Christmas at Colts Creek

by Delores Fossen

  With Margo by her side, Janessa made her way down the stairs and was thankful when she could actually take steps that didn’t cause any pain. Well, every third or fourth step still hurt, but the broken toe was improving, and the bruising was now the same color of blue as the shoes Margo had given her.

  Janessa passed one of the housekeepers along the way. Chrissy Meekins, Janessa remembered. Chrissy gave her a big smile, something the other household help had been doing. The ranch hands, too, when they spotted her. Apparently, everyone seemed satisfied that they weren’t going to lose their jobs.

  Margo and she continued down the stairs, and Janessa caught the wonderful sugary scent before she even reached the kitchen.

  “Cinnamon rolls,” Margo supplied. “I’ve got to skip them if I want to fit into my festival outfit, but you should definitely give them a try. Tell Velma Sue I’ll be by later with those magazines she wanted to borrow.”

  Margo went out front where she was probably parked, and Janessa headed to the kitchen. Teagan was indeed there and using a spatula to take some of those rolls out of the pan.

  “Before I forget,” Janessa said right off, “I’m to tell you Margo will bring the magazines later.”

  With her usual slow calm movements, Velma Sue smiled and took a small plate from the cupboard. “A good news kind of day,” the woman said, adding one of the rolls to the plate and passing it to Janessa. “Thought we’d celebrate.”

  There it was again, that dreaded word. Janessa wished that everyone affected by Abe’s will would just wait to see how this all panned out before any celebrations began. Still, that didn’t stop Janessa from biting into the results of that good-news-kind-of-day deal.

  “Miss Velma Sue said it was okay if I helped in the kitchen,” Teagan muttered. She did her usual, too, with the shy downcast eyes and softly spoken words.

  “I didn’t know you knew how to bake,” Janessa remarked, and she emphasized some mmm sounds when she chowed down. It wasn’t hard to make those sounds because the roll was yummy, but she’d done that with the hopes of putting Teagan at ease.

  “I don’t, not really, but Miss Velma Sue showed me what had to be done. Can I help her some more, like with lunch or something?”

  Janessa knew what the girl was truly asking. Can I stay? Janessa didn’t want to go with her own usual of to be determined, but that was accurate. She settled for, “We’ll see. I need to go talk to my mother at the inn, but when I get back, we can discuss what you want—”

  “I want to stay here,” Teagan said before Janessa could finish.

  The girl kept that same nearly whispered tone, but Janessa heard the feelings that came with it. The ranch probably felt safer than being in Dallas and near Riggs. Then again, Riggs had come here before, and he could do it again. Janessa made a mental note to text Brody and ask him if the ranch hands would still be patrolling the property.

  “We can talk about that,” Janessa assured her, and then she turned to Velma Sue. “When I’m in town, please keep the doors locked and the security system turned on.”

  “Will do.” Velma Sue lifted a large wooden rolling pin. “But I can handle a pissant looking for trouble.”

  That was possibly true. Anyone who’d worked for Abe all this time had to have some steel in them. Still, it was best not to rely on kitchen utensils for defense.

  Taking the rest of the roll so she could put the plate in the dishwasher, Janessa said goodbye to Teagan and Velma and made the trek around the main floor of the house to check the doors again. All thirteen of them were still locked. She’d just made it back to the front of the house when the doorbell rang.

  Janessa looked out the side window and frowned when she saw Darcia on the porch. Obviously, the gossips were wrong, because from everything Janessa had heard, Darcia didn’t come to the house. Ever.

  Licking the sticky sugar off her fingers and hoping there wasn’t any on her face, Janessa used the app she’d put on her phone to pause the security system and opened the door. She greeted Darcia with a smile. Which quickly faded. Brody’s mother clearly wasn’t in a smiling mood.

  Darcia was wearing sweatpants and a shirt, both of which appeared to be splattered with clay, and Janessa remembered the woman saying she taught pottery classes. She had pulled back her dark hair in a short stubby ponytail. No makeup, but then she didn’t need it. The woman was still beautiful. It was easy to see why Abe had lost his head and heart over her.

