Montana Mistletoe

by Roxanne Rustand

  Jess continued to string lights outside until the house and the entire yard twinkled. Pine boughs wrapped with Christmas lights covered the railings of the wraparound porch, and Jess had even hung a giant wreath above the wide sliding door of the horse barn that Abby could see from the living-room windows.

  Abby cleared the lunch dishes from the table, then went to find Betty and the girls.

  Betty looked up from the card table she’d placed in front of her chair by the fire. “One left. For now.”

  Abby laughed. “Another one?”

  “Tradition,” she said firmly. “One can’t have enough.”

  Betty had been busy this week creating pretty little clusters of mistletoe to hang above the top step leading into the covered porch and in every doorway. There was mistletoe everywhere, and her intentions were clear, even if she continued to deny them with an innocent smile.

  Abby felt a rush of cold air come billowing in from the kitchen as Jess came in the back door. “I’ve got my SUV warming up. Who’s ready to go to town?”

  The twins came running for their coats and boots.

  Betty shook her head. “I think I’ll stay nice and warm right here.”

  “But, Gramma,” Sophie cried, coming back to tug on Betty’s hand. “You hafta come. Santa is there. And Uncle Jess says everything will be pretty.”

  “I’ll be at your Christmas program at church tomorrow, I promise. I’m just not sure I’m ready to face the slippery sidewalks in town just yet.”

  “You’re sure?” Abby brushed a kiss against Betty’s parchment cheek. “I can hold on to you.”

  “I have a feeling those girls will be mighty excited to see the window decorations and meet Santa, so you go along. You can text me some pictures, if you like.”

  By the time Jess found a parking spot near Main Street, the sidewalks were filled with shoppers. Wreaths and ribbons festooned all of the lampposts, and every shop window had been decorated. Christmas carolers strolled the street, filling the air with their music.

  “This is really beautiful,” Abby said with wonder. “I don’t remember any of this when I was growing up.”

  Jess nodded. “The town has a lot more shopping on Main now. The Saturday before Christmas is the biggest celebration of the year.”

  They followed the girls as they ran from one shop window to the next. Most of them displayed pretty winter and Christmas scenes, with figures that moved and trains that chugged on their tracks through the display. In some of the doorways, clerks dressed as holiday characters passed out candy canes.

  Snow started falling, and the twins stopped to tip their heads back to try to catch the flakes on their tongue.

  “I wonder if they’ll remember the snow?”

  Abby looked up and caught a hint of sadness in Jess’s eyes. She threaded her arm through the crook of his elbow and lowered her voice. “You don’t know for sure that they’ll go back to California. Lindsey might not even come. Maybe you can pursue custody. But either way, they’ll always remember this, Jess. No matter what happens. They’ll look back and remember that this was a wonderful year.”

  “I hope so.” He looked down at her. “I know that I’ll never forget.”

  He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but Bella and Sophie had reached the next corner and were shouting and waving at them. The moment was lost.

  Across the street, an empty lot had been turned into a North Pole village, with a red-and-white-striped Santa house adorned with bright green pillars in front and a reindeer pen to one side. Santa sat in a chair in full regalia, with a line of several dozen children waiting to talk to him.

  Sophie slipped her mittened hand into Abby’s and looked up at her. “Can I tell you a secret?”

  Abby crouched down in front of her. “Of course you can.”

  “My momma said she doesn’t believe in Santa. She said nothing ever good happens, even if you ask. ’Cause he isn’t real.”

  Abby glanced up at Jess, then cradled the child’s cheek in her hand. “But you still want to go see Santa?”

  “And Bella, too. We both have to. But we can’t tell you what we ask for.”

  “Then that’s what we should do. Right, Uncle Jess?”

  He nodded and took Bella’s hand, and they crossed the street to get in line. When it was the girls’ turn to see Santa, Abby took out her phone to take pictures and texted them to Betty.

  On the way back to the SUV, they stopped at each store window on the other side of the street.

  “Do you girls see anything you’d like for Christmas?” Abby asked, pointing at an array of lifelike dolls. “Something like that?”

  The girls shook their heads.

  “What about that big dollhouse? Or that art set?” No matter what Abby pointed out, they only shook their heads. By the time they reached the SUV, she’d given up. “Well, then, can you tell me what you would like for Christmas? It’s only a few days away, so you need to decide.”

  “It’s a secret,” Bella said. “But Santa knows. And he said our wish would come true.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jess headed for his office after they got back from town, feeling a moment of trepidation as he looked at his answering machine.

  It was blinking.

  He held his breath and checked the screen, exhaling his relief at a Montana area code. Another reprieve. Tapping the Play button, he leaned back in his chair.

  A calm, mature voice introduced itself as Helen Peabody, and she wanted to apply for the housekeeper-nanny position. She’d already emailed her resume. She sounded responsible. Kindly. Perfect. Exactly like the type of employee he had been searching for when Abby suddenly appeared at the rehab center with her big blue eyes and sweet laughter.

