Daddy's Christmas Miracle: Santa in a Stetson. Rebecca Winters

he walked in the great room a few minutes later was so domestic and cozy, it caused an upheaval inside him.

      “Hey, Dad? Come and look! Now that you’re back you can help us put my puzzle of Brett Favre together.” Favre was Matt’s hero. Allie had bought him the thousand-piece version of the pro quarterback wearing his Vikings jersey and helmet after his football banquet. Colt had planned to work on it with the kids this weekend.

      Their guest’s hair gleamed like spun gold in the firelight. She seemed to be concentrating hard. In fact, she didn’t look up as he walked over to the card table Matt had set up in front of the fireplace. For some reason, it set off a rare burst of anger he needed to squelch. “First I need to check on Allie.”

      “Katy did it a little while ago. She was still asleep.”

      A pair of blue eyes flicked his way. They looked as hot as the fire, yet Kathryn’s response was degrees cooler. “You don’t need to be concerned. So far she’s holding her own.”

      He took a fortifying breath. “That’s good to hear. I’ll let Noreen know I’m back so she can put dinner on.”

      “Allie shouldn’t come downstairs before tomorrow. To save Noreen the trouble, maybe you and Matt could take a plate up to her room and eat with her?”

      “What are you going to do?” Matt voiced the question on Colt’s mind.

      “I’ll go up and get her ready, then I have some business to do over the phone. Later on, I’ll come down to the kitchen. But if it will put Noreen out …”

      “Why would it?” Colt blurted before he realized he was sounding terse again. “While you’re here, treat this house as your own.”

      “Thank you.” She got up from the chair. “I’ll help you finish this later, Matt.”

      “Great!”

      Colt tried not to watch her leave the room, but the way she moved on those long legs mesmerized him. It didn’t matter what she wore or the way she did her hair. She was a knockout, but he knew so much more lay beneath the surface of Ms. McFarland once you got past her initial beauty.

      “She knows almost as much about football as a guy. She says her dad lives for the NFL games.” Was that a fact. “She likes college football better, though. The Utes are her favorite team.”

      “Well, they would be, wouldn’t they? Coming from Utah?” He headed for the kitchen. Matt followed.

      “Yeah, except she says a lot of people like the BYU. They hate each other, especially because the Utes made the BCS twice. Her dad took her to the game they won against Alabama. Isn’t that cool? She said her favorite player was Paul Kruger. He went to the NFL and plays for the Jets.”

      Colt couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard his son this chatty. They found Noreen. “We’re going to eat upstairs with Allie.” He pulled three plates from the cupboard.

      “What about Katy?”

      “She’ll come down for something later,” Matt explained before Colt could get a word in edgewise. “She’s got work to do.”

      “What kind of work?”

      “I don’t know. She helps people.”

      Noreen was waiting for a more substantial answer. Colt started serving up the enchiladas. “Ms. McFarland works for the patient advocacy program at the hospital in Salt Lake.”

      “Imagine them flying her here with Allie. It’s a huge expense.”

      Matt got some sodas out of the fridge. “She says she’s a specialty nurse, kind of like some people have their own sports trainer.”

      Colt had trouble believing any of this had happened. “Have we got everything?”

      “Yup. Let’s go. I’m starving!”

      “Thanks, Noreen,” Colt murmured. “This looks delicious. Isn’t Ed eating?”

      “He’ll be here in a minute. Let’s hope Allie’s hungry.”

      Colt put everything on a tray. Matt brought the drinks and they left the kitchen. At the top of the stairs he saw light beneath the closed door of the guest bedroom. He had to give Katy full marks for doing her job and being unobtrusive.

      When he walked in Allie’s room, she was sitting up in bed with the light on waiting for them. “Hi, honey. How are you feeling?”

      “Good.”

      “Ready for dinner?”

      Allie nodded as the two of them proceeded to wait on her. Finally they pulled up chairs and everyone started to eat. Colt was glad to see Allie finish off one of her enchiladas and dig into her salad. She was definitely getting better.

      “Dad? While Katy’s not in here, I want to ask you something.”

      “Go ahead.”

      “Thanksgiving’s only four days away. Would it be all right if I asked her to stay with us until the weekend?”

      He stopped chewing. His daughter didn’t really just ask him that.

      “Yeah, Dad,” Matt chimed in. “In case I get sick she’ll be here to take care of me. Besides, it’ll take that long for us to finish the puzzle.”

      Putting down his fork before he made mincemeat of the rest of his enchilada, he said, “I’m afraid not, honey. Have you forgotten your uncle Bob and aunt Sherry have invited us to go to Butte for Thanksgiving? Your cousins are looking forward to it.”

      “They won’t care if Katy comes. Aunt Sherry would really like her and she always has company stay over.”

      “Not this time. We have to think of Ms. McFarland, who’s on loan from the hospital. No doubt she’s in her room right now making plans for her next case. We can’t expect to take advantage of her services like that, not after what she’s done to help you.”

      His daughter’s face fell. “I don’t think I can eat any more.”

      Colt groaned. His daughter could manipulate when she wanted to, but this was going too far. He refused to fall for it. “That’s all right. Tomorrow you’ll probably be able to move around and work up more of an appetite.”

      In the silence that followed, he noticed his son had stopped chirping away. He’d chosen sides and had moved to Allie’s corner. Colt continued to finish his meal. Nip it in the bud. That motto had served him well in the past.

      His gaze flicked to Matt’s plate. “Aren’t you going to eat your apple pie?”

      “Maybe later.”

      “Then I’ll eat it now so we don’t disappoint Noreen.” So saying, he finished it off. While his children eyed him soulfully, he got up and put all the plates on the tray. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

       Chapter Four

      “Thanks for manning the desk for me, Donna. If my patient is better tomorrow, I’ll fly to Salt Lake tomorrow evening and be at work Monday morning to give you a break. I know you want to get ready for Thanksgiving.”

      “That would great. If I can get all the shopping done Monday, then I’ll cook a little at a time until the big day.”

      “How many are you having for dinner?”

      “Twenty. Todd’s brother and his wife and children are coming. What about you?”

      “We’re all getting together at Mom and Dad’s.” Thanksgiving at the McFarlands’ was sacrosanct, not only for her family but for Kathryn. Until she’d been found, Thanksgiving and Christmas had been the most dreaded times of life to get through.

      “I bet your family still can’t believe you’re home with them.”

      “Sometimes