Mistletoe Daddy

by Deb Kastner

  Georgie, as it turned out, wanted to greet the world sunny-side up, which Delia said was probably the cause of her severe Braxton Hicks contractions as well as why her labor had taken so long.

  Nick visited the moment he was able. His eyes were glowing with amazement when Vivian passed little Georgie to him. The baby looked so tiny in Nick’s huge hands, and yet Vivian knew there was no safer place her son could be.

  “Hey, there, Georgie,” Nick crooned in the high voice men used with babies.

  He grinned at Vivian. “He looks just like you. Blond hair. Clear blue eyes. Cute little wrinkled nose.”

  Vivian smiled, her heart full to overflowing.

  “Is Georgie a family name?”

  She shook her head and laughed. “No. But I’d been calling him Baby G for so long that it only seemed right that I gave him a name that started with the letter G.”

  “I like it.”

  Vivian didn’t know why Nick’s opinion mattered so much, but it did.

  “He came out full-sized and healthy, but the little brat was sunny-side up,” Vivian told him.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Most babies are born facedown. The first anyone saw of Georgie was his smiling face.”

  “That’s proof positive that he’s your son.” Nick gently placed the baby back into Viv’s arms.

  “Yes, but it made my labor longer and more complicated.”

  “Is it true what my mom said? That you forget all about the pain after the baby is born?”

  She snorted. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know that having Georgie was worth any amount of pain.”

  “When are they cutting you loose from this joint?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “Good. My mom will be here to take you home, okay? I’ve got some things to do and Alexis says she needs to get a head start on your laundry.”

  “But I didn’t win the dare.”

  “She saw me cave. She said that was good enough for her.”

  Vivian chuckled. She didn’t want to admit that she’d hoped Nick would be the one bringing her home. After everything that had happened, she just wanted to be with him.

  Back at the salon there had been a moment when she’d thought she glimpsed the same emotions she felt in his eyes, but she must have been mistaken if he was so quick to leave her and Georgie’s sides.

  She tucked her heartache aside as she spent the rest of the day learning how to care for a newborn baby. She’d been worried that she might not be a natural mother and was surprised and relieved at how easily changing and feeding Georgie was for her.

  As promised, Alice arrived first thing the next morning to await Vivian’s release from the hospital. Alice had become more and more of a mother figure to Vivian and she didn’t know what she was going to do when she was no longer involved with the McKennas. They really had become like family to her.

  Alice slowed her sedan as she entered the long driveway of Alexis and Griff’s ranch property. Vivian was currently staying in a small cabin on the outskirts of the ranch, at least until she could make other arrangements—which, happily, she would soon be able to do, since the salon was taking off so well.

  “Are you ready to introduce baby Georgie to his new home?” Alice asked, her voice lined with excitement.

  “Oh, yes. And to show him off around town.”

  Alice turned the curve just past Alexis’s main ranch house and Vivian caught the first glimpse of her own little cottage.

  She gasped in shock. Multicolored helium balloons were bobbing everywhere, along with an enormous blue banner with baby footprints and the words Welcome Home, Vivian and Georgie.

  Tears filled Vivian’s eyes as she saw all the people waiting on the lawn for her. Not only were Alexis and Griff there, but all three of the McKenna brothers, their significant others and their children.

  Nick stood on the walk in front of the cabin, an enormous bouquet of red roses in his hand.

  As soon as Alice pulled to a stop, Nick strode forward and opened the car door, gesturing to the scene before her.

  “Welcome home, fair princess and little prince. Your family awaits.”

  Nick’s eyes were alight with joy as he handed Vivian the flowers and unbuckled the baby from his car seat.

  Family?

  Yes, this very much felt to Viv like a family scene, and for the first time, she released all the fear and tension she had that she alone would not be enough for her son.

  She didn’t need to be worried, for Georgie would be surrounded with love and care.

  “Thank you all,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “This is so far beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”

  “That’s not all,” Nick said, taking her shoulder and turning her toward where Slade and Jax stood shoulder to shoulder.

  When they backed away from each other, Vivian saw what they had been hiding behind them.

  The little red tricycle, all repaired and cleaned and gleaming in the sunlight. The spokes had been straightened and the streamers on the handlebars had been replaced, as had the little bell. It had a fresh coat of red paint and the chrome had been polished.

  Vivian exclaimed in delight. “Oh, Nick. How did you know?”

  He chuckled. “You didn’t think I noticed that you kept taking the trike out of the junk pile? After a while I got the hint.”

  She put her free arm around his waist and hugged him tight.

  He cleared his throat. “You might want to look a little closer.”

  Intrigued, she turned her gaze back to the tricycle and realized it wasn’t just the silver spokes, polished chrome and bright red paint that was catching the sunlight.

