back on him, Tom never seemed to be in the holiday spirit.

Nor had Jack.

He hadn’t even gone back home the last few Christmases.

It wasn’t that he wouldn’t have been welcome. It just seemed so much easier to stay at the Ransom Ranch. Besides, Jack needed him.

Now, though, he realized how much they’d missed. Now that they had someone to share Christmas with.

They put the tree in a bucket of water in the barn. Even though it was cold, Brady stood there, starin at the tree, as if he thought it might jump up and start dancing around.

“Brady, you need to come in now. It’s cold out here.” Jack reached out to take the little boy’s hand. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

“But I think our tree might get lonely.”

“No, sweetie, trees won’t get lonely. You can come see it tomorrow morning, if you wear your coat and gloves.”

“Okay, Mommy.”

Jack took his hand and led him to the house.

“Oh, I’m glad you’ve come in. There’s a Christmas special on television,” Carol exclaimed as they came into the house. She was carrying Jenny, warming up her bottle.

“Go on back to the television room, Carol. I’ll bring Jenny’s bottle as soon as it’s warmed,” Elizabeth said.

“Okay, but I’ll let you feed her. You haven’t spent much time with her.”

“Thank you, Carol,” Elizabeth said.

Brady had already run to the television, joining his grandfather. He shouted to Elizabeth, “Mommy, it’s Frosty the Snowman.”

“Brady still sounds excited.” Jack was taking off his coat in the kitchen, hanging it on a peg by the door.

“He’ll probably be excited until Christmas is over,” Elizabeth said. The timer on the microwave beeped, indicating the bottle she’d put was ready.

“Here, let me have your coat,” Jack said, holding out his hand.

“Thank you.” She slipped out of her coat and handed it to him. Then she took the warm bottle and went into the television room. He followed her in.

Carol handed over Jenny, and Elizabeth settled in an upholstered chair and began feeding Jenny, talking to her about the Christmas tree they’d bought.

“Next year she can go with us.”

Elizabeth jerked her head up to find Jack standing beside her chair. “I didn’t know you were there.”

“I didn’t want Jenny to think we’d forgotten her.”

“She’s too little to go to buy a tree this year, but I wanted her to know that next year we won’t leave her at home.”

“That’s right, little Jenny. I’ll be sure to take you.”

Jack perched on the arm of the chair and continued to chat with Jenny. Her big blue eyes stared right at his face, following his every movement.

Elizabeth listened to Jack, too, hoping against hope that what he said was true. That there’d be a next year for them all to get a Christmas tree together. That they’d go see Santa and write a wish list to give him.

She had a wish list. She wished that Jack had been her husband, not Reggie. Jack wouldn’t have been unwilling to claim their daughter, as Reggie had. He wouldn’t have ignored his children, his wife.

She’d never understood Reggie. But she did understand that she’d never marry again. Not when her first marriage had been such a disaster.

The only good that had come out of her marriage were her children.

Now she would be able to take care of them the way they deserved. To be the kind of mother she’d always wanted to be. With the money transferred to her name she could stay home until Jenny went to school.

While she’d been thinking, she realized Jenny had finished her bottle.

Taking the bottle from Jenny’s mouth, she patted the baby on her back and burped her until she had success. Then she got up from the chair and carried the baby upstairs.

When she returned, her son was asleep on his grandfather’s shoulder. She leaned down to take him upstairs, but Jack stopped her.

“I’ll take him upstairs.”

“But he’s got to get undressed. I’ll come up with you.”

Once they reached Brady’s room, Elizabeth found his pajamas and changed him without waking him up.

“Man, he’s a deep sleeper,” Jack said.

“Yes, he is,” Elizabeth said with a smile.

“How did you manage while you were pregnant?”

“We didn’t go out often.”

“I don’t guess Reggie came to see you?”

“No. Especially not with the second pregnancy.”

“Why?”

“Because he didn’t want Jenny.”

“I don’t think that’s how babies are created.”

“Don’t tell Reggie that.”

“I think it’s a little late to tell him anything.”

“Yes, I guess so.”

She pulled the cover up over Brady and leaned down to kiss him good-night.

Jack waited until she was ready to leave Brady’s bedroom.

“Do you need help cleaning the kitchen?”

She shook her head. “Carol did it all.”

“That’s what she gets paid to do.”

“I think I need to pay her salary.”

“I think that’s Tom’s job. He likes paying her.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I think he’s interested in her.”

“What do you mean?”

“He told me he would’ve married her a while ago if he hadn’t been feeling so bad.” She tilted her head. “But he seems to be feeling better now.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. The kids have given him a lift.”

