Christmas Gifts. Trish Morey

any money left?”

      “He should have. He was winning a lot of rodeos.”

      “But shouldn’t Tom have the right to the money?”

      Jack shook his head. “As his wife, you’re entitled to the money. Tom knows that.”

      “I’ll go with you if you think it will help.”

      “Okay, we’ll go at nine tomorrow and—”

      “But I can’t go then. I’ll have to be here to fix Kim’s breakfast. I don’t think she’ll be up early.”

      “First of all, you need to ignore Kim. Secondly, Carol will be here tomorrow. She comes in about seven, so she’ll feed everyone after we leave.”

      “I forgot about her. That will be helpful.”

      “See? I told you that you had nothing to worry about.”

      Elizabeth stepped back from him. She didn’t want another kiss to give her fantasies.

      When Elizabeth got up at six, she immediately dressed and went downstairs to start Jack’s breakfast. She knew he liked to go talk to the cowboys before he left the ranch for any period of time.

      She also fixed her own breakfast. Breakfast was nicer when it was shared. She smiled as she thought about the breakfasts she’d shared with Jack and Tom the last few days.

      If they didn’t have Kim intruding into their little family, she would be perfectly happy.

      As she heard Jack coming downstairs, she brought two plates to the table.

      “Morning, Liz.”

      “Jack, I’ve told you not to call me that. My name is Elizabeth.”

      “Didn’t your family ever call you Liz or Lizzie?”

      Her face shut down, her good mood flying off like a kite in the wind. She put his plate in front of him and turned away.

      “Elizabeth?” She didn’t respond to him. He tried again. “Honey, didn’t you hear my question? Didn’t your family ever call you nicknames?”

      “No.”

      “Never?”

      “No.”

      “You seem upset.”

      She walked over to the sink and threw her breakfast down the disposal. “When you finish, put your plate in the sink.”

      With her stomach rolling, she ran for the stairs and rushed up to hide away in her room.

      Jack sat there in stunned silence. He’d known she’d been irritated when he called her Liz or Lizzie, but he hadn’t expected such a harsh emotional reaction.

      He thought about following her upstairs and asking for an explanation. But he was afraid to press her now. He’d try again when they drove into town.

      Right now he had other things to occupy his mind, like disabling the Mercedes Kim drove to the ranch. He didn’t want her trying to close the account that she’d already stripped of probably fifty thousand dollars.

      He ate his breakfast and put his dishes in the sink. Then he went outside to the Mercedes, lifting the hood. After a couple of minutes, he took the battery out of the car and carried it into the barn.

      Still, he couldn’t keep his mind from Elizabeth. He hoped she’d come downstairs and answer a few questions.

      He hated to think he’d hurt her.

      When Jack got back to the house, he found a group circled around the table. Carol was there, as was Tom and Brady. And Elizabeth.

      “Morning, everyone. Is there any leftover breakfast?”

      “Are you hungry, Jack?” Carol asked, immediately standing up. “I can cook you some eggs and—”

      “No, Carol, I ate breakfast earlier. I just thought you might have some leftovers. There’s no need to cook anything.”

      “It won’t take a minute. I’ve got pancake batter ready. I like to make them. Tom loves them.”

      “Yes, I do. Brady did a good job, too.”

      “Did Elizabeth eat some, too?”

      Carol stared at Elizabeth. “She said she’d already eaten.”

      “I’m not hungry, Carol. I’ve just enjoyed visiting with you.” She stood up. “Well, I guess we should get going.”

      Jack cut her off. “We’ll leave in a few minutes. You need to eat first.” He turned to Carol. “Would you please fix her a couple of pancakes?”

      “I don’t need—”

      He ignored her irate look. “We’re not leaving until you eat.”

      Jack quietly watched the struggle on Elizabeth’s face. If she left, as he knew she wanted to do, she would hurt Carol’s feelings. If she sat down again she’d feel he had won.

      It wasn’t a surprise to him that she agreed to eat just a little. He knew she wouldn’t be rude to Carol.

      He then initiated a conversation with Tom, hoping to divert attention from her so she could relax.

      “Any sign of our guest?” he asked Tom.

      “Nope. Carol checked on her before she started cooking. Still asleep.”

      “I don’t think she’ll be able to leave until I get back from the bank.”

      “Why?”

      “I removed her car battery. I don’t want her to leave until we’ve transferred whatever money is in the account.” He paused to take a bite.

      “Why would she leave money in the account?” Carol asked.

      “I don’t think she knew exactly what was there.”

      “Elizabeth, do you have any idea how much money is in Reggie’s account?” Tom asked.

      “No, Tom, I don’t. I only know he had an account because he occasionally wrote me a check on it, but that’s all I knew.”

      “Well, it’s up to you. Just tell Jack what you want, and he’ll make it happen.”

      Elizabeth stood and thanked Carol for the pancakes, then she cleaned her plate at the sink. She turned around to Jack. “Are we ready to go?”

      “Yeah, we are.”

      She kissed her son. “Brady, be good while I’m gone.”

      “Okay, Mommy.”

      Jack knew Elizabeth would have a few choice comments for him when they got to the car alone. He was ready for them.

      “Jack, I don’t want to take the car away from Kim.”

      That he definitely wasn’t ready for. He shot her a confused look as he drove.

      “I know she may have gotten it illegally,” she said, “but I imagine Reggie took more than he gave.”

      “How do you know that?” Jack said, his voice full of irritation. He couldn’t believe she was concerned about a lying gold digger who faked a marriage and scammed to get more money.

      “Trust me, I know.”

      Reggie had no doubt done the same to her. But she was nothing like Kim Hall. He told her as much.

      “You don’t know that. You’ve only known me for three days.”

      Yeah, Jack said to himself, it was amazing, wasn’t it? “I know enough about you to know you’re nothing like Kim. She’s out to get what she can and she’s not interested in giving anything. You, on the other hand, will give to anyone who needs something.”

      From the