Her Christmas Family Wish

by Lois Richer

  “Ellie?” He tried to clear his raspy hoarse throat, watching as she walked from the doorway toward him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking after you and Cade. He’s fine, by the way.” She smiled as she set a tray on his nightstand. “Do you feel like something to eat?”

  “I’m starved. And I want a cup of coffee,” he said, then frowned as a thousand questions filled his head. “Why do I need looking after?”

  “You don’t remember getting sick?” She waited for him to think about it, then said, “Tanner found you and Cade sick with the flu. We took you to the doctor. That was four days ago.”

  “Four days?” He stared at her. “I’ve got to get up. My stock—”

  “—are fine thanks to Tanner and some folks from the church.” Ellie snapped the covers around him in the crisp efficient way nurses did. “You’re weak. Why don’t you just relax for a bit, see if you can handle some toast and tea, then we’ll talk about you getting up. Okay?”

  She gave him a strictly business smile. Wyatt didn’t like it nearly as well as the smile she always lavished on Cade.

  “But I’ve got things to do,” he protested.

  “Yes, like care for your son.” Ellie stared straight at him. “And you can’t do that if you aren’t well. Correct?”

  “Fine.” He reached for a piece of toast. “But I am getting up today.”

  “You’ll have to,” she shot back. “Because you’re getting crumbs in that bed.” The door swished closed behind her.

  Wyatt chewed on the toast thoughtfully. Four days? Was that why lifting a bit of bread felt like he was hoisting a calf for branding? He managed to eat a portion, but chewing wore him out. Every single muscle in his body ached as if a bull had gored him. He leaned back against the headboard and sipped his tea. Things must be bad if he was drinking tea—and liking it.

  He must have dozed off but wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Ellie returned. She raised an eyebrow at the toast he’d left but lifted the tray without saying anything.

  “Can I see Cade? Please?” he asked.

  “Yes, of course. You must be worried about him. I’ll bring him in but not for long because he’s fighting his own bug. Though he is much better today.” She left and returned moments later, holding Cade by the hand.

  “Dada.”

  The sound was music to Wyatt’s ears. Ellie chuckled when the little boy crowed with delight and tried to scramble onto the bed. Wyatt dearly wanted to pull his son into his arms but figured he’d embarrass himself if he tried to lift Cade.

  Ellie must have noticed, because she scooped up Cade and plopped him down beside Wyatt.

  “There’s your daddy.” The loving tenderness of her voice surprised him by its intensity. Wyatt figured he’d have to think about it later. For now, he cuddled his son next to him.

  “I love you, Cade.”

  “You two have a little visit. I have some chores to do. Call if you need me,” she said, then hurried out the door.

  He was surprised by her hasty exit. Had he done something wrong? Then Cade tugged on his shirt sleeve, and Wyatt forgot everything but the joy this little boy had brought to his life.

  “How are you doing?” Ellie peeked around the door a while later. “Need a break?”

  “No. He’s asleep. We’re good.” Wyatt waited until her gaze lifted to him. “Thank you, Ellie. For everything. I don’t know how I’d have managed without your help.”

  “God would have sent someone,” she said with a shrug. “He doesn’t abandon His children.”

  “How’s Gracie?” he asked, even as he wondered if that was a safe subject.

  “Mad at me.” Ellie sighed, then inclined her head toward Cade. “Enjoy every moment of this stage,” she advised.

  “Because of the terrible twos you mean?” He saw weariness around her eyes and wished he wasn’t part of the cause.

  “They’re nothing compared to the trying sixes. Call when you need me.” She chucked Cade on the cheek, then left.

  Six? Gracie must have had a birthday. But what kind of a party could she have had with her mom stuck here watching him and Cade? Wyatt figured he’d have some making up to do with the little girl once he got vertical again.

  All he could do now was snuggle a sleepy Cade by his side and do exactly as his nurse had instructed.

  He could learn a lot from Ellie, Wyatt decided before sleep took over.

  *

  “When do I get to have my birthday party, Mommy?”

  Same old question, same old answer.

