Christmas Catch-Up VII (River's End Ranch)

by Pamela M. Kelley

  “Okay, let’s get these babies back to the house. Everyone ready to go?” Ben asked as he turned toward the house.

  Anna grabbed Taylor’s hand, and they started walking. She glanced back to see if Prancer was right behind them and realized that she wasn’t. She was already racing down the road back to wherever it was that she’d come from, now that her mission was accomplished.

  “Mama, two doggies is best Christmas ever!”

  Anna smiled. “I think you’re right.”

  Chapter 3

  Teasing Tammy—Tammy and Clark

  Hey, Clark! What time do you think you’ll be home? I have a new recipe I want to try out tonight for us. Melissa said it’s her favorite chicken dish with lots of mushrooms and peppers.” Tammy was only a block from home and had stopped at the store to get all the ingredients that she needed. It was a cold night, and she was looking forward to relaxing in front of the fire with her husband and a delicious meal.

  “That sounds great, but we might have to do it tomorrow instead,” Clark sounded regretful.

  “You picked up someone’s shift?” Tammy knew he had a hard time saying no.

  “Ricky’s son is playing hockey tonight. His team made the finals, so I told him I’d switch shifts. But he’s going to work for me tomorrow night, so we can do it then.”

  “That means you’re working a double though. You’re going to be exhausted.”

  “I’ll be fine. It hasn’t been too crazy today.” Clark was an orthopedics doctor and worked a shift or two in the ER.

  “All right. I’ll see you in the morning then.”

  “Have a good night, Tammy. Love you!”

  She smiled. “Love you too.”

  She decided that her Plan B for dinner would be heating up some soup and treating herself to a mug of hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows. As she turned onto their street, she smiled at the sight of their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Greenfield’s, house. It was beautifully decorated. She must have just done her porch that day. Pretty lights were draped along the length and oversized red ornaments hung every few feet.Through the bay window, she could see her Christmas tree all lit up.

  Tammy pulled into their driveway and saw that she had a visitor on her porch. A fluffy white dog who looked like it was waiting patiently for her. Tammy gathered up her bag of groceries and walked toward the door. The dog stood up and wagged its tail as she approached.

  “Why, hello there? I haven’t seen you around. Let me set this down and I’ll come right back to pet you.” She opened the door, went into the kitchen and quickly put the chicken and veggies into the refrigerator then went back to the porch. The white dog was still sitting there and stood and barked as soon as she opened the door.

  “What is it? Are you lost?” She gently patted the dog’s head and read the name on the collar. “Prancer, what a pretty name.”

  The dog barked again and rubbed its head against her leg and then started toward the steps, looking back as if to say, “Follow me.”

  Tammy did, curious where Prancer wanted her to go. She was moving quickly and Tammy picked up her pace when saw where Prancer was going. She followed the dog onto Mrs. Greenfield’s porch and stopped in front of her door. She knocked but there was no response. Prancer barked again and Tammy grew worried. She turned the doorknob and was relieved to see that it wasn’t locked.

  “Mrs. Greenfield? Are you okay?” she called out.

  “Tammy is that you? I’m in the living room dear.”

  She and Prancer followed the sound of her voice to the living room and Tammy gasped at what she saw. Her elderly neighbor was lying on the carpet in front of her Christmas tree. A ladder was beside her and a delicate angel, meant for the top of the tree, was in her right hand.

  Tammy rushed to her side. “Are you okay? Let me help you up.”

  “I think you might need to call for help, dear. My leg doesn’t want to move at the moment.” She struggled to sit up and winced at the effort.

  “Don’t try to move. You must have broken something. I’ll call 911. Where is your phone?”

  “My cell phone is on the kitchen table.”

  Tammy went to the kitchen, saw the phone and called for an ambulance. Less than ten minutes later, she heard sirens coming toward them.

  “Is that your dog? She’s beautiful” Tammy asked her. Prancer was sitting by Mrs. Greenfield’s side.

