Majestic Mountain Romance Series: Books One through Seven! (Clean Western Romances)

by Zoe Matthews

  He thought of his sister, Annie, who had Down syndrome. She was also thriving here in Colorado. She had been living with their mother when Logan decided to take this job. His mother had become very stressed over the care of Annie and Logan had offered to take her for the summer. When they arrived at the ranch, Kathy had immediately offered to let Annie stay in their small home, and Logan had gratefully accepted. Annie added a lot to the atmosphere of the Collingsworth family and he knew she would be living here indefinitely. In fact, their mother was making plans to move from Wyoming to the nearby town, Pinedale, so she could be closer to Logan and Annie, and to her grandchildren. She was planning to move after the first of the year.

  ****

  Looking towards Sheridan, Hunter disturbed the silence. “Did the girls decide how many trees we need to bring back?”

  Groans erupted from all six men. Spencer was the first to speak up. “I know you all love your wives and such, but listening to them talk about the decorations that are needed on my next trip to Denver, I think they may be going just a little overboard.”

  Sheridan laughed. “Go big or go home! I heard that mentioned by Megan more than once last night. They are having so much fun putting this double wedding, and Christmas celebration together, I don’t have it in me to rein them in.”

  Spencer huffed a laugh. “Something tells me our sisters would object strongly if either of us tried.”

  “You’ve got that right. Stephanie informed me in passing yesterday that the house, the decorations, and everything else to do with the weddings was their domain, and I would be well advised to simply agree to whatever they suggested.”

  Logan chimed in. “Just so you all know, they have the kids involved as well.”

  The others looked at him in question. Logan raised his hands up. “Don’t look at me. I only know that Mason and Noah were very excited because they get to play with fire. Ashley and Elysha are just sure they’re going to burn the house down.”

  “Fire?” Sheridan asked, alarm on his face. “The girls know better than that.”

  Spencer laughed. “Of course they do. They want the kids to hold candles as they walk down the aisle instead of tossing flower petals all over the floors to be crushed underneath everyone’s feet.”

  “Candles? Your kids were excited about candles?” Sheridan teased him.

  Logan smiled. “No, I think it was the opportunity to handle the lighter that had them all excited. I was also informed by Sierra that since she and the other women will be with the brides, watching the children will fall to us.”

  “Well in that case, I say we involve the dogs to help keep the kids corralled. Misty’s done an excellent job with Tucker, and if I can convince Trixie the kids are small cows, she’ll keep them in line right quick,” Cade joked with a quick laugh.

  The men all shared a laugh as they each envisioned the cattle dogs trying to keep the two sets of twins in line. So far, more than a dozen adults had been struggling with that feat, and if two dogs could manage the task, Logan was thinking he might just invest in a whole pack of dogs to help him and Sierra in the months and years to come.

  “Well, as entertaining as this has been, if we don’t start locating and cutting down trees, the girls are going to begin to worry,” Sheridan said.

  “And then they’ll put together a search party and come looking for us,” Logan added.

  “We certainly don’t want to upset the apple cart. None of us will have a good evening if they have to come out in the cold to find us.” Cade was the newest member of their little group. He was one of the grooms for the upcoming wedding, and he was determined to make sure Stella had everything she wanted in the celebration. If she wanted it to snow inside, he would figure out a way to make it happen.

  “Let’s get started then. How many trees? I don’t know that we ever answered that question,” Sheridan asked the other men.

  Spencer and Cade shared a look and then Spencer broke the news to the group, “Eight. Oh, and they have requested that four of them be small. They want to create a winter wonderland in the foyer.”

  “Eight trees?” Hunter looked around at the sleds they had drug along with them. “Okay, well, that means we need to get started. Bridger brought along a spool of twine so we can tie the branches up after they’re down, that should help us get them back to the barn.”

  The men all agreed and they set out again. They had strapped snowshoes to the winter boots to facilitate easier movement over the fresh snow, and they were dragging wooden sleds behind them to move the trees from the forest and back to the barn. Trixie, Cade’s Border collie, ran ahead of them. Every once in a while, she let out a bark of joy. They headed into the wooded area at the far side of the forest, and the sounds of their light-hearted banter and laughter could be heard echoing across the landscape. Christmas had come to the Majestic Mountain Ranch and for the first time in years, all of the Collingsworth siblings were home, safe and sound.

  Chapter 2

  Back at the Ranch House, there was activity everywhere. Christmas music could be heard coming from various parts of the large house, whether it be from the stereo, or just the exuberant voices of little ones singing Frosty the Snowman for the hundredth time. The smell of sugar cookies and a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and oranges permeated the air, and Christmas decorations were partially hung in places, the remainder still sitting in boxes here and there.

  The doorbell rang and the sound of feet hurrying to the front doors could be heard, a squeal of delight following shortly thereafter. “They’re here!” Stella hollered through the Ranch House, carrying the boxes that had just been delivered with the daily mail. The snow was falling hard outside, and she shook her head slightly to rid of the snowflakes that had landed there.

  Emma and Sadie joined her in the great room. “What’s here?”

