The Holiday Gift. RaeAnne Thayne

the busiest time of the year?”

      “Yours.” Faith and Celeste answered simultaneously.

      Hope sighed. “I know. It just seemed natural for The Christmas Ranch to throw a holiday celebration for the senior citizens. Maybe next year we’ll do a Christmas in July kind of thing.”

      “Except you’ll be having a baby in July,” Faith pointed out. “And I’ll be even more busy during the summer.”

      “You’re right.” She looked glum. “Do you have any suggestions for someone else who might be interested in directing it? I would hate to see the pageant fade out, especially after last year was such a smash success, thanks to CeCe. You wouldn’t believe how many people have stopped me in town during the past year to tell me how much they enjoyed it and hoped we were doing another one.”

      “I believe it,” Celeste said. “I’ve had my share of people telling me the same thing. That still doesn’t mean I want to run it again.”

      “I wasn’t even involved with the show and I still have people stop me in town to tell me they hope we’re doing it again,” Faith offered.

      “That’s because you’re a Nichols,” Hope said.

      “Right. Which to some people automatically means I burp tinsel and have eggnog running through my veins.”

      Celeste laughed. “You don’t?”

      “Nope. Hope inherited all the Christmas spirit from Uncle Claude and Aunt Mary.”

      The sister in question made a face. “That may be true, but it still doesn’t give me someone to run the show this year. But never fear. I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeves.”

      “I can help,” Celeste said. “I just don’t want to be the one in charge.”

      Faith couldn’t let her younger sister be the only generous one in the family. She sighed. “Okay. I’ll help again, too. But only behind the scenes—and only because you’re pregnant and I don’t want you to overdo.”

      Hope’s eyes glittered and her smile wobbled. “Oh. You’re both going to make me cry and Rafe tells me I’ve already hit my tear quota for the day. Quick, talk about something else. How did the auction go today?”

      At the question, all her angst about Chase flooded back.

      She suddenly desperately wanted to confide in her sisters. That was the whole reason she’d stopped at the lodge, she realized, because she yearned to share this startling development with them and obtain their advice.

      I want you to be my date, with everything that goes along with that.

      What was she going to do?

      She wanted to ask them but they both adored Chase and it suddenly seemed wrong to talk about him with Hope and Celeste. If she had to guess, she expected they would probably take his side. They wouldn’t understand how he had just upended everything safe and secure she had come to depend upon.

      When she didn’t answer right away, both of her sisters looked at her with concern. “Did something go wrong with the horse you wanted to buy?” Celeste asked. “You weren’t outbid, were you? If you were, I’m sure you’ll be able to find another one.”

      She shook her head. “No. We bought the horse for about five percent under what I was expecting to pay and she’s beautiful. Mostly white with black spots and lovely black boot markings on her legs. I can’t wait for Louisa to see her.”

      “I want to see her!” Hope said. “You took her to Chase’s pasture?”

      “Yes, and a few moments after we unloaded her, Cindy pulled up with Addie. Apparently Carol Johnson had a small stroke this morning and she’s in the hospital in Idaho Falls so Cindy came home to be with her and help her father.”

      At the mention of Chase’s ex-wife, both of her sisters’ mouths tightened in almost exactly the same way. There had been no love lost between any of them, especially after Cindy’s affair with the oral surgeon who eventually became her husband.

      “So Cindy just dropped off Addie like UPS delivering a surprise package?” Hope asked, disgust clear in her voice.

      “What about school?” ever-practical Celeste asked. “Surely she’s not out for Christmas break yet.”

      “No. She’s going to do her homework from here.” She paused, remembering the one other complication. “I haven’t asked Mary yet if she’s available but in case she’s not, would either of you like a couple of extra kids on Friday night? Three, actually—my two and Addie. Chase and I have a...a thing and it might run late.”

      “Oh, I wish I could,” Hope exclaimed. “Rafe and I promised Joey we would take him to Boise to see his mom. We’re staying overnight and doing some shopping while we’re there.”

      “How is Cami doing?” Faith asked. “She’s been out of prison, what, three months now?”

      “Ten weeks. She’s doing so well. Much better than Rafe expected, really. The court-ordered drug rehab she had in prison worked in her case and the halfway house is really helping her get back on her feet. Another six months and she’s hoping she can have her own place and be ready to take Joey back. Maybe even by the time the baby comes.”

      Hope tried to smile but it didn’t quite reach her eyes and Faith couldn’t resist giving her sister’s hand a squeeze. Celeste did the same to the other hand. Hope and her husband had cared for Rafe’s nephew Joey since before their marriage after his sister’s conviction on drug and robbery charges. They loved him and would both be sad to see him go.

      Joey seemed like a different kid than he’d been when he first showed up at The Christmas Ranch with Rafe, two years earlier, sullen and confused and angry...

      “We’re trying to convince her to come back to Pine Gulch,” Hope said, trying to smile. “It might help her stay out of trouble, and that way we can remain part of Joey’s life. So far it’s an uphill battle, as she feels like this is where all her troubles started.”

      Her sister’s turmoil was a sharp reminder to Faith. Hope might be losing the boy she considered a son, and Celeste’s stepdaughter, Olivia, still struggled to recover from both physical injuries and the emotional trauma of witnessing her mother’s murder at the hands of her mentally ill and suicidal boyfriend.

      In contrast, the problem of trying to figure out what to do with Chase seemed much more manageable.

      “Anyway,” Hope said, “that’s why I won’t be around Friday to help you with the kids. Sorry again.”

      “Don’t give it another thought. That’s exactly where you need to be.”

      “The kids are more than welcome at our place,” Celeste said. “Flynn and Olivia are having a movie marathon and watching Miracle on 34th Street and White Christmas. I’ll be writing during most of it, but hope to sneak in and watch the dancing in White Christmas.”

      She used to love those movies, Faith remembered. When she was young, her parents had a handful of very old, very worn VCR tapes of several holiday classics and would drag them from place to place, sometimes even showing them at social events for people in whatever small village they had set their latest medical clinic in at the time.

      She probably had been just as baffled as the villagers at the world shown in the movies, which seemed so completely foreign to her own life experience, with the handsomely dressed people and the luxurious train rides and the children surrounded by toys she could only imagine.

      “That sounds like the perfect evening,” she said now. “Maybe I’ll join the movie night instead of going to a boring Christmas party with Chase. I can bring the popcorn.”

      “You can’t skip the stockgrowers’ party,” Celeste said. “It’s the big social event of the year, isn’t it? Jenna McRaven always caters that gala so you know the food will be fantastic, plus you’ll