  “I don’t want to come in,” Darcia said before Janessa could offer the invitation. She put on her jacket and pulled it tight around her. “And I won’t keep you. I just wanted to talk to you about my son.”

  Janessa did a mental wince and wondered if someone had seen Brody and her in a lip-lock at the cemetery. If so, news like that would definitely make the rounds and get back to Darcia.

  “Brody and I had a lapse, that’s all,” she assured Darcia. “We both agreed it was a mistake.” Well, their voices had agreed. Janessa wasn’t so sure that any other part of her had listened.

  Darcia just stared at her. It soon became apparent that the woman was shocked. Well, crap. Here she’d just gone and blurted out stuff that shouldn’t have been blurted. Especially to Brody’s mom. Now, Darcia probably thought Brody and she had had sex instead of just a really long, really incredible kiss.

  “I’m here about my other son, Rowan.” Darcia’s voice had gone a little arctic. It matched the frosty look in her eyes, and that wasn’t frosty in a cool slang kind of way.

  It was mental-note time. Janessa would need to warn Brody about this conversation so that when Darcia confronted him about it, he wouldn’t be blindsided.

  “What about Rowan?” Janessa asked. She kept her question simple so that she wouldn’t blab yet something else that Darcia might not know. Of course, Janessa didn’t have anything to dish on Brody’s kid brother.

  “I don’t want Rowan to help you with the research on Abe for the Last Ride Society,” Darcia stated. “He’s already been doing computer searches and going through old social media pages, and I want that to stop.”

  Janessa didn’t jump to answer. She often had to defuse situations, and while Darcia didn’t look especially angry, the emotions were there.

  “Rowan asked to help,” Janessa finally said, “but I can certainly tell him it’s not necessary. Maybe you should do the same?”

  Her mouth tightened, and Janessa recognized that gesture, too, since she’d had a lot of dealings with teenagers. They didn’t always respond in a positive way to ground rules. Especially when the rule might not make sense to him. So, Darcia had likely already told him and Rowan had balked about it.

  “I don’t want Rowan to dig into the past, into the kind of man Abe Parkman was,” Darcia continued. “In fact, I’d rather he not work here at Colts Creek, but Brody talked me into it.”

  Janessa didn’t have to guess that Darcia wasn’t especially happy about that concession, either. But Janessa could see it from Brody’s point of view. Here at the ranch, he’d be able to keep an eye on Rowan. Though Janessa hadn’t seen any particular behavior from the boy to indicate he needed such an eye. Still, she’d only run into him twice so maybe there was something about him she didn’t know.

  “Abe made a habit of using my kids to take little jabs at me,” Darcia added. She opened her mouth as if she might say more, but then she seemed to change her mind. “If Rowan comes to you, please remind him I don’t want him doing the research.”

  With that, Darcia turned to leave. Just as Sophia’s car turned into the driveway. Janessa figured the two women knew each other. And she was right. When Sophia stepped from her car, there was instant recognition on Sophia’s face. Ditto for Darcia’s. There didn’t seem to be any hot flames of anger but more like the awkwardness because they were both Abe’s exes.

  “Sophia,” Darcia said, though it wasn’t much of a greeting. She moved down th
e steps, obviously heading for her car.

  “Darcia,” her mother returned, obviously heading for the porch. “Let me guess. You’re here to tell my daughter that you don’t want her spending time with your son.”

  Janessa sighed. Was the gossip about Rowan’s research making the rounds or did someone else know about Brody and her kissing at the cemetery?

  “Just because I agreed they shouldn’t be seeing each other,” Sophia continued, “that doesn’t mean I care much for this visit. It’s a déjà vu, isn’t it? A lot like your visit sixteen years ago when you came to Dallas to tell me that Janessa shouldn’t be with Brody.”

  What? Janessa had to do a mental double take on that. Darcia must have done one, too, because she stopped in her tracks. So, this wasn’t about Rowan but rather Brody.

