The Rancher's Christmas Match. Brenda Minton

porch steps, he settled his hand on the dog’s dark gray head.

      “They’re right about dogs being man’s best friend, Ted. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” He’d gotten the dog during his rougher-than-a-dirt-road teen years. The animal had been waiting for him when he returned from Afghanistan, wounded and angry.

      “I guess that means I’m not your best friend?” Joe Lawson, another resident of the ranch, called out from the kitchen.

      “You’re a friend,” Isaac responded. “But you’re kind of worthless at arm wrestling and not much of a right-hand man.”

      “I never get tired of that joke,” Joe grumbled, doing a decent job of fixing a pot of coffee with his left hand. He’d lost his right arm when an IED exploded in Kabul.

      “I never get tired of saying it,” Isaac responded. It was the same joke and the same comeback every day. Routine. They lived for routine.

      They all had their stories. They didn’t share much of their past or even much about what had brought them to Mercy Ranch. People called them wounded warriors but they were survivors.

      “Going to bed?” Joe called out as Isaac headed for the stairs.

      “Yeah.”

      “Bad?” the other man asked.

      “Not the worst, but I’d like to head it off at the pass.”

      Joe came out from behind the counter, wiping his hand on the apron that hung from his neck. Joe found therapy in cooking.

      “Eve said a woman brought you home. Her little girl had a seizure.”

      If there’d been a list of things, that subject would have come under the heading Last Thing in the World Isaac Wants to Discuss. But Joe knew that. And Joe didn’t care.

      “I’m going to my room. Make sure no one knocks on my door.”

      “Gotcha.”

      He pretended he didn’t hear Joe’s laughter following him up the stairs.

      * * *

      “She’s fine,” Dr. Carson West assured Rebecca as he sat back in the chair he’d pulled close to the sofa.

      He winked at her daughter, who had his stethoscope in her ears, listening to her own heartbeat.

      Of course Allie was fine. Rebecca drew in a deep breath at his reassurance. No matter how often this happened and how many times she heard that everything would be okay, it didn’t get any easier. As a mother, she wanted to fix everything for her child. She wanted to take away the seizures, the fear, all of it.

      “Has she always had them?” he asked, turning to face Rebecca.

      “Five years.”

      “She could outgrow this,” he offered.

      “We hope she does. They’ve been happening less frequently.”

      “Only twice this year.” Allie sat up a little, pulling the stethoscope from around her neck and holding it out to Carson.

      “How does it sound?” he asked.

      “Like normal.” Allie leaned back into the pillow and pulled the quilt up around her shoulders. “Where did Isaac go?”

      Carson placed the stethoscope in his doctor bag. “He probably went to his room. When he has a headache, he’s kind of a bear to be around.”

      “He carried me inside,” Allie informed him. “He seemed nice. Even if my mom did think he had been—”

      “That’s enough,” Rebecca held up a hand to cut her daughter off.

      “I wouldn’t suggest a long trip anytime soon,” Carson said as he returned to the topic of Allie’s health. “Let her rest up, and if you’re staying in town, I’d like to see her in a couple of days.”

      “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

      Jack cleared his throat. “Where are you staying, Rebecca?”

      She avoided his clear gray eyes, the eyes of a concerned parent. Why did that come to mind? And why did it bother her so much? She’d ceased missing her parents. She’d given up on any type of normal relationship with them. The last time she’d called her father, Pastor Don Barnes, he’d told her he didn’t have a daughter.

      Who was she kidding? His comment had hurt. It had opened up the wounds she’d buried at eighteen when he’d disowned her. It had ached deep down because he didn’t want to meet his granddaughter.

      And yet here she was, in Oklahoma and a short drive from where she’d grown up. Because even if family wanted nothing to do with her, she wanted to know they were nearby. If something happened, she wanted to know they had someone close.

      She’d come to Hope to talk to Jack about the business opportunity he’d advertised nationally. Jack West was offering people free rent if they would commit to keeping their business in Hope, Oklahoma, for one year. But first he had to approve the business and the business plan.

      “I thought we would have our meeting, and then I would drive to Tulsa and stay with a friend.”

      “We can discuss where you’ll stay while we’re going over your business plan,” Jack continued. “We may need a few days to look over your business and I’m afraid the hotel in town is booked up. There’s a festival in Grove and the entire area is overrun with visitors. Which we aren’t going to complain about.”

      “I’ll find us a place.” She smiled, looking over at Allie.

      Jack’s attention slid to the girl and he winked at her. “I think you all should stay right here on the ranch.”

      “We couldn’t,” Rebecca replied. Allie loved animals and anything country. But they couldn’t stay here.

      “I don’t see why not,” Jack continued. “You have a briefcase that I’m sure contains a business plan. And I have a shop looking for a new owner. The only way I can connect you to that shop is if I have an opportunity to look at what you have in mind. If you need an opinion other than mine, that you need to stay put for a while, I think Carson has already given it.”

      “I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity,” she told him.

      “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” Jack said softly. “If staying here makes you feel uncomfortable I’m sure we can find somewhere else for you to stay.”

      She had to be a grown-up about this.

      The dog, Maximus, pushed his golden head against her leg. She stroked the soft fur and found courage. But hadn’t she been drawing on that same courage for the past year? The death of her aunt had been a difficult blow.

      It had taken courage to sell their salon and leave Arizona. It had taken more courage to return to Oklahoma, where she knew she’d meet her past head-on.

      For Allie’s sake she needed to make this work. For Allie she would do whatever it took. With that in mind she lifted her gaze to find Jack West watching her, his expression kind. She nodded, accepting the offer. “We’ll stay.”

      Allie let out a weak shout and the dog quickly returned to her side, snuggling against her, his head resting on her shoulder. She ran a hand down his back and the dog pushed even closer.

      “But we don’t want to put you to any trouble,” Rebecca added.

      Jack waved off her concerns. “We have plenty of space. There’s a nice couple of rooms in the women’s dorm.”

      Kylie West came in the room and laughed. “‘Women’s dorm’ is a fancy way of saying that there’s a garage that’s been remodeled and turned into apartments.”

      “Nice apartments,” Jack countered.

      Kylie inclined her head. “I’ll agree with