Her Christmas Family Wish Read online

  “Gracie, may I talk to your mom alone?” Wyatt thought he’d never seen anyone so lovely as his Ellie. Don’t let me botch this, God.

  “’Kay.” Grace shot him an outrageous wink, then raced away.

  “Ellie, I—”

  “Merry Christmas, Wyatt. I hope you, Cade and Albert have a happy day.” Her cool gray eyes gave away nothing.

  Wyatt immediately revamped his approach.

  “Thank you for the baking you left. I have your gift here,” he said and held out the black velvet ring box. When she didn’t take it, he flipped it open to show her the diamond solitaire sitting inside. “Ellie, will you marry me?”

  Ellie’s gaping stare swiveled from the ring to him, back and forth, confusion filling her face. “Why?”

  “Because I love you. I need you in my life.” Wyatt’s heart welled with emotion. “I have no idea whether or not I will end up as my mother. I have no guarantees to offer you except that, for as long as I breathe, I will love you and do my utmost to cherish you.”

  “But you said—”

  Wyatt touched her cheek, unable to keep his hands away from her. This beautiful woman was what he wanted in his life. Her love meant his world would be whole, complete.

  “I forgot, Ellie,” he whispered. “I forgot that God is in charge of my world, and He’ll decide my future. I forgot that I need to trust that He will do His best for me.” He took her hands in his and pressed the ring box into her palms. “What I finally realized today, thanks to Albert, is that any moment I have with you is more precious than years without you. Because I love you and that’s a precious gift from God. So, will you marry me, Ellie Grant, and make Gracie’s Christmas wish come true?”

  “Yes,” she said simply and with heartfelt emotion. She held out her hand for him to slide on her ring. “Because I love you, Wyatt. You are God’s answer to me. I’ll grab whatever time we have together to share with our kids and whomever else He brings into our paths. Because I love you.”

  His heart brimming with joy and thanksgiving, Wyatt embraced her. With slow deliberateness he kissed her, pledging his love to her for as long as he lived.

  And Ellie kissed him back, at least until a voice came from behind Wyatt.

  “Do you think Cade and I can come in now? He needs a diaper change.”

  Wyatt and Ellie glanced at Albert and burst out laughing.

  “By rights, you should have to change him since you’re going to be his brother,” Wyatt teased.

  “Hmm. Something to think about. Merry Christmas.” Albert handed Ellie her bowl and Wyatt his son. “Where’s Gracie?”

  “In here,” she called out. “Looking at the ’gagement ring my daddy gave me.”

  Ellie’s eyebrows arched as she glanced at Wyatt.

  “I hope you don’t mind that I asked Gracie to marry me first,” he said as he ushered her inside and closed the door. “And I should have mentioned something else.”

  “Oh?” In between sneaking glances at her ring, Ellie gave him a wary look.

  “I don’t know what will happen in the future, darling Ellie, but I intend to keep working at Wranglers Ranch as their staff veterinarian because that’s where I belong.”

  “I know what will happen in the future,” she said as she pressed a kiss against Cade’s head and then Wyatt’s cheek. “What will happen is that I will love you, and you will love me, and together we’ll work at Wranglers, showing kids what God’s love is all about. Right?”

  “Lady, you are so right.” Wyatt turned his head just the tiniest bit to kiss her again, thrilled by what his future held as long as she was by his side.

  “Mommy, Albert wants me to open my gift. An’ I want Cade to open his giant nutcracker cookie. ’Kay?”

  “Wait till we’re all there, sweetie. We’ll open them together.” Ellie nudged Wyatt toward the bathroom. “You can change Cade in there. After we open gifts, we’re going to Wranglers. They’re having a staff campfire, and I can’t wait to share our news.”

  “Excellent idea. Christmas Eve together with friends. How can it get better?”

  But as they sat around a campfire later, singing carols, Wyatt knew in the depths of his heart that it would get better. Because God so loved the world that He gave His only son.

  That was the message he and Ellie and their family would help Wranglers Ranch spread.

  He clung to his fiancée’s hand, ready to face their future with God in charge.

  *

  If you enjoyed this story, pick up the first

  WRANGLERS RANCH book,

  THE RANCHER’S FAMILY WISH

  and these other stories from Lois Richer:

  A DAD FOR HER TWINS

  RANCHER DADDY

  GIFT-WRAPPED FAMILY

  ACCIDENTAL DAD

  Available now from Love Inspired!

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com

  Keep reading for an excerpt from AN ASPEN CREEK CHRISTMAS by Roxanne Rustand.

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  Dear Reader,

  Welcome back to Wranglers Ranch where life’s so busy an on-staff nurse and veterinarian are necessary. But these two single parents aren’t interested in finding someone to love. It’s going to take some strong-minded love to bring Ellie and Wyatt together. Fortunately there’s a little girl determined to get a daddy for Christmas whether or not it’s on her mom’s list.

