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  “And you’re not keen on crowds, right?”

  “It’s not that, really. I would like to get something with a little more privacy though, a place where my kids have more room to play. In fact, after seeing the girls with your animals, I might get them a pet for Christmas, maybe one for each of them.”

  “Animals have been known to work wonders when medicine and science hit a brick wall.”

  “Seems there’s merit there.” She did a double take, then laughed when she saw a chicken come into the barn, strutting as if it owned the place. The minute Jessica spotted it, she gave chase.

  Feathers ruffled, the chicken ran for all it was worth.

  “Jess, don’t chase the chicken,” Kelly called.

  Jessica skidded to a halt and obeyed, but the dog didn’t. The chicken squawked and the dog barked, apparently showing off for his audience.

  “You’ve got quite a farm here.”

  Chance chuckled. “There are people who still pay me in eggs, so you wouldn’t think I’d need my own laying hens. But somebody actually paid me with the chickens, and I ended up keeping them. The cat was a stray, and I think there are a couple more around here. The dog and horses, I chose. Not really a farm.”

  “Scout!” Jessica hollered sweetly. “Mommy said not to chase the chicken. There’s a good puppy. Come here now, sweetie.” She lavished praise and kisses on the dog when it panted happily at her feet. Ears perked, tongue lolling, the dog looked back and forth from Jessica to Kimberly, then gave each little girl a lick.

  Kelly felt her heart stand still as she saw the tiny dimples peek out of Kimberly’s cheeks.

  Come on, baby. Let it out. Giggle for all you’re worth.

  “It’s right there just below the surface,” Chance said close to Kelly’s ear.

  She nodded and turned to him. He stood so close, looking down at her. Lord, she’d never known a man in a cowboy hat could look so sexy. She’d definitely been cooped up in a doctor’s office and hospital far too long.

  “I gave staying in town a trial run, was hoping that Mildred and Opal’s sweetness—or their antics—would spark something in Kimmy. It didn’t, so maybe this is my next step. Renting something else for a while. Got any suggestions?”

  “Actually I do. Why don’t you move in with me?”

  They’d had a twenty-minute conversation, and the sounds of horses, kids and animals had masked their words. Wouldn’t you know there’d be a lull in the noise at the precise moment he uttered those seven words.

  She glanced at Kimberly and Jessica. Both girls had gone still, watching her, all ears.

  “I don’t think—”

  “It’s a big place, Kelly, with only me and Maria rattling around. Maria can watch the girls while you’re at work. The bedrooms are split, with suites at both ends of the house. You could probably go for days without seeing me if you wanted. We’ve got animals and wide open spaces, and we’re still close to town. What do you say?”

  “Yes!” Jessica shrieked, hopping up and down, inciting Scout into a barking fit. “Yes, Mommy! Please, please, please!”

  Through a forced smile, Kelly muttered, “You did that on purpose. Just like with the sleigh.”

  He placed a hand over his heart, his expression one of complete innocence.

  He was about as innocent as a fox in a henhouse. He’d raised his voice ever so slightly so the girls would hear and add their argument, yea or nay.

  Actually it wasn’t really so underhanded, when she thought about it. The pendulum could have swung in the other direction. He’d actually given the girls a chance to voice an objection. If they didn’t like the idea, then Kelly would have known it right off.

  “Kimmy?” she asked.

  The tiny girl bobbed her head, her eyes filled with entreaty and hope.

  It was that spark of hope that made up Kelly’s mind.

  She desperately wanted her daughter to heal, and she’d do anything to see that happen. Even living on a ranch with the town’s sexy single doctor.

  Chapter Four

  It only took one load in Chance’s truck to get Kelly and her daughters’ clothes and a few prized toys moved out to his ranch.

  They were traveling pretty light, reminding him that the move to Shotgun Ridge was temporary. A test. A last-ditch effort of a mother who’d exhausted most other avenues and didn’t know where to turn next.

  Chance knew Kelly wasn’t here for the long haul and wondered if he was setting himself up for a fall by tangling himself in her life this way.

  The problem was, he couldn’t do anything else. He was drawn to this woman and her little girls.

