Her Billionaire Christmas Secret (Texas Ranch Romance Book 4)

by Sophia Summers

“He would love this alligator magazine.” Sam had the magazine opened to a picture of a huge alligator.

  The nurse walked over to Sam. “Wow that is a big one.”

  The doctor turned toward Dani and quietly said, “We were sorry to hear about your loss.” Then he turned to Sam. “Now, what do we have here?”

  “He fell off a rope swing and hurt his arm.” Dani patted Sam’s shoulder while the doctor took off the bandana and gave it to Dani.

  Sam answered. “I was climbing into my new tree fort!”

  The nurse looked down at him. “Well, I wish I had a tree fort.”

  “Let’s get an X-ray of this,” the doctor said. “And I think I can do better than this bandana for a sling.” He smiled at Sam. “Why don’t you hop in that chair, and Nurse Conners will wheel you down to our picture taker.”

  Dani knew it would take some time to get over the sorrow associated with Mitch’s illness and death. Seeing that wheelchair had just caught her off guard. As a mother, she was sad for herself but very sad for Sam. While the nurse had Sam taking an X-ray, the doctor sat down by Dani. “How are you doing, really?”

  “I am so busy looking after Sam that I don’t really know.”

  “Spending time out in the country is a great comfort. Your parents will fill in for Mitch with Sam.”

  “I worry that I won’t be able to be both parents to him.” Sam seemed fine, he had a lot of distractions at the ranch, but she knew he hadn’t really grieved yet. Maybe that was okay for now.

  The doctor’s visit confirmed the opinion of Dr. Ryan, and they gave Sam a proper sling to wear. She drove over to Dairy Queen for a treat before heading back to the ranch. She realized she was becoming her mother. Treats did not solve problems, but in her case, a Snickers Blizzard did the trick.

  Chapter 9

  When she got back to her house, her dad was waiting for her. “Hi, Dad, what’s up?”

  “I am glad to see Sam is fine. I just got this text from Peter. It’s a picture that brought back some fun memories, should I forward it to you?”

  “Sure, Dad, send it over.”

  It was the newspaper picture of them sitting on the sofa with Oscar and Luella, the cougar babies.

  “I need to show this to Sam and tell him the whole story.”

  Henry got up off of the porch swing. “Peter has sure turned into a happy, successful adult. I used to be worried about his future. But he definitely made something of himself. You know he never married.”

  “What are you saying, Dad?” Dani knew her father too well to think it was an innocent remark.

  “Oh nothing, dear, I’m just so happy to see him doing well.” Henry walked back through the woods to the ranch house.

  “Sam, come on in now. The doctor said you should take it easy. You can keep Aussie in the house with you if you keep him in the box.”

  She changed into her jeans and headed out the door, yelling back. “Take him out for potty breaks, but come right back inside to rest. I am going over to the stables.”

  Dani sighed in relief as she walked through the woods toward the barn. On the way, she passed Dr. Ryan.

  “How’s Sam?” he asked.

  She reluctantly stopped to answer his question. “His arm is not broken, so we’re good.” She started to leave.

  “I would be happy to take a look at him in a day or two.” His eyes wandered the length of her. There it was again—he was checking her out.

  “That will not be necessary.” Slime ball. Dani walked away from the man faster than she had intended.

  “Hey, Carson, could I have a word?”

  Carson leaned back against the coral fence and gave the slightest nod toward the doctor. “I heard there was trouble following that one.”

  Dani wasn’t interested in Dr. Ryan, but she was curious how Carson knew anything about the man. But when she asked, he just laughed. “I have my ways, Dani girl.”

  “From your anonymous past, I presume?” she loved this man. His crusty, old smile still charmed the women. She knew he was living incognito himself, but her dad never would answer her questions about it.

  “Never you mind about that, Dani. How’s Aussie doing?” Carson had a slight smile as if he’d pulled a fast one on her.

