Wyoming Winter--A Small-Town Christmas Romance

by Diana Palmer

  J.C.’s heart jumped. “Rod’s involved.” It was a statement.

  “I believe so. Please, do whatever you can to protect my daughter and granddaughter.”

  “I’ll never let anyone hurt Colie, or the child,” the younger man promised. “I swear it.”

  “Thank you.” The other man looked pale now, where he’d been flushed before. “You’re like a son to me, J.C.,” he said unexpectedly. “I wish... Why does it hurt so much?” he broke off, gasping for breath.

  J.C. had been too mesmerized by what the older man was saying to notice the symptoms of a heart attack.

  “Dear God,” he whispered huskily. He got up and eased the other man to the floor. He whipped out his cell phone and called 911.

  “Take care...of Colie! Tell her, I love her...” the reverend managed before he lost consciousness.

  * * *

  COLIE WAS HAVING supper with her cousins, Annie and Ty Mosby. Ludie, in her high chair, had been given her baby food and was playing with a teething ring when she suddenly dropped the plastic toy and looked at her mother with wide gray eyes.

  “Gimpa,” she said. “Gimpa sick!”

  Colie lost color. She’d felt that something bad was in the offing, but with no idea what. She grabbed for her phone and pressed in her father’s number. The phone rang and rang.

  It was Saturday night. Her father almost never left the house then. But a member of his congregation might be sick. Or he might be working on his sermon and not realize that the phone was even ringing...

  There was a click. “Colie?”

  It was J.C.’s voice. Or was it? What would J.C. be doing at her father’s house? “I was calling Daddy...”

  “The ambulance just came. I’m riding in to the hospital with him. You need to get here as quick as you can, honey. I’m sorry. I think it’s a heart attack.”

  “Oh, dear God,” she choked.

  “He’d tell you that there’s a reason for everything,” he managed. It was choking him up, too. He loved her father. “He said to tell you he loved you.” He paused. “Come as fast as you can, okay? Call me when you have an ETA, I’ll meet you at the airport.”

  “I will,” she choked. She bit her lip. “Thanks, J.C.”

  “Hurry.” He hung up.

  She turned to her cousins, white in the face. “It’s Daddy. J.C.’s with him. A heart attack, he thinks... I have to go to Catelow!”

  “I’ll have them prep the jet right now,” Ty said, getting up.

  “I’ll help you pack,” Annie volunteered.

  “I have to call the office,” Colie began and then realized it was Saturday. “I’ll call Mr. Donnally at home,” she amended. “I don’t know if I can get back by Monday. I have vacation days that I haven’t used, they can get a temp,” she rambled as she followed her cousin to the bedroom with Ludie in her arms.

  Ludie reached up a little hand and touched her mother’s wet face. Her gray eyes were wet, too. “Gone,” she said in her clear, soft little voice. “Gimpa gone, Mommy.”

  Colie felt the pain all the way to her soul. But maybe her daughter was wrong. She discounted all the times she’d been right in her young life. “We’ll go see him,” she assured her daughter. “He’ll be fine. Of course he will!”

  “Gone,” Ludie repeated and burst into tears.

  Her cousin winced. She knew, as Colie did, that the child had an uncanny knowledge of future events. “We’ll get you packed and on the jet,” she said. “I can go with you, if you need me.”

  “J.C.’s meeting me at the airport,” Colie said huskily.

  Her cousin’s eyebrows arched. “He was with your father. I didn’t think they got along.”

  “Neither did I. Maybe Ren sent J.C. over to Daddy’s house with soup or something. Merrie makes it for him when he’s not feeling well.” Tears were pouring down her cheeks. “My coat. I’ll need my coat. It gets cold in Wyoming in autumn. Ludie will need hers, too.”

  Her cousin hugged her. “We’ll get it all together. Try not to worry.”

  Colie wanted to. But her daughter’s eyes were pouring tears...

  * * *

  J.C. WAS WAITING for them at the concourse. He looked older, worn. His face was taut with emotion as he saw Colie for the first time since her father had had the appendectomy, over two years earlier.

  His eyes went from Colie to the little girl in her arms. He actually winced when he looked at the child. Her red-gold curls bounced as her mother walked, and her pale silver eyes sought his and held there, as if she knew him.

  “How’s Daddy?” Colie asked at once.

  He tried to find words and failed. “I’m so sorry,” he said roughly.

  “Gimpa gone,” Ludie said, her lower lip trembling.

  J.C. actually gasped as he looked at her.

  “She knew that something had happened to him before I tried to call him,” Colie said, swallowing hard. Tears rained down her pale cheeks. She was never going to see her father again. It had been so sudden!

  He reached out and touched Colie’s face, brushing away the tears. The child caught his big fingers in hers and looked at him with his own eyes.

  “You play with Gimpa,” she said in her clear, sweet childish voice.

  J.C. was reeling. “Yes.”

  “Play?” Colie asked.

  “Chess,” he said shortly. He reached for the wheeled suitcase and the carry-on bag that held all the things she needed for Ludie. “We should go.”

  “My brother,” she managed.

