Forever Santa

by Leeanna Morgan

  She looked around the room, hoping he had everything he’d need.

  “I’ll be fine, Gracie. Try and get a good night’s sleep.”

  She gave Jacob another hug before leaving. Trent was waiting for her in the living room.

  “Alex will be okay, Gracie. He’s in the best possible hands.”

  “What if he can’t ride again? He lives and breathes the rodeo.”

  Trent held her hand as they walked upstairs. “The surgeons will do everything they can. He’s alive. Anything after that is a bonus.”

  Gracie knew Trent was right, but that didn’t stop the worry. Alex could be left with a permanent injury. Choosing to retire from the rodeo was one thing. Leaving because you couldn’t ride was a whole different story.

  Gracie rubbed her eyes and stared at the alarm clock. It was six o’clock in the morning. Too early to have heard from her dad, too early to give her dad a call. She rolled over and buried her head against her pillow, saying a silent prayer for Alex.

  A soft knock sounded on their bedroom door and Gracie bolted out of bed. Jacob stood on the landing, looking as though he’d had even less sleep than her.

  “Did I wake you up?” He whispered.

  “I’ve been awake for ages. Have you heard from dad?”

  “He texted me. Alex’s surgery went well and they’ve transferred him to a ward.”

  “What did the surgeon do?”

  “He’s got a titanium rod in his thigh, a reconstructed knee, and torn ligaments in his pelvis. It’s going to take a few months to get him back on his feet.”

  Gracie leaned against the door frame and closed her eyes.

  Trent propped himself up on his elbow and watched Gracie and Jacob. “He’s okay?”

  Jacob nodded. “As soon as he’s able to be transferred, mom and dad will bring him home. They’ll be in Vegas for Christmas. Dad said to give him a call when we wake up.”

  Trent hauled himself out of bed and grabbed his sweatshirt. “Let’s call your dad from the kitchen. I’ll start the coffeepot.”

  Gracie picked up her robe and pulled on her fluffy green socks. “Wait for me.”

  “We aren’t going anywhere without you, short stuff. Take your time.” Trent waited on the landing with Jacob.

  Gracie could hear their voices, low and steady, talking about what had happened in Las Vegas. They looked up when she joined them. “Have mom and dad talked to Alex since the accident?”

  “Not yet,” Jacob said as they walked downstairs. “He’s doped up to his eyeballs with Morphine. He should be more with it by this afternoon.”

  “He’s going to be upset.”

  “You can say that again.” Jacob pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called his dad. “He won’t know what to do with himself.”

  Jim Green answered the call after three rings. “Jacob? Have you got Gracie with you?”

  “She’s right here with Trent. We’re on speaker-phone.”

  “Are you okay, dad?” Gracie asked.

  “We’ve had better days.” Gracie could hear the exhaustion in her dad’s voice. “They took Alex to the orthopedic ward a few hours ago.”

  “How’s mom?” Jacob asked.

  “Sleeping. It’s been a long night. I’m just glad we decided to come to Vegas to see Alex compete. God knows how we would have got here otherwise. I’m sorry we won’t be home for Christmas.”

  Gracie sat on a kitchen stool and stared at the phone. “It’s okay, dad. Jacob’s going to spend Christmas with us. We can have dinner together when Alex gets home.”

  “I’m looking forward to it, Gracie.”

  “Have the doctor’s told you when Alex will be able to come back to Bozeman?” Jacob asked.

  “Not yet, but I don’t expect it to be soon. He’s pretty beat up.”

  Gracie leaned against the counter. “Do you need anything, dad?”

  “Not at the moment. Kristina said she’ll buy whatever we need later today.” Her dad hesitated before continuing. “Alex hasn’t been injured like this before. The reporters and television crews are standing around like vultures waiting for information. I’ll be pleased when we can bring him home.”

  “So will we, dad.” Gracie left Jacob to talk about the ranch with their dad. She walked back into the living room and stared at the Christmas tree. Everything was changing so fast.

