The Christmas Room

by Catherine Anderson

  Kirstin protested, “How is that fair? You refused to stay at my place, but you’re willing to stay with Dad?”

  “I have three spare bedrooms on the ground floor,” Sam pointed out.

  “And your dad isn’t my girlfriend,” Cam inserted.

  “You can say that again,” Sam told him.

  Maddie felt suddenly claustrophobic. “Um, Cam, I think I should have some say in this.”

  Cam met her gaze. “Mom, you can argue the point, but can you try to think about what’s best for me? In the last X-rays, my detached rib was back in place and starting to heal. But the doctor warned me against using the crutches any more than absolutely necessary, because I could pull it all loose. Look at this room. In these cramped quarters, I can’t maneuver a wheelchair, and I’m not getting a patient commode you have to empty. It’d be disgusting.”

  Maddie knew her son was right. And she did have to think of him. “All right. If Sam is sure about this, you and Caleb can stay at his place. I’ll remain here with all the animals.”

  “I have a barn for your cats,” Sam informed her. “Your dogs will fit right in with my three. When we feed our livestock, one of us can swing over here to tend the horses. You staying here won’t work. You need to be at my place so you can care for Cam.”

  Kirstin, who’d apparently resigned herself to the suggestion, said, “That would be best, Maddie. Now that my leg is healed, I’m working long hours again. I can’t take care of Cam without letting Dad down.”

  “Will the horses be okay over here alone?” Maddie asked.

  “They should be fine.” Sam met her gaze. “In fact, they’ll probably be happier in a familiar place. We can always move them later if it becomes necessary.”

  Maddie felt outnumbered. And Cam had made a good argument. This situation was impossible for him, and it certainly wouldn’t speed up his recovery.

  “One neighbor helping another neighbor is common in Montana, especially on ranches,” Sam said. “I know you’ve tried to find a place to rent, Maddie, and you’ve found nothing. Staying at my place is the only solution.” He waited a beat. “When I first met you, I behaved horribly. This gives me a chance to make up for that. Are you going to deny me the opportunity?”

  Maddie held up a hand. “Enough. I’ll agree to do it. But I’ve got to say I never thought I’d live to see the day when Sam Conacher invited a bunch of white trash to live under his roof.”

  Even Sam laughed.

  • • •

  Before Caleb got home from school, the MCLendons were settled in at Sam’s house. All they had needed to move were personal things, and that went quickly. Sam got Cam settled on a reclining seat in the living room sofa with his wheelchair close at hand. Kirstin made him some iced tea and sat beside him. Maddie chose for him the most spacious downstairs bedroom, which had an adjoining bath. She put away his clothes and toiletries, making sure they’d be easy for him to reach.

  Maddie had owned a gorgeous home in Northern California, but Sam’s house was even more spacious and lovely. She admired the rustic ambience with its quality slate floors and massive beams in the open ceilings. The room she selected for herself was next to Cam’s and also had an adjoining bath. The Jacuzzi tub had her name written on it, she decided. Only a midget could soak in her trailer tub, so she hadn’t enjoyed that luxury since moving here. When she saw the walk-in closet, she made plans to visit the local storage units they’d rented to avail herself of more clothing. Not a lot, because they surely wouldn’t be here for long, but she looked forward to having more choices in her wardrobe for a while.

  She’d barely finished unpacking her things when she glanced at her watch and realized Caleb would be getting home from school in only minutes. If he found no one there, he might panic, thinking his dad had been taken back to the hospital. Maddie hurried to the front of the house to tell Sam she needed to fetch her grandson, but both he and his daughter had vanished. Cam explained that they’d gone out to work.

  Maddie drove to camp and was there when Caleb pulled up to the cabin in his pickup. “Hi, Gram! What’s up?” he asked as he walked toward her.

  “The camp isn’t working out for your father.”

  “I know. I thought the ramps might help, but they didn’t.”

  “Well, Sam generously offered to let us stay at his place until your dad is able to get around better, so we moved our stuff over there. I packed for you, too. I even remembered your violin.”