  Perhaps it was arrogant to think, or hope, that he could somehow heal these three when others had tried and failed. But he had to give it a shot.

  The sound of feminine voices in his home—a sexy alto and childish sopranos—took a little getting used to.

  He stopped by the room Jessica and Kimmy had insisted on sharing. Although he had plenty of bedrooms for each girl to have her own, they’d wanted to stay together. He imagined it had to do with the fear of “monsters” that lurked inside young hearts.

  Well, there were no monsters beneath the mahogany double bed or anywhere else in the house, and he hoped to make sure everyone learned that.

  “Man alive, how many clothes do you ladies have?”

  Kelly turned, hanger in her hand, a child’s pink sweater draped over it. Jessica and Kimmy were stuffing things willy-nilly into drawers.

  “We’ve added to our wardrobe since we’ve been here,” Kelly said. “We weren’t prepared for the weather.”

  “Mmm. Best way to get used to it is go out in it.”

  “I’d opt for a fire and a cup of something hot.”

  He grinned and winked. “Later. Right now we’ve got a million things to do.”

  “Besides hanging up all these clothes?”

  “That’s boring stuff.”

  Obviously sensing an adventure, Jessica and Kimberly abandoned their unpacking chore and shoved the dresser drawer closed. The sleeve of some bunny pajamas and a stray sock got caught in the rush and hung down the front of the cherry-wood dresser like Christmas stockings waiting for Santa to fill with gifts.

  “What do we gotta do?” Jessica asked.

  “First, we need to get a Christmas tree. And maybe we should dash off a quick note to Santa to let him know where you are.”

  Jessica obviously hadn’t thought about that and looked worried. Chance couldn’t tell if Kimmy was worried or not. His heart squeezed.

  “Do you think he’ll find us?” Jess asked.

  “Of course. We’ll write that letter, and I’ll mail it to him on our way to the tree farm.”

  “What if it doesn’t get to the North Pole in time?”

  “Ah, not to worry, little one. The post office does overnight express delivery. He’ll get it.”

  “Okay! Come on, Kimmy. We gotta write a note. Mommy, do you got paper? It should be pretty.” Jessica looked at Chance. “Do you got stickers? Kimmy likes the snowmans and I like angels.”

  Chance frowned. “Uh, I don’t think I have stickers.”

  “Do you have a computer here?” Kelly asked.

  “Yes, in the study.”

  “If you don’t mind her messing with it, Jessica can look and see if you have a graphics program loaded on it.”

  “You know how to work the computer?” he asked Jessica.

  She gave him a look that suggested he’d asked an incredibly stupid question. “’Course. Every girl learns these things,” she said, sounding more like a Southern belle lecturing on etiquette than a six-year-old child.

  He ruffled her hair, then cupped Kimmy’s cheeks to include her. “And I suppose you know computers, too? Well, of course you do,” he said before she could nod or break his heart by not answering on her own. “Silly me. Let’s go fire that sucker up and design a map for Santa Claus. Imagine how embarrassed he’d be if he went to the wrong house, then had to search the univ
erse looking for Jessica and Kimberly Anderson. It’d throw off his schedule something fierce.”

  He looked up at Kelly, caught the yearning in her eyes, the ache and uncertainty of a mother, and the reserved joy, too. She loved these girls to distraction. That was clear.

  “Coming, Hollywood?”

  She gave him a smile that tugged at his heart and made his libido sing. How could one woman touch him and excite him so thoroughly at once?

  “Yes. I’m coming. I did quite well in English. You might need my input on sentence structure or something.”

  He affected a scandalized expression. “Santa doesn’t critique his mail!”

  Jessica giggled. “Come on, Kimmy. But don’t step on Marcy’s dress.” Kimmy took a huge sideways step as though skirting someone and followed Jessica through the door.

  Chance looked at Kelly. “Marcy?”

  “Her imaginary angel.”

  “Oh.” He glanced around the room, then felt ridiculous. Especially when Kelly laughed. “Well,” he said, defending himself, “you never know.”

  “Don’t you start, too.”

