Page 17 of The Holiday Gift

Faith smiled. “You’ll have to share it with Celeste and Hope. They’ll be thrilled.”

She and Ella were sending contact information to each other’s phones when she felt a subtle ripple in the air and a moment later Chase joined them.

Speaking with the women had begun to push out some of the butterflies inside her but they suddenly returned in full force.

“Sorry I was gone so long. I got cornered by Pete Jeppeson at the coatrack and just barely managed to get away.”

“No worries. I’ve been meeting someone who is about to make my sisters very, very happy. Chase Brannon, this is Ella Baker. She’s Curt’s daughter and she’s a music therapist who has just agreed to help out with the second annual Christmas Ranch holiday show.”

Chase gave Ella a warm smile. “That’s very kind of you—not to mention extremely brave.”

The woman returned his smile and Faith didn’t miss the sudden appreciative light in her eyes, along with a slightly regretful look, the sort a woman might wear while shopping when someone else in line at the checkout just ahead of her picks out the exact one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry she would have chosen for herself.

“Brave or crazy,” Ella said. “I’m not sure which yet.”

“You said it. I didn’t,” Chase said.

Both of them laughed and as she saw them together, a strange thought lodged in her brain.

The two of them could be perfect for each other.

She didn’t want to admit it but Ella Baker seemed on the surface just the sort of woman Chase needed. She had only just met the woman but she trusted her instincts. Ella seemed smart and pretty, funny and kind.

Exactly the sort of woman Chase deserved.

He said he was ready to date again and here was a perfect candidate. Wouldn’t a truehearted friend do everything in her power to push the two of them together—at least give Chase the chance to get to know the other woman?

She hated the very idea of it, but she wanted Chase to be happy. “Will you both excuse me for a moment? I just spotted Jenna McRaven and remembered I need to talk to her about a slight change in the menu for the dinner next week.”

She aimed a bright smile at them. “You two should dance or something. Go ahead! I won’t be long.”

She caught a glimpse of Ella’s startled features and the beginnings of a thundercloud forming on Chase’s but she hurried away before he could respond.

He would thank her later, she told herself, especially if Ella turned out to be absolutely perfect for him.

He only needed to spend a little time with her to realize the lovely young woman who had put her life on hold to help her ailing father was a much better option than a prickly widow who didn’t have anything left in her heart to give him.

* * *

She found Jenna in the kitchen, up to her eyeballs in appetizers.

This was the absolute worst time to bug her about a catering job, when she was busy at a different one. Faith couldn’t bother her with a small change in salad dressing—especially when she was only using this as an excuse to leave Chase alone with Ella Baker. She would call Jenna later and tell her about the change at a better time.

“Hi, Faith! Don’t you look beautiful tonight!”

She almost gave an inelegant snort. Jenna’s blond curls were piled on her head in an adorable messy bun and her cheeks looked rosy from the heat of the kitchen and probably from the exertion of preparing a meal for so many people, while Faith had split ends and hands desperately in need of a manicure.

“I was just going to say the same to you,” she said. “Seriously, you’re the only person I know who can be neck-deep in making canapés and still manage to look like a model.”

Jenna rolled her eyes as she continued setting out appetizers on the tray. “You’re sweet but delusional. Did you need something?”

Faith glanced through the open doorway, where she could see Chase bending down to listen more closely to something Ella was saying. The sight made her stomach hurt—but maybe that was just hunger.

“Not at all. I was just wondering if you need any help back here.”

Jenna looked startled at her question but not ungrateful. “That’s very sweet but I’m being paid to hang out here in the kitchen. You’re not. You should be out there enjoying the party.”

“I can hear the music from here, plus helping you out in the kitchen would give me the chance to talk to a dear friend I don’t see often enough. Need me to carry out a tray or two?”

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