  One minute they’d been about to hang decorations and the next minute Jacob was telling them Alex had been seriously injured. And then there was Jordan, his broken heart, the barn conversion, and a new business.

  “He’ll be okay.” Trent walked into the living room and gave her a hug.

  Gracie held on tight, needing the quiet strength that only her husband could give her. “I’ll be happier when I hear Alex’s voice.” She took a deep breath and kissed Trent’s chin. “We’ve got some tree trimming to do. I’m supposed to meet Emily in a couple of hours.”

  “You’re still going shopping?”

  “I might as well. I can’t do anything for Alex and I really need to go into town.” She picked up the cardboard box full of decorations and sat on the floor. “Can I pass them to you and you hang them?”

  “You mean you trust me to put them in the right place?”

  The grin on Trent’s face made Gracie smile. “No place is wrong. Once we’ve got the decorations on the tree I’ll know how many more I need to buy.”

  “I’ll space them out then.”

  Gracie laughed. “And we may just have enough.”

  “Maybe, but I’m sure you’ll find room for one or two new decorations.”

  Gracie looked at the tree and sighed. After today it might not just be new decorations they had to make room for.

  Gracie had never lied to Trent. Except when she’d told him she didn’t love him. But that didn’t count because he’d gone and married her anyway. The drive-through Elvis Chapel might have made some women’s hearts sing, but it had left her hunting for a divorce on the streets of Vegas, too tired, grouchy and hung-over to appreciate the man that had become her husband.

  This time her little white lie was different, although someone else might have called it a great big whopper. She was doing more than meeting Emily in town. She’d made an appointment to see Doc Johnson at the hospital.

  For the last three weeks she’d felt tired. The kind of bone deep tiredness that comes with the flu or a good dose of something else that she hadn’t considered until this week. She couldn’t drink coffee, had trouble eating anything that had four legs and went moo, and had thrown up by mid-morning most days this week.

  She didn’t need to think too hard about what might be causing all of her problems. And that was why she was here, outside Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, shivering in the cold.

  Someone tooted their horn and she started walking toward the entrance. She didn’t know what she thought about being a mom, and she didn’t want to think about it in case she wasn’t pregnant.

  Trent had told her he wanted children. It was the main reason he wanted to marry someone in the first place. But there was a big difference between wanting children and knowing one was on the way.

  They hadn’t planned this baby. She hadn’t taken any of the pre-natal vitamins that all of the Internet sites said were crucial. She hadn’t prepared her body as ‘the vessel of new life’ that one website talked about. She’d eaten all of the sweet, sugary food she normally did, rode Daisy when it wasn’t snowing, and had surrounded herself in toxic paint fumes for two months. A brilliant start to any baby’s life.

  She walked into the main reception area and headed toward the elevators. Doc Johnson had a private practice in town, but on Monday and Wednesday mornings he worked from the hospital.

  Unlike his private practice, she’d be able to come and go from this appointment almost undetected. Unless she met someone she knew, which was always a possibility in a small town.

  “Gracie, you-hoo.”

  Just when she’d been counting her lucky stars that sh
e’d made it inside unnoticed, Jessie popped her purple rinsed curls around a planter box and smiled.

  Gracie moved away from the elevators, but only enough to let Jessie know she didn’t have a lot of time. “Hi, Jessie. I’ve only got a few minutes.”

  “I suppose you’ve come to see one of the nice doctors. It must have come as quite a shock. Nothing can prepare you for that kind of news.”

  Gracie stared at her.

  “Alex. Your brother. I read all about his accident on the Internet. Such a shame. He was doing so well in the competition, too. I suppose you want to find out all there is to know about his surgery and what’s in store for him?”

  “Oh. Alex.” Gracie’s little white lie quota was being chewed up pretty fast. Instead of adding another tick to her not-strictly-true list, she dived for the open elevator doors and smiled over her shoulder. “I’ve got to go, Jessie. Have a great day.”