  “Prancer? She is lovely isn’t she? I’ve never seen her before today. She showed up on the front porch when I was hanging the lights there. I almost took a tumble then too, now that I think of it. Those ladders aren’t as sturdy as they used to be.”

  Tammy opened the door to let the emergency medics in and they quickly assessed Mrs. Greenfield and bundled her onto a stretcher. She looked pale and nervous as they lifted the stretcher to carry her out. Tammy had grown fond of the older woman since she and Clark had moved in next door. She lived alone and was always cheerful and sweet.

  “I’ll meet you at the hospital to keep you company,” Tammy assured her.

  “You’re such a dear. Thank you.”

  Twenty minutes later, Tammy walked into the ER and was happy to see that Mrs. Greenfield had already been taken in to a room. It didn’t look like the ER was too busy which meant she didn’t have a long wait, which was a good thing.

  Several nurses came in and out of the room, taking Mrs. Greenfield’s vital signs and then she was wheeled off for x-rays. Soon after she returned, her doctor arrived, and Tammy was happy to see that it was Clark.

  “Well, I didn’t expect to see you so soon tonight,” he said with a smile. Tammy knew he was trying to put the older woman at ease.

  “The good news is that it’s just a fracture of your ankle, so we don’t need to do surgery. We just need to get a boot for you and some crutches and you’ll have to keep your weight off it for a few weeks.”

  Mrs. Greenfield looked relieved. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “It’s a piece of cake, and because you’re our favorite neighbor, I’ll stop in to check on you, so you don’t have to come into the office.”

  The older woman’s eyes welled up. “The two of you are too good to me. I’m grateful for both of you.”

  “Well you are our favorite neighbor.” Clark smiled, then turned to Tammy, “Were you there when she fell?”

  “No, it was the strangest thing, actually. When I got home, there was a pretty white dog that I’ve never seen before, on the porch. Her name is Prancer, and she was barking and wanted me to follow her.”

  “I think she may have heard me holler when I fell off the ladder,” Mrs. Greenfield said.

  “Did you get a dog?” Clark asked.

  “No, I’ve never seen her before today. Good thing she happened to stop by though,” she chuckled.

  “Very good thing. I wonder who she belongs to?” Tammy said.

  “Before I send you home, I’m going to need you to promise me something,” Clark had a stern look but his twinkling eyes betrayed him.

  “What is it?”

  “No more climbing on ladders. If you need to use one, we can help you.”

  Mrs. Greenfield chuckled. “Fair enough. And I’ll take you up on that. My angel still needs to get to the top of my tree.”

  “We can make that happen.” Clark leaned over and softly said to Tammy, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Mrs. Greenfield, I’ll be right back.” Tammy followed Clark out of the room.

  “I’m glad you came in with her. She was lucky that you happened to be home.”

  “I know. And luckier still that Prancer knew to come get me.”

  “I don’t think I told you today that I love you, did I?” Clark said so softly that no one else could hear.

  “You may have actually, but I don’t mind hearing it again. I love you Clark Baker.”

  “Not as much as I love you.” He gave her a quick kiss before heading back to work. As Tammy turned to go back into the room with Mrs. Greenfield, she glanced
out the window and was surprised to see that it was starting to snow. For a moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of a dog that looked like Prancer, but then realized it wasn’t her. She wondered where the dog had come from and where she went. She hoped that she was home, snug and warm in her bed, having done her good deed for the day.

  Chapter 4

  Romancing Rachel—Rachel and Adiel

  That’s the dog I was telling you about. Prancer!” A pretty white dog came running over to Anna, who gave her a hug. Prancer then looked expectantly at Rachel.

  She reached over and patted the dog. Prancer rubbed her head against her hand, gave it a sniff and then scampered off toward the woods.

  “I’ve never seen her around here before,” Rachel said.

  “She must live somewhere nearby,” Anna said as they walked into Sadie’s Saloon. Rachel had a break from filming so when Anna had called and said she was going to be stopping by the bookstore and could Rachel meet for coffee, she’d been happy to agree.