  “I don’t know, honey. Soon.” Ellie felt bad, but she’d been so busy taking care of Cade and Wyatt that there hadn’t been time for a party. She set a plate of freshly baked cookies and a glass of milk on the counter. “Cade’s having an after-school gingerbread man cookie. Want one?”

  “Cade doesn’t go to school.” Gracie hooted with laughter. “I do.” She wiggled on to the kitchen stool and, after much deliberation, picked up a cookie. “Do I have to wait till Christmas for my birthday party?” she complained in a grumpy tone. “Teacher said Christmas is only three weeks away.”

  “Would it be so bad to have a Christmas birthday?” Ellie asked.

  “Well, me and Jesus would have a birthday on the same day,” Gracie mused. Then her frown reappeared. “But I wouldn’t get as many presents.”

  “Is that what Christmas and birthdays are about?” Ellie resisted the urge to lecture Gracie. She wanted her to figure out the meaning of Christmas on her own. “Gifts?”

  “No.” Gracie crunched on her cookie. “But they’re very important.”

  “I see.” Ellie continued icing the gingerbread cookies, surprised that Gracie didn’t offer to help. Clearly her daughter was seriously contemplating the subject.

  “Don’t you like getting gifts, Mommy?” Gracie asked after she’d crunched her way through the cookie’s arms and legs. “I think you do, because you laughed and smiled that time when Eddie took you for a birthday supper and gave you that big book.”

  “That wasn’t because he gave me a gift, sweetie.” Since Gracie had never spoken much about Eddie, Ellie’s radar zipped to high alert. “I was happy because he did something special just for me. It meant a lot to me because I cared about him.”

  “And now you don’t?” Those big blue eyes riveted on her, waiting for an answer.

  While she considered her reply, Ellie lifted two sheets of golden cookies from the oven and set them to cool.

  Making her mother’s gingerbread cookies was a childhood Christmas tradition both Ellie and Karen had treasured. She would carry on the same tradition with Gracie again this year at their home, but these cookies were for Wyatt. Ellie wanted to make his Christmas more enjoyable, though she didn’t want to think about why that seemed so important.

  “You can tell me why you and Eddie never got married.” Gracie propped her head on her palms and sighed. “I’m not a baby like Cade, Mommy.”

  “Yes, I know.” Babies were so much easier to deal with. “Uh, Eddie is still my friend, Gracie, but in a different way. I couldn’t marry him.”

  Gracie reached for another cookie. “Last one,” she promised, correctly reading the look on her mother’s puckered brow. “But why couldn’t you marry him?”

  “Because I realized I didn’t love him enough.” Not enough to put you in a boarding school. As if traveling the world could compare with raising Gracie. “I told you all this,” she reminded her daughter.

  “No, Mommy.” Grace shook her head, her icing-covered face solemn. “You only said we weren’t gonna be a fam’ly.” She finished her milk. “I wanted to ask why, but you were so sad so I didn’t.” She climbed off the stool. “But now you’re happier,” she said before she headed for the bathroom to wash up.

  Ellie tried to puzzle out what Gracie meant.

  “Is she right? Are you happier now?” Wyatt leaned against the doorjamb, his face pale.

  “Come and sit down before you fall down.” Ellie w
as prepared to rush over to lend a shoulder, but Wyatt made it on his own. His hair was damp. “You took a shower?”

  “I needed one. Don’t fuss.” He picked up a cookie and took a bite.

  “A nurse does not fuss,” she said in a stern tone. “And a cookie is hardly the first thing you should be putting in your empty stomach.”

  “I’d put coffee in there if you made some. Please?” He grinned at her. “And you’re dodging my question.”

  “Which was?” She avoided his scrutiny by turning to the coffeemaker.

  “Are you happier now?” Wyatt wiped off his son’s face and hands and lifted him down from his high chair. “Now that you’re not with this Eddie person anymore?”

  “Wyatt, that’s kind of personal.” Ellie tried to regain her composure while she poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of him.

  “You’ve seen me at my worst. Cared for my sick kid. What’s a little more personal stuff between friends?”

  “Uh—” Ellie looked around for a way to escape.

  “I think Mommy would be more happier if she put me in the wooden school.” Gracie came in and flopped on to the floor to play blocks with Cade.