“I’m glad he’s getting something out of us coming here. I need to talk to him about paying rent.”

“You can’t do that!”

She turned to stare at him. “Why not?”

“He wants to provide for you and the kids. His son obviously didn’t.”

“But he did. He just didn’t intend to. So I should pay rent.”

“But who’ll cook if you’re paying rent?”

She looked confused. “I will, of course.”

“We can’t let you cook and clean. Not if you’re paying to live here.”

It’d been such a lovely evening, but now Jack was pushing her again, telling her what to do. “I’m going to ask Tom.” She stomped to the television room. “Tom, you don’t mind my cooking and cleaning, do you?”

“Wait a minute, Tom, before you answer,” Jack said. “She’s talking about paying for living here, and cooking and cleaning.”

Tom frowned. “Why would you do that?”

She tried to ignore Jack. “Now that I have Reggie’s money, I feel like I should pay you something.”

“I don’t want your money, Elizabeth, but I sure can use your cooking.”

“But—”

“I think this argument is over.” Jack reached out to catch Elizabeth’s hand. “You can’t argue with the man.”

She threw off his touch. “We wouldn’t be arguing if you hadn’t interrupted us.”

“I wouldn’t have interrupted if you had told the whole story. Now, Lizzie—”

“Don’t call me that!”

“I can’t believe your family didn’t call you Lizzie!”

Something inside her snapped. Before she could stop herself she blurted, “I didn’t have any family! I was taken away from my mother because she was addicted to drugs. I was five and that’s the last time I ever saw her! I don’t even know who my father is.”

Jack frowned. “You weren’t adopted?”

“Would you want to adopt a child whose mother was an addict?”

“You didn’t take the drugs. Why not?”

“They only want babies. They—” Tears filled her eyes, stinging them, threatening to spill over. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” Spinning on her heel, she walked toward the steps.

Jack’s words stopped her.

“You’re a good mother, Elizabeth. You’re nothing like your mother.”

The tears flowed freely then, and she could do nothing to stop them.

Tom took her in his arms. “You deserved better than Reggie, but maybe it turned out well, after all. We can be a family, all of us here.”

She looked up at him and wiped her tears away. “I’d like that, Tom.”

He smiled at her. “Good. And our family is growing even more. I’ve just asked Carol to marry me.”

She hugged him. “I’m so happy for both of you.”

Carol looked at Elizabeth. “You don’t mind if I come live here?”

“Not at all, Carol. That will be wonderful! I’ve learned that you can never have too much family.” Elizabeth hugged the woman.

“When are you going to marry?” Jack asked as he shook Tom’s hand.

“Whenever Carol is ready.”

“I’m ready now,” she said without hesitation.

Tom beamed at her. “Then let’s get married Friday night.”

“We’ll need to get a wedding cake,” Elizabeth said. “Is there anyone we can call to bake a wedding cake?”

“Yeah, but Jack will have to call her,” Tom said. “She always agrees when Jack calls her.”

Elizabeth looked at him. “Well?”

“Sure, I’ll call her.”

“Good.” Elizabeth turned to go upstairs. “If you’ll excuse me, then, I’ve got to go check on the children.” She walked quickly up the stairs.

“I don’t think your little joke went over well,” Jack said ruefully when she was out of earshot.

Tom shook his head. “I’ll tell her what I meant in the morning.”

“You’d better.” He said his good-nights. “I’m leaving you two alone. Stay out of trouble!”

On the way to his room, he was tempted to knock on Elizabeth’s door, but he didn’t think she’d listen to him. He hadn’t spoken up when she’d confessed to not having a family. But he’d wanted to.

He’d wanted to rush to her, hug her and let her know that she would have made any parent proud, that she had people who loved her, even though she hadn’t had a family till now.

But he hadn’t.

Instead, Tom had stepped up and hugged Elizabeth and made her feel like she was a part of the family.

What had held him back?

Fear.

He was afraid he was falling in love with Elizabeth.

Jack felt hung over when he got up the next morning when the alarm went off. But it wasn’t booze that had given him trouble. It was a woman.

The woman he’d heard walking the hallways last night as he lay awake.

Elizabeth, too, had had a bad night sleeping.

When he entered the kitchen he saw that she’d fixed his breakfast—her pancakes, his favorite—and left them covered on the stovetop. But there was no sign of her.

He knew he had to rectify the assumption she’d made last night, or else she’d be mad at him all day.

He ate his breakfast and thought about how he would handle the situation.

On the one hand Elizabeth was the most understanding woman he’d ever met. On the other hand, she was also the most stubborn. There was really one way to clear up the misunderstanding.