Yuletide Cowboys: The Cowboy's Yuletide Reunion / The Cowboy's Christmas Gift. Arlene James

long.

      “I think that’s a great idea. I might even have some graham crackers and chocolate bars around here somewhere. We can make big, smushy s’mores for dessert.”

      “Yay! S’mores!”

      Maybe Onyx remembered more about camping with her father than Sarah had imagined. That concerned her. She was ashamed to realize she hadn’t put much effort into doing “fun” things with Onyx since Justin’s death. She’d been so preoccupied with the debts and obligations her husband had left her that she hadn’t spent the time she should have finding ways to make her daughter smile again.

      She crouched down to give Onyx a hearty hug and kiss, but the girl quickly wriggled out of her grasp. Chuckling, Sarah stood and scooped Jewel from her crib, wrapping her in a warm blanket. Then she stopped by Pops and Granny’s room to let them know about her plan to light a fire and congregate in the living room. She also suggested they both throw on an extra layer of clothing. Pops especially was vulnerable to the cold these days. His circulation wasn’t what it used to be.

      “We’ll gather some blankets and be right with you,” Granny assured her. Pops simply grunted his assent.

      Sarah returned to the living room, expecting Marcus to be hunched over the hearth lighting the fire, but there was no sign of him. Where was he with the firewood? Surely it couldn’t take him that long to grab an armful of logs from just outside the back door.

      She entered the kitchen with Jewel propped on her hip and Onyx following close behind her, waving the beam of light across the walls and exclaiming in delight at the shadows it made. Sarah pulled the curtain aside to peek out into the backyard.

      To her surprise, Marcus wasn’t on the porch. He’d shed his coat and was angling an ax at a slab of wood he’d perched on the chopping block.

      Why was he chopping logs? Didn’t they have any wood in the bin? To her dismay, she suddenly remembered she’d used the last of it in October during the first big snowstorm of the year. She’d been meaning to refill the bin, but time had gotten away from her and she’d forgotten all about it.

      And now poor Marcus was out there battling the elements on her behalf. She was ashamed of herself for the oversight, but how much worse would it have been if Marcus hadn’t been here? She would have been the one splitting logs in the whiteout, and she wasn’t nearly as competent with an ax as Marcus appeared to be. She imagined his fingers and toes were turning icy with the cold, but he swung away regardless.

      She breathed a prayer of thanksgiving for the Lord’s provision, that He’d somehow orchestrated events so Marcus was here during the blackout. But poor Marcus!

      She couldn’t even make him a cup of hot cocoa to warm him up when he came inside. At least not until they had the fire going.

      While she waited for Marcus, she tended to other things that needed doing, creating a mental checklist and ticking items off as she went. First up was digging out some old newspapers from the office for kindling. Then they needed blankets, flashlights and maybe even a few candles. She also had a couple of LED lanterns she kept in the hall closet for situations like this.

      If the electricity remained out, and her gut instinct told her it would be a while before it came back on, they’d all need to sleep in the living room near the warmth of the fire. The couch folded out for the grandparents and she could blow up an air mattress for her and Onyx. Jewel would sleep in the porta-crib. But she had no idea what she was going to do with Marcus.

      Speaking of Marcus...

      She returned to the kitchen and glanced out the window to see how he was doing. He was still chopping away. Despite the weather, he’d shed his coat and sweat glistened on his brow. She couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles contracted and released with every swing of the ax. His jaw was set tight and he was striking the wood with fervency that Sarah sensed went beyond just the desire to be back inside where it was warm.

      No—it was more than that. Maybe he was releasing his stress from their conversation about his mother. Or was it being here with her that was causing him concern? They hadn’t anticipated encountering each other after all these years, and he hadn’t planned to stay cloistered in the cabin with her and her family until the weather had given him no other choice in the matter.

      Now not only were they stranded, but he’d have no option but to be thrown together with her entire brood in order to stay warm. Nothing like being a confirmed bachelor locked in with an ex-girlfriend, a cranky old couple, a fussy baby and a raucous preschooler. Marcus was a nice guy—the best—but this situation went beyond inconvenient and straight into uncomfortable.

      She returned to the living room and set up the porta-crib so Jewel could amuse herself with her toys. Onyx was still playing with the flashlight, and Sarah could hear Carl and Eliza quietly spatting about something or other as they rummaged through the hall closet.

      A couple of minutes later, Marcus shuffled in, his arms loaded with wood for the fire. Tiny icicles glistened in his golden hair like a crown.

      “I think the temperature dropped a good ten degrees just in the time I was out there,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of the fireplace and carefully arranging the logs around wads of newspaper. “I filled up the bin just in case the blackout lasts beyond tonight.”

      “Thank you. And I’m so sorry,” Sarah apologized.

      “For what?”

      “I didn’t mean for you to have to chop all that wood yourself. When I sent you out, I’d forgotten that I used the last of what I had back in October during the first flurry. It just slipped my mind that I needed to chop some more logs and refill the bin.”

      He leaned back in a catcher’s crouch, bracing his forearms on his knees as he watched the fire roar to life. He glanced back, grinning at Sarah.

      “Trust me, it was no problem. My long legs have been cramped in my truck for two days. I enjoyed getting the chance to stretch and swing the ax. That little bit of exercise did me good.”

      “Well, I apologize just the same. Now, why don’t you relax by the fire for a while?”

      He stood so fast that she didn’t even see him coming. He took her by the shoulders and guided her to the easy chair, gently pressing her into it. He spoke sweet nonsense words to Jewel as he picked her up and placed her on Sarah’s lap. “You’re the one who needs to relax.”

      “But I’ve got to scrounge something up for dinner. Open a few cans of whatever I’ve got in the pantry.”

      “Nope,” he said, holding his hands palm out to stem her flow of words. “I don’t think so.”

       Chapter Four

      Marcus wasn’t about to sit around and let Sarah do all the work while he lounged by the fire.

      “You sit tight and take care of those beautiful children of yours. I’ll get supper on for us.”

      “You don’t have to do that.”

      He flashed her a toothy grin. “I know. I want to.”

      “Oh. Well, then...” She didn’t appear to have the energy to argue with him, which was just exactly why he wanted to take care of her right now. Er—take care of the meal. Sarah had enough on her proverbial plate just watching out after her family.

      “Hot dogs. I want a hot dog,” Onyx exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

      He laughed and gave the child a friendly bow. “Hot dogs it is, little lady. Your wish is my command.”

      He paused and raised an eye at Sarah. “Guess I should have asked first—do we have hot dogs?”

      “In the meat drawer. Try not to keep the refrigerator door open too long or you’ll let out all the cold air.”