“Daddy, look at the snowman Josie and I made.”
Clint turned at his daughter’s call and watched Josie lift the snowman’s head into place. “Yes, sweetheart. It’s great.”
But his eyes were on Josie. She’d removed her earmuffs and adjusted her hair back off her cheeks. The afternoon sun glinted on her blond curls. She exhaled and sniffed as she worked, her nose and cheeks red from the cold. Her lilting laughter filtered over him and he couldn’t help smiling. Realizing he was staring, he jerked his attention back to Frank.
“Our girls are happy today,” the older man said.
Our girls. Those words did something to Clint. A sudden rush of warmth flooded his chest. He tried to swallow, but a lump of emotion jammed his throat.
When he’d invited the Rushtons on this excursion, he’d thought it would be good for Frank and Josie to get away from their cares for a while. He hadn’t realized how much he and Gracie needed it, too. He’d always taken his daughter with him for activities like this. They had lots of fun and spent quality time together, but something was always missing. And Clint knew what it was.
A mom.
Shaking his head, he picked up the hacksaw and trimmed off the scraggly branches at the base of the first tree. He’d been over this dilemma a trillion times before and didn’t want to think about it anymore. He’d failed Karen. He didn’t want to fail another woman. He wouldn’t put Gracie through that kind of trauma. It was that simple.
“Something’s bothering her,” Frank said.
Clint looked up, his gaze zoning in on Josie like a heat-seeking missile. He didn’t want to get involved, especially since she had confided in him earlier. But maybe it was already too late. He couldn’t help caring about Frank and, by default, his pretty granddaughter.
“Why don’t you ask her about it?” he suggested.
“Maybe I will,” Frank said.
Clint just hoped Josie remained calm about the issue. From past experience, he found most women to be high-strung, emotional creatures. He’d grown accustomed to nervous suspicion in Karen’s eyes. When she was happy, life was grand. But it never lasted long. After Gracie was born, postpartum depression had set in. He’d tried his hardest to provide emotional support. To give Karen the love and encouragement she’d needed and craved. But the demands of his job had constantly taken him away. He couldn’t stay home and earn a living at the same time. In spite of getting her medication and a qualified doctor’s care, Clint had never been able to help Karen expel the demons of depression that shackled her mind.
It’d been seven long years since Karen’s death. Not nearly long enough for Clint to recover from the guilt. Gracie had been so young at the time. Barely five months old. So innocent and lovable. A little girl who needed her mom. After Karen’s death, Clint had wanted to give up. To quit. But he couldn’t. He had Gracie to think about. He’d lived for her, determined to keep her safe and to raise her with all the love he could shower upon her.
Life hadn’t been easy, moving on without Karen. Finding quality child care for his precious daughter. Meeting Gracie’s needs while keeping his employer satisfied. But the Lord had buoyed Clint up. Through the power of prayer, he’d found the strength to carry on. To keep moving forward even when he floundered in the depths of despair. Gracie was always his first priority.
Now, Josie Rushton had entered his life like a blast of fresh summer air after a long, chilling winter. At first, he’d thought her career came first. But seeing how she acted with Frank and Gracie, he wasn’t so sure. Discovering she was gravely concerned for Frank’s welfare challenged Clint’s preconceived notions about the woman. He certainly never would have suspected she wanted Frank to move with her to Vegas.
Clint briefly entertained the thought of asking Josie out on a date, but decided no. With a child to raise, he didn’t have the luxury of going out with just anyone. He must be careful. Above all else, he had to protect Gracie, and the last thing they needed in their lives right now was another high-maintenance woman with deep emotional issues. That’s what Clint feared Josie might be.
A sharp crack sounded as the second tree started to fall. Frank gripped the trunk with his gloved hands and Clint jumped out of the way. The tree dropped, its branches shivering as it hit the ground. Frank’s breath rushed in and out of his lungs like a laboring ventilator.
Glancing at the elderly man, Clint wondered if this physical activity was too much for him. “You okay?” he asked.
Frank grinned, as though having the time of his life. “I sure am. I’m with my family. What could be better than that?”
Clint’s heart gave a powerful squeeze. He loved this old man, no doubt about it. But for them to become a real family, he’d have to marry Josie. And that wasn’t going to happen. Not now. Not ever.
Wondering how Frank had cut so many trees on his own, Clint took the brunt of the tree’s weight. Without discussion, he dragged the fallen fir over to his truck and hefted it into the back. Within twenty minutes, he had the second tree loaded and ready to go.
“Who wants hot chocolate?” he crowed in victory.
Gracie squealed with excitement and Clint reached inside the truck for the thermos and cups. While his daughter stuck two rock eyes onto the snowman’s face, Josie jabbed sticks into the rounded body for arms. Clint whipped out the camera he kept stowed in the glove box.
“Smile,” he called.
The two girls posed together, with Gracie standing on a fallen tree trunk. At that height she was able to stretch her arm up and hold two fingers over the top of Josie’s head.
When she discovered what the little girl was up to, Josie tickled her. “Oh, I’m going to get you now.”
Gracie shrieked and wriggled away. Clint snapped several more pictures of the two chasing each other through the snow. They finally came running toward him, gasping from their exertions. Clint laughed, for no other reason than because he felt happy inside. He handed Josie a cup of chocolate and a pair of thick socks from his fire pack.
