A Last Chance Christmas

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  When the number ended, applause erupted and Molly clapped loudest of all. A man who played a song with that much heart was incapable of becoming a cruel dictator. Maybe someday she would be able tell him that.

  After the applause died down, some of the guests took their leave. The crowd gradually thinned out until it included only the core group honored by those twelve candles plus Molly, Ben, Mary Lou and Watkins. Trey had left with his fiancée, Elle Masterson, but Watkins shared Mary Lou’s apartment next to the kitchen, so he could continue to provide music without having to worry about the weather.

  At last Jack asked for everybody’s attention. “It’s time we made a decision. If we all leave now, we can probably get home okay. But if we wait much longer, the ranch roads will be impassable.”

  “You know you can all stay,” Sarah said. “Pete and I would love to have you. With Cassidy away on vacation, you’ll have to make your own beds, but I know you’re all capable of that.”

  “I wanna stay!” Sarah Bianca said. “I can make my bed!”

  “Me, too!” Archie clutched Jack’s hand. “Me, too, Daddy!”

  “I’d like to stay.” Lester stepped forward and put a hand on Archie’s shoulder. “I like it when we all sleep over. It’s cool.”

  “Yeah, man.” Archie gazed up at Lester with adoration.

  Lester blushed. “Sorry. I taught him that.”

  “You could have taught him a lot worse things, son.” Nick glanced around at the group. “I’m for staying and finishing this birthday up right. Who’s with me?”

  “I am.” Dominique stepped up beside him. A tall, elegant brunette, she was a professional photographer who’d been snapping pictures all night. “But when it’s bedtime, I get the top bunk.”

  Nick laughed. “Nice try. We’ll draw straws like we always do.”

  “Somebody can have my bed.” Ben said. “I’ll camp out in the living room.”

  “I’ll accept your generosity, Ben.” Jack looked extremely happy about the turn of events. “Josie and I will take your room. If I know Archie, he’ll want to be in with Lester.”

  Archie grabbed Lester’s hand. “Yeah, man.”

  “But you don’t have to sleep on the floor, Ben,” Sarah said. “Move into Cassidy’s room across the hall. She won’t mind.”

  “And our family will take the other bunk room,” Morgan said. “See? It works out perfectly!”

  “It does, doesn’t it?” Jack smiled.

  Molly could tell that Jack was glad that they’d all be together on this special night. But he also might be pleased about the bonus. Thanks to the weather, she and Ben had a dozen chaperones staying in the house.

  15

  NOW THAT NO one had to leave, the party became even more boisterous. Ben wouldn’t have thought that was possible, but being snowbound seemed to bring out the goofiness in the Chance brothers. They didn’t get drunk, but now that they didn’t have to worry about driving, they sure got happy as they allowed themselves to imbibe more freely.

  As the music continued, courtesy of Watkins and Ben, Jack organized a dance-off and appointed Molly to judge.

  “Oh, no.” She waved both hands in denial. “Not doing that, cousin, especially all by myself. I’ll get in way too much trouble.” Along with the other women, she’d taken off her heels and added them to the pile in the corner.

  “I’ll help her judge!” Sarah Bianca stepped up next to Molly.

  “So will I.” Lester joined SB.

  Jack surveyed the trio. “Looks like we have us a panel of judges, just like Dancing with the Stars. Does that work better for you, Molly?”

  Sarah Bianca gazed up at her. “Please?”

  “Okay.” Molly hugged the little girl. “If you and Lester are going to help me.”

  “We will.” SB nodded solemnly. “Lester and me will be very good judges, right, Lester?”

  “Good but tough,” Lester said with a grin.

  “But tough.” SB’s eyes gleamed. “Very tough.”

  “All righty! That’s settled.” Jack clapped his hands together. “And to make it interesting, we’ll draw for partners. I’ll put all our names in a hat.”

  Gabe choked on his beer. “All our names?”

  “Yep.” Jack had located a pad of paper and was tearing a sheet into strips.

  “So I could end up with you?”

