One Tough Christmas Cookie - Lucy McConnell Page 0,7
stood still, or rushed forward. She had no idea. It was like this moment in her journey was being dog-eared and underlined and she had to pay attention.
A tall, broad form in a cowboy hat filled the doorway.
She stared at it for a moment, willing her eyes and her brain to focus. Perhaps she’d conjured up this blurry vision, or maybe it was an angel who’d arrived 30 seconds too late to escort her dad to the pearly gates. If Dad had a guardian angel, he would be a cowboy.
Rubbing the heels of her hands into her eyes, she blinked away the moisture and swiped at her cheeks trying to pull herself together. Her vision cleared, and she stared dumbfounded at the manly specimen before her. This was no angel; this was a man. The kind of man they used for truck commercials—rugged and handsome with a swagger to boot.
She suddenly needed a tall drink of water and speech lessons.
“You Doc Saintsbury’s kid?” he asked, whipping his black felt hat off and holding it over his heart like some actor in an old Western. Only there was no Hollywood in his weathered winter boots and worn jeans. This guy was the real deal, a straight-shooting rancher in a soft flannel shirt and a tan Carhartt coat with a pair of leather work gloves peeking out of his back pocket.
He had the attitude of a rancher too—calling her a kid. He couldn’t be much older than her, and she was twenty-seven with her own practice and a nice condo, thank you very much. Indignation fueled her ability to speak again, and she asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m Caleb Nichollas, miss. We’ve got an emergency on the ranch. A reindeer’s down. Can you come take a look at him?” He threw his thumb over his shoulder and glanced behind him as if his ranch were just there.
A reindeer? Couldn’t they at least let her father die in peace? Or live. Hopefully live. The way he struggled to breathe had shot an arrow right through her hope. She’d never understood why her father cared so much about one type of animal and this specific herd in particular. They were on the endangered species list, but the Nichollas family was granted the special charter to protect the herd, not Dad. “Caleb, did you say?” she asked as if she hadn’t paid attention to his name.
“Yes, ma’am.” His drawl was kind of cute. His white-blond hair and beard were a shock compared to his chiseled features and navy-blue eyes. Like a Viking and an angel had a baby.
Too bad he was part of the reindeer ranch. For the amounts of attraction blowing through her body, they could have had something. But she wasn’t going to date a man as crazy as her father. Mom had drilled into her that she should never come second in her husband’s life and these reindeer people were fanatics.
Despite the promise she’d made to her father, she said, “My dad is going in for emergency surgery. I can’t leave.” She couldn’t. No matter what Dad’s priorities were, hers would always be family first. If he made it through, he could yell at her for not running off to take care of a sick reindeer. Which was a moment she suddenly found herself looking forward to.
Caleb ran his hand through his blond hair, making it stand up on end. She’d never seen an adult with hair that light, and she wondered if it ran in the family. Genetics were her undergrad specialty. “I understand,” he hedged. “If it was my dad, I wouldn’t want to leave either. It’s just, Dunder’s older. He’s not fl—” He cut off quickly and shook his head. “He’s lost strength. We can’t afford to lose him.”
Her heartstrings played a sad melody at the thought of an animal suffering, even if it was a reindeer. But she needed to be close in case Dr. Calvin came out with an update or questions or—gulp—for permission to pull the plug. Dr. Calvin, she’d just realized, hadn’t made it to the room to talk to her like he’d said he would. Probably because he was scrubbing up for surgery so he could fix Dad’s heart. What if Dad came out of surgery and she wasn’t here? He’d feel alone and lost, confused and maybe even scared. “I’m sorry. Really. But I have to stay.”
He dropped his chin to his impressive chest and took a breath.