  Aghast, Ellie stared at her daughter. She’d been so careful, trying to ensure Gracie would never know she’d been the reason for the breakup with Eddie. Well, part of the reason.

  “Wooden school?” Wyatt’s gaze shifted from Gracie to Ellie. “What’s that?”

  “It’s school for kids who can’t live at home ’cause their moms aren’t there.” Gracie sounded nonchalant. “I asked my Sunday school teacher.”

  “Boarding school,” Ellie explained for Wyatt’s benefit. “I wish you’d told me you overheard that, Gracie.”

  “I couldn’t tell you. You’d have cried more. I don’t like it when you cry, Mommy.” She looked at Ellie, her face utterly serious. “But I could go there. Then you and Eddie could get married.”

  “Gracie, honey, Eddie and I don’t want to get married.”

  “He might want to if I went to the wooden school.” It was obvious she’d thought about this a lot. “If I went there you could ask him. You’d hafta say please,” she warned. Then her bottom lip began to tremble. “’Cept I’d really miss Melissa. An’ Wranglers Ranch.” She gulped. “An’ you,” she whispered as a big shiny tear dribbled down her cheek.

  “Oh, darling.” Ellie swallowed the lump in her throat as she rushed across the room and knelt to hug her precious little girl close to her heart. She didn’t have to worry. Gracie knew all about giving gifts. And she’d just given her mom a priceless one. “It’s very kind of you to offer, but I don’t want to marry Eddie.”

  “Sure?” Gracie sniffed.

  “Positive.” Ellie swiped away her tears, her heart brimming with love. “I keep telling you, darling. You and I are a family. We always will be, even when you grow up and get married and have your own children.”

  Gracie’s smile blazed with relief, but a moment later her eyes turned troubled. “I can’t get married,” she wailed. “I don’t got no daddy.”

  “What does having a father have to do with getting married?” Wyatt asked.

  “Miss Carter, she’s my teacher,” Gracie explained with a sniff. “She said her daddy is going to walk her into the church when she gets married. She said all daddies do that. But I don’t got a daddy to walk me, so I can’t never get married.” Fresh tears poured from her eyes.

  Ellie leaned back on her heels and glared at Wyatt, whose peals of laughter filled the room.

  “Gracie, honey, you have a very long time before you have to think about marriage. Let’s not worry about that now.”

  Gracie sniffed as she considered this. “’Kay,” she finally agreed. She brushed away her tears and began gathering blocks. “Cade, you an’ me are gonna build a church where people get married. Only not Mommy and Eddie.”

  Sighing, Ellie rose and rescued the last of her cookies from the oven.

  “Escaped that by the skin of your teeth, Ellie Grant.” Wyatt’s eyes crinkled with his smile. “But don’t think I don’t expect an answer. About your happiness,” he whispered with a check over one shoulder to be sure Gracie didn’t overhear. “Or lack thereof.”

  “Did you know there are certain kinds of poison you can add to food which are totally undetectable?” Ellie methodically stirred the pot of soup on the stove. “The person who eats it never even knows it’s their last meal.” She glanced at Wyatt over one shoulder. “Totally oblivious.”

  She hid her smile at his gaping stare and calmly set out four bowls and four spoons to go along with her freshly baked bread.

  “Supper’s in an hour,” she said brightly. “If you’re strong enough to watch the kids for a bit, I think I’ll go for a walk.”

  When Wyatt finally managed a nod, Ellie left, inhaling deeply as she strode down the drive.

  Wasn’t it funny that the thought of marrying Eddie no longer held any attraction? He was part of the past, a part she could forget and not mourn.

  What wasn’t funny was that she’d begun to have silly dreams about living here, on Wyatt’s ranch, watching the spectacular sunsets with him, seeing him raise his son, listening to that full-bodied laugh.

  “God, I’m really trying to manage Gracie on my own, to keep us strong as a family and find contentment in the life You want for me,” she whispered as she strolled among the lacy mesquite trees. “But I think I’m getting too fond of Cade.” And Wyatt. “It sure would be nice if You could heal Wyatt so Gracie and I can get back to our own lives.”

  Ellie really meant that. But she had a hunch that from now on, being a single mom wasn’t going to be quite as fulfilling as it once had been.