  They ordered their coffees and took them to one of the small tables to chat for a while. They were both so busy with work and school that they hadn’t seen each other for a few weeks.

  “We have a sitter for Thursday night so we can go to trivia. Can you and Adiel go?”

  “I’m not sure. He’s been working night and day trying to get this new film project nailed down. It’s almost there though, so maybe we’ll be able to get out and celebrate.”

  “I hope so! And not just because I want you to come to trivia. I know what a huge opportunity this could be for you both.”

  “Thanks. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. It’s almost too good to be true. Adiel said he wrote the part with me in mind, but he might not get approval to cast me. It’s a big role and I’m not that well known yet.”

  Anna smiled. “I think you’re underestimating how popular the show and you are. I have a good feeling about this.”

  Rachel took a sip of her coffee. “I do too, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up. Just in case.”

  Anna’s phone rang, and she frowned when she saw who was calling. “Hi Mrs. Johnson, is everything all right?” She was quiet for a moment listening and then said, “I’ll leave now. Tell Taylor I’ll see her in ten minutes.” She ended the call and stood up.

  “I have to run. Taylor is having a meltdown and Mrs. Johnson thinks she isn’t feeling well. She said her forehead feels hot.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. I hope she feels better soon.”

  “Me too. And hopefully I’ll see you on Thursday night?”

  Rachel grinned. “I’ll be there, even if Adiel can’t make it.”

  Anna rushed out and Rachel stayed a few minutes longer, enjoying the rest of her coffee break. When she finished the last drop of her coffee, she stood to make her way back to the set.

  The rest of the afternoon flew by and before she knew it, they were done for the day. As they walked to the car, Rachel saw the white dog again. Prancer ran over and put her paw up as if she wanted Adiel to shake it.

  “Wow, she’s trained well,” Adiel said as he shook the dog’s paw and then scratched behind her ears. “Do you know her?”

  “We just met today. This is the dog that led Anna to the puppies.”

  “No kidding? What did they decide to do with the puppies? Are they keeping one of them?”

  Rachel laughed. “It was love at first sight, for all of them. They’re keeping both of them. Taylor named them Ernie and Bert.”

  “I’d love to get a dog.” Adiel sounded wistful. They both knew that it wasn’t practical for them to have a dog. They weren’t home enough and depending what projects came their way, they could be traveling on short notice.

  “I’d love one too, someday. I’d be tempted to adopt Prancer if it wasn’t clear that she belongs to someone. Her collar is gorgeous.”

  Prancer rubbed against both of them as Adiel’s cell phone rang. When he started to talk, Prancer grew still, cocked her head and looked like she was listening intently.

  “Yes, I do feel pretty strongly about who should play Amanda. Rachel would be perfect. I see. Okay, thank you.” He looked dazed as he put his phone back in his pocket and turned to Rachel.

  “Well that went about as well as could be expected.” He sounded more amused than upset and Rachel was confused. She didn’t think it was funny at all that they didn’t want her. Prancer came closer and leaned against her. She patted her head, wishing they could take her home with them.

  “Rachel.” His tone commanded her attention, and she gave it to him.

  “What is it?”

  He grinned. “Only the best news ever. My script got the green light, and you did too. They approved you for the part!”

  “What! Oh my…”

  Adiel pulled her in, lifted her up and twirled around. When he set her down, they were both laughing.

  “I thought you were getting bad news and that they’d said no to me for the part.”

  “No, it was all good news. They just wanted to confirm that I thought you were right for the part. And that was easy enough to do. I wrote it for you.”

  “And I love you for it.” Rachel gave him a quick kiss.

  “Instead of going home, let’s walk to the restaurant and have some dinner and a celebratory drink?”

  “I’d love to!” Rachel felt on cloud nine as they strolled the short distance to the restaurant. Prancer trotted along behind them but when they reached the restaurant, she had disappeared.

  “She must live nearby,” Adiel said as they walked inside.