She lifted the gray wool between two fingers and stared as though she held a dead rat. “What is this?”
“Socks. Don’t worry. They’re clean.”
She crinkled her nose with disgust. “But what are they for?”
“Your cold feet. For the trip home.” His lips twitched, but he forced himself not to laugh.
“Thanks.” She smiled, the expression lighting up her face and making her eyes sparkle.
Wow, she was lovely.
“I believe I’m going to need them. I can’t feel my toes anymore,” she finally conceded.
“Yeah, I’d hate to have to amputate. Why don’t you climb inside the truck and I’ll get the heater going. We need to warm you up.”
As she headed for the truck, she laughed, not seeming overly upset by the discomfort. Again he couldn’t help contrasting her positive attitude with how Karen might have reacted. The difference was amazing.
When Josie bumped into Clint and gave a nervous apology, he felt the overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her. Right there in the middle of the mountain, with Frank and Gracie watching.
What an odd notion. Just thinking about it made Clint’s face heat up like a flamethrower. And he realized in all these long, lonely years, he hadn’t found one single woman who’d made him feel like laughing again.
Until today.
“Thanks for the Christmas tree. This outing meant a great deal to Gramps.” It meant a lot to Josie, too.
Standing outside in front of Gramps’s house, she smiled up at Clint and folded her arms against the chilly wind. The cold air stung her nose. After Clint had deposited their Christmas tree inside, she’d walked him and Gracie out to their truck, wanting an opportunity to thank the ranger for his kindness.
“All things considered, you’re not quite the bully I first thought you were,” she confessed with a smile.
He quirked one brow high and tried not to laugh. “Is that right? Well, I’m glad to hear it. I think.”
She squelched a chuckle, thinking it was very good, since she’d be forced to work with him over the next few weeks while Gramps learned to read.
“I’ll return your socks as soon as I can wash them.”
He jutted his chin toward her feet, which were covered by the pair of blue fuzzy slippers she’d slipped on the moment she got inside. “Keep in mind that they’re wool. They won’t do well in your clothes dryer.”
She nodded. “So noted. Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome.” Clint flashed that devastating smile of his as he buckled Gracie into her seat and closed the truck door.
A bank of clouds brooded overhead. By morning, they’d have more snow. Thick shadows swallowed Clint’s tall frame as he circled around to the driver’s side. He brushed against Josie’s arm and she caught his spicy scent of pine and aftershave. She backed up a step, trying to remember the last time a man had given her goose bumps just by being near her.
Like never. Not even her two ex-fiancés.
No, she shouldn’t think such thoughts. Her dedication to her career had come with a price. But now, she couldn’t help thinking that work wasn’t what had destroyed her past relationships with her dad, mom and former fiancés. And God, too. Josie was difficult to love. She accepted that. But it didn’t stop her from wanting it.
“You sure you can’t stay for supper?” she asked. “It’s the least I can offer after you helped us get our tree. I’ve got a beef stew simmering in the Crock-Pot and there’s plenty for everyone.”
Inside the truck, Gracie’s eyes widened with enthusiasm and she bobbed her head up and down.
“Nah, we’ve got to get going,” Clint said. “I took the afternoon off work to go get the trees, but now duty calls.”
His generosity touched Josie’s heart and she could no longer begrudge the illiteracy issue with Gramps. She realized Clint had nothing but Frank’s best interests at heart. Rather than turning his back on the old man, Clint had shown an increase of love. He’d gone out of his way to help them get a Christmas tree. And he’d lent her a pair of warm socks. Such a simple act of kindness, but it meant the world to Josie. She couldn’t think of the ranger as an enemy. Not anymore. But that didn’t mean they were more than friends. And in a small way she regretted that.
Okay, in a big way. But she’d never admit it out loud.
Waving goodbye, she returned to the warmth of the house. Gramps helped her set the table, and laughed as they discussed their day.
“You should have seen your face when Gracie chose yet another tree,” he said.
“Yeah, that little girl is something special.”
So was Gracie’s father, but Josie didn’t say that.
“I’ll have to dig out the ornaments so we can trim our tree,” he said.
“I’ll do it, Gramps. Where did Grandma store the decorations?”
“Up in the attic. But let’s not tackle it tonight. I’m bushed.” He yawned and stretched before sitting down at the table.
As she dished up the stew, Josie felt the same. Running around in the snow all afternoon had worn both of them out. In spite of the fuzzy slippers she now wore, she wondered if her feet would ever get warm again. Maybe after dinner she’d dash down to the general store before it closed. With another storm on its way, she would need boots tomorrow morning. “Our tree isn’t going anywhere. I need to call and check in with my work, anyway. We can string lights and decorate the tree over the next few days.”
If only she could forget the kind, enigmatic forest ranger who had just left Gramps’s house, Josie might feel more at peace. She tried to tell herself she wasn’t relationship material. After the cruel words Edward had said to her when he’d broken off their engagement, she had no desire to become romantically involved with another man ever again. Especially a widowed father with a little daughter to raise.
Okay, that wasn’t true, either. But Josie figured if she kept telling herself that, she might actually start believing it. Eventually. After all, it’d do no good to hope for things that could never be. And yet she couldn’t help feeling as if maybe, just maybe, she deserved one more chance at happiness.