  “Hey, imagination’s healthy.” And his own was glowing with good health.

  But right now, he needed to get his mind off his sexy boarder and focus on his plan.

  To show Kelly Anderson and her girls the best Christmas they’d ever had.

  He couldn’t put a bandage on or stitch up the pain and trauma this family had gone through, but in this case, maybe the treatment course had less to do with medical skill and more to do with the miracle of the season and a loving town.

  He had both at his disposal and vowed to used them shamelessly.

  KELLY WAS FREEZING half to death. In theory, a white Christmas with snow on the ground and crisp, pine-scented air carrying strains of familiar carols was a wonderful image. In reality, it was bone-rattling, spine-shivering discomfort.

  She put her hands in her coat pockets and tried to think warm thoughts. They’d been traipsing through the snow-covered tree lot looking for the “perfect” Christmas tree for at least forty-five minutes, and her feet felt like blocks of ice.

  Honestly. They all looked pretty much the same to Kelly—snow-dusted, crooked branches, most of them stretching higher than the top of Chance’s Stetson. Your basic everyday Christmas tree.

  But Jessica wasn’t yet satisfied and Chance was indulging her. Her precocious daughter insisted she’d know the perfect tree because it would talk to her.

  Kelly wished one of the firs would hurry up and speak because she was freezing her buns off.

  She glanced down at Kimberly, who was sticking close, probably not wanting her mom to feel left out since Jess and Chance had paired up like a couple of happy elves. “You warm enough, sweetie?”

  Kimmy nodded and reached out to touch one of the trees with her mitten-covered hands.

  “This one looks nice,” Chance commented from behind them. “What do you think, Jess?”

  Kelly glanced back and watched as Jessica and Chance shook the branches of a Douglas fir.

  “Hi, Miss Tree,” Jessica said. “You’re very pretty. You wanna go home with me?”

  “We have a nice warm house and a very tall ceiling for you to spread your branches in,” Chance added.

  A smile tugged at Kelly’s lips, despite the fact that her face was nearly numb. Jessica and Chance were openly conversing with the trees. She felt a twinge of motherly worry that her daughter was talking to too many imaginary things lately.

  She was startled into immobility when a tree actually talked back.

  “No! Not her! Take me, instead!” sang a masculine voice.

  “No, don’t listen to him. Take me, I’m prettier!”

  “What in the world?” Kelly murmured, astonished. It sounded as though the voice was actually coming from the trees—and Chance’s lips weren’t moving. She’d checked.

  In fact, he looked a little jolted himself.

  It’s the season for miracles.

  Kelly was rational enough, however, to know the trees weren’t talking. Someone was behind them throwing his voice.

  But Jessica didn’t know that and jumped right into the debate without missing a beat, absolutely delighted. The intricacies of a child’s mind continually amazed Kelly.

  “Are you a boy or a girl tree?” Jessica asked. Her face was earnest, as though talking to bushy firs was an everyday occurrence. Blond hair spiked out beneath her red knit stocking cap, and Kelly noticed that her coat was unbuttoned again.

  “I’m the girl. Miss Tree at your service, sweetheart.” The high singsong voice came from the tree Jessica had originally been speaking to.

  “And I’m the boy.” This was said in a deep baritone from the branches of the tree on the left.

  Shifting slightly, Kelly caught a glimpse of leather gloves manipulating one of the branches as though the tree was waving and pleading for purchase.

  The preacher. She should have guessed.

  Jessica folded her arms and gave serious consideration to both trees. “Which one do you like, Chance?”

  “Well, I’m kind of partial to the boy tree since I’m a bit outnumbered in a house full of girls.”

  “Oh, horrors,” the tree sang. “Never ask a man these questions. Let’s get Kimmy’s vote.”

  “Good idea,” Chance said, turning and holding his hand out for Kimberly. “Come tell us which one you like best.”

  “Foul!” cried the male tree.

  Kimmy’s eyes widened, as did Jessica’s. Kelly figured they’d probably pick the one on the left—the boy—because they’d feel sorry for it. Chance obviously thought the same thing.