  When the elevator doors closed, she leaned against the back panel. The rest of the day couldn’t get much worse. Unless Jessie posted a message about seeing Gracie in the hospital on her Facebook page. Then she might have some questions to answer.

  Hopefully the answer would be good news.

  Chapter 6

  Gracie sat at a table in the mall, sipping her hot chocolate. Emily would be here soon. They’d shop for Christmas tree decorations, buy last minute gifts. But the best part was that it would give her time to get used to what Doc Johnson had just told her.

  Of all the friends Gracie had made in Bozeman, Emily was the most creative. She designed beautiful clothes from her spare bedroom and had the beginnings of a successful business at her fingertips.

  Emily would be the distraction she needed. Gracie loved clothes, loved the mood that well designed clothes could create. Emily used beautiful fabrics, found the perfect style for each client. Her designs were timeless and elegant, with the right amount of quirky to make them unique.

  Gracie smiled as she remembered her pink sheepskin coat. It was warm, practical, and a little different. Just like Gracie.

  After seeing Doc Johnson, she realized that even the smallest difference could change your life forever. She looked exactly the same as she had yesterday, last week, and the week before that. She didn’t feel any different. And if you discounted the breakfast she’d vomited over Doc Johnson’s shoes, life was just dandy.

  Except she was pregnant. Possibly four months pregnant, but that would be confirmed by the scan they’d booked for next week. Gracie didn’t know how she’d managed to be pregnant for four months and not know it. She’d thought a mysterious maternal light bulb would have blinked to life and told her she was going to have a baby. But that hadn’t happened. It had taken a week of vomiting to do that.

  “Sorry I’m late. I’ve ordered a drink.” Emily sat down in the seat opposite Gracie, her short red hair standing on end.

  “Nice hairdo.”

  “Thanks. Loretta let one of her apprentices loose on my head. I didn’t think there was much they could do with short hair, but I was wrong.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I look like I’ve been zapped by ten thousand volts of electricity.”

  Gracie grinned. “Maybe it was the style they were going for?”

  “Try steam punk mixed with Doctor Who.”

  Gracie titled her head to the side and tried to see the elfin haircut any other way except what it looked like. “I’m not an expert on steam punk and I haven’t watched an episode of Doctor Who in years. But you look cute.”

  “I’ll take the compliment. So what have you been up to?”

  Gracie nearly choked on her hot chocolate. “Nothing much. I found some tree decorations when I was walking into the mall.” To hide the heat in her face she lifted a plastic shopping bag off the floor. “Do you like these?”

  She pulled four round balls from the bag. They were different shades of gold and sprinkled with glitter. “I wanted to keep the decorations simple, so I thought I’d stick with one color.”

  Emily nodded at the decorations. “Tone on tone. I like it.” She glanced at the bag and frowned. “How many did you buy?”

  “Forty. You don’t think that’s too many do you?”

  “Not with the tree you’ve got. It’s going to look beautiful.” Emily smiled at the waitress who brought her coffee across to their table.

  Gracie carefully wrapped the decorations in tissue paper and sat back in her seat. The smell of Emily’s coffee made her stomach churn.

  “What’s wrong?” Tess leaned forward and touched Gracie’s hand. “You’ve gone as white as a sheet.”

  Gracie tried to focus on something else. She held her hot chocolate close to her nose and breathed deeply. It didn’t work. She could still smell Emily’s coffee. “I need to move away.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Gracie pushed her chair back and moved to another table. “It’s coffee. It makes me feel sick.”

  Emily looked between her coffee and Gracie. “You’re pregnant?” Her mouth dropped open. “You’re pregnant,” she squealed.

  “Sshh,” Gracie looked around to make sure no one else had heard them.

  Emily left her coffee where it was and leaped around the table to hug Gracie. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you. When did you find out?”

  “About an hour ago.” Gracie couldn’t help the grin that made its way onto her face. “No one else knows. I don’t even know how I feel about it.”

  “Are you excited?”