  Jack smiled. “Yes, and you’d be lucky to have me.”

  Ben began to get a sense of just how crazy this family could be. He really was a stranger to this kind of nutty behavior, but as he watched the joking and laughter he realized it could only happen when people were accepted and loved for themselves.

  Mary Lou came out of the kitchen to watch as names were drawn. She walked over to Watkins and Ben. “Bet you’ve never seen this kind of nonsense before, have you, Ben?”

  “Can’t say as I have.” Pete drew first and got Nick as his partner. Ben chuckled as they went into the hallway to practice their moves. “But it’s fun.”

  “I’ve been the cook at this ranch for thirty-three years, and I thank my lucky stars every day that Archie Chance decided to hire me. I love those boys as if they were my own.”

  Envy pricked Ben once again. Jack, Nick and Gabe had been blessed with not one, but two mother figures. Then he remembered Sarah’s earlier comment that he was welcome here anytime.

  Maybe he couldn’t make up for twenty-eight years in a few days, but if he came back often enough, he might begin to feel like part of this family. Sarah seemed to be very good at adopting people. He’d noticed during the party that she’d acted as if Trey was one of her boys. Emmett’s son-in-law, Clay, also seemed to be like a son to her. In fact, he could count a bunch of guys he’d put in that category—Josie’s brother, Alex. Jack’s friend, Nash. And Morgan and Tyler’s brother, Regan.

  He’d have the perfect excuse to keep coming back if he bought Calamity Sam and got serious about starting a small breeding program. He’d use this family as a role model, and maybe, with continued exposure, he’d gain enough confidence to ask a woman to share his life. Sadly, it might take months or even years, and by then Molly would have found her perfect family man.

  That was as it should be. She had no business waiting around for him to get his act together. Besides, it might never happen. He’d had a few beers himself, so he could be building castles in the air.

  Pete and Nick took the floor as the first couple in the dancing competition, and Ben quickly forgot his problems. Both of them were determined to lead, and it looked more like a wrestling match than dancing. Watkins had it easier because he could laugh all he wanted to, but Ben struggled to keep a straight face so he could play the harmonica.

  “No swearing!” Dominique called out, grinning broadly. “Remember the kids!” Then she raised her camera.

  “Don’t you dare!” Nick scowled at her and kept trying to steer Pete around the floor. In the process he stepped hard on his partner’s toe.

  “Sh—ugar!” Pete gritted his teeth and limped through the final bars of the tune.

  Meanwhile Molly had been busy making notes as she watched the performance. When the dance was over, she consulted with her panel and they each held up a number. Lester gave them an eight, but SB and Molly each held up a five.

  Cheers, groans and raucous comments followed. Josie and Gabe were up next and did much better, getting a seven and two eights. Then Morgan partnered with Dominique, and Ben was impressed with how smoothly they danced. The judges gave them all nines.

  That left Jack and Sarah. From the moment they took the floor, Ben knew it was no contest. Obviously mother and son had been dancing together for years, probably at every family event since Jack was a kid.

  It was beautiful to watch them dance, but Ben was even more captivated by the expressions of love on the faces surrounding the dance floor. Obviously no one objected to losing to this pair. They’d probably expected it as soon as Jack and Sarah had turned out to be partners. Everyone cheered and hollered w
hen the judging panel gave them three tens.

  As the commotion died down, Nick held up his phone. “I just checked the weather, folks. It’s not looking so good through the weekend.”

  Like old-time gunslingers, every man in the room except Ben pulled out his phone. After some muttered comments, Jack was the first to speak. “Good thing we all like each other. We may be here for a while.”

  * * *

  THE BLIZZARD RAGED through Sunday night, and Ben had never been through forty-eight hours quite like it. He couldn’t so much as kiss Molly. No corner of the house was safe and he was frustrated as hell.

  On the other hand, he was given an education in the inner workings of a large, happy family that spanned three generations. Sure, there were disagreements now and then, and sometimes the kids got on everyone’s nerves. But inevitably someone would crack a joke to diffuse any tension, or dispense a hug, or suggest a new board game.

