Boughs of Holly

by Shanna Hatfield

  “I’m glad you went with me, Holly,” Seth said, gently setting her down on the back steps. He’d ridden Steele right into the yard, so they wouldn’t have far to move the tree. He stepped down beside her and brushed his gloved fingers over her cheek. The look in his eyes expressed far more than mere words could have said.

  She smiled back at him and took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Me, too.”

  The two dogs ran over from the barn and raced in an excited circle around Holly. She bent down and patted both dogs while Seth removed the rope from the tree.

  He smiled at her as he took Steele’s reins in his hands and led the horse out of the yard. “Give me a minute to take care of Steele and I’ll attach the tree stand. Once we get all the snow off, you can decorate it.”

  “We can decorate it,” she corrected, tossing him a saucy grin as she pulled the holly from the tree then hurried inside with it.

  Chapter Eight

  Stealthy maneuvers did not come easy to a man recovering from hip surgery, but Sam did his best as he got out of bed and used a cane for balance. Quietly, he opened his bedroom door, holding his breath that it wouldn’t squeak.

  With careful, slow steps, he made his way down the hallway toward the living room. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the Christmas tree. He had to admit Seth did a good job picking one out. Not only was the tree a beaut, it filled the whole house with a fragrance that made Sam wish his beloved wife was there to enjoy it, too. Oh, how she’d loved Christmas. Ilene spent weeks decorating, baking, and making gifts. The house rang with cheer and overflowed with love.

  In all the years since her death, this was the first year Sam felt that same cheer and love in his home. And that was because of Holly. That girl was full of spunk and joy, and had a big heart with so much love to give.

  Sam had known the second he’d seen Seth and Holly standing together by his bed that she was the one for his grandson. It was too bad the two young people hadn’t arrived at that same conclusion yet, but they’d come around to it eventually.

  For the first time since Seth had grown up, Sam had hope that his grandson would get married and give him the great-grandbabies he longed for. If Seth quit dragging his boots about his attraction to Holly, Sam might even have a new baby to cuddle by next Christmas.

  Thoughts of that almost made him chortle with glee. He remained silent, though, as he made his way to the family room and stayed hidden in the shadows of the doorway.

  A fire crackled in the fireplace, adding to the cozy glow created by the hundreds of lights twinkling on the Christmas tree.

  Holly and Seth sat on the couch, cuddled together as they watched the flames in the fire pop and flicker. Low voices murmured, although Sam couldn’t distinguish the words. When Seth slid his hand into Holly’s wild mane of hair and pulled her mouth to his, Sam bit his lip to keep from cheering and turned back to his room.

  All those two needed was a little nudge. With them heading in the right direction, Sam planned to do all he could to help things along. By the time Christmas came, he sure hoped wedding bells would be chiming alongside the Christmas Eve church bells.

  The next morning at breakfast, Sam had to work to school his features from resting in a continual, joyful smile. The glances Seth and Holly cast at each other only served as encouragement. When he caught Seth reaching to squeeze Holly’s hand or her brushing against him in passing, Sam almost laughed aloud.

  He wondered if they’d give him a great-granddaughter or a great-grandson first. Maybe twins!

  “You know, I was thinking…” he said, trying to keep his voice from reflecting his excitement. “The community tree lighting is tomorrow. I’d sure like to go.”

  Holly lifted her gaze from her cup of tea to his. “Oh, Sam. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. All it would take is one little slip on the ice…”

  “Yeah, Pops. I don’t want you to get hurt. And it’ll be cold. The forecast said it’s supposed to only get up to twelve degrees tomorrow as a high.” Seth gave Sam a long look before he bit into a fluffy biscuit, slathered with jam. Holly had requested fresh berries the other day and when Seth brought several cartons of them home, she’d turned them into the treat.

  Sam had always been partial to berry jam. And he was quite partial to Holly. His heart was set on her being his granddaughter, if his thick-headed, set-in-his-ways grandson would just get his head on straight and go after her. Seth was a smart businessman, an amazing rancher, and a wonderful grandson. But when it came to women, Sam often thought the boy needed to wear a dunce cap and be banished to the corner.