  “Not exactly. Try scared, worried, and confused.” And that was just for starters. “I’m going to have a baby. A real, live, baby.”

  Emily held her hands. “It’s going to be okay. You’ve got a wonderful family and lots of friends. We’ll help you. Does Trent know?”

  Gracie shook her head. “He doesn’t have a clue. I didn’t tell him about my doctor’s appointment. He thinks I came into Bozeman to go shopping with you.”

  “You did, but we need to do something so you don’t feel sick. Have you tried ginger tea?”

  Gracie shook her head, which wasn’t a great idea. Spots danced in front of her eyes and left her feeling even more dizzy.

  “Put your head between your knees. My sister had morning sickness for four months and nothing worked better than ginger tea. Wait here.”

  And before Gracie could blink, Emily had disappeared. She rested her head between her knees and tried not to panic. She didn’t know anything about babies. Diapers were about as foreign to her as chopsticks and the thought of cracked nipples, stretch marks, and diaper rash made her feel worse.

  It wasn’t as if they didn’t want a baby. They did. More than anything. But after eighteen months of marriage and lots of opportunities to get pregnant, Gracie had decided that maybe it wasn’t going to happen.

  Trent had talked about visiting a fertility clinic. Gracie thought it was a good idea, but they’d never gotten any further than talking about it. And now they didn’t need to worry. She was pregnant, they’d have a baby next summer. It would be fine. She knew it would.

  “Here. Drink this.”

  Emily pushed a cup of tea under Gracie’s nose. The smell was enough to make her feel sick all over again. “Is it really supposed to help?”

  “Worked for Nicky. Drink it slowly.”

  Gracie sat up and took a deep breath. She sipped the tea, wincing at the bitter brew in her hands. “I don’t like the taste of ginger all that much.”

  “Just give it a few minutes, then let me know how you feel.”

  Gracie slowly sipped the tea. She listened to Emily tell her about a building she’d seen that might have made a great boutique. Except for the rent the owner wanted, it would have been perfect. They listened to a choir singing Christmas carols and watched people walking past with shopping bags clutched in their hands.

  Gracie pushed the empty cup across the table.

  “Well done,” Emily said. “How do you feel?”

  “I don’t feel sick anymore, but I need to pee.” Gr
acie picked up her decorations. “I don’t know the first thing about being pregnant and I’ve got no idea how to look after a baby. What am I going to do?”

  “Pee.” Emily stood up and hugged Gracie. “You’ve got lots of time ahead of you to work out all the other things. The rest will happen, one step at a time.”

  Gracie hugged Emily tight, then stepped back. “You’re right.” She lifted her tote bag onto her shoulder and looked around the mall. “But if I don’t find a bathroom soon, I’m going to be in trouble.”

  Emily pointed behind Gracie and grinned. “Follow me.”

  So Gracie did, one step at a time.

  “How did your shopping go?” Trent looked up from his desk. Paper was scattered all around him and he looked as though he’d been adding numbers to a spreadsheet.

  Gracie showed him the two bags in her hands. “I left most of the decorations in the mall.”

  “That was very restrained of you, Mrs. McKenzie.”

  “I tried my hardest, Mr. McKenzie.”

  Jordan lifted his head from the plans in front of him. “If this conversation is about to turn x-rated, I want to remind you that I’ve just broken up with my girlfriend. You’re supposed to feel sorry for me, not rub salt in my wounds.”

  Gracie smiled at her brother-in-law. “There’s no x-rated stuff happening.”

  Trent gave a dramatic sigh. “I thought I was about to get lucky.”

  Jordan muttered something under his breath and went back to studying the plans.

  Gracie thought about how lucky Trent would feel when he found out she was pregnant. She could have blurted it out, told him straight away, but she had a plan. A plan she’d worked on as she’d walked around the aisles of Baby World with Emily.

  “Have you heard from Jacob?” she asked.

  Trent stood up and took the shopping bags out of her hands. “He called as soon as he got back to your parents’ ranch. Alex had something to eat for lunch.”