  Sarah was the linchpin of the operation. She made sure that clothes were washed and a schedule was kept. The littlest ones took their naps as if they were at home, and after the free-for-all buffet of Friday night, the menu shifted to plenty of healthy food and only occasional sweets. Sarah also hauled out colored construction paper to make chains and tissue paper for snowflakes. The adults created some impressive popcorn-and-cranberry garlands.

  Fortunately the electricity stayed on all weekend. The ranch hands in the bunkhouse had enough food to last them for a couple of days, and they were close enough to the barn that they could keep the horses fed. Blizzard conditions weren’t uncommon and the hands knew what to do.

  Ben also noticed that although everyone felt free to joke about most anything, there was never an edge to their teasing. Family members respected each other and were never mean. At first, Ben had wondered if they were putting on a good face for him, and maybe for Molly. But as the weekend continued, he realized that was impossible. Nobody could fake it for that long.

  He would have preferred more alone time with Molly, but if he couldn’t have that, at least he was getting a crash course in healthy family dynamics. He couldn’t tell for sure how Molly was handling the situation because they literally had no private time to talk. She’d mentioned to the entire group that she was worried about getting out on Monday, but other than that, she’d thrown herself into the activities with her typical sunny optimism.

  Sometime during the night on Sunday, the snow stopped, and the weak morning sunlight revealed a world covered in generous dollops of whipped cream. Ben hadn’t been able to see anything through the frost-covered window in the small room he’d appropriated that normally belonged to Cassidy, the housekeeper, so he’d dressed quickly and headed downstairs to look out the windows protected by the porch roof. He found nearly everyone else down there, too, peering at the snowfall and discussing the options.

  Molly was among them, wearing a fleece, moose-print bathrobe on it. The robe made him smile, but it filled him with regret, too. She’d promised to wear it when she headed to his room on Friday, back when another three nights of great sex had seemed possible. Now it seemed unlikely that he’d ever get to watch her take it off.

  Jack was there, unshaven and obviously intent on a plan. “According to what I’m finding online, the snowplows are out and the airport is hoping to be operational today. If we can get the road cleared from the house to the highway in time, then Molly can make her flight.”

  Ben nodded and avoided Molly’s gaze. “Sounds good. Do you need help with the plowing?” He didn’t want her to go, but this was what she wanted. He’d do what he could to make it happen.

  “We’ll handle it. You and Molly get yourselves packed, have some breakfast, and be ready to head out.”

  “I’m outta here.” Molly hurried up the curved staircase.

  Ben forced himself not to gaze after her like some adoring puppy. Instead, he kept his focus on Jack.

  “I’ll clear as much as I can,” Jack said, “but I may end up plowing in front of you for the last little bit.”

  “Got it.” Ben glanced around at everyone gathered by the window. “What about the rest of you? You must want to get home, too.”

  “We do,” Nick said, “but Molly is the priority. That’s the road that needs to be plowed first. We’ll worry about the ranch roads once she’s on her way.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh, and not to alarm you unnecessarily,” Nick added, “but there’s another storm headed this way. Molly will probably get out okay, but if the road to Sheridan looks dicey, just come on back here instead of risking the drive.”

  “Thanks.” Ben was touched. “I will. I’ll go get my stuff together.”

  Less than twenty minutes later he sat in the kitchen eating the eggs, bacon and biscuits that Mary Lou had prepared in large quantity. Morgan, Josie and Dominique were there making sure their kids had some breakfast before the start of what promised to be a rigorous day.

  Ben glanced at Morgan, who was directly opposite him with her three kids. “So, you’ll all go back home today, I guess.”

  “We will.” Morgan sat with Matilda in her lap while her two-year-old son, Aaron, perched on a booster seat on one side. Sarah Bianca was kneeling in a regular chair on the other side. “I hope you can make it home okay, though. Promise you’ll turn around and come right back if there are any issues with the road to Sheridan.”

