Western Christmas Wishes. Brenda Minton

“How old are you?”

      “Thirteen.” A mew from inside her pocket punctuated the sentence.

      “Thirteen and you’re a self-designated life coach?”

      “Nope, I just know stuff. I’ve lived a lot of life in thirteen years.”

      “Yes, well, I’m sure you don’t know as much as you think you do. I’m not sure what your problem is, but you can’t sit there and diagnose my life.” Laurel sighed. She was arguing with a kid.

      From the passenger seat, Rose whispered something to the kitten in her pocket.

      “What?” Laurel asked, softening her tone.

      “You asked what my problem is. A lot of things. I’m difficult, dysfunctional, dyslexic and a lot of other D words. Some of them I can’t repeat because my mother had a colorful way with words that Aunt Gladys doesn’t appreciate.” Her tone was dry but there was a brief flicker of pain that Laurel couldn’t miss.

      “I’m sorry,” Laurel said. “Is this the right way?”

      It definitely didn’t look like the right way and her phone didn’t have a signal, so there was no GPS.

      “I don’t think so.”

      “Rose, maybe you could give me directions?” she said as she pulled over, just as a red truck drove by. “I’m sure you’ve visited Gladys and know how to get there. And why do you have a kitten in your pocket?”

      Rose grinned and pulled the kitten from her coat. “I’ve never had a pet.”

      “You can’t just take a kitten. It might need to be with its mother.”

      “It’s six weeks old. They’re ready to be weaned. That’s what Cameron said last week. If Gladys won’t let me keep it, I’ll take it back to the mama cat. But I’m going to tell Gladys I got it for her. She won’t turn away a gift.”

      “You think that’ll work?”

      Rose shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

      “Good luck with that. Now, how do I get to the nursing home?”

      “You’re on the right road. It looks like a driveway but it really is a road.”

      “Thank you.”

      She put the car in Drive and continued on down the road. As they rounded a bend, she saw the red truck ahead of them.

      “That’s Cam’s truck,” Rose informed her.

      “Is it?”

      “Yeah, he must have worried that I would get you lost. He acts all grouchy and tough but he’s really okay.”

      “Good to know.”

      “Pretty cute, too. If you just look at the side without the scars.”

      “I’m not interested,” Laurel informed the teen.

      “Right, because you’re getting over a bad breakup and you resent men because you never knew your father. I didn’t know mine, either, but I don’t plan on being single my whole life. I want a husband and kids, a good job, the whole package.”

      Laurel blinked. “You’re a bit of a mess.”

      “Yeah, well, my mom is your second cousin, Tarin. She’s not exactly a role model.”

      “Where is she these days?” Laurel asked as the brick facility came into view.

      “Tarin? Who knows? We were living with a friend of hers in Grove and she took off one night, left me sleeping on their couch. After a few days they called Family Services because I’m not their responsibility. DFS found Gladys and she took me in. My grandmother was Gladys’s sister. She passed away years ago.”

      Laurel had to give it to the girl—she was an optimist. Laurel thought about romance in terms of the father she’d never known because he’d failed to tell her mother he was engaged to someone else. He’d dated her mother on summer break, but his fiancée was the woman he’d met in college.

      “You don’t know why your mom left?” Laurel asked as she parked.

      “Who knows? She’s an addict. Aunt Gladys says everyone’s an addict these days and who knows what society is coming to. Anyway, Tarin’s a rotten mom and a horrible person.”

      “She’s an addict, Rose. She probably didn’t plan for that to happen. Sometimes it happens to really good people.”

      “Yeah, I guess. She told me one time that she was a straight-A student until her junior year, when she fell in with the wrong crowd. One time, one wrong friend, and her whole life changed. I guess I kind of wonder why she doesn’t just change it back.”

      Easier said than done, Laurel thought. But she didn’t say it out loud. She’d lost friends to addictions. Knew the devastation it could do to a family. She cleared her throat and moved on, because Rose had a shimmer of moisture in her eyes.

      “Hey, there’s Cam.” Rose opened her door to get out.

      Laurel let her go. She knew about deflecting, about changing subjects and trying hard not to let things hurt.

      Cameron Hunt waited on the sidewalk in front of the nursing home. Laurel took her time getting out of her car. She wasn’t quite ready for this visit. It had been too long since she’d seen her grandmother. Gladys had visited Chicago but her last visit had been for Laurel’s college graduation, just over eight years ago. Laurel’s mom had visited Hope but Laurel had avoided the town that held too many bad memories.

      She’d been a small-town girl whose mom had made a mistake. She knew all about gossip, whispers and dirty looks. Her mom had never told anyone the name of the father of her child. She’d said it didn’t matter. But it must have mattered to her, because she’d never married.

      “You made it,” Cameron said as she got out, joining him on the sidewalk.

      Rose was ahead of them, nearly to the front door of the facility. Laurel let the girl go because she obviously knew her way and hopefully couldn’t get into trouble between here and there.

      The man walking next to her switched sides, giving her the unscarred side of his face. She started to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but she didn’t know him well enough to tell him what was or wasn’t necessary.

      “We made it. I was afraid she would purposely get me lost.”

      “Your fears were well-grounded,” he agreed with a grim look. “I headed this way shortly after you left with Rose, to make sure you found the place. And yet, I beat you here. That must have been you pulled over on the side of the road.”

      The gesture of kindness surprised her. From the look on his face, it surprised him, as well. He obviously hadn’t meant to get involved. After knowing Rose for less than two hours, she could see how the girl would drag someone in, not giving them the opportunity to decide if they wanted to be involved or not.

      They were close to the entrance when the door opened and a man exited. Laurel glanced his way, but then she took a longer look as he stopped to talk to Rose. He was tall with dark auburn hair and hazel eyes. Laurel hesitated as the world seemed to spin a little too fast.

      “You okay?” Cameron Hunt asked.

      She watched as the man, a stranger, turned toward her. He saw her and his smile faltered. He drew in a breath and seemed to hold it.

      “I’m good,” she lied. “Please go inside with Rose.”

      She could be wrong, she told herself. He was a stranger with hair a darker shade of red than her own. It meant nothing. The way he looked at her meant nothing.

      “I think I should stay here with you.” Cameron’s hand was on her arm, steadying her. She thought she didn’t need to be steadied but realized that her legs were weak and the world had faded a little.