  “The wedding invitations!” Stella told her, indicating the boxes she’d just set on the large coffee table which sat in the middle of the room.

  Sadie clapped her hands. “Open them up and let’s look.”

  “There’s another box here as well, addressed to Hunter.”

  Sadie grinned and collected the box. “I know what this is. I’ll take care of it.”

  “What is it?” Emma asked.

  “Part of Brooklyn’s Christmas present from Hunter.”

  “Oh, that’s right. This is the first Christmas they’ve been together. I can’t wait for Christmas morning. There’s nothing more precious than watching little eyes light up as they open presents,” Emma said with a grin.

  The women all shared a nod and laugh. “That is the part I love the best,” Sadie agreed. “This year is going to be special. I can hardly wait.”

  “Me either,” Stella added, “but first we need to get a wedding planned and accomplished.”

  Emma nodded her head, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a pair of scissors, “Here, use these to cut through the tape.”

  Stella took the scissors and carefully cut open the tape at the seams. When she had the box open, she carefully pulled out three invitations, passing two of them to the other women, and keeping one for herself.

  “Oh, Stella! They’re beautiful.” Sadie brushed a finger over the embossed pine trees on the front of the ivory white invitation. Opening the card up, she moved aside the piece of Christmas green vellum paper, to reveal the words that had been carefully constructed by both couples.

  The Majestic Mountain Ranch invites you to

  witness the joining together of

  Stella Collingsworth to Cade Jensen

  and

  Emma Garner to Spencer Collingsworth

  In Holy matrimony on

  December 20th, at 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

  We invite you to stay afterwards and join us for

  The First Annual Christmas Celebration

  Please R.S.V.P by December 14th

  It was already December 5th, leaving just barely a week for people to receive their invitations and respond.
They had been specially ordered and rush shipping had been purchased to get them here this quickly.

  “So, do we have the address list printed out?” Emma asked, setting the invitation back in the box.

  “We do, but I think we should get everyone in here and have an invitation stuffing party. We need to put an invitation, an R.S.V.P. card, and return envelope in each larger envelope. Then they need an address label and a stamp,” Stella explained.

  “Where are Sierra and Stephanie?” Sadie asked, thankful that the two youngest kids were all stringing popcorn in the kitchen with Kathy and Jed. Annie and Misty were there as well, and the little kids were using plastic needles, for which she was extremely grateful.

  Stephanie’s taking a nap. One of the side effects of her new medication is that it makes her terribly sleepy after she takes it,” Stella said.

  “And Sierra?” Emma asked.

  Sadie giggled. “She took all four kids into Pinedale for the day to go Christmas shopping for Logan.”

  “Brave woman!” Emma told her with a laugh. She’d had a chance to spend some alone time with Sierra’s twin daughters and Logan’s two boys. They were more than a handful, and she’d been in serious need of a nap after dealing with them for two hours.

  “Okay, well, I say we round everyone else up and see how much we can get done before the guys come back with the trees.” A large pine tree had already been placed in the room where the women were currently gathered, the decorations and lights bringing the festive nature of the season to everyone who gathered there.

  But after walking through the house the night before, it had been decided that more trees were needed to decorate for the wedding. Four of them were already in the house ready to be decorated. A theme of green and white with natural accents like pine cones, holly berries, and snowflakes had been decided upon, and the men had set out right after breakfast to hunt for the remaining eight trees that were needed.

  The women nodded their head and after moving around a few things, they had a nice little assembly line going in the Great Room. Stephanie woke up about thirty minutes into their envelope stuffing party, joining them.

  “Ladies, have you given any thought to where we’re going to get the remaining decorations we need?” she asked.

  Megan nodded her head. “Well, since its Christmas time, we were thinking it wouldn’t be much of a problem. I asked the guys to bring back some extra pine boughs today as well. With some bailing wire, we can make fresh wreaths for the doors.”

  Everyone nodded and Stella added, “Let’s just not use the real thing for the door garlands. I remember the first time we did that. Kathy was fit to be tied when the sap dripped everywhere.”

  The other girls laughed, remembering the event that happened when they were children. They remembered the housekeeper’s dismay when they’d begun taking down the Christmas decorations. Every door frame had needed to be cleaned. Kathy had put the kids to work, ensuring that they would never make such a foolish mistake again.

  “Sheridan said there should be more boxes of Christmas decorations up in the attic,” Emma commented.

  “Maybe we could get the guys to drag the boxes down tonight after dinner and we could go through them tomorrow. Spencer offered to fly a few of us into Denver to get whatever else we need,” Megan replied.

  “That sounds really good. Maybe I could figure out the menu and the food could be picked up then as well,” Stella suggested. “That way, we won’t have to make another trip.”

  “That sounds good. Emma, why don’t you turn on the radio? I don’t know about you guys, but I love this time of year because I can listen to Christmas music all day long and nobody thinks it’s weird,” Sadie suggested.

  “Sadie, hearing a grown woman singing Frosty the Snowman, when there’s no little ones around to hear is still weird.” Stephanie smiled at her, and ducked as Sadie tossed one of the throw pillows at her head.