  He found Helen’s email and the attached resume in his inbox. He was just printing it when he heard a knock at his office door.

  Abby came into the room and plopped down in one of the club chairs facing his desk. “I have a pretty good idea about what the girls want for Christmas.”

  “I’m afraid I do, too.” He pulled the résumé from the printer tray and laid it on the corner of his desk. It fluttered to the floor. “Lindsey.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “After she called to say she was coming I tried to make an appointment with my lawyer, but he’s been in Florida most of December dealing with his mother’s estate and property dispersal. I’ll be meeting with him right after Christmas, as well as someone from Montana Social Services.”

  “Good decision, Jess. At least then you’ll know where you stand.” Abby rose, bent down to pick up the stray sheet of paper on the floor and put it back on his desk. “I guess I’d better get back to work.”

  Her gaze fell on the paper as she turned to go. She did a double take, and then she looked up at him. “Have you found a new ranch hand?”

  “They don’t generally show up with resumes, unfortunately.” He cleared his throat. “This one is from someone applying to be a housekeeper. She actually sounds really good.”

  “Then you’ll need to make sure she doesn’t get away.” Abby tipped her head and met his gaze squarely. “That’s good news, right?”

  He swallowed. “Abby—”

  She was already out the door.

  * * *

  As always, the weather was changeable in this part of Montana during December—ranging from gentle snowfalls to bitter blizzards, with balmy interludes in between.

  By Sunday morning another storm had barreled in with sixty-mile-an-hour winds and heavy snow, and both church this morning and the evening children’s Christmas program were cancelled.

  The twins were devastated.

  “Maura just called, and she has arranged everything with the pastor,” Abby reassured them at bedtime. “You’ll have your children’s program at the Christmas Ev
e service instead. I still can’t wait to see what you girls are doing.”

  Bella nodded firmly. “We promised not to tell.”

  “I know, and you are very good at keeping secrets.”

  After reading a stack of books, Abby and Betty said their prayers with the girls and kissed them good-night.

  “Sleep tight, everyone. I’m heading off to bed,” Betty said.

  “And me, too. Pretty soon, anyway.” Abby scooped the puppy from Bella’s bed and went out to sit by the fire with a cup of hot strawberry tea.

  The fire and the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree in the corner lit the room with a lovely glow, and the soft instrumental Christmas music in the background filled her with a sense of peace.

  In just two nights it would be Christmas Eve.

  Dad and Darla were coming over after the church service for a light dinner and the opening of presents, staying overnight; then on Christmas morning everyone would pitch in to make a big Christmas dinner. One big, happy family.

  It was what she’d always longed for while growing up as an only child.

  Well, she would finally have her big family Christmas, but then she’d soon be on her way. She fingered the folded business letter in her front shirt pocket and took it out. Even after reading it three times, it still gave her a little thrill of excitement...and a dose of melancholy.

  At the sound of Jess coming in the back door, she debated slipping off to her room instead of staying to make awkward conversation.

  The housekeeper’s resume on his desk had reminded her once again of just how temporary her situation was. It had been all too easy to think of Jess and her together, and with every passing day she’d found more to love about the man he’d become.

  But now, with a promising new housekeeper coming for an interview, it would soon be time for Abby to slip away, even if it broke her heart.

  Jess came into the living room in his stocking feet, his face reddened from the cold wind and his dark hair tousled by the stocking cap he’d worn.

  He sank into the sofa nearest the fireplace, propped his elbows on his thighs and shoved his unruly hair back from his forehead.

  “You look tired, Jess. Can I get you some hot cocoa? Coffee?”

  Abby started to stand, but he waved her back down. “I’m fine. I just want to warm up awhile.”

  “Is the drive clear?”

  He nodded. Leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes. “For now. If the wind picks up, I’ll have to do it all over again tomorrow.”

  “It’s hard to believe Christmas is almost here,” she murmured, staring into the fire. “Have you heard from your brothers?”

  He rolled his head against the cushion to look at her. “The last time Devlin came home was for Dad’s funeral, and he never comes home for Christmas. He’s always off at some military base or in the Middle East somewhere, though he did email and say he might come back for a while this spring. Tater—uh, Tate—sent an email saying he’d be spending Christmas with his new girlfriend and her family in Cheyenne. Every year it’s a different girlfriend. I think it’s just an excuse not to come home.”

  Abby laughed. “Do you still call him Tater to his face?”

  “Not often. Only if I’ve been missing our old wrestling matches out on the lawn. But now he’s as tall as me and in better shape, so it’s not as much fun.”

  “I still see both of your brothers as gangly, awkward teenagers. Time flies, I guess.” She folded and refolded the letter in her hands. “Did I tell you that I got some news?”

  Jess’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Alan?”

  “The only news I want from him would be through my lawyer. Yesterday I got a letter from a university out east.”

  He sat up straighter and turned toward her. “You were accepted?”