  “You went to Dallas?” Janessa asked, and yes, she aimed that question at Darcia.

  Darcia turned back to face Janessa and nodded. “I thought Abe was trying to play matchmaker with Brody and you. Again, as a way of using my kids to take jabs at me. Did you know that Abe lent my daughter the car she was in when she died?” she added before Janessa could respond.

  Janessa had to shake her head, and she waited for Darcia to continue. She didn’t have to wait long.

  “Layla had only had her driver’s license a few months,” Darcia went on, “and she wanted a car so she could go to and from her part-time job at the florist in town. I told her no, that she was too young, but then she showed up with a car that Abe had lent her. And before you ask why he did that, it was because he wanted to undermine me with my daughter.”

  It sounded as if that’s what Abe had done. But why? Maybe Layla had visited Brody at the ranch, and she’d gotten to know Abe? Still, that wasn’t a solid reason for Abe to lend a teenager a car without getting her mother’s permission.

  “I’m sorry,” Janessa murmured because she had no idea what else to say. It was clear that Darcia had connected the dots from long ago and blamed Abe for her daughter’s death.

  Some of the stiffness went out of Darcia’s shoulders, and she nodded before she hurried to her car.

  “You didn’t mention that Darcia had come to see you in Dallas,” Janessa said to her mother.

  “No,” Sophia readily admitted. “No need. You came home a day or two later, and it was clear you and Brody were no longer together.”

  Janessa gave her a flat look. “You said you knew Brody’s name because I’d doodled it.”

  “Yes, I did say that.” Sophia flashed one of her quick dry smiles. “A white lie. What good would it have done if I told you about Darcia?”

  “None,” Janessa admitted after she ran it through her head.

  “Besides, I agreed with Darcia. I figured Abe was doing some matchmaking and that he was also possibly doing that to take some jabs at her.” She paused, gathered her breath and came up onto the porch. “Hell hath no fury like Abraham Parkman when he’s scorned.”

  Maybe. But Janessa hoped that wasn’t the reason. Because if so, that meant Abe could have also used Brody to jab at Darcia. Jabs that could have included gaining Brody’s trust and love all so he could crush him with this damn will.

  Janessa pushed that aside for now and faced her mother. “Are you really staying in Last Ride?”

  “I said I would, and I will.” But she didn’t give Janessa even a second to feel relief about that because she launched into a question. “How’s Teagan?”

  It took Janessa a moment to switch gears. “She’s better. She doesn’t want to go back to Dallas.”

  “Well, of course, she doesn’t. Her fixer is here.” She patted Janessa’s arm and handed her a business card that she took from the pocket of her emerald green coat. “It’s for an OB here in Last Ride. I asked around, and everyone says he’s the best. Of course, there are only two OBs so best might be relative.”

  “Thank you,” she said, taking the card. “This was on my to-do list.”

  “Now, it’s done. So is the temporary restraining order against Riggs. Sheriff Lyle personally handled that for us.”

  Janessa wondered if that was because Sophia had sweet-talked him or if the sheriff knew the benefits of keeping the woman happy. A happy Sophia would stay in Last Ride.

  Sophia glanced at her watch. “Gotta go. I’m having breakfast with Curt Dayton so we can discuss strategies for dropkicking Abe’s will.”

  That seemed a reasonable thing to do, but Janessa caught the twinkle—yes, a twinkle—in Sophia’s eyes. “Curt is at least fifteen years younger than you.”

  Sophia smiled. “Yes, he is. Hey, if I’m stuck here in Podunk for the holidays, I might as well enjoy myself.” She waved a perky little wave to go with her perky little smile and went to her car.

  “Why did you decide to stay?” Janessa came out and asked. “Was it because of Curt?”

  “Nooo,” Sophia stretched that out. “It was because I didn’t want to see Abe get away with what he tried to pull in his will. I figured I could better fight the terms of that will if I was here. I also wanted to keep an eye on you.”

  More like an eye on Brody and her, but Janessa wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sophia had saved her. Or had at least set up a possible saving.