  “Haven’t seen him,” he bit off. “I tried to call him, but he’s changed phones. I called Jackson Hole and talked to the police chief. He’ll find him and notify him about your father.”

  “Is he still at the hospital?” she asked as they moved down the concourse toward the exit.

  J.C. ground his teeth together. “No. They’ve transported him...”

  “Yes,” Colie interrupted. She didn’t want to hear him say “to the funeral home,” even though she knew that was coming.

  “There’s a bad man, Mommy,” Ludie said as they went out toward the parking lot. “A bad, bad man. Coming to see us.”

  J.C. exchanged a stunned glance with Colie.

  “What bad man, sweetheart?” Colie asked the child.

  “Bad man. Got a gun.”

  Colie bit her lower lip, hard.

  “Does she do this often?” J.C. asked curtly.

  “All the time.” She held Ludie closer. “It’s all right, honey,” she said softly, kissing the wet little cheek. “It’s okay.”

  Ludie clung to her. “Mommy,” she wailed.

  J.C. was disturbed by the child’s gift. He hadn’t known it was so developed. She was only, what, a little over two years old? He wondered if his grandmother had been able to do this when she was two.

  The familiar black SUV was parked near the entrance. Except that it was a newer model.

  Colie managed a smile. “Nothing changes.”

  He chuckled. “I like black.”

  “Oh, gosh, I forgot the car seat!” Colie groaned. “I was going to bring it, but I was so upset...” Her voice trailed away as she noted the child’s car seat, a very expensive model, already strapped into the back seat when he opened the door.

  “I planned ahead,” he remarked simply.

  Colie was too shocked for words.

  “You’re nice,” Ludie said to the tall man and smiled at him. She had dimples. Her silver eyes gleamed with something like affection.

  “You’re nice, too, little one,” J.C. said huskily.

  Colie strapped her into the seat. “We’ll be home, soon, okay?” she asked the child, handing her the teething ring that she loved.

  “Okay, Mommy.”

  Colie shut
the door and let J.C. put her up into the high seat. She was wearing jeans and a white sweater with her red Berber coat. Ludie had a white down jacket that she’d begged for in the children’s shop back in Texas.

  “At least you two dressed for the weather,” J.C. remarked as he started the engine. He had on jeans, too, and a new shepherd’s coat. No hat. Just like old times, Colie thought with a stab of pain.

  “I remembered how cold it got,” she said simply.

  * * *

  THEY DROVE THROUGH town on the way to her father’s house.

  She looked at the new construction. “What’s that going to be?” she asked.

  He chuckled. “A new fish place. The old one burned down last year.”

  “They had good food,” she said before she thought.

  “Yes. I miss it.”

  She glanced at him, noting the hard lines in his handsome face. “Why were you with Daddy?” she asked suddenly.

  He managed a faint smile. “We missed our usual Friday night chess match because he had to go see a member of his congregation who was in the hospital. We postponed it until last night.”

  “Usual chess match,” she faltered. Her father hadn’t told her any of this.

  He nodded. “Sometimes he’d cook, sometimes I would.” He stopped, because he was choking up.

  Colie saw that, fascinated. The man she remembered was all but incapable of emotion. At least, any that showed.

  He drove without speaking for a long time, until he came to the turnoff that led to her father’s house.

  The trees were dropping leaves, but the glorious colors of autumn were much in evidence all around the house. Colie felt such pain as she saw the house and remembered all the good and bad memories that dwelled in it.

  J.C. pulled up at the front door and helped her get her suitcases inside. She noticed that the chessboard was still set up, pieces out of order as they’d been when the attack had come.

  “He said that it felt as if someone was sitting on his chest. I knew what it was at once,” J.C. said, his pale eyes riveted to the chessboard. “I got him on the floor and called for an ambulance. I did CPR until it arrived. But I knew before they got him on the gurney that it was too late.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Not the first heart attack I’ve ever seen,” he added quietly. “This one would appear to have been massive.”

  “They show things like that on TV,” she faltered. “They do CPR and then they put in stents...”

  He turned to her. “Honey, a severe heart attack kills most of the heart muscle almost at once. Necrosis of tissue, massive necrosis,” he said gently. “If he’d been sitting in the emergency room with a trauma team it would have made no difference. As he liked to say, when your time comes, nothing will stop it... Colie,” he whispered, wincing as she wept.

  He pulled her into his arms, with Ludie in hers, and held her close, rocking them both in the shelter of his embrace. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. He was the kindest man I ever knew,” he added, almost choking on the words.

  She drank in the familiar smell of J.C. that she’d never been able to get out of her mind. Even after all that had happened, the closeness was like a drug. She couldn’t get enough of it.

  His arms tightened. “I called Lucy while I was waiting for your plane to get in,” he added. “She’ll be over soon.”

  “Thanks,” she whispered.

  “I called the youth minister, as well. He said he’ll organize everything.”

  “The funeral home,” she choked.

  “He told me some time ago exactly what he wanted,” he said over her head. “I already called them. I’ll drive you over in the morning and you can finish the arrangements.”

  She drew back and looked up at him from tear-wet green eyes. “Thanks,” she managed.

