Page 27 of His Christmas Star
Joe was crying now, his sobs filling the room as I wrapped my arms around him. Unexpectedly, Ash, Blaze, and Beau walked in, handing the babies to their mothers and helping Joe up from the table. “We’re going to help you get him home,” Ash said in a tone of voice that left no arguing.
“Take him to my cabin.” I handed Ash my key. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Joe, utterly oblivious to the room, walked robotically between Blaze and Beau, who helped him out the door. My heart broke for the man I had been in love with my entire life. I could do nothing to make him feel better other than comfort him when he needed it and back away when he didn’t.
Heaven stood up and hugged me gently. “I know you lost someone you loved today too. If there’s anything you need, just say the word. Take tomorrow off and stay with Joe. He shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“Okay, thanks, Heaven. I’ll be around for problems or questions,” I said to Caleb, and he nodded.
“Let us know if Joe needs anything from his ranch. We can send a hand to get it.”
“I will, and thank you for what you said to him about love trumping DNA. Out of anything anyone could have said to him, that will stay with him the longest.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
Amity put her arm around me and walked with me to the door. “Joe is lucky to have you right now. Go to him. Cece or I will drop some dinner around a little later. You can always put it in the fridge if Joe is sleeping.”
“Thank you. We appreciate that.” I hugged her tightly, grabbed my coat, and started the short walk back to my cabin.
I took a moment to remind myself what it was like to have your life change on a dime, and I was going to be there for him this time in a way I couldn’t be when Cody died.
It was time to be selfless and be whatever Joe needed me to be. I could deal with a broken heart later as long as Joe made it down this long, dark road and back into the light.
Chapter Eight
I expected dinner to be tasteless considering the circumstances, but when Tobi set it on the table, the scent of tamales was enough to remind me my stomach hadn’t been fed in too many hours. The flavors popped on my tongue, and I enjoyed every bite of the spicy dish.
“I’ll have to thank Cece and Amity for bringing dinner over,” I said as we walked up the path to the ridge. “I didn’t think I’d be hungry, but that was delicious.”
“There’s nothing like a hot meal when you’re grieving. Shores you up inside, if you ask me.”
I grabbed her elbow to help her over a rock. “I know you’re grieving too. You don’t have to pretend like I’m the only one who lost someone today.”
Her smile was wan when she offered it. “I just keep remembering what you said. Daddy lived a good, long life, and while we will miss him, that wasn’t living. That was existing, and I wouldn’t want that for him.”
“I guess we’re on the same page then.”
I didn’t drop her arm. Instead, I hooked mine through hers as we approached the ridge. The sight was always breathtaking, but there was something about it tonight that mesmerized me. Maybe it was knowing Daddy Nash was wandering in a pasture somewhere looking for the ones he loved. I hoped he was, anyway. He worked hard here on earth, and now he deserved the rewards.
“Do you think we’ll be able to find him in the sky yet?” she asked as we approached the lower pasture that had become the ranch hands' favorite place for a campfire when the bison weren’t there.
“Hard to know how that works,” I said, slinging my arm around her shoulders. “The afterlife has always been a mystery to me.”
“Not to me,” she whispered as we sat on a log left there for their campfires. “I consider myself intimate with the afterlife since that’s where my family lives now. Well, my blood family. I know that everyone here is my family.”
I chuckled when I put my arm around her again and let her lean on my chest. “Good catch. Don’t let Heaven hear you say you don’t have any family. She’ll read you the riot act.”
“This little ranch has changed my life, Joe. With my degrees, I could work anywhere. I could work on horse ranches twice this size or work for any kind of stable, but there’s something about Heavenly Lane. You do the work, but it’s not a job.”
“It’s a way of life.”
“That and knowing you’re contributing to the family. When one of us does well, we all do well. It’s the same at Bison Ridge. Most people can’t say that about where they work.”
“I agree. Heaven and Blaze have taken the fortunes they were blessed with and made it a legacy for their children. They’ve also made it a place where you’re welcomed in the door with food and family as though you’d been part of their lives forever.”
“Did you know there are several ranch hands at Bison Ridge who opted to work off their jail sentence there?”
“I do.” I rubbed her shoulder to keep her warm as the cold December breeze blew across us. “I placed them there. Saul was one of the first a few years ago. He found something there that made his life worth living. I’m thankful Saul recognized it and grabbed hold of it rather than leave the ranch when his time was served just to find more trouble. Blaze and Beau mentored him, offered him stability, and gave him more and more responsibility as he proved himself. Sometimes, as a man, that’s all we need. We need a chance to prove ourselves when we’ve been knocked down too many times in life.”