  “Well, shoot. I was sure looking forward to it. I haven’t set foot out of this house since I got hurt.” Sam summoned a pinched, pained look and rubbed his leg. “I guess I can always hear about it from some of the folks in town and see the picture in next week’s paper.”

  His guilt trip didn’t have far to journey before it unpacked on Seth and Holly. The two of them shared a glance before Seth sighed. “Okay, Pops. We’ll go, but you have to promise to do whatever Holly tells you and not to argue when we say it’s time to come home.”

  Sam scowled. “I’m not three, son. I won’t throw a tantrum and stick my lollipop in Holly’s hair.”

  She grinned and leaned over, kissing his cheek. “Of course you won’t, Sam. We’ll take your walker and be extra careful.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.” Sam gave Holly his best smile. “Speaking of lights, when are you planning on hanging the lights outside, Seth? Christmas is only a week and a half away. If you don’t get with it, it’ll be too late to put them up.”

  “I’ve had a few other things on my mind, Pops. I guess I just forgot about putting them up.” Seth glanced at the clock on the wall. “I suppose if I hurry, I can maybe get them hung today.”

  “Get Andy and Brian to give you a hand,” Sam said, helping himself to another sausage link. He hid his grin when Holly took one. She’d all but forgotten about being a vegetarian since the morning he’d set a piece of bacon on her plate. The day Seth had grilled hamburgers, she ate hers with such a look of satisfaction on her face, he knew she’d never go back to a tofu and bean sprouts diet. Not as long as she was on the ranch and Sam intended that to become her permanent address.

  “They can’t today, Pops. Andy’s going into town for a load of supplies and Brian is mending fence out in the juniper pasture,” Seth said.

  “Juniper pasture?” Holly asked.

  “There is a lone juniper out in that pasture. It’s been there as long as I can remember, but no one has any idea where it came from or how it got there,” Sam explained then looked back at Seth. “I betcha I can round up an extra pair of hands to help with the lights.” He gave Holly a knowing grin.

  She smiled and nodded her head. “I’d love to help. In fact, if you tell me where to find a ladder, I can hang them so you don’t have to worry about it, Seth.”

  Seth’s head bobbed up from shoveling in his breakfast. “I’d love your help, Holly, but I’ll come back by with the ladder after the morning chores are finished. I don’t think it’s safe for you to climb up on it with all this snow.”

  Three hours later, Sam sat in the big leather chair in the office, drinking coffee and watching as Holly and Seth hung lights across the front porch. Perhaps his grandson wasn’t as dense as he thought.

  In spite of Seth’s dire warnings that Holly stay off the ladder in case she fell, she was the one perched halfway up the ladder steps, stretching to hang lights on the hooks he’d installed on the house years ago for that very purpose. Seth stood beneath the ladder with his hands bracing Holly’s hips and his gaze glued to her backside.

  “Nope, not near as dumb as I thought,” he mused as he watched them.

  Sam snuck out of bed again that night to find the two snuggling on the couch, smooching. He wanted to dance a jig all the way back to his room and would have if his hip had cooperated.

  The following evening, he let Holly fuss over h
im and Seth hover next to him as he made his way out to the pickup so they could head into Faraday. Between the two of them, he felt like a baby trussed up in bunting. They’d made him put on two pairs of wool socks, thermals, and his warmest coat and gloves. Seth even made him wear a hat with earflaps instead of his cowboy hat.

  Sam would have argued, but he really did want to go to the tree lighting and refused to give his grandson any reason to make him stay home.

  Once Sam made it onto the pickup seat, Seth started to help Holly into the back, but Sam shook his head. “You can’t see anything from back there, honey. Come sit in the middle up here so you don’t miss anything.”

  Seth shrugged and walked her around to the driver’s side door. Sam shoved the console in the middle of the bench seat up so Holly could settle next to him. Seth slid in and gave Holly a besotted look.

  Yep, the boy was thoroughly smitten. Sam was sure of it. And the way Holly kept stealing glances at Seth, she had to feel the same.

