Christmas with the Cowboy

by Tina Radcliffe

He stared at his truck. A thick coating of ice covered most of the windows, and he didn’t even have a scraper. There wasn’t a need for one in San Diego.

  The driver’s-side door was nearly glued shut with ice, and it took a few minutes for him to pick away at the frozen moisture so he could climb into the cab. Inside wasn’t much better. Frigid air blasted him from the vents. While the truck worked on the seemingly impossible mission of warming things up, he pulled the Christmas package from his pocket. Emma had printed in her neat writing on the colorful tag. “To Unca Zach, love Rachel and Bit.”

  He carefully peeled back the paper. A homemade Popsicle stick frame colored by the girls and decorated with stars and glitter held a picture of himself with Rachel and Elizabeth decorating Emma’s Christmas tree. His fingers touched the photo as though he could bring back that particular moment in time.

  But he couldn’t. It was gone.

  Zach closed his eyes tight against the pain that kicked him straight in the gut. He sat in the dark truck, beneath the light of a streetlamp, shivering as the heaters cranked out less than warm air.

  Forgiveness and trust. The words drifted through his mind. He’d expected it and hadn’t been willing to offer the same in return. Zach pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the contacts, knowing what he needed to do.

  Despite his claims to the contrary, he’d kept up with his mother, though he rarely contacted her. He swallowed and depressed the call button, steeling himself against more rejection.

  Voice mail.

  “Um, Mom, this is Zach. Merry Christmas.”

  He pushed End and relaxed against the seat. It was a start.

  A knock on his window a moment later had Zach jumping. All he could see was a dark shadow through the ice-coated window.

  “Open the door.”

  Dutch.

  Zach stepped outside and shivered some more.

  “It’s minus six degrees out here. You sitting here for fun?” Dutch asked. Snowflakes clung to the old cowboy’s handlebar mustache and his nose was bright red.

  “Where did you come from, Rudolph?”

  “Down the street, yonder. Had to make a few stops before I head out to the airport.” He grinned. “My sweetheart’s back in town. Next stop is the Tulsa airport to pick her up. What’s your excuse?”

  “I’m pretty much out of excuses,” Zach admitted. “Got any words of wisdom?”

  “Seems pretty clear to me.” Dutch blew a long breath of air into his cupped hands and rubbed them together.

  “Does it?”

  “Yessiree. I can explain it to you, Zach, but I can’t understand it for you.” Dutch stared at the Stetson and gave a slow nod. “Nice hat.”

  “You got me a hat.”

  “In your dreams. The hat’s courtesy of Miss Emma.”

  “Emma?”

  “Sure enough. Miss Lucy gave it to me to pass along to you. Told me it’s a Christmas present from her sister. And that’s all I know.”

  “Apparently not. You knew I was here. How’d you figure that out?”

  Dutch snorted. “You brokenhearted cowboys are all the same. You run, but you don’t ride away.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yep. I knew you weren’t leaving town until the end of the month. You promised Travis and you’re a man of your word. Figured you’d be wallowing in your coffee somewhere.” A dry chuckle slipped from his lips. “Called that one, didn’t I?”

  Zach pulled his collar up against the blowing snow and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “Is...” He paused.

  “Spit it out, I ain’t got all night.”

  “Is Emma at the Harris’s tonight?”

  “Naw, she’s on the way to the hospital with Lucy.”

  “The hospital?” Adrenaline zipped through him like a Taser.

  Dutch’s phone beeped and the cowboy juggled the device, nearly dropping the cell before he read the text. “I gotta go. Plane landed. I’m forty-five minutes from the airport.” The old cowboy gave a giddy chuckle and turned toward his pickup. “Who’da thunk?” he mumbled. “Planes never arrive early on Christmas Eve.”

  “Wait, Dutch. Which hospital?”

  “Pawhuska’s the closest one.”

  “Pawhuska?”

  “You got a hearing problem? You keep repeating everything I say.” Dutch opened his truck door and reached into the glove box. “Might need a scraper.”