  “Awesome!” Caleb said with what appeared to be genuine delight.

  Maddie guessed that her grandson was one of the few people who saw through Sam’s cranky facade and appreciated him for who he really was. He piled back in his truck to follow Maddie’s SUV to their temporary home.

  • • •

  That evening Gabriella Alvarez made a fabulous dinner and removed one chair so Cam could sit at the table with everyone else. Cam had taken Spanish in high school and knew just enough words to communicate with her. He thanked her for her thoughtfulness and praised her for preparing such a wonderful meal. Looking pleased by the compliments, she beamed a smile. Cam wondered if all Sam did to recognize her efforts was grunt. He sat at the head of the table. No one sat at the foot. For all his many rough edges, the man had clearly loved his wife.

  Kirstin met his gaze. For a moment Cam got lost in her eyes, and he would have forgone eating for a chance to be alone with her. Unfortunately, he was in no shape for any bedroom calisthenics.

  “I’m still bummed that you chose to stay with Dad instead of me,” she said.

  Sam got up to pour Maddie some merlot before he filled his own glass. “Quit your whining,” he scolded his daughter. “As soon as Cam’s able, he can start sneaking over to your place so I can stay in shape kicking his ass.”

  Cam saw his mother’s gaze sharpen. Then anger flared in her eyes. “I knew it wasn’t a bull that messed up his face.”

  “Mom,” Cam said quickly, “it’s a long story. Now isn’t the time to discuss it.”

  Maddie looked up at Sam. “Did you, or did you not, strike my son?”

  Sam at least had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed. “I did, and now I’m sorry for it. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “A hot temper?” Maddie suggested.

  Gabriella departed via the front door just then, and all three of the McLendon dogs raced into the house. Sam had an equal number of Aussies—a black tri, a red merle, and a blue merle—and they rose from their places around the dining room to bristle and growl. Sam yelled for them to knock it off, and even Bingo, Maddie’s old dog that was starting to grow deaf, heard his deep voice and stopped the nonsense.

  As Sam resumed his seat, he lifted his wineglass to Maddie. “Did you see how my dogs just reacted? That’s a perfect example of what occurred when I hit your son. I was protecting my turf. Then my daughter yelled at me and set me straight.”

  “My thanks to you, Kirstin.” Maddie smiled at Sam with saccharine sweetness. “Did she by any chance smack you on the schnozzle? Please say yes and make my day.”

  “Mom,” Cam inserted, “we’re guests here. Let’s mind our manners and let bygones be bygones.”

  Maddie grimly cut into her steak. Sam said, “Your mother doesn’t have to mind her manners under my roof. I never do.”

  Even Maddie couldn’t help but laugh.

  • • •

  The next day Maddie went to speak with the builders who were erecting the large building that would house her and Cam’s residences. The progress update was dismal. If everything happened on schedule, which Maddie knew seldom occurred during construction, they would be in their homes February first.

  Maddie didn’t really mind staying at Sam’s. Even though he’d struck her son, and she’d done a slow burn for a few moments last night when she’d found out, she enjoyed sparring with him. For reasons she didn’t clea
rly understand, he brought out her feisty side, and she felt at liberty to say whatever was on her mind, whether it was polite or not. Since Graham’s death, she’d found nobody who could really comprehend how lost she felt without him. But Sam did. Admitting to him how devastated and lonely she often felt didn’t make her feel weak, because he had experienced the same feelings and had no problem saying so. In an odd way, she thought they were good for each other.

  She did have one worry, though, and it was a big one. How would she slip away for her chemo treatments and follow-up consultations? She decided to stick with her original story about going for physical therapy. She would tell Sam she was working on her balance and doing pool exercise therapy for her back.

  Over the next few days, Maddie determined that she’d worried for nothing. Sam didn’t hang around the house at all during the day. He had Kirstin and one hired hand to keep the ranch running when he actually needed a whole crew. On a daily basis, the two men drove into the mountains to round up cattle from Sam’s grazing land. Kirstin remained behind to work at the ranch, which kept her busy from daylight to dark.