  His lean fingers drew down her wet cheeks. “It was little enough to do. He loved you both very much. I’m sorry that I couldn’t save him,” he bit off.

  Why, he loved her father! She was surprised, not only at the revelation that he’d been a frequent visitor here, but that he cared so much.

  “He was kind to me,” he said after a minute. “When he probably shouldn’t have been.”

  She nodded. “He said that life was useless unless we forgave people. It’s what faith is supposed to be all about.”

  He smiled gently. “Life goes on. Death is just another step in the journey. He’s out picking wildflowers with your mother right now,” he added.

  It was so close to what she’d been thinking about Darby and his late wife when he died that she drew in her breath.

  “You’re the one who should have said that, by the way, not me,” he added.

  She searched his pale eyes. “You’re not the same.”

  “Time changes us. Sometimes, it actually changes us for the better.” He looked over her head at the chessboard and sighed. “I’ll miss him, Colie.”

  “Me, too.”

  J.C.’s phone rang as he was trying to find the right words to tell Colie just how much time had changed him.

  He answered the ring. “Calhoun,” he said.

  “It’s Chief Marcus,” came a deep voice over the line. “I found Mr. Thompson and told him about his father. He said he’ll be there later today.”

  “Thanks,” J.C. replied. “I owe you one.”

  “You know much about him?” came the quiet reply.

  “A little too much,” he said.

  “Well, he’s got a friend who’s just a few inches short of the FBI’s Most Wanted list, if you get my drift,” the other man said. “The friend’s attached to him like a tick. Something’s going down pretty soon, and your buddy may be right in the middle of it. I gather that he’s viewed as a security risk by the friend. Just a word to the wise.”

  “I was a policeman for two years. I still teach them, over in Iraq,” J.C. told him. “I know how to watch my six.”

  “Be sure you do. Big money involved in this. People get itchy when their ill-gotten gains are threatened. We’ve got feds here investigating. Court case coming up in Texas that could blow this whole thing sky-high.”

  “I’m aware of that. Thanks for the heads-up.”

  “Come by when you’re in the area,” the other man said on a chuckle. “We can talk over old times.”

  “I’ll do that. Thanks again.”

  Colie was watching him with curious eyes.

  “The police chief in Jackson Hole was in combat with me,” he explained. “He found your brother. Rod said he’d be here by the end of the day. And his friend’s coming with him.” His eyes went to Ludie, who was now sitting on the sofa playing with her teething beads. He looked worried.

  “He’s not staying here,” Colie said curtly. “I won’t let him in the front door.”

  J.C.’s pale eyes went back to her. “I’m not leaving you here alone,” he said shortly.

  She started to protest.

  He held up a hand. “I worked it out with Lucy,” he interrupted. “She’s coming over to stay with you until after the funeral.”

  Her expression was more eloquent than words. She was relieved that J.C. hadn’t announced he was going to stay there with her. It hurt him, but he hid it. He was used to hiding wounds.

  “Cody Banks is our sheriff, and he’ll come at the drop of a hat if he’s needed.” He paused. “I had a talk with him about Rod. But I didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know.”

  “About...?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Your law firm is defending a client who has ties to Rod’s operation, Colie,” he replied. “I can’t believe you didn’t already know that.”

  She lowered her eyes to Ludie. “Yes. I knew,” she said sadly.

  “So did your father. He was concerned about the two of you, although h
e held out hope that one day Rod might see the light.”

  She looked up. “You and my father, playing chess,” she said, and her tone was wistful. “I can hardly believe it.”

  “Neither could I, the first time I came over, after you were here for his surgery,” he added. “He invited me to play chess.” He smiled sadly. “It was a beginning. Years too late, of course.”

  She was thinking of a poem, about the saddest words being it might have been. It was absolutely true. “How are Merrie and Ren?” she asked, for something to say.

  “Doing well. They’d love to see you, if you’re going to stay for a few days before you go back home.”

  “I don’t know how long it will take, to wrap things up.” She was fighting tears again.

  “I’ll do anything I can to help. He was a good man. The best I’ve ever known,” he added curtly.

  She searched his eyes, those pale gray ones that looked so much like Ludie’s. She wondered if he’d ever suspected that the child was his. He probably wouldn’t have believed it if she’d told him.

  “Well, I’ll get home,” he said after an awkward silence. “If you need anything, you can call me.”

  “Thanks for bringing us home,” she said.

  “It wasn’t a problem.” He glanced at Ludie, who was still watching him with open curiosity. The sight of her was painful. He’d missed so much of her life.

  Colie saw the pain he couldn’t hide, but she wasn’t admitting anything.

  “If Rod shows up here, you call me,” he said abruptly. “Or you call Cody Banks. Don’t play with fire.”

  She drew in a breath. “He’s in a bad place. I’m not sure he can dig his way out, or that he wants to. But I meant it. I won’t let him in the front door.”

  She didn’t realize, and he didn’t tell her, that a determined man would barrel right past her and Lucy. Verbal threats would be useless from a woman.

  “Keep your cell phone handy.”

  “I always do.”