  There, on the seat, was an open black velvet box. Inside was a beautiful diamond solitaire.

  She clapped a hand over her mouth and her tears fell freely.

  Nick reached for the box and knelt before her.

  “I wanted our families to be here to share in our joy,” he said, smiling up at her. “Little Georgie will always have plenty of family to dote on him.”

  Vivian knew Nick was making her a promise.

  She nodded, trying to breathe, trying to swallow, but her head was spinning and nothing seemed to be working.

  “Vivian Grainger,” Nick said, holding Georgie in one arm and extending the ring in his other. “I love you. And I think I’ve loved Georgie even before we formally met. Will you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”

  She couldn’t see through her tears and she couldn’t speak, but she nodded and put out her left hand.

  When Nick slid the ring on her finger, it was as if every fear, every concern, vanished like mist in the morning sun.

  He stood and embraced her. “I want you to know that you and Georgie will always be safe, protected and cared for, as long as I’m around. You’ve both stolen my heart.”

  “Oh, Nick.” She reached her hand up and brushed her palm over the sweet, scratchy beard that was Nick McKenna. “I love you, too. I have for a long time, I think. You’ve already given me so much. I can only hope I can make you happy for the rest of our lives together.”

  “You already have,” he said huskily, and brought his lips down on hers.

  Their families hooted and applauded but Vivian was too wrapped up in Nick—and their future together—to really notice.

  When she hadn’t even been looking, love had crept up on her, and finally her heart was experiencing what she’d been searching for all along.

  Tranquility.

  Epilogue

  Christmas Eve had always been one of Nick’s favorite times of the year. He always enjoyed the children’s nativity pageant and the midnight candlelight service at the church.

  This year, however, top
ped anything he could ever have imagined. He couldn’t believe all the blessings he’d received.

  He had thought he was meant to be alone. Now he had a beautiful fiancée and her bouncing baby boy to make his life complete.

  And tonight was special in another way. Nick’s heart beat in anticipation as he sat with his family in the darkened church with nothing more than the glow of candles for light.

  The choir started the hymn, slowly and reverently.

  Silent night. Holy night.

  Nick joined in, his baritone mixing with the other voices. He smiled at his mother. Her heart was healing. Although she still grieved for her departed husband, she had started living her life again.

  There was a soft gasp and Nick turned to the back of the sanctuary, where Vivian was slowly walking up the aisle. Soon, she would be walking up this very same aisle to tie her life to his, but tonight she had another important role to play.

  She was dressed in a blue robe with a white mantle, and in her arms she carried a swaddled, sleeping Georgie.

  When she reached the front of the church, she laid Georgie in the life-size manger and knelt next to him, softly joining in with the others to sing the rest of the hymn.

  Nick was so proud he wanted to burst. His heart swelled so much he thought he might not be able to endure the sweet tenderness.

  Georgie’s very first Christmas pageant, and he had landed the prime role.

  Baby Jesus.

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss these other heartwarming stories

  in the COWBOY COUNTRY miniseries:

  YULETIDE BABY

  THE COWBOY’S FOREVER FAMILY

  THE COWBOY’S SURPRISE BABY

  THE COWBOY’S TWINS

  MISTLETOE DADDY

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from HER CHRISTMAS FAMILY WISH by Lois Richer.

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  Dear Reader,

  I’m so excited to return once again to Serendipity, Texas, and the beautiful small-town community there. It’s been a special pleasure to write the story of Nick, the oldest of the McKenna brothers. I’ve enjoyed spending time with these three large, rugged cowboys, the spirited women with whom they fall in love and the babies who make their lives complete.

  Though total opposites in every way, both Nick and Vivian struggle with their pasts creeping up on their futures, believing they are not good enough to embrace the love that is before them, both in their relationship with God and each other. I think that’s a common theme for most of us. What Nick and Viv discover is that in offering a loving sacrifice to each other, their own hearts are healed.

  For Christmas this year, my grandchildren have each been given a handful of hay. Every time they perform an act of loving sacrifice, they are allowed to place one straw in the manger. By Christmas Eve, Jesus will have a soft, comfortable place to lay His precious head. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the season, I encourage you to spend time considering how you, too, can make the Savior’s nativity special this year.

  I’m always delighted to hear from you, dear readers, and I love to connect socially. You can find my website at www.debkastnerbooks.com. Come join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/debkastnerbooks, and you can catch me on Twitter @debkastner.

  Please know that I pray for each and every one of you daily.

  Love Courageously,

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  Her Christmas Family Wish

  by Lois Richer

  Chapter One

  “That little boy would be a good brother, wouldn’t he, Mommy?”

  Wyatt Wright stifled his groan. Not another one. He’d been in this grocery story almost twenty minutes, and he’d put only three things from his list into his basket, thanks to his son’s many female admirers. At least, that’s how he preferred to think of the women who used Cade to open a conversation with him.