  Maddie wished Sam had more help, but she guessed it was his own fault and shook her head. He had made his bed, and now he’d have to sleep in it. As a result, he left the ranch before first light, rode all day to herd cows from their hiding places in thickets, and came back home just before dark with only a few cattle. Kirstin worried aloud daily that her father would go broke if he couldn’t find all the cows.

  It made no sense to Maddie. If cows were so hard to find, why did Sam graze them in the summer where they could hide? Kirstin explained that the grazing land provided free food for the cattle, increasing the ranch’s profits. Maddie accepted the explanation with a shrug.

  Gabriella came in daily to clean, cook dinner, and prepare field lunches for Sam and her husband to eat in the mountains the following day. Kirstin came to the house for lunch and spent more time cuddling with Cam on the sofa than she probably should have. Except for on weekends, Caleb attended school. This left Maddie free to write in her bedroom, stopping only when Cam needed something. And half the time Gabriella even took care of that.

  The woman was lovely and efficient, but she spoke little English. Maddie struggled to communicate with her and resorted to using Google Translate to message her. Maddie received some garbled texts, and she felt sure Gabriella did as well. She wondered if Sam had provided the Mexican couple with a nice home and if he paid both of them well. She knew that many ranchers and farmers across the country paid Mexican workers pennies on the dollar of what they’d pay an American, and Maddie was sickened by the practice.

  One afternoon Maddie encountered Gabriella’s son, Ricardo, on the front porch. Nicknamed Rickie, he was a handsome, nicely dressed kid, and she was delighted to discover that he spoke fluent English. Maddie guessed him to be ten or eleven, and he was extremely proud of his parents.

  “My mom and dad have work papers,” he explained, “and they’re trying to get citizenship.”

  Maddie learned that Gabriella was studying English at night with her husband, but Miguel wasn’t a good speller, so Rickie had to help her with that.

  “She’s very smart, though,” he boasted. “She’ll learn the language. Sometimes at night I won’t speak Mexican to her, and she gets really upset with me. But I think it’s the fastest way for her to learn.”

  When Maddie asked why he called the language Mexican instead of Spanish, he said, “Because the languages are different. Spanish is, um—more proper, I guess is the word. Mexican has lots of words and phrases from our country.”

  “Do you like your house here on the ranch?” Maddie asked.

  “Oh, yeah. When we send pictures to our relatives in Mexico, they text back that we are very rich.” He laughed. “My dad makes good money here—thirty-five dollars an hour, plus overtime—and my mother is paid well, too. They send money home every month to help the family. It is hard in Mexico.”

  A tightness in Maddie’s chest eased. She was pleased to know that Sam showed his appreciation of Miguel and Gabriella’s hard work by paying them good wages. She liked this boy—he was as cute as could be, open and friendly. His parents had done a good job with him.

  A mongrel pup loped up onto the porch just then. Rickie introduced him to Maddie. “This is Jasper. He’s my dog. That’s why I came over here. He ran off, and I was looking for him.” He snapped his fingers and said, “Come on. You need to go home before you eat another pair of Mr. Conacher’s boots.”

  Maddie’s mouth curved in a smile as she watched the boy and dog run side by side toward their house, which lay hidden somewhere on a vast reach of the property.

  • • •

  Cam’s physical limitations gave him and Kirstin even more time to talk. After dinner each night, Maddie retired to her room to write, Caleb went upstairs, and Kirstin sat with Cam on the sofa. They spoke softly to each other as Sam read in his recliner on the other side of the large room. Both of them refrained from teasing him when they realized he had replaced all of Maddie’s books that he had burned. He was now about two-thirds of the way through Death by Potato Sprouts and so engrossed in the story that very little got his attention, the one exception being the shriek of Caleb’s string instrument, which he said sounded like two tomcats fighting over a female in heat.

