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“My two friends are cowboys,” Rush said. “We live together in an old house. It isn’t fancy like your house in Phoenix, but we have a good time there, sort of like camping out. You’ll have fun.” I hope.
“Do you have horses? Can I ride one?”
“We have two huge horses named Chip and Patch. But we don’t ride them. They’re too big for that. We use them to pull the hay wagon in the summer and the sleigh in the winter.”
“You’ve got a sleigh?” Her eyes grew large. “Like Santa Claus?”
“Exactly like Santa Claus.” He gave her a smile across the table. “But we don’t have reindeer. That’s why we have Chip and Patch to pull the sleigh. Just before Christmas the town has a big parade, with Santa riding in our sleigh. You’ll get to see it.” Was he promising too much? What if this visit didn’t work out?
“We have somebody else who rides in the parade,” Rush said. “Our dog, Bucket, wears a hat and a little Santa suit and sits on the bench right next to Santa Claus. You’ll meet Bucket when we get to the ranch.”
And he’ll probably jump all over you with his muddy paws. Rush kept that thought to himself.
“Will it be the real Santa in the parade?”
“You can decide for yourself when you see him.” Travis’s father, Hank, had taken over as Branding Iron’s Santa last year. But Rush wasn’t about to reveal that to Clara, who was still a believer.
The waitress brought their burgers, fries, and shakes. Both of them were hungry. They settled into silence as they devoured their food. Clara ate like a little lady, taking dainty bites and drinking her shake without slurping, the way most kids would. Clearly, someone, probably Annie, had taught her proper table manners. Rush couldn’t imagine Sonya having the patience.
He couldn’t help wondering how Clara had adjusted to Andre. Did she call him Daddy, too? But there was no point in wondering, Rush reminded himself. All that mattered was knowing she was happy and well cared for.
“Why did you go away, Daddy?” The question came out of nowhere, slamming into him with the force of a fist.
“Because your mom wanted to marry Andre.”
“But why didn’t you come back and see me?”
That was a tough one. Rush groped for the right words, not wanting to put the blame on her mother. “Because I knew I’d be sad when I had to leave you again. I was afraid you might be sad, too.”
“But I would have been happy that you came.” Her words were too wise for her years. She broke his heart.
He put money on the table to cover their bill and the tip. “If you’ve finished eating, let’s get on the road. It would be nice to get to the ranch before your bedtime.”
“Okay. I’m done.” She slipped into her coat by herself and took his hand as they walked out to the parking lot. Snowflake was waiting on the booster seat. She picked up the toy, snuggling it close.
“I’ll bet you could learn to buckle yourself in,” Rush said. “Let me hold Snowflake while you try.”
He gave her instructions, showing her where the straps crossed and how the buckles fastened. When she made a mistake, he corrected her gently. Rush had always loved teaching her things. Clara was a quick and eager learner, but it took her a good ten minutes to master the complicated harness. When she finally did it right, he clapped and cheered for her. “That’s my big girl,” he said. “Now you’ll always know how to do it.”
She grinned and held out her arms for Snowflake. “Let’s go, Daddy,” she said. “I want to see your ranch.”
Rush closed the door, climbed into the driver’s side, and started the Hummer’s powerful engine. “Don’t expect anything fancy, like your place,” he said. “My ranch is a working ranch. The house and barn are old. My partners and I are fixing them up as best we can, but that takes time and money.”
“Oh.” She was quiet for a moment. “Can I play with the animals on your ranch?”
“The cows and horses are too big to play with,” Rush said. “They could hurt you, even if they didn’t mean to. But you can play with Bucket.”
“Is he a puppy?”
“No, he’s a grown-up dog. We don’t even know how old he is.”
“Why don’t you know? Doesn’t he have a birthday?”
“Dogs don’t have birthdays.”
“Some dogs do. I saw one on TV. He even had a cake.”
“Okay. But Bucket doesn’t have one.”