  She had to laugh. “Yes, Aussie. Well, to tell you the truth, Sam is in heaven about that puppy. And training him will be a good experience for Sam. I am assuming you are going to give him pointers, because I have no clue how to do this. The only dog I ever had ran the whole household.”

  “That’s the plan,” Carson said.

  “Sam is resting this afternoon. Can I saddle up that Palomino for a ride around the lake? Its doctor’s orders.”

  “I will get her ready for you. Why don’t you take a walk through the stables? We have some mighty-fine animals here now.”

  “Hey, Carson is that quarter horse in the back ready to foal? She looks big enough for twins.” Dani laughed and whistled as she took in the new horses her parents had acquired. These were not riding ranch nags.

  Carson nodded. “Your dad wants to give the foal to Sam. He will need to be here for the birth, though. It will help him in the training process.”

  “Wow, there is a lot of training going on around here. I am going to have to start pitching in.” Dani looked in each of the very clean stalls. This was not a simple family operation going on here. This was professional.

  “Okay, here you go.” Carson handed Dani the reigns. “She’s a bit flighty but obeys with a firm hand.” Carson helped her up into the saddle.

  “We should get along just fine. I am feeling a bit flighty myself.” Dani walked her horse over the bridge and then let her go at her own speed. Carson was right, she took off at a full gallop. The pure joy of it was overpowering. Dani felt such freedom; freedom from the sorrow and freedom from the worry. It all just drained away. About halfway around the lake, her horse slowed down to a walk. It seemed she had some issues to deal with as well. Dani reached down and patted her neck. “Good girl, we needed that.”

  As she came around the corner, Dr. Ryan was there on the trail. The pure joy she felt soured into an expression that any other man would have read as “go away.”

  “That was a pretty sight,” he said.

  Dani kept riding and ignored his comment. She wondered what it was that Carson knew about the man.

  Peter sat down to dinner with his aunt Meredith. “You know, Peter, I was hoping you would start dating to find the new mistress of this estate.”

  “Aunt, there is someone I am interested in. I think I have loved her my whole life, and it’s only now that I may have a chance to be with her again. So there’s no need to worry. I have a plan to make you happy.” He smiled, loving this dear aunt.

  His aunt smiled. “I know I am pushy, but just once I would like to see a child slide down the banister in the entryway before I die.”

  “I am working on that, Aunt Meredith.” He knew she would love Dani. He had never talked about her, but the two of them had such a similar personality. And that wasn’t necessarily a compliment. They were both extremely bossy and sure they were always right. But even those qualities he found endearing. He couldn’t count the times his aunt had reminded him of Dani.

  He went up to his room and checked his phone. There was a text from Dani. He immediately sat down to read it.

  “Hi, Peter, I had almost forgotten Oscar and Luella until I saw the picture and article. Sometimes I wonder what happened to them. It was thoughtful of you to send it. I can’t wait to share the story with Sam tonight before bed. He will love it.”

  James’s plan was working. Peter sat back and closed his eyes, remembering the story. He could still feel her snuggled up against him under the tree, sobbing over the death of the mother cougar.

  He texted back. “We have some great stories. Sam seems to be the age where he would enjoy them.”

  Dani sat in front of her phone, tempted to write more; she hated to put the phone down and lose this connection to
Peter. She didn’t want to sound too anxious, but a good idea came to her.

  “I think a lot of children would love our stories. Maybe we could get together sometime and write a children’s book.”

  Peter replied, “That is a great idea. But you know what kind of a writer I was. That hasn’t changed.”

  That brought Dani back to his writing assignments for English, all of which she helped him with after the first F. She had totally forgotten about that. He would write a paper and they would head to the tree fort, where she would make him read it out loud. They then laughed their heads off about how bad it sounded. She would make him start over and dictate her changes. They argued about whether a boy would use this or that phrase or word. “Boys don’t say really, Dani. Have you ever heard a boy say really?”

  “No, but I don’t know why you have such a problem with it. How would you say ‘really hot,’ ‘really scared,’ ‘really important’?”

