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Winter delivers three precious miracles in…
Christmas Gifts
Three heart-warming Christmas romances from three beloved Mills & Boon authors!
Christmas Gifts
Judy Christenberry
Trish Morey
Jennifer Taylor
Cinderella and the Cowboy
By
Judy Christenberry
About the Author
JUDY CHRISTENBERRY has been writing romances for fifteen years, because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. A former French teacher, Judy now devotes herself to writing full-time. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them.
She spends her spare time reading, watching her favourite sports teams and keeping track of her two daughters. Judy’s a native Texan and lives in Dallas.
Chapter One
ELIZABETH Ransom struggled off the bus, carefully leading her toddler son down the stairs while carrying her baby in a pouch across her chest.
“This is his driveway, ma’am,” the gentlemanly bus driver said as he held out her luggage. “You can’t miss the house. It’s the only one on this road.”
Finding the house wasn’t the part she was worried about. It was what would happen when she got there. “Thank you for your help. You’ve been very kind.”
“Mommy?”
She looked down at her three-year-old. “Yes, Brady?”
“Where is my grandpa?”
“Just a little farther and we’ll meet him.” As the bus pulled away, she looked around at the tall weeds growing alongside the drive. “First we’re going to stow our luggage here where no one can see them.” She put the two suitcases behind the weeds, hoping that her son wouldn’t ask why. She didn’t have the heart to tell him they might not be staying.
She said a private prayer that her father-in-law would at least offer hospitality for a few days. She prayed too that Tom Ransom had heard of his son’s death; she didn’t want to break the news that his son had recently been killed in a car accident.
Forcing a smile at her child, she took his hand. “Let’s walk to Grandpa’s house, okay, Brady?”
“Is it very far, Mommy?”
“I don’t know, honey, but the bus driver said it was at the end of this road.”
“I’m cold, Mommy.”
Early December in Oklahoma could be a lot worse, she knew; still, there was a biting wind. “If we walk faster, we’ll get warm.” She led her son down the road. After a few minutes he noticeably tired. “Keep walking, sweetheart.”
As they picked up the pace, she heard the baby awakening and soothed her with her voice. Poor Jenny. She would never know her daddy.
On second thought, perhaps that was for the best, seeing as how Reggie Ransom was far from a model father. He’d walked out on them one afternoon, and she hadn’t seen him since. Only when she managed to reach him and remind him of their existence did he bother sending any money for rent and food.
She always knew Reggie wasn’t the type to be tied down by a wife and kids. He wanted a carefree life, wining and dining on the rodeo circuit where he was a star.
But Elizabeth had wanted a family to belong to so badly that she ignored her intuition and married him anyway, right after college. Especially after she found herself pregnant. She remembered thinking she was going to have everything she’d ever wanted.
Too bad Reggie hadn’t felt the same.
As soon as they were married he told her he had to go back on the circuit.
Elizabeth kept them afloat with her teaching job, paying the rent and Brady’s day care bills. But when she got pregnant with Jenny and took ill, she couldn’t work. Money was tight. Now Jenny was six weeks old, but with the school year started, Elizabeth had to wait for the next semester to be hired.
She needed help now.
Tom Ransom was her only hope. She hoped her father-in-law could offer just a little to help them along.
“Mommy?” Brady grabbed her hand and tugged on it. “Mommy? Is that his house?”
She looked up, surprised to see a white clapboard house and several outbuildings in front of her. “Yes, I think so, Brady. It’s very nice, isn’t it?”
“Yeah!” After a moment Brady asked, “Do you think Grandpa will like me?”
“I’m sure he will. You look a lot like your daddy.”
“Is that good?”
“Your daddy was a handsome man.” She didn’t mention her husband’s deficits, his abandonment of his family, spending all the money he made on other women and booze. No child needed to hear that.
“Mommy, I see Grandpa! Can I go tell him it’s us coming to visit?”
She shaded her eyes and looked up at a tall, rugged man standing by a pickup. “Honey, I don’t think that’s your grandpa. That man’s too young. You’d better stay with me.”
She refused to give credence to the fear that clawed at her throat. Had this man bought the land from her husband’s father?
The man must have seen them, because he got in the pickup and drove down the drive to them.
“Are you coming to the ranch?”
The man looked to be in his early thirties, with dark-brown hair under a Stetson. A typical rancher, she thought. But was he an owner? “Yes, if…if it still belongs to Tom Ransom.”
“It does.”
Her sigh of relief was audible. “If you don’t mind, we’d appreciate a ride to the house.”
