The Holiday Gift. RaeAnne Thayne

      “Sure. Extra time is always great.”

      Cindy turned to Faith with that hard look she always wore when she saw the two of them together. His ex-wife had never said anything but he suspected she had long guessed the feelings he had tried to bury after Faith and Travis got married.

      “We’re interrupting,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

      “Not at all,” Faith assured her. “Please don’t be sorry. I’m the one who’s sorry about your mother.”

      “Thanks,” Cindy said, her voice cool. “We spent an hour at the hospital before we came out here and she seems in good spirits. Doctors just want to keep her for observation to see if they can figure out what’s going on. Dad is kind of a mess right now, which is why I thought it would be a good idea for me to stay with him, at least for the first few days.”

      “That sounds like a good idea.”

      “Thanks for taking Addie. Sorry to drop her off without calling first. I did try.”

      “It’s no problem at all. I’m thrilled to have her.”

      The sad truth was, they got along and seemed to parent together better now that they were divorced than during the difficult five years of their marriage, though things still weren’t perfect.

      “I packed enough for a week. To be honest, I don’t know what I grabbed, since I was kind of a mess this morning. Keith was worried about me driving alone but he had three surgeries scheduled today and couldn’t come with me. His patients needed him.”

      “He’s a busy man,” Chase said. What else could he say? It would have been terribly hypocritical to lambast another man in the husband department when Chase had been so very lousy at it.

      “I should get back to the hospital. Thanks, Chase. You’re a lifesaver.”

      “No problem.”

      “I’m so sorry about your mother,” Faith said.

      “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

      Cindy opened the hatchback of the SUV and pulled out Addie’s familiar pink suitcase. He hated the tangible reminder that his daughter had to live out of a suitcase half her life.

      After setting the suitcase on the sidewalk, Cindy went through her usual drawn-out farewell routine with Addie that ended in a big hug and a sloppy kiss, then climbed into her SUV and drove away.

      “My feet are cold,” Addie announced calmly, apparently not fazed at all to watch her mother leave, despite the requisite drama. “I’m going to take my suitcase to my room and change my clothes.”

      She headed to the house without waiting for him to answer, leaving him alone with Faith.

      “That was a curveball I wasn’t expecting this afternoon,”

      “Strokes can be scary,” Faith said. “It sounds like Carol’s was a mild one, though, which I’m sure is a relief to everyone. At least you’ll get to spend a little extra time with Addie.”

      “True. Always a bonus.”

      He had plenty of regrets about his life but his wise, funny, kind daughter was the one amazing thing his lousy marriage had produced.

      “I know this was a busy week for you,” Faith said. “If you need help with her, she’s welcome to spend time at the Star N. Louisa would be completely thrilled.”

      He had appointments all week with suppliers, the vet and his accountant, but he could take her with him. She was a remarkably adaptable child.

      “The only time I might need help is Friday night. Think Aunt Mary would mind if she stayed at your place with Lou and Barrett while we’re at the party?”

      Her forehead briefly furrowed in confusion. “Oh. I almost forgot about that. Look, the situation has changed. If you’d rather stay home with Addie, I completely understand. I can tag along with Wade and Caroline Dalton or Justin and Ashley Hartford. Or, again, I can always just skip it.”

      Was she looking for excuses not to go with him? He didn’t want to believe that. “I asked you out. I want to go, as long as Mary doesn’t mind one more at your place.”

      “Addie’s never any trouble. I’m sure Mary will be fine with it. I’ll talk to her,” she promised. “If she can’t do it, I’m sure all the kids could hang out with Hope or Celeste for the evening.”

      Her sisters and their husbands lived close to the Star N and often helped with Barrett and Louisa, just as Faith helped out with their respective children.

      “I’ll be in touch later in the week to work out the details.”

      “Sounds good.” She glanced at her watch. “I really do need to go. Thanks again for your help with the horse.”

      “You’re welcome.”

      As she climbed into the Star N king-cab pickup, he was struck by how small and delicate she looked compared to the big truck.

      Physically, she might be slight—barely five-four and slender—but she was tough as nails. Over the last two and a half years, she had worked tirelessly to drag the ranch from the brink. He had tried to take some of the burden from her but there was only so much she would let him do.

      He stepped forward so she couldn’t close the door yet.

      “One last thing.”

      “What’s that?”

      Heart pounding, he leaned in to face her. He wanted her to see his expression. He wanted no ambiguity about his intentions.

      “You need to be clear on one thing before Friday. I said it earlier but in all the confusion with Addie showing up, I’m not sure it registered completely. As far as I’m concerned, this is a date.”

      “Sure. We’re going together. What else would it be?”

      “I mean a date-date. I want to go out with you where we’re not only good friends hanging out on a Friday night or two neighboring ranchers carpooling to the same event. I want you to be my date, with everything that goes along with that.”

      There. She couldn’t mistake that.

      He saw a host of emotions quickly cross her features—shock, uncertainty and a wild flare of panic. “Chase, I—”

      He could see she wasn’t even going to give him a chance. She was ready to throw up barriers to the idea before he even had a chance. Frustration coiled through him, sharp as barbed wire fencing.

      “It’s been two and a half years since Travis died.”

      Her hands clamped tight onto the steering wheel as if it were a bull rider’s strap and she had to hang on or she would fall off and be trampled. “Yes. I believe I’m fully aware of that.”

      “You’re going to have to enter the dating scene at some point. You’ve already got cowboys clamoring to ask you out. McKinley is just the first one to step up, but he won’t be the last. Why not ease into it by going out with somebody you already know?”

      “You.”

      “Why not?”

      Instead of answering, she turned the tables on him. “You and Cindy have been divorced for years. Why are you suddenly interested in dating again?”

      “Maybe I’m tired of being alone.” That, at least, was the truth, just not the whole truth.

      “So this would be like a...trial run for both of us? A way to dip our toes into the water without jumping in headfirst?”

      No. He had jumped in a long, long time ago and had just been treading water, waiting for her.

      He couldn’t tell her that. Not yet.

      “Sure, if you want to look at it that way,” he said instead.

      He