  “I don’t know, but I am going to check a thesaurus out of the school library. I know there are better words that boys say.”

  The next week, Peter had written his paper, which they again took to the tree fort. He seemed quite proud of himself. “The teacher was extremely mad, the children were exceedingly scared, and the cat was categorically snotty.”

  Peter texted again. “But I would love to get together and make the attempt. How’s next week?”

  Wha—wait a minute? Next week? Her heart picked up. She wasn’t sure she could move forward that fast. Yet she had been thinking of him almost every day, so why not get the suspense over with and just see each other?

  “Okay, that’s great. Any day is fine with me.” Dani hesitated to hit the send button. She shook her head and just did it.

  Peter was quick in his reply. “I can be there Wednesday and stay till the end of the week if we need that much time.”

  “If we are serious about doing this, it will take a lot longer than five days. Can you commit to regular weekends until we are finished?” Dani was never one to do things halfway. You either did it or you didn’t, you never just played around with an idea. She was either going to spend time with Peter, or she wasn’t. She pushed the button firmly.

  “Well, I have some flexibility in my work schedule. I think that can be arranged.”

  She chewed on her lower lip. Flexibility? What was his job, anyway?

  “Okay. Mom and Dad will be happy to hear you are coming. They will have a room for you at the ranch resort.”

  “I am coming with my thesaurus!”

  She laughed, and wondered how she would deal with a very grown up and good-looking Peter.

  Chapter 10

  Peter sat back in his chair and wondered how this would go. This was it. At the very least, they could remain friends. And Peter thought that would be good too. He could at least see her and have a small part to play in her life. It was better than hiding Christmas presents on the porch and arranging help anonymously. Sam would get to know him, maybe as an uncle. And as he grew up, Peter would be in a position to help him in the business world.

  Even as he tried to convince himself that there was nothing to worry about, he knew he was just setting up a safety net if he didn’t get what he really wanted—to love and hold Dani for the rest of his life.

  He needed to see James.

  Peter walked into the boys club that evening.

  “Hi, Mr. Jacobs!” said the young man with ear phones, sitting at the reception desk.

  “Hey, Billie, how’s it going? Have you seen James around?” Peter took off his suit coat and hung it on the coat rack.

  “He’s in the gym, I think.”

  Peter rolled up his shirt sleeves as he walked down the hall to the gym. James had wanted a half-court gym, saying a full court would be too expensive. Peter remembered arguing with him about it. Finally, Peter was so frustrated he’d told him the court was a gift and didn’t have to come out of his budget. James agreed and had told him many times since how much better a full court was.

  Peter walked into the middle of a basketball game. He moved to the side quickly and sat down by James.

  “How’s it going?”

  James didn’t look up. His concentration was on the boys.

  “Your plan for Dani is working. Texting her. Sending pictures. The problem is what do I do next?”

  James stopped and gave him his full attention. “You’re kidding. I never thought that would actually work.” He burst out laughing.

  “You can laugh, but I am going to be there for five days, at least, and I have never had to make conversation with anyone for that long, ever.”

  “If she is how you’ve described her all these years, you will have trouble getting a word in edgewise.” James scratched his chin. “How did this visit get planned?”

  Peter showed him the text messages.

  “So she initiated getting together? That is encouraging. I think you are home free.” James patted him on the back.

  “I wish I had your confidence.” Peter sighed.

  Dani wandered into the kitchen of the main house with Sam.

  “Hi, Sam,” Mary said. “How’s your arm doing today? Do you need another cookie?”

  “Yes, Grandma, Mom says I have to go to bed now so my arm can get better. Could I please have a glass of milk too?” Mary pulled out a stool for Sam to sit on. Dani helped him up, being careful of his arm and sat next to him.

  “Mom, I texted Peter to thank him for the newspaper article. We exchanged a few texts and the short story is he’s coming to visit next Wednesday.”

