A Daughter for Christmas by Stephanie Dees

Author:Stephanie Dees
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-09-14T12:59:12+00:00

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Picking up his hat from the hook near the door, Tanner settled it in place as he walked out onto the front porch. The stench of soot and ash permeated the air, overwhelming the more familiar scents of earth and animals. It was hard to stay positive, but once again, everyone’s eyes were on him. Watching to see how he reacted.

He leaned his shoulder on the post at the top of the porch steps, shoving his hands in his pockets as he squinted out at their ranch. Truthfully, he was devastated.

They’d worked too hard and risked too much to get to this point, finally able to make a profit in the coming year. He pulled his hat farther down over his eyes as his brother Devin came out the front door, the distinctive sound of his cane hitting the ground alerting Tanner to his presence.

“Stop brooding. It’s gonna be all right. We’ve weathered worse.” Devin leaned on the opposite column at the top of the stairs, watching as Garrett disappeared around the corner with the insurance agent.

“Yeah?” Tanner tipped his head to the side. “Maybe. There are a lot of unknowns right now.”

Eve came out the front door, her bag over her shoulder, Alice behind her, her backpack clutched in her arms. “We’re heading back to the cottage.”

He nodded. “Sounds good. Thank you, Eve. If you hadn’t called the fire department, things might’ve been even worse.”

“I wish I’d noticed it earlier. I’m so sorry.”

“No. There’s nothing you could’ve done that would’ve prevented this.” Tanner squinted, just making out a small wisp of smoke trailing upward toward winter-gray clouds.

“Dev, you ready? We need to hear what the insurance agent has to say.” He sighed and pushed his weary self off the column to his feet. Garrett didn’t like interference, but like it or not, the three of them were in this together. They needed to hear the verdict together.

Eve’s shoulders sagged. She looked as weary as he felt, sliding her hand down the rail as she took the steps down. Alice ran ahead, her pink nightgown trailing behind her.

For longer than he wanted to think about, Tanner had felt like the lone caretaker of the ranch, of the family. And he hadn’t felt like he’d done a good job at either.

They’d come so far, worked so hard to create a vision for the future of Triple Creek Ranch that they all could buy in to. He was sad and he was angry. But most of all, he was determined.

There was no other option. They would rebuild.

Devin looked up at him from the bottom of the stairs. “You coming?”

“Yeah. Right behind you.”

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