Colorado Christmas (8 page)

Nicolas squealed with delight. “D’you really think so?”

“If only all my clients had such a positive attitude, my job would be a breeze,” Jessie said, grasping Nick’s hands. She eased him off the side of the pool and into the water.

“Will you be here when I’m done?” he called as he was towed down the pool.

“Sure, buddy.”

Will watched Jessie taking him through his routine for a few minutes. The kid had spunk. He wanted to try everything, too, even though his physical disability precluded him from most sporting activities. Will believed the unbeatable combination of enthusiasm and determination would see Nick learn to swim—and ski. The ski boots would support his legs in a
similar fashion to his leg braces, and if they didn’t, Will was sure he’d be able to rig something that would work.

Of course, first he’d have to get over his stupid fear of going up the mountain and, second, he’d have to speak to Nick’s mom. The little guy said she didn’t like him doing anything too physical in case he got hurt. Will wondered why, if she was so protective, she wasn’t at the pool every afternoon, supervising his therapy.

W
ILL MANAGED FIFTY LAPS
without expiring, then joined Nick at the conclusion of his therapy session.

“Maybe you could apply for the job,” Nick suggested as they sat together on the edge of the pool. “I don’t want to go to the vacation program run by the town.”

Will pulled his feet out of the pool and wrapped his arms around his knees. “Why not?”

“’Cause…the bullies will be there,” he said, wiping his face with a corner of his towel and draping it around himself as if seeking protection.

“I’m sure the program’s got good supervisors,” Will said in an attempt to quell his anxiety.

“Yeah, right! Just like they’ve got good teachers who always see what the bullies are doing at school.”

Will had never been bullied, thanks to having older brothers who’d looked out for him. But he was aware that bullies targeted kids who were smaller, physically weaker and unlikely to tell on them for fear of retribution. It wasn’t Nick’s fault he was so smart he was several years ahead of his age group. And it wasn’t Nick’s fault that he had a physical disability. But the combination would be irresistible to schoolyard thugs. Unfortunately, no amount of lecturing about ignoring the bullies was going to work for a kid like Nick, because they’d zero in on his physical disability and taunt him about it till they completely broke his spirit.

Unable to bear the fear in his eyes, Will put a comforting hand on Nick’s thin shoulder. “You know,” he said, “bullies are weak
people who’re trying to make other kids feel worse than they do—the bullies, I mean—about themselves. For instance, some kids come from really unhappy homes where bad things happen.” Will couldn’t tell how much Nick knew about domestic violence, so he hedged around the subject and said, “They’re in situations where they have no power and they get very angry about that and want to lash out. But instead of lashing out at the person they’re really angry with—usually because that person is much bigger than them—they take out their anger and frustrations on smaller kids. It gives them a feeling of power.” Will shrugged. “It’s screwed up, but it happens.”

The kid gazed up at him with something akin to hero worship. “I guess that makes sense. But I wish it wasn’t happening to me.”

Unable to think of anything else to comfort him, Will said, “Me, too, buddy.”

“I wish my mom could throw them in jail.”

Will couldn’t help smiling. “I doubt you can make citizen’s arrests on bullies. But the idea has merit.”

“My mom can throw anyone she wants to in jail.”

And now the kid was fantasizing. Will let it slide. If it made Nick feel better to believe his mom could throw people in jail, then what was the harm in that?

They sat in silence for a while, watching the other swimmers. What was it with his mom that she couldn’t come to the pool to see how he was doing? Will was going to give the woman a piece of his mind when he met her.

But, for now, he needed to lift the little guy’s spirits. “Would you like me to apply for that job?”

Nick’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, and he hugged Will around the neck so fiercely he was nearly strangling him. “Oh,
yes.
Yes, yes,
yes!
When?”

“How about at the fundraiser tomorrow?” he said, disentangling Nick’s skinny arms so he could breathe. “Your mom will be in such a great mood after eating some of that barbecue, she’ll think it’s the best idea she ever heard.”

“Yeah! She loves barbecue…She likes red wine, too.”

Will made a mental note to ensure that they’d serve red wine. It would be good to get the job as Nick’s caregiver. The judge would respect him if he had a paying job and might agree to go out with him. The flowers certainly hadn’t worked. Will hadn’t sent any more since her second request that he stop—and after Matt had sternly pointed out that Will’s unwanted deliveries might be construed as stalking.