  Mary stopped organizing the next day’s meals and sat down. “What do you think about this?”

  “I have mixed emotions. We got to talking about the fun adventures we had as kids and decided to write them down for a children’s book.”

  “That is a wonderful idea, Dani. I can’t tell you how much fun your father and I had over the years, watching you two.”

  Henry came in for his nightly cookie. Dani wondered how it was that there were so many cookies eaten in this house and no one had the body to show it.

  “Dad, Peter is coming for a visit.”

  “That’s nice.” Henry took his cookie and walked back out toward the porch.

  Dani looked at her Mom and wrinkled her forehead, not quite believing her father’s reaction. “Doesn’t he like Peter?”

  “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. He loves Peter, always has.” Mary left and walked out to the porch after Henry.

  She came back in, a moment later. “Sam, Grandpa wants to talk to you on the porch.”

  After Sam headed out, Dani looked at her mom. “What is it, Mom?”

  “Your father wants to give Sam the new foal we are expecting. It’s a big responsibility, but we think it will be good for him to look after it.”

  “Carson already has him looking after his puppy. I don’t think Sam is going to have time to be sad for his dad. He needs to face it sometime. I’m worried he will have a meltdown if he keeps pushing thoughts of his Dad away.”

  “That’s true, but don’t you think it would be good to give him some distance before he has to do that?”

  Sam came back in, thrilled. “I get a horse, Mom! It’s going to be born here, and it’s mine.”

  “That is wonderful. You are becoming a cowboy more and more every day and you’re going to need your rest. Let’s go to bed.”

  It was getting dark as they followed the path to her house. Maybe she would ask her dad to put some nightlights out here. It could be a little spooky at night, and she didn’t want to accidentally step on a snake. Just then, Dr. Ryan stepped out from behind a tree.

  “Oh, you scared me to death! What are you doing back here?” Speaking of snakes

  He stepped unsteadily towards her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just came back to see how Sam was doing.”

  Dani backed up a step and put her arm around Sam. “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but this part of the ranch is private property.”


  His mouth flattened into a line. His glazed eyes were drinking her in. When he grabbed her arm, she knew she was in trouble. This man was sick. The fact that Sam was right here didn’t seem to bother him in the least.

  Then Carson walked out from the woods. “Dani, I came over to fix that faucet you were complaining about.” He looked directly at Dr. Ryan. “Sorry, you must be lost.” He stepped closer to the man. “It’s dangerous back here. You never know what could happen to a person if he was caught out here wandering around at night.”

  Dr. Ryan backed away and headed up toward the ranch house, glaring at Carson the whole way. If looks could kill, Carson would be dead.

  “Carson, thank you. That man is bad.”

  “Dani, I think you should sleep in one of the resort’s spare rooms tonight. He checks out in the morning. It’s either that or I am going to have to sleep on your front porch.”

  Dani sighed. “Okay. Come on, Sam. Let’s go to Grandma’s house for a sleepover.” Carson walked her back up to the resort and stopped to talk to Henry on the front porch.

  At 3 am her mother knocked on her door to wake her up. “Dani, it’s time! It’s time!”

  “For what, Mother?” She groaned as she rolled out of bed. She had been waiting for the day her parents might start to slide mentally. Maybe this was it.

  “The foal is coming! Hurry, get Sam up.”

  Her brain cleared. She put on her bathrobe and went to get Sam. “Sam, wake up. Your baby horse is being born. Quick!”

  Sam flew out of bed and ran down the stairs and over to the barn. How did he do that? Only kids could go from a sound sleep to a full sprint in one second.

  Dani hurried behind him. All the lights were on in the barn, and the mare was in a larger stall, lying on mounds of hay. Carson and her father were in the stall. Sam was standing in front of Dani, and they all just watched. Dani pulled over a bench and sat down. “Do you need to help her? She seems to be straining.”

  Carson smiled. “No, this girl knows what she’s doing. This is her third foal. Okay, watch this, Sam, here she comes.”