He nodded toward the passenger seat. “Get in.”
She helped Brady climb into the truck and then pulled herself and her baby up, feeling old beyond her years.
“I’m Elizabeth Ransom. I’ve come to visit my father-in-law.”
“You’re Reggie Ransom’s wife?” There was shock in his voice.
“He told his father about us?” she asked, feeling pleased.
“No, ma’am. If Tom had known you’d existed, he’d have brought you out here a long time ago.”
So much for her good feelings. “I…I hope he’ll at least let us stay a few days.”
The man only grunted.
He said nothing until they’d pulled up in front of the house. A large house, huge in comparison to the tiny one-bedroom apartment in which they’d lived.
“I’ll come get you down,” the man said gruffly. He hopped down and then came around to her door. “Hey, little guy, you want to come over here and let me help you down?”
“Okay,” Brady said, climbing over his mother’s knees. “Will you catch me?”
“Sure I will.” When he took the boy to the porch, Brady looked at his mother.
In spite of her tiredness, Elizabeth scooted down off the high seat.
“I’ll go tell Tom you’re here.” He turned back. “Just a minute. Where are your bags?”
“W-we left the bags in the grass by the front gate.”
She followed him inside the back door, into the kitchen. Looking around the room, recently updated and spacious, she hungered for such a lovely working environment.
The man came back to the kitchen. “Tom’s waiting.”
“Thank you. Brady, let’s go meet your grandfather.” She took the boy’s hand as he moved closer to her.
She followed the man down a long hallway, realizing for the first time that she never got his name. He stopped at the last door and opened it.
Elizabeth stepped into a large bedroom, where a man sat in a wing back chair in front of a glowing fireplace. He looked to be in his sixties, with a receding hairline pushing back his graying brown hair.
“Mr. Ransom,” she whispered. “I’m Elizabeth Ransom, your son’s widow. This is my…our son, Brady, and our daughter, Jennifer.”
“Come in, Elizabeth,” he said in a small voice. “I’m glad to meet you.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m pleased to meet you.”
Tom shifted his gaze to the boy. “Brady? Come here, boy. You look like your daddy when he was your age.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And the little one?” he asked Elizabeth. “How old is she?”
“She was born six weeks ago.”
“You doing all right? It’s tough to make a trip when your baby is that young.”
“Yes, she came a little early because of…of the news I received.”
“Tom, I hate to interrupt but I need to go get their bags.” She’d almost forgotten that the man she’d met out on the driveway was in the room. “They left them in the grass by the gate.”
“Okay, Jack, thanks.”
At least now she knew his name. Jack.
When the door closed behind him, she knew the time had come to make her plea.
“Mr. Ransom, I’m here because…” She ducked her head, unable to make eye contact. “Because I need help. I’ll be able to get a teaching job for the next semester but…but I don’t know how we’ll make it until then. I wondered if the kids and I could stay here.”
“But he was doing well, wasn’t he?” There was such sadness in the man’s voice.
“I don’t know. He sent me money every once in a while, but not often.”
“So he left you broke?”
She pressed her lips together and dug in her purse. “Here’s my copy of our marriage certificate. Yes, he left me broke.”
“I’m sorry.” Did she detect a note of anger in his tone? “I know he made a lot of money. He shouldn’t have left you broke.”
“I can get a job when the new semester starts, sir. It won’t be forever that we’ll hang on to your sleeve. I promise—”
Tom held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got lots of room here. Stay as long as you want.”
Elizabeth blinked away the tears. “Thank you. I can keep the kitchen clean and do the housework while we’re here.”
“We usually have a lady come in to clean once a week.”
“Who does your cooking?”
“Me and Jack just manage. We take turns, and sometimes we eat in the bunkhouse.”
“I don’t want to intrude, but I could cook for you.”
“Don’t feel you have to.”
She smiled. “I’d be pleased to cook for you, Mr. Ransom.”
“Let’s make it first names, Elizabeth.”
“Thank you, Tom.”
He stood up and held out his hand. “Welcome home.”
Jack Crawford revved the engine of the pickup as he wended down the driveway from the house. He’d seen the look on Tom’s face when he laid eyes on his grandson. His old friend had been hooked like a fish at sunrise.
He shut the engine at the gate and got out to search for the woman’s bags. Why would she hide them in the weeds? Probably so she wouldn’t look too needy when she came to the door.
Instead she stood there, looking maternal, holding her son’s hand and her daughter against her chest. The firelight had cast highlights on her light-brown hair and illuminated her tall, thin frame.