  “She was on Anna’s street the other day, which is a few miles from here, so who knows?”

  “Well she can come around anytime. She brought us luck tonight.”

  Rachel laughed. “I think she did!”

  They were seated right away and Adiel ordered a bottle of good champagne while they looked over the menus. Once the bottle was opened, and they each had a freshly poured glass, Adiel lifted his to make a toast.

  “To all of our hopes and dreams coming true and to the best partner in life I could ever have. I love you, Rachel.” Adiel’s eyes were shining as he tapped his glass against hers.

  “And I love you too. I feel so very lucky and grateful.” These past few months had been a whirlwind, meeting Adiel, getting the part on the show, and now this. As grateful as she was for the opportunities in the show and the film, it was the man himself that made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world. She’d always been a little skeptical about the idea of soulmates and finding that perfect person, but Adiel was it for her. As long as they were together, she was happy. Everything else was just icing on the cake.

  Chapter 5

  Make-Believe Marriage—Cameron and Ethan

  You’re sure you’ll be okay if I go shopping for a few hours? I don’t mind staying.” Mrs. Crosby looked around the kitchen which was already beginning to look as though a sugar bomb had hit it. Bits of flour were all over the kitchen island and a cloud of powdered sugar floated in the air and coated everything with a fine sheen. Cameron was attempting to bake Christmas cookies.

  She laughed. “Of course I’m fine. I promise not to burn the house down while you’re gone. Good luck shopping.”

  Mrs. Crosby still looked doubtful as she backed out of the kitchen and then shut the front door firmly behind her. Cameron sighed as she looked around the messy kitchen. No wonder Mrs. Crosby was concerned. It never looked like this when she was cooking or baking. Cameron picked up one of the finished sugar cookies and took a bite. It was delicious! She might make a mess but at least the results were good.

  She slid another batch of cookies into the oven and picked up the canister of powdered sugar and dusted it over a tray of cooled cookies. Her cell phone rang as she finished and she saw that it was Ethan.

  “Hey! Are you ready for a cookie break? They are coming out great.”

  “Not just yet. I actually called to see if you want to run down here to see something amazing. Lady’s
foal is going to come out any minute. If you hurry, you should be able to see.”

  “I’ll be right there.” Cameron checked the clock. The cookies had twelve minutes. Plenty of time for her to run down to the stables and back. She untied her apron and pulled on her down coat.

  Two minutes later, she was at the stables and saw Ethan in the corner with Jake, their friend and the local vet. He and his wife, Jess ran a Vet clinic and their practice was mostly cats and dogs, but Jake started out in a large animal practice and still helped out some of his friends.

  “Cameron, check this out. The baby is coming any minute.”

  Cameron walked closer and saw that something was indeed beginning to come out of Lady. The horse looked in distress though to Cameron and she wondered if it was normal, like with women. As a nurse, she’d seen enough deliveries to know that childbirth was painful, no matter how ‘easy’ it was.

  “Is she okay?” she asked. She didn’t know much about horses, but something felt off to her and she didn’t like the look in Lady’s eyes. There was a panic there that she’d seen before, when women had difficult pregnancies.

  “She’s been fine, it should be just another minute or two and this foal should slide right out. Right, Jake?”

  “Mind if I get in there to feel around a bit? She does look like she’s struggling some.” Ethan stepped aside and Jake gently felt all around Lady’s underside and then carefully slipped a gloved hand in.

  “The foal is twisted a bit. I need to rearrange things to get it into a better position.”

  Cameron and Ethan watched anxiously as Jake prodded and pulled and reached so deep into Lady that his elbow disappeared. Finally, he pulled his arm out and a moment later the foal began to ease out and with a final whoosh came sliding out and Ethan was there to catch and gently lay on the bed of hay.

  A bark behind them got Cameron’s attention. She turned and saw a beautiful, white, fluffy dog wagging its tail and looking anxious. It turned to head toward the house then circled back and barked again. That’s when she realized she lost all track of time.