  *

  “You have to be on your best behavior tonight,” Wyatt told his son two evenings later. “No spilling, no yelling. There will be ladies present. Okay?”

  Cade gave him a baleful look. “Dada. Meem.” Meem was Cade’s word for more.

  “No more juice right now,” Wyatt told him. “We have to get going.” He sniffed, then made a detour to change his son. “One of these days, when you’re a little older, you and I are going to have a heart-to-heart about how to attract girls. This isn’t it.”

  Cade blew a raspberry.

  “That won’t impress them either. And you’ll only be able to get by on those baby-face good looks for so long, kid. Trust me, it’s not easy when you get older.”

  Wyatt paused. Was that what he was doing, trying to impress Ellie? A surge of guilt rose as he glanced at his wedding picture and Taryn. No, he wasn’t looking to get involved again. No way. It was just that Ellie—

  He shoved the thought away, did one more check to be sure he had everything, then he headed out the door. He was just pulling up at Ellie’s place when his phone rang.

  “Hey, Wyatt. Where are you?”

  “Hey, Tanner. At Ellie’s. We should be there in ten minutes. Everything ready?”

  “And waiting,” came Tanner’s response. Then he hung up.

  Ellie and her daughter were waiting outside, so Wyatt jumped out to help Gracie into the backseat beside Cade. When she was buckled in he moved to the passenger side and held Ellie’s door, closing it once she was inside.

  “What’s going on, Wyatt?” she asked after fastening her seat belt. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.” She tried to probe further, but he avoided her questions. “Here we are,” he said a few minutes later as they drove through the gates to Wranglers Ranch.

  “Mommy, my name is on that sign. What does the rest say?” Gracie asked, pointing to a banner attached to the fence and lit up by the yard light.

  “It says Happy Birthday, Gracie,” Wyatt told her. “I hope you don’t mind, but since you couldn’t have a birthday party because Cade and I were sick and keeping your mom busy, I made you one. This is your birthday party.” He pulled in and parked, laughing out loud at her squeal of surprise when a clown appeared and opened her door. “Happy birthday,
Gracie.”

  The clown lifted Gracie down from the truck, then he produced a crown and set it on her head. He bowed in front of her, then blew on a whistle. Suddenly lights, thousands of them, blinked to life on a huge Christmas tree. The clown took Gracie’s hand, and as he led her toward the tree, candy canes glowed to life, lighting up a path.

  “Shall we?” Wyatt asked Ellie. He was a bit worried by her silence. But when he opened the door, and the interior lights clicked on, he saw she was crying. “I blew it, didn’t I?” he said, utterly devastated by those tears.

  “Are you kidding me? You are the most amazing man…” Ellie dashed away her tears, leaned over and kissed him hard and fast. Then she jerked away, flushed a bright Christmas red and clapped a hand over her mouth. A second later she recovered enough to say, “This is the nicest thing you could have done for her. Thank you, Wyatt.”

  “You’re welcome.” He grinned and quashed the desire to return her kiss. Friends, that’s all they were. “Shall we join the party?” At her nod he unbuckled Cade, and they joined Gracie.

  “Come on,” she called with a frantic wave. “Mr. Clown says we hafta follow the candy canes.”

  As they walked through what he hoped looked like an enchanted forest where even the cacti had been dressed for the event, Wyatt couldn’t help watching Ellie’s reaction. She was as much a kid as Gracie, her head twisting from one side to the other to take it all in. She stopped short at one point and gazed upward.

  “Snowflakes,” she whispered. “How perfect.”

  “Perfect?” He was puzzled by the comment. “In Tucson?”

  “Perfect for me.” Ellie tilted her head, as if she was waiting for one of the white plastic snowflakes to fall so she could catch it on her tongue. “I was born and raised in North Dakota. We always had snow at Christmas. It’s the one thing I still miss.” She looked at him. “And you managed to re-create it in the desert.”

  “With some help.” He steered Cade back on to the path. “It’s the least I could do for making Gracie miss her birthday.”

  “And you said you couldn’t decorate.” Ellie made a face at him. “How long did it take you to make all these snowflakes?”