  He tossed it through the air and Zach caught the plastic tool.

  “Thanks.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Dutch, why is Emma going to the hospital?”

  “Do I look like a doctor to you?” he called through the open window of his truck. The old pickup backfired a few times before the engine purred. “You’ll have to ask her.”

  “Are the twins okay?”

  “Far as I know.”

  “And Lucy?”

  “Lucy looked fine the last time I saw her, but I can’t be expected to keep up with everyone, and I sure can’t jaw with you any longer. Rue is coming in and my nose is about frozen.”

  Zach nodded. “Merry Christmas, Dutch.”

  “Back at you, cowboy.” He pointed a finger at Zach. “You know what you gotta do. You’re a smart fella. Navy SEAL and all. You’ll figure it out.”

  “Navy SEAL and all,” Zach muttered as Dutch’s truck pulled away.

  Zach began to scrape ice from the windows, leaning into the job, as he thought about Dutch’s words. Travis would tell him what was going on. Zach pulled out his cell and punched in Travis’s number. The call went straight to voice mail.

  “The Pawhuska hospital it is.”

  The wipers beat a steady nonstop rhythm as they pushed the wet snow from his windshield. Poor visibility had him crawling down State Highway 99 to Pawhuska, relying on his headlights to find the road buried in white.

  “You got your white Christmas, Emma,” he murmured.

  Traffic was scarce, not even trucks on a holiday evening. Twenty minutes down the road and he spotted a minivan pulled to the side with its flashers on. A distress flare flickered at a distance from the vehicle.

  Minivan. That meant a family. He had to stop.

  Zach got out of the truck and frowned. The snow had stopped. Overhead, the sky was clear with a blanket of stars tossed across the darkness. The air wore the perfume of pine mixed with a trace of diesel and asphalt.

  Zach approached the vehicle from the rear with cautious steps, due to the ice, while assessing the ground. One set of footsteps was still visible from the vehicle to the flare, telling him the minivan had pulled over recently. Zach knocked snow from the license plate, snapped a picture and slipped his phone back into his pocket. His thumb hovered over the emergency icon as he continued to the driver’s-side window.

  He offered a soft knuckle tap and stood back, ready to move if necessary. The driver’s-side window descended a few inches.

  “You folks need some help?”

  “Zach? Is that you?”

  “Emma?” he said her name, swallowing unspoken relief at seeing her in the driver’s seat.

  “Zach, what are you doing here?” The window quickly opened and her breath turned into small clouds of cold air.

  “Dutch said you were at the hospital. I was headed that way.”

  “Lucy. The baby.”

  “I thought it was you.”

  “I’m not having a baby.” She chuckled.

  “I thought you were sick or something.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Emma was fine. His gaze held hers for a long moment.

  The nearest rear passenger window descended and Jack Harris stuck his head out. “Zach. You’re an answer to prayer. Thanks for stopping.”

  “Sure thing, Jack. How’s Lucy?”

  “Another cont
raction,” Lucy called out from the back seat. Her voice was tight with discomfort.

  Zach grimaced. “What’s wrong with the vehicle?”

  “I’m not sure,” Jack returned. “I called 9-1-1 but there are crashes all over due to the road conditions. Response time is abysmal. We’re on a wait list for a tow from the only garage still open. Christmas Eve and nobody is working.”

  “We can do better than that. Let’s get Lucy into the truck before I have to deliver the baby.”

  Jack paled at the words. “Good idea.”

  Emma opened the driver’s-side door and stepped out. “Oops.” Her feet scissored, sliding back and forth on the snow that had turned to ice. When she pitched forward, Zach wrapped his arms around her.

  “I’ve got you.”

  “Your leg.”

  “Is fine. I’ve got you, Emma.”

  She leaned against him. “Oh, Zach. I’m so glad you didn’t leave.”

  “Me, too,” he whispered against her hair.

  His gaze went to the starry sky and he remembered her words from yesterday. A time of new beginnings. Like the birth of our Lord at Christmas.

