I'll Be Home for Christmas by Barbara J. Scott

Author:Barbara J. Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
Published: 2017-11-23T05:00:00+00:00

Dan hadn’t expected to be back out at the farm so soon after the not-so-successful impromptu breakfast he’d had with Amy. Wondering if the sisters had made a decision, he pulled his Cadillac Escalade into the sprawling front yard and parked underneath a towering live oak near a line of several other cars.

Not one to get nervous, he hopped out of his SUV and tugged his leather jacket closed. The wind whipped against him, icy on his skin. He glanced out toward the stable where Jed Weatherly had explained to him when they’d first met that they housed five working ranch horses along with rescue horses and retired racehorses that would eventually be adopted out. Jed and a few hands took care of the place and made extra income by opening the stable to school groups and people who wanted to experience horseback rides on the weekends. Some of the horses served as therapy animals.

Dan knew most of the horses by name since he volunteered as often as possible out here, giving riding lessons to kids. He hadn’t planned to do that, but the first time he’d come out to tour the place, Jed had shown him Big Red, a grandson of a mare named Maranatha . . . and Stanley, a gelding in rehab . . . and Lucinda, the gray mare with arthritic knees.

He’d been hooked, and since he rarely made it back to the fancy stable at his family home at Wentworth Hills, he immediately asked Jed how he could help, thinking he’d make a donation.

“We need volunteers,” Jed had replied.

If you buy this place, all that will be gone.

Before Dan could ponder that thought, the front door of the house burst open, and the little boy he’d put to bed last night ran out onto the porch.

When the kid looked up and spotted Dan, he stopped in his tracks. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Dan said. “Where you going in such an all-fire rush?”

“We found an old sleigh in the barn, and I get to help clean it up and put lights all over it and—”

“And you’re talking mighty fast,” his mother said from behind him. “Timothy, slow down and let Mr. Wentworth come inside. It’s cold out here.”

Dan grinned up at her. “But this one is ready to get that sleigh up and running.”

“It don’t run,” Timothy said on a pragmatic note. “It’s pretend.”

“It doesn’t run,” Amy corrected, her no-nonsense eyes moving over her son.

“I said that,” Timothy retorted. “Can I go look at it again, Mom?”

“Why don’t we wait till morning? It’s late and the horses are getting settled for the night.”

“I’m gonna learn to ride a horse,” Timothy told Dan.

“That’s great,” Dan replied. “I teach horseback riding. Maybe I can help you.”

Timothy did a fist pump and turned to head back inside while his mother stood there with her arms crossed, a doubtful expression on her face. “Do you really teach lessons?”

“Yes, I really do,” Dan replied, taking in her pretty green sweater and worn, rolled-up jeans over puffy, suede boots.

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