  When Stephanie picked up the pillow to retaliate, it was abruptly removed from her hand by Bridger, who’d entered the room without her notice a few seconds earlier.

  “Hey!” she told him, reaching for the pillow he held just out of reach. When he bent down and kissed her, she dropped her arm around his neck, kissing him right back as her sisters made kissing noises in the background.

  Lifting his head, he looked around the room and asked, “What’s going on in here?”

  “We’re getting the invitations ready to send out. See?” Emma held one of the up for his inspection.

  “Gorgeous. Well, we have your trees. They’re down in the barn getting stands on them at the moment. Do you ladies know where you want them?”

  A mass exodus from the Great Room ensued, the invitations forgotten for the moment as all the women began making room for the new trees. The Christmas music continued to play, and before long, the house was alive with the sounds of laughter and Christmas joy.

  Chapter 3

  Sunday, December 6th…

  The next morning, Stephanie wandered into the kitchen, making herself a cup of hot tea and reaching for the box of crackers. She’d woken up early in the morning, her stomach protesting violently as she rushed for the bathroom.

  Bridger had been very concerned about her, but she’d been able to go back to bed and get several more hours of sleep. She’d chalked her sickness up to the new medication she was taking, but after waking up a few minutes ago and feeling the same way, she was beginning to worry.

  She’d placed a call to her doctor in Denver, but he’d been unavailable because it was a weekend, and he was simply on call. The lady who answered her call had taken down her message and promised to give it to him just as soon as he was available. He’d evidently been called to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning and had yet to call the answering service to let them know he’d left the hospital.

  Stephanie felt horrible for calling him and making his weekend even more hectic, but she figured he was used to it, and she really needed to speak with him about how she was feeling. The phone operator had also assured her that if Dr. Schwerzer wasn’t available within the next two hours, she would pass the information along to his nurse who also took phone calls over the weekends from time to time.

  Stephanie had thanked the woman and hung up the phone, feeling no better than she had before she made the call.

  “Stephanie,” Kathy called her name as she entered the kitchen area.

  “Hi,” Stephanie told her, pouring hot water into a cup and dropping a tea bag in.

  “You don’t look so good, hon. Are you feeling sick?”

  Stephanie nodded her head. “Just a bit.”

  “Is it the medicine?” Kathy inquired.

  “I think so. I called the doctor, but I’m waiting for him to call back.” Please let it be something simple. She didn’t want to worry anyone, especially herself, so she was trying to think positive.

  Kathy looked so concerned, Stephanie forced a smile she didn’t feel to her face. “I’m fine. I think maybe I’ll take it easy today though.”

  “Well, if you need anything, you just holler. I’m taking Annie with me to Pinedale to pick up the supplies for Jed. I can go tomorrow…”

  “Nonsense. There are plenty of people around here if I need anything. I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe I should…” Kathy started to say, but Stephanie interrupted her.

  “…go to Pinedale like you were planning.” Stephanie smiled at her, finished Kathy’s sentence. She then took her tea and crackers into the Great Room. She sank down into the couch, sipping her tea as she watched the lights on the tree blink on and off.

  Her phone rang a few minutes later and she sighed with relief when she saw the doctor’s name on her caller ID. She described her symptoms to the doctor, growing more concerned when he requested to see her in his office. Spencer was heading to Denver first thing the next morning, so she told her doctor she’d hitch a ride with him. Stephanie knew Bridger had things planned, but there was a slight brea
k between storms coming tomorrow, and she wasn’t sure if she’d have another chance to see the doctor before the weddings and the holidays arrived. She’d go to Denver with Spencer, help shop for the Christmas decorations they still needed, and stop by for a little checkup. Easy as pie, and by tomorrow night she’d be home and feeling much better.

  ****

  Bridger was out in the barn with Logan and Sheridan when Spencer stopped in, “Hey Bridger. You got a minute?”

  Bridger nodded his head. “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me. Stephanie all of a sudden wants to fly with me to Denver tomorrow morning,” Spencer told him, looking concerned.

  Bridger looked towards the house and then asked, “When did she decide that?”

  “A few minutes ago. She stopped me as I was leaving the house. She didn’t look very good. Is everything alright?”

  Bridger shook his head, feeling the other two men join him and Spencer. “She threw up early this morning, but then she seemed to feel better. I was hoping it was just a stomach bug.”

  Sheridan looked concerned. “You don’t think it is?”

  Bridger sighed. “I don’t know what to think. The doctor warned her there might be some getting used to this new medicine, but he never mentioned nausea or getting sick. Just tiredness and maybe a little anemia if she wasn’t careful to eat regularly.” He looked at the men who’d quickly become like brothers to him. “I make sure she eats, but I don’t mind telling you this has me really worried.” He didn’t mention that they’d changed meds because they had agreed to try getting pregnant. Stephanie hadn’t wanted her siblings to know because she was sure they’d worry about her even more than they already do.

  Sheridan laid a hand on his shoulder. “You should go with her tomorrow.”