  Only this time Cade’s fan sounded like a little kid.

  “He’s a cutie all ri—” A woman’s light, cheery voice paused. “Uh-oh.”

  Intrigued by the way warning overtook her amusement, Wyatt did something he’d vowed not to. He looked directly at the stranger and spoke to her.

  “Is something wrong?”

  She peered at Cade. “Your son is about to be sick.”

  Clear gray eyes set in a heart-shaped face met his, empty of the coy look he often saw in the ladies who were—how did he say it without sounding conceited?—looking to make his acquaintance. And yet Wyatt didn’t get the impression that he was the attraction here, given the coolly polite smile that lifted this woman’s pink lips. Still, he couldn’t help but admire her flaxen hair as it tumbled to her shoulders in an attractive disarray of curls. She wore a pale blue sundress, probably in deference to the heat of a late-October evening in Tucson, that flirted around her tanned legs.

  Cade was sick? That was an opening gambit he hadn’t heard before. Of course she was wrong. Wyatt had been eighteen-month-old Cade’s sole parent for over a year. He knew all about—

  “Look out!” the pretty stranger warned.

  Wyatt turned in time to see his usually grinning boy grimace before spewing a sour mouthful all over his daddy’s favorite T-shirt.

  “Sorry. I tried to warn you.” The slender stranger was quite tall, only a few inches shorter than Wyatt’s own six-foot height. She dug into her large shoulder bag, pulled out a packet of wipes and extracted several. “Poor baby. But your tummy feels better now, doesn’t it?”

  Wyatt blinked twice before realizing her tender tone was for Cade. Gently she wiped the disgusting mess from his son’s face and shirtfront, then tucked the used wipes into a plastic bag which she grabbed from a roll at the nearby produce stand. After removing more clean wipes, she reached toward Wyatt. He stepped back just in time to stop her from cleaning him up, too.

  “Oh. Sorry.” She blushed very prettily, then stuffed the wipes into his hand. “I guess you can do that yourself. Moms get used to cleaning up spills. But I suppose dads do, too, right?”

  Entranced by the melodic sound of her light laugh, Wyatt couldn’t find his voice. After a minute her smile faded. She shrugged, then bent to look at Cade.

  “Hope you feel better, sweet boy.” Cade grinned at her, his feet churning. She glanced at Wyatt. “You’ve got a real charmer here.” Then she turned and reached for her daughter’s hand. “Come on, Gracie.”

  Wyatt hid his smile when the little girl plant
ed her feet and stubbornly refused to move.

  “This man would make a good daddy for us, Mommy,” the blue-eyed sprite mused, her silvery-gold head tilted as she assessed Wyatt.

  That was so not funny. Wyatt suppressed his overwhelming desire to bolt.

  “Then he—” Gracie continued jerking a thumb at Cade “—could be my brother. I’d really like to have a brother,” she added, her head tilted to one side thoughtfully. Then she frowned. “’Cept I don’t want him to spit on me.”

  Wyatt cleared his throat, intending to voice a firm yet delicate refusal that would end the child’s ludicrous notion real fast, before her mother latched on to it. Instead he got sidetracked by the lady’s burst of laughter.

  “You used to spit up exactly the same way, Gracie.” The mom chuckled when her daughter wrinkled her nose in disgust. “But we don’t need a daddy,” she said in a firm voice. “We’re fine just the way we are, you and me. Don’t you like our family?”

  Instead of rushing her child away from a touchy subject, as Wyatt had seen other parents do, the mother waited for a response. He admired her serenity and total focus on her child and made a mental note to practice the same kind of patience with Cade when he got older so he’d be the best father a kid could have. He’d do whatever it took to be a better father to his son than his own father had ever been.

  “Our family’s nice,” Gracie agreed. “But I want a daddy. And a brother. Melissa and Courtney have brothers and daddies,” she said, her chin thrust up.

  “So you’ve told me, many times.” A resigned sigh colored the mother’s response. “But I’m sure there are other kids in your kindergarten class who don’t. Each family is different, Gracie. One isn’t better or worse than another, just different.” She smoothed the child’s rumpled curls. “We need to get our ice cream now so we can go to Wranglers Ranch.”

  Wranglers Ranch? That was the place that sponsored camps for troubled kids. Months earlier the owner, Tanner Johns, had left a message on Wyatt’s answering machine asking him if he was interested in taking on a full-time vet position there. Wyatt, his hands full caring for Cade, hadn’t responded. Though he kept running into Tanner at church, the rancher had never pressed him for a reply, simply offered friendship. Wyatt figured Wranglers’ ministry must be growing because of a mention at last week’s church service about a youth group outing to the ranch.