Will got to his feet. “I’d better head out, buddy. I’ve got some stuff to do before the barbecue. See you there, and don’t forget to bring your mom, okay?”

Saturday was sunny and clear, a perfect high-country winter’s day. Up before dawn, Will attended to final preparations and snowplowed the car parking area. Matt and Jack arrived to lend a hand. Will could barely wipe the smile off his face when both of them complimented him on his latent organizational skills.

By eleven, the temperature had climbed into the mid-thirties and a steady stream of vehicles was entering the gates of Two Elk. So much for Matt’s doubting the success of a barbecue in the middle of winter.

The response from the community was overwhelming. Frank had hired the winners of the summer barbecue festival cook-off. Mrs. C. had organized several community groups to serve food and drinks. A mobile coffee van was dispensing hot chocolate and coffee of all varieties, while the Boy Scouts sold sheets of tickets to be exchanged for food and drink at the stalls. A local band had donated their time. The strains of their tuning up emanated from the barn.

With the beer wagon in place and the tempting aromas of barbecue, kettle corn and funnel cakes filling the air, it promised to be a very successful event.

Will watched fondly as Sasha helped direct cars to park, then raced back to report who’d just pulled in.

He ruffled her fair hair. “You’re doing a great job, honey,”
he said and pointed back toward the parking area. “Better go catch those folks before they slip into the wrong spot.”

“As if! Daisy’s herding them with her bullwhip, so they don’t stand a chance.”

Will smiled at the sight of Daisy, bullwhip in hand. He could see her taking over the ranch from Luke one of these days.

“My girls behaving themselves?” Luke asked from behind him.

Will spun around. “Always do,” he said and was about to suggest Luke view his children more positively, when his brother threw him for a loop by saying, “I didn’t think you’d manage to pull this all together. You’ve impressed me.”

He moved on, leaving Will openmouthed with shock at the biggest compliment Luke had paid anyone in a very long time. If ever.

Will purchased a sheet of tickets and handed over a couple for a plate of brisket. He surveyed the barbecue area filled with friends, neighbors, townsfolk and tourists enjoying the sunshine, talking, munching on corn or ribs, greeting old friends. It seemed half the county was at Two Elk.

He wandered toward the barn, where people boot scooted to the band’s popular tunes. He’d join in later. Maybe when the judge got there.

“Uncle Will! Uncle Will!” He spun around to see Sash dragging another kid behind her. “This is my friend, Nicolas!”

“Hey, buddy!” Will high-fived the kid. “Glad you could make it.”

“You know each other?” three female voices chimed in unison.

Daisy and Sash wore identical frowns of confusion. The judge, who’d now joined them, looked more bothered than confused.

“Sure. We met at the rec center. Howdy, Judge. Welcome to Two Elk.”

“How do you know this man?” Becky asked Nick.

Wearing a smile from ear to ear, he clasped Will’s hand. “I told you about Will. He’s gonna teach me to swim.”

The judge’s eyes narrowed as she surveyed Will, then looked
pointedly at their joined hands. Will eased his hand from Nick’s and said to the boy, “We were going to talk about that with your mom first, buddy.” He turned to Becky. “How about you let me teach this little guy to swim?”

Will enjoyed watching the judge’s features crease with consternation, figuring it wasn’t often she got her feathers so ruffled. He’d finally worked out who Nick’s mom was after he said he wished she’d put all the bullies in jail. Will knew every female cop in town and in the sheriff’s department. The only other woman who could jail anyone had to be the judge.

And now he saw them together, their resemblance was unmistakable—red hair, freckles, cute smile, when the judge allowed herself one. Right now, she wasn’t smiling.

Becky crooked her finger at him, indicating Will should follow her away from the children.

“Mr. O’Malley, I have no idea how you discovered my son does sessions at the hydrotherapy pool. And I especially don’t appreciate you befriending him in order to get closer to me.”

Will held up his hands. “Whoa there! You’re right off track, Judge—”

“I want you to stay away from him!”

Stung by her vehemence and what she was intimating, he said, “You think I’d harm the little guy?”

“I would hope not, but an older man befriending a child is
not
appropriate!”