  Cam and Kirstin talked about silly things sometimes, telling each other their pet peeves, sharing their most embarrassing moments, and comparing how much coffee they’d consumed while studying for college finals. Kirstin was quick to laugh, and Cam loved the sound. Other times their conversations drifted to more serious topics. Could they raise their kids in the house Kirstin now occupied? Would Sam infringe upon their privacy or interfere in their business? They moved beyond saying, “If we get engaged,” to saying, “When we get engaged.” They had already settled on having two kids, but Cam knew Kirstin actually wanted three. He told her one night that he was open to that, which brought tears to her eyes.

  Cam realized now that he hadn’t ever truly loved Caleb’s mother. He’d possibly been too young to comprehend what love was. He knew only that he’d never had feelings that ran as deeply as the ones he had for Kirstin. She was sweet, warm, and understanding. He felt good about himself when he was around her. When he worried aloud about making his first sale and starting to bring in some money, she bolstered his confidence and told him he was going to exceed all his own expectations and surprise everyone with his success.

  He came to admire her work ethic. At nine thirty every night, she went home to go to bed. Saying good-bye was always difficult. Cam wanted to hold her in his arms while he slept, and he knew she wanted him to be with her. But she always kept to her schedule, asleep by ten and up before five so she could put in a full day on the ranch. She labored like a man in Cam’s estimation, and he worried about her hurting her back or having an accident. Satan’s sudden attack remained fresh in his mind, and he knew some of the things she did each day could be dangerous.

  • • •

  Sam considered telling Cam and his daughter that he wasn’t deaf, but being around Maddie had mellowed him somehow. Cam’s only comfortable roost was the reclining chair of the sofa, so that was essentially the only place he and Kirstin could talk. Sam didn’t want to spoil their nightly visits. He’d forgotten about those long-ago times with Annie, when they could chat for hours and then just listen to each other breathe when they ran out of things to say. The kids were falling in love, and listening to them reminded Sam of how magical a time that was in people’s lives. He bit back smiles when they discussed him. Could they raise their children in the ranch manager’s house? Sam thought they should. The ranch was a fabulous place for a kid to grow up. Would Sam infringe upon their privacy and interfere in their business? Hell, yes. That was a father’s job.

  Only, of course, Maddie would bend his ear and tell him he was wrong about that. Sam wouldn’t mind. Sh
e was brimming with good old-fashioned common sense, that lady, and he knew he was falling under her spell. He refused to think of his feelings for her as love. He’d never love any woman but Annie. But he had grown fond of Maddie, he enjoyed her company, and he respected her.

  Yesterday Sam and Miguel had worked all afternoon to build Cam a wheelchair path with packed gravel. It would come in handy soon, when Cam was recovered enough to sneak over to Kirstin’s house. Sam had learned that Cam was old-fashioned about intimacy outside of wedlock. Caleb knew about the birds and the bees, but Cam didn’t want to set a bad example for the boy by being open about his arrangement with Kirstin. Sam figured the joke was on Cam. Kids were savvier than their parents gave them credit for, and he was pretty sure Caleb knew the relationship wasn’t platonic. Even so, Sam silently congratulated Cam for trying to be a good father.

  Sam had joked once about kicking Cam’s ass if he sneaked over to Kirstin’s place, but he hadn’t been serious. It was no fly-by-night relationship. Sam had realized that the moment he saw Cam draw Satan’s attention to save Kirstin’s life.

  One evening Cam had already vacated his place on the sofa and turned in when Maddie emerged from her room. Sam closed his book and smiled at her. She had taken a break for dinner and then returned to work. She had that sleepy-eyed look she always had after a long day of writing.

  “Hey,” she said, “did we outlast the kids?”

  “Yep. Caleb sacked out at a little after eight, Kirstin left at nine thirty, and Cam just called it a day.”

  She yawned and took the seat Cam had just vacated. In the dim light, Sam could imagine how lovely she had been when she was younger. She was still a beautiful woman, and he liked to think he was still a handsome man for his age. He found himself wishing that they could be more than just friends, but he was wise enough not to press his luck. Judging by the derogatory comments he’d heard Maddie make about herself, he had a feeling that part of the reason she claimed to be a dead unit from her neck down was that she believed her body was ugly. When a woman felt that way about herself, a man had his work cut out for him to convince her otherwise.