  “And like I said, if I have to be here,” her mother added, “then I intend to enjoy myself.”

  Her mother certainly didn’t advise Janessa to do the same in the enjoyment department, but it was something to consider. Three months was a long time when it came to resisting the hottest cowboy in Last Ride. A cowboy she spotted riding toward the barn on an impressive looking Appaloosa.

  Definitely the hottest.

  Brody didn’t look in her direction when he dismounted, and when he immediately started a conversation with a couple of the ranch hands, Janessa went back inside where Velma Sue and Teagan appeared to be waiting for her.

  “Is your mom staying?” Teagan immediately asked.

  “She said yes.” Janessa went ahead and added the asterisk, “But she could change her mind.”

  “She said yes,” Teagan repeated.

  Clearly, that news made her happy, and her face lit up. Probably because she knew her chances had increased for staying here. With her fixer. Janessa only hoped that she could indeed fix this by keeping Riggs far, far away from Last Ride.

  “You’ll need to call for an appointment,” Janessa explained, handing her the card for the OB.

  “I will. Thank you.” Taking out her phone, Teagan stepped aside to make the call.

  “If you’re wanting to go through those presents now, I can show you where they are,” Velma Sue said.

  Janessa had already geared up to go back upstairs and tackle some work on her laptop, but she decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least get a glimpse of the gifts. First, though, she locked the front door, reset the security and followed Velma Sue through the maze of halls. Following Velma Sue at the woman’s slow pace gave Janessa plenty of time to study art and furnishings in his part of the house. Again, it had that museum vibe. A shame since it could have been so much more welcoming with some non-marble, non-gloss and some splashes of color.

  Of which Abe’s office had none.

  When Velma Sue paused in the doorway of that office, and Janessa looked inside, she saw that it was exactly what she’d expected. Black-and-white. Excessively large. And it had an equally excessively large painting of Abe hanging over the black stone fireplace. Unlike the fireplace at Brody’s, there were no framed family photos on the mantel, but there was a line of awards. Glossy and shiny, of course.

  “The presents are this way,” Velma Sue said, leading Janessa past the office and to a large storage room.

  The moment Velma Sue opened the door, Janessa spotted the wrapped packages. Now, here was color, a practical rainbow in the wrapping paper that ranged from lavender to bright red. Some had enormous bows, other
s sparkly coils and stars shooting out like fireworks. Still another had a silk flower arrangement for a topper.

  “Wow,” Teagan said, coming up behind them. “So many presents.”

  Janessa made a sound of agreement. So many, and Abe had never mentioned them to her, much less given her any of them. He’d kept them here, close enough to where he worked but out of sight. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, but she was quickly learning that Abe had plenty of layers. Not necessarily good ones, but they existed.

  “The ones there are for your birthdays, one through twelve.” Velma pointed to a stash in the corner. “Those dozen are for Christmas,” she added pointing to another corner.

  “Why did he stop at twelve?” Teagan asked.

  There weren’t any puzzling layers about this. “Because that’s when Abe knew he was never going to get custody of me.”

  A rejection, and she wondered how he’d reacted. Janessa couldn’t recall him showing a whole lot of emotion, but it was possible it’d hurt him. Just as possible, though, that he’d flicked it off and shut the door on both the gifts and her.

  Teagan went closer to look at the packages. “Are you going to open them?”

  Janessa considered the question, nodded. “Maybe a few of them.” She pointed to the largest one in the birthday corner. “Why don’t you open that one for me?” The equally large tag on it said it was for her first birthday.

  Teagan brightened, but then she shook her head. “You should do it. Your father got them for you.”

  More likely he’d gotten them out of obligation. Or maybe to try to show up Sophia if Janessa had ever gotten around to opening them.

  “Go ahead,” Janessa assured the girl. “Start with the one that was supposed to be for my first birthday.” It was also the biggest one.

  With her pregnant waddle, Teagan went to the packages while Velma Sue and Janessa stayed back. “If you don’t think it’ll stir up too many bad memories, you oughta consider going through Abe’s things to see if there’s anything you might want.”