Page 110 of The Holiday Gift

“They can’t give either Ava or Jack the most important thing. Your love. That’s what they’re going to remember the rest of their lives. When they see how much you have loved them and sacrificed for them, it won’t matter what lies their grandparents try to feed them.”

“Thank you for that.” He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling a little at the corners, and she wanted to stand in this little office basking in the glow forever.

Why, again, hadn’t she wanted to bring Luke to the vet? She couldn’t imagine anywhere she would rather be right now.

“I mean it about the kids, Ben.” Though it took a great deal of effort, she managed to slide her hand away. “Destry and I would love to have the children hang out with us for a few days. And if you need help between Christmas and New Year’s, we’ll be happy to keep an eye on them.”

The conviction in her voice seemed to assuage the last of his concerns. “If you’re sure, that would be great. Thank you. You’ve lifted a huge weight off my mind.”

“No problem.” She smiled to seal the deal. His gaze flickered to her mouth and stayed there as if he couldn’t look away. He was thinking of their kiss. She was certain of it. Awareness fluttered through her, low and enticing. When his gaze lifted to hers, she knew she wasn’t imagining the sudden hunger there.

She swallowed, her face suddenly hot. She wanted him to kiss her again, just wrap his arms around her and press her back against the wall for the next hour or two.

Not the time or the place. He was working and had other patients he needed to see. Besides that, though he might be forging this tentative friendship with her, she had a feeling the rest of it was just too tangled for either of them right now.

“I’ll, um, see you later,” she mumbled. “Thanks for...everything.”

“You’re very welcome.” His low voice thrummed over her nerves. She did her best to ignore it as she grabbed the end of Luke’s leash and escaped.

Chapter 11

Two nights later, Ben pulled off the main road onto the drive into the River Bow, wishing he could hang a left at the junction, climb into his bed at the cottage and sleep for the next two or three days.

His shoulders were tight with exhaustion, his eyes gritty and aching. When he finally found time to sleep, just past midnight, he had only been under for a few minutes when he received an emergency call to help a dog that had been hit by a car on one of the ranch roads. He had ended up packing his sleepy kids—poor things—into the backseat of the SUV and taking them inside his office to sleep while he attended to the dog.

He really needed Mrs. Michaels—or someone like her. At least the kids had fallen quickly back to sleep. He considered that a great blessing. Even after he packed them back to the ranch and into their beds, they had again fallen asleep easily.

He had envied them that as he tossed and turned, energized by the case and the successful outcome. Before he knew it, the alarm was going off and he had stumbled out of bed to face a packed schedule of people rushing to take their animals into the vet before the clinic went on its brief holiday hiatus.

So far, he hadn’t seen any slowdown in business after taking over from Dr. Harris. Another blessing there. Although he was grateful for the business and glad that the people of Pine Gulch had decided to continue bringing their animals to him, right now he was too tired to savor his relief.

As he pulled up to the River Bow ranch house, Christmas lights gleamed against the winter night and the darker silhouettes of the mountains in the distance and the pines and aspens of the foreground. Warm light spilled out the windows into the snow and that big Christmas tree twinkled with color.

The place offered a cheery welcome against the chilly night. He couldn’t help thinking about his grandparents’ home in Lake Forest. In sheer square footage, Caldwell House was probably three times as big as the River Bow, but instead of warmth and hominess, he remembered his childhood home as being sterile and unfriendly to a young boy, all sharp angles, dark wood and uncomfortable furniture.

His grandparents hadn’t wanted him. He had known that from the beginning when their daughter, his mother, had dropped him and his sister off before running off with her latest hard-living boyfriend.

She hadn’t come back, of course. Even at age eight, he had somehow known she wouldn’t. Now he knew she had died of a drug overdose just months after dropping him and Susie with her parents, but for years he had watched and waited for a mother who would never return.

Oh, his grandparents had done their duty. They had given him and Susie a roof over their head, nutritious meals, an excellent education. But he and his sister had never been allowed to forget they came from a selfish, irresponsible woman who had chosen drugs over her own children.

He had his own family now. Children he loved more than anything. He would never treat them as unwanted burdens.

Eager to pick them up now, he pulled up in front of the River Bow. The night was clear and cold, with a brilliant spill of stars gleaming above the mountains. Inside the door, he could hear laughter and a television show, along with a couple of well-mannered barks.

The door opened just seconds after he rang the bell. His stomach rumbled instantly as the spicy, doughy smells wafting outside immediately transported him to his favorite pizzeria in college.

“Hi, Dad!” Jack let go of the doorknob just an instant before launching himself toward Ben. With a laugh, he held his arms out and Jack did his traditional move of spider-walking up his legs before Ben flipped him upside down, then scooped him up into his arms.

He always found it one of life’s tiny miracles that his exhaustion could seep away for a while when he was reunited with his kids at the end of the day, even if Ava was in a cranky mood.

“How was your day, bud?”

“Great! I got to help feed the horses and play with some kittens. And guess what? I don’t have to go back to school until next year.”

“That’s right. Last day of school and now it’s Christmas vacation.”

“And Santa Claus comes inthree days!”

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