That did it. He’d had a gutful. He’d tried to be nice to her, welcome her into the community. Date her. But to suggest that meeting Nick at the pool had some sort of nefarious intent was going way too far. “You know,
Your Honor
—” Will put the emphasis on the words, since she obviously thought she was far above the rest of the folk of Spruce Lake, especially him “—I’ve had it with your attitude toward me.”

He counted off on his fingers a few points for her to consider. “One, I met
Nick,
” he said, shortening the child’s name, figuring it would probably annoy her, “last week at the pool. Two, he said he wanted to learn to swim like me. Three, I offered to
teach him, provided he got his mom’s permission. Four, I didn’t know
you
were his mom until yesterday. Five, and even if I’d known, I would still have liked him.” He let that remark sink in before continuing. “He seemed lonely, desperate for friends. I’m sorry you think I’m an inappropriate friend. No one else in this town would think that, but you seem hell-bent on believing the worst of me—”

“The mayor—”

“Is a horse’s rear end, intent on lining his pockets and destroying our town in the process. If you want to believe him, go ahead.”

Will saw the bus bringing the residents of the Twilight Years. “If you’ll excuse me, I have guests to greet.” He turned away from Becky, called out, “Catch you later, buddy,” to Nick and headed for the bus.

Will worked on keeping his temper in check as he strode toward it. What had he ever seen in the woman? She was crabby, judgmental and just plain
wrong
about him. Forcing his confrontation with the judge from his mind, Will greeted the residents of the retirement home. “Mr. Whittaker! Glad you could make it,” he said, shaking the older gentleman’s hand. “Miss Patterson, I see you hitched a ride. Hey, Sol, love the new hair.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Will noticed Matt leaning against the barn, grinning at him. The jerk! Matt had known all along the judge was Nick’s mom.

B
ECKY FUMED
as she observed Will greeting the residents of the Twilight Years. How
dare
he speak to her like that?

“What were you guys talking about?”

She spun around. Nicolas had his arms crossed and was frowning.

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew that man?” she countered.

“I told you about meeting Will at the pool last week.”

“You didn’t mention his name.” If he had, she would’ve made the connection earlier.

“Yeah. I did. But you didn’t seem all that interested in what I do at the pool.”

Ouch! Nicolas had a point. She’d been so busy at work and preoccupied with finding a caregiver, she hadn’t been paying attention. She had, however, let Nicolas and Deputy O’Malley talk her into coming to the fundraiser.

She glanced toward the barn. Matt O’Malley lounged against it, observing her and looking much too pleased with himself. Becky was tempted to—

“Grandma!”

“Daisy, darling, try to keep your voice below a roar,” a tall, slender woman said as she approached them. Her fair hair was pulled back into a knot and her vivid blue eyes danced with love as she gently chided her granddaughter. “You’re not out in the paddocks now, dear.”

“Grammy, this is Nick, our friend from school.”

“Good to meet you at last, Nick,” the older woman said, extending her hand. “The girls talk about you all the time.” She smiled at Becky. “Hello. I’m Sarah O’Malley.”

Becky wanted to groan. Of course this would be Will’s mother, since these girls, Sarah and Daisy, were his nieces. “I’m Judge McBride—ah, Becky,” she corrected herself. “Nicolas talks about the girls a lot, too.”

“Are you enjoying yourselves?” Sarah asked.

“We haven’t been here very long,” Becky admitted. “Can I buy you a coffee?” she asked, determined to make a friend of this woman who’d opened her home to so many people for a good cause.

Sarah rewarded her with a warm smile. “That would be lovely.”

“Can I go and help the girls with parking?”

Becky looked at Nicolas. Would it be safe to let him wander around a parking lot? He could slip in the snow.

As if reading her mind, Sasha said, “He’ll be fine with us, Judge McBride.”

“You’re welcome to call me Becky, if you like. You, too, Daisy. It was a pleasure to meet you both. I’m delighted to see Nicolas has such delightful friends.”

The girls rewarded her with identical deep-dimpled smiles reminiscent of their uncle’s.

“Thank you for saying that to them,” Sarah said as they walked toward the coffee van. “I’m afraid they don’t get enough compliments from their father. I’m always having to remind Luke about that.”

Luke O’Malley had been pointed out to Becky as he drove through town one day. He seemed a rather grim man.

