Page 17 of His Christmas Star
She held up her hands and then dropped them. “Fair enough.”
“That’s it?” I asked, my eyes wide as I stared at her. She never walked away without a fight.
“What more is there to say? You believe what you believe, and I believe what I believe. I just know that when you lose someone you love, you never get a second chance to say things you wanted to say or to make wrongs right.”
“Tobi,” I said, resting my hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off, her gaze pinned on the frozen black pond in the distance. “Cody died unexpectedly, and I know it sucks, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he’s dead. You have to move on.”
“I’ll remind you of that when Daddy Nash is gone. He died unexpectedly, and I know it sucks, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he’s dead, Nash. You have to move on,” she said in a low timbre that stood me up on my feet.
“That’s enough, Tobi. You don’t know anything about my relationship with Alfred, and you’d do well to remember that.”
“I know more than you think, but you wouldn’t know that since you never stop to see him. Not to worry, I will, because whether you want to believe it or not, he’s not going to be here much longer, and I won’t let him die alone.”
Rather than answer her, I spun on my heel and walked away. She could think what she wanted to think, that didn’t mean she was right. Right?
Chapter Six
The walkie on my saddle bag crackled to life with Dawn calling my name. I pulled it off and depressed the button. “What’s up, Dawn?” I released the button and waited, my trained eye still checking the fences as I went.
“Beau’s biscuits and coffee are what’s up. Come to the main house.”
I groaned before I pushed the button. I knew where this was going. “Just finishing the ridges and then I have to take care of the horse. I’ll be a few.”
“Caleb is waiting in the barn, give him the horse and get your butt in here!”
I clipped the walkie back on the bag and sighed. “A ranch hand’s work is never done, Starburst,” I said, patting her neck. “I guess we’re done riding the fences. Time for breakfast.”
Starburst headed back down the trail to the barn, a path she knew by heart and could do with her eyes closed. I suspected I was about to be blindsided with another planning meeting for the Christmas dance. I waited for the righteous indignation to fill me, but it didn’t. Maybe it was time I tried to enjoy the season a little bit more. Maybe that’s what my mom and Cody would want. They’d probably want me to be happy instead of miserable. I didn’t have to be as giddy as the women waiting inside the house were about the season, but they did say it was a season of hope, right? If I let some of that in, it might help me find happiness again.
Once I arrived at the barn, I jumped down off Starburst and led her into the warm building. Caleb was taking care of Sundance and glanced up when he heard Starburst’s soft huff.
“You’re back,” he said, sliding out of Sundance’s stall and grabbing Starburst’s reins. “I’ll take care of her. The girls are waiting for you.”
“I suspected as much. Is the meeting about the Christmas dance?”
“Or is it about the Christmas wedding? You’ll have to go in to find out.”
“Caleb!” I said, clapping my hands together. “Am I going to be facing a group of squealing women?”
“Maybe,” he said coyly. “I’d suggest you prepare yourself to be hunkered down for a few hours.”
I threw my arms around him and squeezed. “I’m happy for you. I bet you’re even happier.”
His grin was broad when I released him. “Ecstatic. I can’t even tell you. I owe it all to you, too. You might have been kidding when you suggested it, but it’s the best idea I’d heard of getting us hitched. Just act surprised when you go in there.”
I gave him a salute and dropped my hand to my side. “Will do, boss.”
I walked to the barn door, surprised by the excitement I felt for my friends. Usually, my life was flat, brown, and cold. They had offered me a little bit more hope during a time when I usually had none. I wished him good luck getting Starburst brushed out, and he wished me good luck in wrangling four other women into staying on task.
I paused at the door to the house and took a deep breath. He wasn’t wrong. The four women inside were probably buzzing like busy bees already. Maybe the fact that I stayed on the fringes of the Christmas hoopla would work in my favor. I could stay objective and keep them on task.
“I’m here,” I said, pushing my way through the door into the warm kitchen. “What did I miss?”
“We’re having a wedding!” Amity exclaimed, clapping the way only a mother planning a wedding could.
I wiped my feet then stripped off my coat and mitts to join them at the table. “A wedding? I thought we were having a Christmas dance.” Could I fake it with the best of them, or what?
Cece spoke next and with great enthusiasm. “It’s going to be both! Caleb brought it up again a few days ago. We decided it's the perfect setting to get married, as long as you all agreed.”