  “Hey, that’s not fair.” He spoke to the objecting tree, and Kelly nearly laughed. “The whole family has a say in this, so behave yourself.”

  “Kimmy doesn’t talk,” Jessica told the tree.

  “That’s okay,” the tree responded in a kindly voice—the girl tree this time. “Trees don’t talk, either.”

  “But you do.”

  “Only until someone buys me and takes me home. I talk when the time is right, when the perfect family happens along.”

  Smart move, Kelly thought. The preacher had gently given Kimmy permission to speak if she was ready, and offered an explanation why the tree wouldn’t talk back once they got it home.

  Chance took Kimmy’s hand, then his gaze locked onto Kelly’s. “You, too, Hollywood. Come help out here.”

  What woman wouldn’t be drawn by the searing intensity of Chance Hammond’s single powerful look?

  His eyes held her like a caress, both sexy and full of fun. It was simply beyond her power to resist him at that moment, and she moved to his side.

  As though they’d been a couple for years, he slung an arm around her shoulders, drawing her against his warmth.

  The whole family has a say in this.

  The four of them standing there as a group did indeed feel like a family. And that was dangerous.

  It gave the girls false hope.

  Because they weren’t a foursome. It was just the three of them—Kelly, Jessica and Kimmy. And it needed to stay that way. Jess and Kimmy had been through enough changes lately.

  But the hopeful expression on her daughters’ faces kept Kelly right where she was, snuggled—a bit stiffly—against Chance’s side.

  The talking trees were drawing a crowd, and Kelly didn’t know whether to laugh, apologize or join in the lunacy.

  “Well, now, looks to me like somebody found their perfect tree, you bet.” Ozzie Peyton, clad in a heavy coat, wool scarf and gloves, nodded his head. “My Vanessa always said when it’s the right tree, it’ll let you know it. Spent a good many Christmases walkin’ my legs off waiting for one to open up and give the word, you bet.”

  “If somebody doesn’t hurry up and make a decision, I’ll be needing treatment for hypothermia,” she muttered, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

  Chance glanced down at her and winked. “Okay, it’s betwe
en Mr. Tree and Miss Tree. What do you say, girls?”

  Jessica conferred with Kimberly, then looked up at Chance. “Kimmy doesn’t want them to be sad. Could we get them both?”

  “Jess—”

  Chance squeezed Kelly’s shoulder. “Now, why didn’t I think of that? One for the house and one for the clinic. Perfect.”

  “Been sayin’ that ourselves for a while now,” Ozzie murmured. “’Bout time somebody started to pay attention.” His twinkling blue gaze shifting to his friends, who stood behind him, then back to Kelly and the girls.

  Kelly had an idea his statement had nothing to do with Christmas trees and everything to do with the fact that she and Chance looked as though they had something cozy and intimate going on between them.

  THEY DROPPED OFF one of the trees at the clinic on their way home—the boy tree. There had been some debate over which one it was since the branches were no longer talking, and this time it was the angel who’d helped with the decision.

  Chance hadn’t batted an eye when Jessica claimed the angel was speaking to her. In fact, he’d had to apologize for nearly knocking Marcy’s wings askew when he’d muscled the Christmas tree through the door, and he’d done so with such seriousness everyone had collapsed into a fit of giggles.

  Kelly couldn’t remember a time when she’d been so relaxed, had so much fun. Looked forward to whatever would come next.

  She’d been so caught up in planning her life, running on schedules, knowing what needed to be done each minute of the day that she hadn’t realized everything she’d missed. The laughter, the mischief in her daughter’s eyes, the silliness.

  Even when she’d been home, she’d been thinking about work. How many times had she said, “Uhhuh,” yet never even heard what her children had said? Why hadn’t she paid better attention?

  And why hadn’t she ever made this big of a fuss over Christmas?

  Chance was thoroughly into the spirit, as much a kid as Jessica and Kimberly. It was hard not to get swept into the enthusiasm.

  And there was plenty of it to go around. Decorating a tree in Montana was an involved process. They didn’t simply dive into boxes of ornaments or pull garland out of a package and drape it prettily on the branches.