  Sam waited until Seth hit a bump in the road, using the rocking motion as an excuse to give Holly a slight push closer to Seth. His grandson smiled at her with his heart in his eyes when her leg brushed against his.

  On the way to town, Sam pointed out landmarks and talked about families that had been in the area for generations and those who were new to Faraday.

  Seth slowed as they drove past Rhett’s place and they looked in the pasture for Lolly. She stood near the fence by the barn with Rhett’s cat and dog at her feet. Sam had no doubt the camel was plotting her next escape, since Lolly rarely stayed inside the confines of her pen, no matter how many times Rhett reinforced the fence.

  “When is the living nativity?” Holly asked as her gaze lingered on the camel.

  “Christmas Eve. It’s a big deal,” Sam said, waving as they drove past one of his friends as the rancher strode down the street. “Where are we parking, Seth? It looks like people are already having to walk.”

  “I’ve got a plan, Pops. Don’t worry.”

  A few minutes later, Seth backed the pickup into a spot near the town square that had been blocked off with orange cones. Rhett was there to move the cones out of the way. Across the street, the towering spruce tree waited to be illuminated.

  “You can watch without having to get out, Pops,” Seth said, leaning round Holly. “What do you think?”

  “You boys did good, son.” Sam lifted a hand in greeting as people started their way, eager to visit. “Roll the window down and toss me that blanket in the backseat. I’ll be fine right here, but the two of you should get out and watch with the rest of the crowd.”

  “Are you sure, Sam?” Holly asked as she reached behind her and pulled a fleece blanket over the seat then draped it across Sam’s lap.

  “Positive. Now get out of here.” Sam thumped Rhett on the shoulder as he came over to shake his hand. A beautiful, tall blonde woman was with him. The two of them looked every bit as smitten as Seth and Holly. Sam almost crowed with elation. He’d always considered Rhett his honorary grandson. By the looks of things, he might have even more babies to cuddle in his future than he’d dared hoped for.

  “This is my neighbor, Cedar Haynes. Cedar this is Sam Stafford, Seth’s grandpa.”

  “It’s lovely to meet you, sir.” Cedar gave him a million-dollar smile. “I’m sorry about your accident. I hope you’re healing well.”

  “I’m doing great, Cedar. Thank you. And it’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

  Sam couldn’t wipe the grin off his face when Drew Miller, another of Seth’s friends appeared with a dark-headed woman at his side that put him in mind of a sweet fairy. The woman was on crutches with a heavy brace on her leg, but Drew practically beamed as he kept a hand on her waist and made introductions.

  Maybe there was something in the mountain air or perhaps the magic of Christmas wafted through Faraday with extra force this year. Whatever the cause, he was thrilled to see the young people looking happy and full of love.

  Sam noticed Drake Miller walking by, looking not like the jokester he usually proved to be, but an angry, upset man. It had to be a woman. Nothing else could make a man look that frustrated and in sheer agony. He’d have to remember to ask Seth about it later. His grandson had mentioned Rhett falling for his neighbor and Drew being loopy over a woman on his mail route. Apparently, Drew’s sweetheart had adopted a donkey almost as crazy as Lolly, but nothing had been said about Drake joining the ranks of the boys in love.

  He’d worry about Drake later. Right now, he needed to focus all his attention on making sure Seth never let Holly go.

  The crowd counted down and then the mayor flipped a switch that illuminated the tree with what seemed like thousands of twinkling lights. Everyone cheered, including Sam. It wasn’t the tree lights, though, that filled him with hope and joy. It was the sparks that fairly danced between his boys and the women they so clearly loved.

  The high school music teacher led the crowd in a round of carols and Sam joined in the singing. When they sang about decking the halls with boughs of holly, he grinned. Since a bough was a branch, he treasured the thought of Holly becoming part of their family tree.

  The sooner it happened, the happier he’d be.

  Chapter Nine

  Thunder rattled through the house, waking Holly from the depths of delightful dreams of Seth.