Not that Tom would notice those things about her. He’d been too focused on the kids.
His grandkids.
Jack knew Tom Ransom too well. Beneath that crusty cowboy exterior beat the heart of the most righteous, kind and honorable man he knew.
Tom would do the right thing.
Starting today, the Ransom Ranch would have three new boarders.
Maybe the kids were just what Tom needed to come out of the funk he’d fallen into since his wife’s death and his son’s departure. He’d lost interest in the ranch years ago, then lost interest in most everything. If it hadn’t been for Jack, he would’ve sold the ranch long ago. Jack had been making it viable, turning a profit on the 2500-acre cattle ranch, and keeping Tom going at the same time.
But now…?
No, Jack couldn’t blame Tom. The woman and her kids were family, after all.
But where did that leave him?
“I’ve got your bags. Where do they go?”
Elizabeth started at the sound of Jack’s deep voice behind her. She turned from the cabinets where she was checking out the cooking supplies. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask Tom.”
He started for the hallway. “Come on. I’ll find places for you. He needs to get some rest.”
She gave him a troubled stare, then followed him. Beside her, Brady picked up the diaper bag. “I can carry this one, Mommy.”
“That’s wonderful of you, Brady. Your sister will be glad to have her bag with us.” She followed Jack up the stairs. “Tom said we could live here for a while,” she told him.
“Yeah, I thought he would.”
“I offered to cook for the two of you. He said you took turns and sometimes ate in the bunkhouse. Which would you prefer?”
He swung around and gave her a studied look. He didn’t exude the warmth she’d found in Tom.
“It depends. How well do you cook?”
She straightened. “I’ve been told I’m good.”
Jack’s eyes swept her, as if sizing her up. Before he could reply, Brady spoke up. “Mommy’s pancakes are really good!”
“Is that so?” he asked, never taking his eyes off Elizabeth.
“Yeah, they’re yummy. Baby doesn’t eat them, but Mommy makes them for me.”
“That’s good enough for me. I’m up for pancakes.”
“But we don’t eat pancakes for dinner, Brady,” Elizabeth reminded her boy, grateful for the diversion.
“What do we have for dinner, Mommy?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. I’ll have to see what they have.”
“Trust me,” Jack said. “We have everything you need.”
There was something in the way he said it that made her think he wasn’t talking about food. She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “What room shall we take?”
“Well, I think Brady should take the room on this side. It’s next to mine. And you should take the room on this side of the stairs, and put the little one next to you.”
“We don’t need that many rooms. We can share one.”
“I believe Tom would like you to each have your own room. He wants you comfortable.”
“I don’t—”
Jack apparently wasn’t entertaining her excuses. “Come to your new room, Brady. Bring your suitcase with you. I’ll help you unpack.”
“No! I’ll unpack for him.”
“You’ve got to unpack for yourself and the baby.”
“I’ll manage.”
“In that case, then, can I take Brady to the barn so he can see some puppies that were born a couple of weeks ago?”
“Please, Mommy?” Brady pleaded with his mother.
“Yes, if you’ll do what Jack says.”
“Okay, Mommy!” Brady hugged her legs and then held his hand up for Jack.
Jack took it. “We’ll be back for dinner.”
Elizabeth stood there, watching her little boy walk off with Jack. The unfamiliar sight of Brady with a man nearly brought tears to her eyes. How she’d yearned over the years for Reggie to be there for him, to be a real daddy.
Casting off the regret, she took the larger bag into the bedroom Jack had suggested she take. The large room was half the size of their entire apartment, with more storage than she needed for the clothes she owned.
In Jenny’s room she found a twin bed but no crib. She could put Jenny to bed there with pillows all around. For the time being, she figured. She wouldn’t grow enough to need a baby bed until they moved on.
She sighed. She had so much to do to bring her children up right. When Reggie was killed, she shouldn’t have been relieved, but she’d already known their marriage was a mistake. He hadn’t cared about her, not when he moved on to the next available woman. He’d never touched her after she got pregnant with Jenny.
She remembered that night. He’d come home drunk and had taken her to the bedroom and had sex with her. The next morning he didn’t remember anything he’d done. Then he’d claimed she’d betrayed him when she turned up pregnant.
The only reason she’d stayed with him was that she wanted her son to have what she never had. She shivered at the memory.
She’d been five when she’d been taken away from her mother by Child Services, never to be returned. The emotions of that day flooded her again, swamping her with sadness and fear. She’d never known her father.