  SB gazed at him across the table, her expression grave. “You don’t live here?”

  “No, I live in Sheridan.”

  “I’ve never been there. Do you live with your mommy and daddy?”

  “No. I live by myself.”

  “All by yourself?” She looked dismayed. “Do you even have a Christmas tree?”

  He was tempted to lie because he could imagine how the truth would shock her. Finally he compromised. “Not yet.”

  She cocked her head and stared at him as if digesting that information. “You’d better come back here for Christmas.”

  “Well, thank you, but I plan to spend Christmas in Sheridan.”

  “Why?”

  A very good question for which he had no answer. “It’s where I live.”

  “But you’re all by yourself.”

  Morgan put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “SB, some people enjoy that.”

  Her little face puckered up in thought. “Do you?”

  He was saved from answering by Molly’s arrival. Molly was one of SB’s favorites, and the little girl quickly abandoned him. Nobody could ask as many awkward questions as a four-year-old. She’d zeroed in on the very subjects that had been troubling him all weekend. After spending nearly four days at the Last Chance Ranch surrounded by happy people, he would be damned lonely in the small apartment attached to his saddle shop.

  He took one last gulp of coffee before excusing himself to go fetch his truck while Molly ate her breakfast. The trip to Jackson would be bittersweet. At last he’d be alone with her, but he’d be busy navigating the road and driving her to catch a flight that would take her far away from him.

  His truck didn’t want to start, but eventually he coaxed the engine to life. After letting it warm up, he backed it out of the shed and drove along the plowed lane Jack had created that led to the circular driveway in front of the house. He left the motor running and the heat blasting as he headed back into the house.

  Although he’d promised himself he’d return, and often, leaving created a hollow feeling in his chest. Or maybe it was the thought that he would soon have to say goodbye to Molly. He hadn’t allowed himself to think much about that, but the knowledge hovered in the back of his mind, ready to take center stage when he dropped her off at the airport.

  Molly’s suitcase and carry-on sat by the front door. She’d put on her red coat and she was busy hugging everyone within reach and thanking them for their hospitality. She had a catch in her voice.

  But when she noticed Ben standing there, she gave him a bright smile. “Ready?”

  “When you are.”
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br />   She turned back to the little group that had gathered to tell her goodbye. “I’ll email, and I’ll see about coming during spring break. If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll definitely be back in the summer.”

  “Make sure you do that.” Sarah gathered her close for one more hug. “But regardless, Pete and I will see you in Arizona.”

  “Great.” She took a shaky breath. “I’d better get out of here before I start bawling.” She picked up her carry-on.

  Ben took that as his cue. He stepped forward and held out his hand to Sarah. “Thank you for your hospitality. It’s been an incredible experience.”

  She glanced at his outstretched hand, bypassed it and gave him a fierce hug. He hugged her back and was worried for a moment that he might lose his cool. But he cleared the huskiness from his throat and promised to visit soon.

  Then he smiled at everyone, grabbed Molly’s suitcase and beat it out the door. Their warmth toward him felt great, but he didn’t trust himself not to go all sappy and mushy as a result. Molly could get away with it, but he was a guy, and one who’d only just met them all.

  He didn’t feel that way, though, as he helped Molly into the truck. When he got behind the wheel, he glanced over at the house and saw them all massed in the open doorway, waving. His eyes misted.

  Beeping the horn, he pulled out. “They’ll freeze their asses off doing that.”

  “They don’t care.”

  “I know. That’s what makes them all so wonderful.”

  “They are, aren’t they?” Molly’s voice was a little shaky as she turned to look at the receding view of the house. “I wish I hadn’t taken so long to come up here.”

  “So you’re coming back over your spring break?” He shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t seem to help it.

  “I might.” She faced forward.

  Now what was he going to say? That he wanted to see her if she flew up here again? Of course he did, but he was still the wrong guy for her, so he had no business continuing the relationship.

  “From your silence I gather you won’t be driving over here to see me.” Her voice was tight and she stared out the windshield instead of looking at him.