  It was a second chance to make things right. Armed with all the reasons that he had fallen in love with Emma, Zach promised himself that this time he would fight for the future he wanted.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Mr. Norman, you and your wife can go in and visit now. Congratulations. The little fellow is our first Christmas baby of the year.”

  “Thank you.”

  He downed the rest of his coffee and tossed the cup into a trash can. “My wife,” he mused. Zach repeated the words yet again, allowing himself to wrap his wildest dreams around them. But then, he’d always dreamed big.

  A glance out the window of the waiting room had him pausing to admire the midnight sky. The Shepard’s Star shined with a steady glow surrounded by millions of twinkling lights. This was quite the ending to his eight weeks’ of holiday indoctrination at Big Heart Ranch.

  Across the room, a dozing Emma changed position in the hard plastic waiting room chair. She had been sleeping on and off the last few hours while they waited for the okay to visit Lucy and Jack and their newborn baby boy.

  The waiting room was otherwise empty, allowing him to do nothing but think while she slept. He drank endless cups of coffee from the vending machine while reviewing the path that brought him to now.

  The few instances his gaze had connected with Emma’s since they arrived had been awkward. Several times he thought she was about to say something, then she drew back and turned away.

  That moment in the snow out on Highway 99, she’d said that she was glad he hadn’t left, but was that only because of Lucy?

  Zach couldn’t blame her. He’d let Emma down from day one, three years ago when Steve died. Though he tried making it up to her these last weeks, the RangePro situation left him eating dust, and he didn’t know how to make things right.

  “Emma,” he called.

  “Hmm?” Her head bobbed, as she fought sleep like Rachel and Elizabeth at the dinner table.

  “The nurse said you can go in now.”

  “What?” Suddenly Emma was wide-awake. She met his gaze from across the room.

  “You can go in and see the baby. The nurse said they’re ready.”

  “Thank you.” She stood and stretched her shoulders and then turned to him and frowned. “Aren’t you going in?”

  “This is family visiting.”

  “Zach, you’re family. You’ve always been family and you will never stop being family.” She put her hands on her hips. “Why is it you don’t get that?”

  “I get it now.” He stared at her for a moment before following her to the birthing suite.

  They washed their hands and Emma turned to him. “Do I look like I’ve been sleeping in a chair?”

  “No, but why is there a bruise on your forehead?”

  “I ran into a wall.” She raised a hand. “Don’t ask.”

  “I’m afraid to.” Zach knocked on the door.

  “Come on in,” Jack said.

  The room was huge, with not only a bed, but also a couch and a rocking chair. There was even a Roman tub with a Jacuzzi. It was like nothing Zach had ever seen before.

  Lucy sat propped against pillows holding a swaddled infant, who wore a tiny red-and-white knitted Santa cap.

  “Congratulations,” Emma cried. She hugged Jack, kissed her sister and fussed over the baby.

  “Did you hear?” Lucy asked. “The first Christmas baby for the hospital. They took a picture for the newspaper and I asked them to fax the article to the Timber Independence. We’re going to milk our five minutes of fame.”

  “As you should,” Emma said. “You did nine months of hard labor.”

  “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Yes,” Emma said with a nod. “Where did that darling hat come from?”

  “The nurse brought it in. I suspect I’m their favorite patient because you put cookies and candy canes in the staff lounge.”

  “Lucy, you’re their only patient, but a little Christmas cheer can’t hurt, especially since they’re working on a holiday.”

  Jack met Zach at the door. “I know I’ve said it half a dozen times already, Zach, but thanks for being a Good Samaritan tonight. I knew the Lord was watching over us, but I had no idea He’d send a navy SEAL.”

  “Congratulations,” Zach said, shaking the new father’s hand.

  “Have you called Travis and AJ?” Emma asked.

  Jack held up a computer notebook. “We’ve FaceTimed with them and the kids. For once, Lucy is impressed with all my techno gadgets.”