  I hope you’ve enjoyed Wyatt and Ellie’s struggle to understand God’s love is always there, waiting for us to come home to it. Join me next time at Wranglers Ranch where you’re always welcome.

  I love to hear from you: write me via Facebook, www.loisricher.com, [email protected] or snail mail at Box 639, Nipawin, SK S0E 1E0, Canada.

  I wish you a Merry Christmas as together we celebrate the greatest gift ever given. May His love penetrate your heart and soul as you move toward a future He has prepared just for you.

  Blessings,

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  An Aspen Creek Christmas

  by Roxanne Rustand

  Chapter One

  Hannah Dorchester studied her travel-weary, disheveled niece and nephew sitting across from her in the McDonald’s booth.

  Neither had spoken since she’d picked them up at the Minneapolis–St. Paul airport a half hour ago, except to refuse every restaurant she could think of that might be open on Thanksgiving evening—hence, the fast food.

  Though even in this child-friendly atmosphere they hadn’t touched a bite of their meals. And no wonder. Today they’d faced yet another huge change in their young lives.

  After they were orphaned seven months ago in Texas when their parents died in a head-
on collision with a semi, their elderly great-aunt Cynthia in Dallas had been adamant about gaining custody.

  But two weeks ago she’d tripped over a toy truck and broke her hip badly. She’d then informed Hannah she simply couldn’t handle the children any longer—not while facing a long and painful recuperation.

  Hannah had immediately begun the process of gaining out-of-state custody of the children. With a family law attorney at her side, she’d then gone to court to gain temporary guardianship.

  Given that there were no other options besides Hannah or long-term foster care, social services and the court—bless them all—had expedited the process.

  Scowling, Molly poked at the paper wrapping of her cheeseburger, then shoved it aside. “I don’t even know why we had to come way up here. I don’t like Wisconsin.”

  “You’ve never been here, honey.” Hannah chose her words carefully. “It takes a long time to recover from a broken hip, and now Aunt Cynthia realizes she can’t keep you and your brother any longer, because she…um…just isn’t young enough to raise two children. But I know you’re going to make some great friends here. And if you start missing her, maybe we can all go down for a visit—”

  “She didn’t even like us,” Molly scoffed. “She was mean.”

  Hannah blinked. Cynthia was an elegant, austere woman who had never been particularly friendly during the few times Hannah had seen her. But mean? “Maybe she just isn’t used to being around kids.”

  “She kept saying our uncle Ethan would be coming to take us, and he’d make us behave or else. ’Cause he’s some kind of soldier.”

  Ethan?

  Hannah swallowed hard, willing away the painful memories of the man she hadn’t seen for thirteen years. A man she never, ever, wanted to see again. “I’m sure she didn’t really mean—”

  “Why would he want us? We never even met him.” Molly angled an accusing glare at Hannah, then dropped her gaze to her lap. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And even you didn’t want us till now.”

  “I did, honey. Believe me. But Texas prefers to keep children in their home state, if possible, so they’ll face less disruption. The judge decided Cynthia could provide a good home and keep you in your same schools.”

  Left unsaid was the fact that Cynthia, a wealthy widow who owned a major western wear company, kept a team of lawyers on retainer who had made very sure that her wishes were met. Hannah hadn’t stood a chance in family court back then.

  But now Cynthia’s determination made more sense. Ethan was Cynthia’s nephew. She’d apparently wanted to keep the children in Dallas, so the transition to his guardianship would be easier.

  He’d probably even insisted on it.

  Yet, seven months after the car wreck, he’d never showed up—no surprise there—and Cynthia was no longer capable, so now Hannah finally had a chance to give these kids the stable, loving home they deserved.

  “We’ve got an hour drive ahead of us. Would you like to bring your food along?” she asked gently, wishing she could reach through the wall of grief surrounding them both.

  Cole, only six years old, lifted his teary gaze briefly, shook his head and then slumped lower in his seat. “My m-mommy always h-had turkey an’ everything on Thanksgiving.”

  His voice was so soft, so broken, that Hannah’s heart clenched. “I know, sweetheart. But since you traveled today, I thought maybe we could have our big dinner tomorrow. Is that all right?”

  The bleak expression in his eyes reaffirmed what she already knew.

  This wasn’t about the pumpkin pie or the holiday feast. It was about memories of happier times…and about loss. He just wanted his parents back.

  And that could never be.

  *

  The next morning Hannah awoke early and made herself a cup of coffee, eager for the kids to wake up.

  How life had changed in the blink of an eye—and how grateful she was for this wonderful blessing—a chance to finally surround her sister’s children with love and healing.

  Until two weeks ago she’d devoted herself to her career as a physician’s assistant at the Aspen Creek Clinic and the ongoing renovation of this pretty little cottage on a hill north of Aspen Creek. Her only roomies had been the assorted rescue animals she took in, rehabbed and re-homed.

  She’d had so much to arrange in a hurry after Cynthia’s injury—both here and down in Texas—that there’d been no time to create a welcoming home for Molly and Cole. So they’d stayed a couple extra nights with one of Cynthia’s friends while Hannah flew home to get the house ready.