  After the tree lighting, they’d visited with his friends, had pie and hot chocolate at the café, then returned to the ranch. Sam had immediately gone to bed, but she and Seth watched an old Christmas movie and cuddled on the couch, sharing sweet kisses until almost midnight. Holly snuggled into her warm covers when she’d finally gone to bed, not ready to end such a wonderful day. The tree lighting had been fabulous, but what she enjoyed the most was spending time with Seth and Sam, meeting their friends, and feeling at home in Faraday.

  Unwilling to let her dreams go, Holly tried to ignore the storm outside until she realized the loud noise couldn’t be thunder. The whole house was vibrating and shaking. She jumped out of bed and grabbed her robe, convinced they were in the midst of an earthquake. She might have worried about an avalanche, but the house was far enough away from the mountain for that to be impossible.

  She opened her bedroom door and stepped into the hall as she shoved her arms into the robe and yanked it around her. Sam opened his door and shuffled into the hall, too.

  “It sounds like the mountain is about to topple on us, but don’t worry, honey. That can’t and won’t happen,” he said, offering her reassurance as he tried to hurry toward the kitchen.

  Holly kept an arm around him in case he started to fall and they met Seth in the kitchen. He was fully dressed and wide awake as he raced past them on his way to the back door.

  He grabbed his coat and tugged on his boots then opened the back door. “Stampede!” he yelled, then rushed outside.

  “Oh, mercy, no,” Sam said, tottering over to the sink and gazing out the window. In the light cast from the yard light, it looked like hundreds of cattle swarmed into the ranch yard.

  Holly heard the horses squeal and something that sounded like wood cracking. She watched Andy and Brian tumble out of the bunkhouse, both pulling on coats as Seth ran toward the horse corral.

  The dogs were already yipping and nipping at the cows, trying to turn them back in the direction from which they’d come.

  Holly raced back to her room, dressing as quickly as her frightened, fumbling fingers could fly. She returned to the kitchen to find Sam holding her coat while her boots sat in front of a kitchen chair.

  She gave him a look of thanks as she quickly laced up the snow boots then shrugged into her coat.

  “Be careful out there, honey. When cattle are scared like that, they aren’t safe. From the sound of it, the horses are riled up, too.” Sam gave her a hug before she ran out the door.

  Uncertain what she could do to help, Holly shouted and stomped her feet on the back step, scaring the cows that had gotten into the fenced yard. The bo
vines turned and joined the herd being guided by the dogs and hired hands toward the pasture.

  Andy and Brian were both on horseback, popping the reins and hollering “get up there,” just like Holly had seen cowboys do in the movies. She would have stopped to admire the big-screen scene brought to life in front of her, but she could see Seth leading a limping horse toward the barn.

  As soon as Andy and Brian rode by with the last of the cattle from the yard, she scurried over to the barn. Seth pushed back the big door and flicked on the lights.

  “What can I do to help?” She watched as he examined the horse.

  “The cattle stampeding spooked the horses. Looks like a pole in the fence splintered and poor Fiona got the worst of it,” Seth said, looking at the mare’s belly where three jagged pieces of wood poked out of the skin.

  “I can help,” Holly said, looking around. “Do you have long tweezers? I’ll run up to the house and get my medical bag.”

  Before Seth could answer, Holly sprinted to the house and asked Sam to fill a saucepan with hot water. She grabbed her medical bag from her room, stopped in the bathroom to snag a bottle of rubbing alcohol, then returned to the kitchen where she told him a horse named Fiona was injured. With a stack of clean rags tucked under her arm, she grabbed the handle of the pan with the other and waited while Sam opened the door for her.

  She gave him a brief nod before she hurried to the barn.

  Seth had slipped a halter on the horse and tied her to a post. He talked in a soothing tone, reassuring Fiona she’d be just fine.

  “I’d call Angela to do this, but I don’t think she’d appreciate getting rousted out of bed at four in the morning.” Seth gave Holly a long look. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “I’ve got it, Seth. I’ve seen much, much worse than this in the emergency room.” She prepared the supplies she’d need, poured alcohol over the tweezers he’d retrieved from the tack room, and then slowly eased on up the mare, sliding her hand along Fiona’s neck and over her back before she made her way down to the spot of the injury.