  “Dub and the girls got to see the baby already thanks to Jack’s toys,” Lucy said.

  “What did Dub say?” Emma asked.

  “That little guy is so excited. He can’t wait for his brother to come home,” Jack said.

  “Come closer, you two,” Lucy said. “I want you to officially meet Daniel Zachary Harris.”

  Zach’s head jerked up. “Who?”

  “Daniel Zachary Harris. Daniel for Jack’s brother and Zachary after you,” Lucy explained. “Thanks to you, he wasn’t born on the road to Pawhuska.”

  “All I did was drive my pickup.”

  “Emma, can you please explain to the navy SEAL that he’s a hero?”

  “I’ll try, Lucy, but this is just another day for Zach.”

  “Not to us,” Jack said. “You and Zach helped bring little Daniel Zachary safely into the world on Christmas Day, and we’d like you both to be the baby’s godparents.”

  Zach opened his mouth and closed it again. Jack’s and Lucy’s words touched him deeply. His heart ached with a joy he didn’t even understand. Speechless, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

  “We’d be honored. Right, Zach?” Emma prompted.

  “Yeah.” The word was husky with emotion.

  “Come here, Zach,” Lucy said. “Time to take a good look at your godchild.”

  Zach moved closer to the bed, more nervous now than when he was shipping out on a new mission.

  Standing next to Emma, he prayed no one would notice his trembling hands as he stared with wonder at the infant nestled in the blanket.

  “Tiny little thing,” Zach murmured.

  “Tiny and wondrous,” Emma said softly.

  The miniature hand broke free of the swaddling and reached out to him. When Zach touched the delicate fist with his index finger, the infant wrapped his fingers around Zach’s big one.

  For minutes, the room was silent as hearts overflowed for a baby who was only hours old. Zach lifted his head and Emma was smiling at him, her eyes moist. Her expression said that she, too, would be tucking this amazing memory away.

  “Hello?” A smiling middle-aged woman peeked her head
in the room.

  “Rue? Is that you?” Lucy cried as the door opened further.

  “It’s me. I can’t believe you had the baby without me. What were you thinking?” Dutch’s sweetheart pushed gray curls away from her face and her eyes fanned the room as she entered.

  “Looks like we’ve got our own live nativity here,” Dutch said from the doorway.

  “Have you just promoted yourself to a wise man, Dutch?” Rue asked. The sturdy retired general and physician stepped up to Zach and held out her hand. “You must be Zach Norman. Dutch has been telling me all about you.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” He took the woman’s offered hand and nodded. “Heard a lot about you, too.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t believe anything he tells you. Our Dutch is quite loquacious.”

  “Yes, ma’am. He is.”

  “Hey there,” Dutch protested. “Speak English if you’re gonna insult me.”

  Rue laughed and moved to hug Emma. “Oh, my dear, you and I have some catching up to do.”

  “You’ve been missed, Rue,” Emma said. “Dutch has been out of control since you’ve been gone.”

  “Hey, I resemble that remark,” Dutch said as he sidled up to Zach.

  Zach narrowed his eyes at the old cowboy.

  “I see you found your way back home.”

  “Navy SEALS don’t get lost,” Zach returned.

  “Aw, sure they do. They just don’t tell anyone.”

  Zach turned and pinned him with his gaze. “Did you know that Lucy was having the baby?”

  “Might have heard something about it.” Dutch shrugged. “Things turned out fine, didn’t they?”

  Zach shot Dutch a menacing look, and the cowboy inched away and turned to Emma.

  “Everything’s fine here, right, Miss Emma?”

  “Right, Dutch. Absolutely, right. Whatever you said.”

  “See, there,” Dutch said to Zach.

  When Dutch and Rue moved closer to see the baby, Zach took the opportunity to grab his Stetson from a chair and slip out the door. He pulled his keys from his pocket. Time to get going. Emma could easily get a ride home.

  Halfway down the hall, he stopped. What was he doing?

  “Can I help you, sir?” a nurse asked.