Becky ordered two lattes, then turned to Sarah. “How many sons do you have?” she asked, spotting the one who’d caused her the most distress, peeling an ear of barbecued corn for one of the ladies from the Twilight Years.

“Five.” Sarah’s gaze followed Becky’s. “Will would make the most wonderful father. I wish he’d settle down,” she sighed.

Becky didn’t have anything to say to that, apart from perhaps mentioning that Sarah’s son had barely left childhood himself. He was now engaged in a snowball fight with a group of teenagers. To change the subject, she said,
“Five
sons? Where does Matt fit in?”

Sarah grinned at the mention of the deputy sheriff. “Of course you’d know Matt! He’s the second oldest and has always been the protective one. His wife was killed by a drunk driver several years ago and he’s never gotten over it. I doubt he ever will.”

“If the right woman comes along, perhaps he’ll open his heart.”

“You sound as though you speak from experience.”

“Of a broken heart? Yes.” Realizing she’d revealed more than she wanted, Becky said, “I’ve been divorced since Nicolas was a baby. I understand the need to protect one’s heart.” Again Becky realized she’d said more than she should. What was it about Sarah that had her spilling her guts? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get that personal.”

With kindness in her eyes, Sarah said, “I hope you’ll get to know me and trust me enough to tell more of your story some day, Becky. I sense you’re a woman of immense depth and intelligence.”

Becky smiled, touched by the compliment.

Sarah waved to someone in the crowd, but there were so many people now, Becky couldn’t see who it was. “That’s Luke,” Sarah told her. “He’s the oldest and runs the ranch and is Sash and Daisy’s father. His other daughter, Celeste, is over there, taking a walk with her grandpa.” She indicated a tall, graying man holding the hand of a toddler. Her smile showed her adoration for both man and child. “She’s devoted to her grandpa and is the only child I know who prefers someone else to Will.”

Becky needed to steer the conversation away from Will. “I’ve heard the name Jack O’Malley mentioned, too.”

“Jack is number four. That’s him talking to Miss Patterson. He was training to be a priest, but left the seminary.”

Becky followed her gaze to the strikingly handsome man who was listening intently to the older woman. Becky tried to picture him in a cassock and wondered if he’d left because he was unable to keep his vow of celibacy.

“Jack’s a patient listener and wonderful counselor. If you ever have a problem, he’s the one to go to. He’s very good at keeping secrets.”

“As a priest should be,” Becky said.

Sarah’s smile softened. “He would’ve made a wonderful priest, but I’m very happy to have him back in the family fold. It didn’t feel right not being able to pick up the phone and talk to him anytime I wanted. Or see him around the dinner table laughing with his brothers. I don’t know if he’ll ever marry. He was in love with a girl during high school, but she broke his heart.”

“Broken hearts run in the O’Malley family?”

“I hope not. But when an O’Malley man falls for a woman, he falls hard. And if it doesn’t work out, it takes a lot of courage to risk your heart again.”

Becky liked this woman. Sarah loved her sons dearly and wanted to see them all happy. And married.

“Adam’s the youngest,” she said, bringing Becky back to the present. “He’s a firefighter in Colorado Springs and unfortu
nately couldn’t make it today. I hope you’ll get to meet him sometime. I’m sure you’d like him. Adam’s a lot like Matt.”

“If he’s anything like Matt, then I’d enjoy meeting him.”

“You must come to dinner soon and meet the rest of my boys. I know Nick would hit it off with them.”

Becky was astounded at the woman’s generosity and, although accepting the invitation would mean she’d be spending time in Will O’Malley’s company, she said, “That would be nice. Thank you.”

She glanced over at the parking area, where Nicolas was helping direct vehicles. The girls were watching him carefully and she appreciated their attention. When he slipped on the snowy ground, Daisy matter-of-factly gave him her hand and hauled him to his feet. For a little girl, she was awfully strong and awfully loud, but Becky had warmed to the sisters instantly. They’d accepted Nicolas without staring at him rudely like so many children—and adults—did.

“May I ask what Nick’s problem is?” Sarah inquired quietly. “I notice he has a little trouble walking.”

“He was born with cerebral palsy. But he’s very intelligent,” she added quickly.

Sarah’s brows went up at that. “You seem a little defensive.”

Before she could respond, Sarah said, “Sash told me about a boy at school who was being bullied. She and Daisy went to his rescue. I’m assuming they meant Nick.”