  Exhausted after their day of air travel and the sixty-mile drive from the airport, both children had been dazed and silent when she’d driven into her driveway at ten o’clock last night. They’d barely looked at their rooms before tumbling into bed without a whimper.

  She’d checked on them several times during the night, but sometime during the early morning hours Cole had quietly dragged his quilt into Molly’s room and went back to sleep wrapped up like a mummy on the floor at the side of her bed.

  Hannah’s stomach tightened. The poor little guy. Had he been scared? How had she failed to hear him?

  Please, Lord, let this be an easy transition for them. They’ve been through so, so much.

  A white-faced golden retriever limped to her side and bumped her hand, eliciting an ear rub. “So what do you think?” she whispered. “Will they be happy here?”

  The dog, one of her rescues who had yet to find the perfect forever home, waved her flag of a tail and stared up at Hannah with pure adoration in her cloudy eyes. “I’d like to think you’re telling me yes, Maisie.”

  The old dog crept silently into Molly’s room and sniffed at Cole’s makeshift sleeping bag, then gently curled up next to him.

  The little boy stirred, mumbling something in his sleep. Cuddling closer to her warmth, he flung an arm over her soft neck.

  Hannah felt her eyes burn at the dog’s instinctive compassion. She’d started to tiptoe away when the puffy pink-and-purple comforter stirred on the bed.

  Molly sat up and frowned as she surveyed the bedroom, her long, curly brown hair framing her face.

  “Good morning, sweetie,” Hannah whispered, stepping just inside the door. “What do you think of your new room?”

  The walls were now a pale rose, the woodwork a crisp white. The bookshelves and a bedroom set were ivory with gold trim. Keeley, who owned an antique shop in town, had brought lovely lace curtains as well as a stained-glass lamp in pink, green and blue for the bedside table.

  It was a fairy tale of a room that Hannah would have loved for herself as a child, but Molly just shrugged.

  “Are you hungry for breakfast?”

  Molly shook her head and flopped back down on her pillow, pulling the quilt up to her nose.

  “Remember when I came to see you in Texas last time and made chocolate chip pancakes? I can make them this morning, or I have that chocolate cereal that you like.”

  “No.” Molly yanked at the quilt to cover her head and turned toward the wall, clearly ending any further conversation.

  Hannah tiptoed down the short hall to the kitchen, where a trio of cats sat staring at the refrigerator door, apparently willing it to provide an extra meal.

  She stepped over a basset hound snoring in the middle of the floor, nudged the cats aside to grab a gallon of milk and then made her homemade version of a café-au-lait in her favorite mug.

  Settling down at the breakfast bar overlooking the living room, she contemplated the stack of twelve, extra-large, newly delivered FedEx boxes sitting just inside the front door.

  Each had felt like it had to weigh over fifty pounds when she’d dragged them in from the porch. Each had given her a pang of sorrow.

  They represented the remnants of her sister’s life, after Cynthia had summarily sent all the adult clothing to Goodwill and hired an auction house to dispose of the apartment furnishings.

  It was heartbreaking to think that everything left
of the children’s lives had been distilled into just twelve cartons.

  The question now was how she should most tactfully deal with all of this without upsetting them. Would they cry at the finality of seeing those labels and the contents? Things they’d seen in their old home, before a drunken truck driver had plowed into their parents’ car and everything went so terribly wrong?

  Hannah pushed away from the breakfast counter and moved over to the boxes to read the labels written in Cynthia’s elegant hand.

  Hannah quickly stowed Dee and Rob’s boxes out of sight in her own bedroom closet to consider later. Then she lugged one of the Home Office boxes across the living room and began searching for school and health records, categorizing the contents into neat piles on the sofa.

  At a knock on the door she looked up, startled at the silhouette of a tall, broad-shouldered man standing outside the front door. The basset hound gave a single, bored woof and went back to sleep.

  She was usually working at the clinic during the day, so none of her friends would think to visit her at this time of the morning. It was probably just another shipment of boxes from Cynthia—who must have paid a fortune for such quick delivery.

  She pulled back the lace curtain to look outside before unlocking the dead bolt.

  She froze. It was Ethan Williams.

  And he’d seen her. There was no way she could step away from the door and pretend she wasn’t home.

  From all the way down in Texas—or wherever it was that he’d been—Ethan had somehow found her, deep in this pine forest, five miles out of Aspen Creek on a winding gravel road.

  He was the last person she’d ever wanted to see again. The cruelest man she’d ever met. And she knew his arrival spelled just one thing.

  Trouble.

  *

  One glance at Hannah’s horrified expression through the multipaned window in the door and Ethan knew his chances of being allowed inside were slim to none.

  He deserved that and worse. But he’d traveled a long way. This visit wasn’t about the troubled history between them. It was about the kids and their welfare, and he knew he had to handle this carefully or there’d be a battle every step of the way. It wasn’t one he planned to lose.