More than anything, she wanted her children to have family, someone who would always help, offer comfort. She’d have to be their family now. Because of Reggie she didn’t think she’d ever remarry.
After hugging her little girl and promising her a future, she put Jenny on the bed and surrounded her with pillows. Then she stowed the child’s belongings.
She went to the kitchen after unpacking for Brady and surveyed the full pantry and freezer, packed with any cut of beef she wanted to cook. The refrigerator was her final review. Jack was right. They had anything she’d need to cook dinner tonight.
Half an hour later, Brady ran into the room. “Mommy! They have lots of puppies. They don’t have their eyes open yet. And they wiggle a lot!”
“I’m glad, Brady. Now you need to hang up your coat and go wash your hands so you’ll be ready for dinner.”
“But, Mommy, can I have a puppy?”
Elizabeth whirled around and stared at her son. “What did you say?”
“Jack said I could have one.”
She turned and stared at Jack. “You told him what?”
“I suggested he could pick out a dog if you didn’t mind.”
“No! No, he can’t have a puppy! Brady, go wash up.”
“But, Mommy—”
“Go, Brady!”
The little boy went into the bathroom on the bottom floor. Elizabeth knew his heart was broken, but she had no choice.
“Why can’t the boy have a dog?”
Not that it was any of his business, she thought, but she told him anyway. “Because I can’t take a dog with us when we leave.”
“You sure Tom is going to let you leave?”
Elizabeth looked at him then. What did he mean by that? And did she detect a note of sarcasm in Jack’s tone? Somehow, she didn’t think he was in favor of them being there.
Until she got the lay of the land, she thought it best to simply avoid the subject with Jack. Instead she asked him to get Tom to the table for dinner. He merely gave her a nod and walked out of the room.
She’d made a beef and cheese macaroni meal with a salad and hot rolls. It wasn’t elegant, but it was quick, hot and filling.
Just as she put it on the table, Tom came in, holding on to Jack’s arm.
She smiled warmly at the older man. “Good evening, Tom.”
“Are you all moved in already?” Tom asked as he sat down.
“Yes, we are, in very spacious quarters.”
“Good, good. You’re family. And I’m thrilled to have you and the kids here. Where’s the baby?”
“She’s napping. She’ll be up for abottle at eight, after dinner.”
“It occurred to me that we’ll need to get a crib. Jack can go with you to buy one and whatever else you need.”
She shook her head. “I can’t afford to buy anything right now. We’re all right. I have her surrounded by pillows.”
“Nonsense, Elizabeth. I’ll pay for the crib and other things you need. My son did a poor job of taking care of you and your babies. It’s my job now. I’ll provide for you. You and Jack can shop tomorrow.”
She fought to hold back her tears, blinking rapidly. “Tom, I really appreciate your offer, but we won’t be able to take much with us when we leave, so there’s no reason to buy them.”
Tom frowned. “Honey, I’m not planning on you leaving. Like I said, you’re family. The only family I have left. Jack, here, has been like a son to me since Reggie went away. I was too easy on my son. I didn’t make him learn good and bad. I wondered why God took him and not me. Now I know I still have purpose here on earth. I have you, Brady and little Jenny. God left me here to do what my son should’ve done.”
She gave up the fight and let the tears fall. “Tom, I promise I didn’t come here for you to take care of us. I can get a job when school starts again.”
“Do you like teaching school?”
“It’s not bad.”
“Wouldn’t you rather raise your kids?”
“Yes, but—”
“How about cooking?”
“I enjoy cooking, and will be glad to cook for you and Jack, Tom. That…that would be like having a family.”
“That’s what we want, too.” Tom leaned forward and patted her hand. “You just take care of the house and those kids and let us know if you need anything, okay?” Before she could reply he continued, “And while you’re at the store, me and Brady can get to know each other.”
She swiped at her tears. “I don’t know what to say, Tom. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, no more tears, young lady. We’re going to wear happy faces around here from now on.”
Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile.
Her smile lasted through dinner and the cleanup. Jack insisted on helping, despite her protests, and she thought maybe she’d won him over.
“What time’s breakfast in the morning?” he asked as they finished up.
“Brady usually gets up about seven. Is that okay?”
“Fine. And after breakfast, you and I will drive into Oklahoma City to do some shopping.”
“We don’t have to, Jack. I don’t think Tom will even notice if we don’t buy much.”
Jack shot her a look that wiped away her smile. “I may be Tom’s friend, Elizabeth, but I’m also his employee. I do what I’m told to do.”