  She nodded, trying to generate the excitement and enthusiasm he would expect. “The financial-aid package is pretty sweet. They’re giving me a research assistantship that will cover tuition and insurance, and a medical corporation has awarded me an additional grant that will help with living expenses. I’ll start spring term. But they...uh...suggest that I come out early to find housing and get settled. I couldn’t ask for more.”

  Though it would be impossibly far from the people she loved. Yet, a blessing in itself, really. How hard would it be to stay in this area and see Jess with someone else, raising the twins and their own children?

  “That’s wonderful. Really wonderful. I’m happy for you, Abby. Truly.” Jess stood up and nodded in her direction, then headed down the hall toward his office and beyond that, his bedroom.

  She felt her heart shatter a little more with each step he took.

  When she heard his door shut, she turned away to unplug the Christmas tree lights and scatter the remaining embers in the fireplace until they winked out, one by one. Just like her silly hopes and dreams.

  What had she expected—a declaration of undying love? A plea that she never leave? That was the stuff of fairy tales, not real life.

  And certainly not hers.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jess looked up from his computer screen when Betty walked into his office the next morning, her face a mask of worry. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing... Not really. It’s just... I just can’t help worrying about that granddaughter of mine. Here it’s already Christmas Eve tomorrow and Lindsey hasn’t even called. Either she’s the most thoughtless mother ever or something terrible has happened to her.”

  He rounded the desk and took her arm as she settled into one of the club chairs, then he sat next to her. “I’ve been worried, too. I tried calling her stepmother this morning but didn’t get an answer. And I also checked in again with the Los Angeles Police Department to see if they knew anything. But it’s always the same. Nothing.”

  “I want her to be safe and well. Truly I do.” Betty gripped his arm. “But what if she takes those little girls back to California? Can you imagine? I still can’t believe they were left alone in that apartment overnight. In a closet. Who would do such a terrible thing? And what about the bruises they had? I’d rather run away with them myself than let that happen again.”

  He rested his hand on top of hers. “I’m going to do my best to make sure it doesn’t. I promise you that.”

  “I’ve been praying about this every day. But I suppose I started worrying more lately because I thought Lindsey would have shown up by now. And surely by Christmas, don’t you think?” She wearily rose to her feet. “I’d better get back to the kitchen and finish my pies. Sorry if I bothered you.”

  “You are never a bother, Grandma.” He gave her a kiss on her cheek. “If you need any help tasting those pies, just give me a shout.”

  As she hobbled toward the door with her cane, the twins peeked into his office, their eyes wide. Then he heard them thunder down the hallway.

  The last two days they’d either been scampering through the house with their puppy or shaking presents under the Christmas tree, all the more excited because Christmas Eve was just around the corner. And probably a little stir-crazy, too, with all of the snow and cold keeping them inside.

  Christmas. Because of the twins, he was more excited about it this year than he’d been in all the years since he’d grown up. He just hoped it would be perfect for everyone.

  Yet—like Grandma Betty, he’d been worrying. A lot.

  He’d prayed more this winter than he had since he was a child. He’d been trying to just give those worries over to God and trust that the right answers would come. That the two innocent little girls would be safe and secure...and that their troubled mother would be, too.

  But there seemed to be no perfect answer. And no one would be left unscathed if a custody battle ensued. He just hoped God—with His infinite wisdom—had it all worked out.

  * * *

  Abby
finished wrapping a present in her room and carried the small stack out to the Christmas tree to join the others she’d placed there earlier.

  She lowered the volume of the Christmas instrumental music and suddenly realized that the entire house was quiet. Too quiet.

  She took a quick walk down the hall to Betty’s room, but she was snoozing and no little girls seemed to be hiding there. Her own room. The extra guest rooms. The twins’ bedroom.

  Nothing.

  Concerned now, she searched the other rooms on the main floor, then even searched the unfinished basement.

  The shadows outside were growing longer—and it would soon be dark. Gusts of wind lifted and swirled the snow drifts outside, and the temp was already dropping into the minus digits. It would be an evening to stay nice and warm inside. Where were they?

  She glanced back at the kitchen and the little coat pegs set at child height. Her heart skipped a beat. Their coats and boots were gone.

  “Jess! Jess!”

  He reached the kitchen before she had a chance to grab her coat.

  “The girls—I can’t find them anywhere. Their coats are gone. They’ve never gone outside alone. And it’s cold, and it’s getting dark—”

  He rested his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll go outside and start in the horse barn. I want you to check the house one more time and then come out. Okay?”

  She nodded, fighting back her tears. “Why would they take off like this?”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll keep looking till we find them.”

  He sounded confident...but she saw his stricken gaze swerve to the living-room windows overlooking a thousand acres of pastures, hayfields and pine forest and knew exactly what he was thinking.

  It wouldn’t take long for two little girls to become disoriented in the snow. To fall. To find comfort in that soft, fluffy blanket of white...

  She spun around and came face to face with Betty. “I can’t find the twins. Please—help me search the house.”