Page 31 of The Holiday Gift

“But?”

Celeste huffed out a breath. “But when it comes to Chase Brannon, you are being completely stupid and, as much as I hate to say it, more than a little cruel.”

“That’s a harsh word.”

“The man is in love with you and when you sit there pretending you didn’t know, you are lying to me, yourself and especially to Chase.”

“He has neveroncesaid anything.” She still couldn’t make herself believe it.

“The last two years, he has shown you in a thousand different ways. You think he comes over three or four times a week to help Barrett with his homework because he loves fourth grade arithmetic? Can anyone really be naive enough to think he adores cleaning out the rain gutters in the spring and autumn because it’s his favorite outdoor activity? Does he check the knock in your pickup’s engine or help you figure out the ranch accounts or take a look at any sick cattle you might have because he wants to? No! He does all of those things because ofyou.”

Faith could come up with a hundred other things he did for her or for the kids or Aunt Mary. That didn’t necessary mean he was inlovewith her, only that he was a good, caring man trying to step up and help them after Travis’s death.

The nausea inside her now had an element of panic. Had she been ignoring the truth all this time because she simply hadn’t wanted to see it? What kind of horrible person was she? It made her feel like the worst kind of user.

“He’s my best friend,” she whispered. “What would I do without him?”

“I’m afraid you might have to figure that out sooner than you’d like, especially if you can’t admit that you might have feelings for him, too.”

With that, her sister rose, gave her a quick hug. “We all loved Travis. He was like the big brother I never had. He was a great guy and a good father. But he’s gone, honey. You’re not. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that maybe you didn’t want to see that Chase is in love with you so you have avoided facing the truth. But now that you know, what are you going to do about it?”

Her sister slipped from the room before she could come up with a response—which was probably a good thing since Faith had no idea how to answer her.

Chapter 8

“Why couldn’t Lou come with us to take me home?” Addie asked Faith as they pulled out of the Star N driveway to head toward Chase’s place.

Faith tried to smile but it ended in a yawn. She was completely wrung out after a fragmented, tortured night spent mostly staring up at her ceiling, reliving the evening—those kisses!—and her conversation with Celeste and wondering what she should do.

She must have slept for a few hours, on and off. When she awoke at her five-thirty alarm, all she wanted to do was pull the covers over her head, curl up and block out the world for a week or two.

Faith blinked away the yawn and tried to smile at Chase’s daughter again. “She had a few chores to do this morning and I decided it was better for her to finish them as soon as she could. Sorry about that.”

Addie gave her a sudden grin. “Oh. I thought it was maybe because you didn’t want her to see her Christmas present in the pasture.”

She winced. She should have known Addie would figure it out. The girl was too smart for her own britches. She only hoped she could also keep a secret. “How did you know about that?”

“My dad didn’t tell me, in case you’re wondering. It wasn’t that hard to figure it out, though, especially since Lou hasn’t stopped talking about the new barrel racing horse she wants. It seemed like too much of a coincidence when I saw a new horse suddenly had shown up in my dad’s pasture.”

Faith didn’t see any point in dissembling. Christmas was only a few weeks away and the secret would be out anyway. “It wasn’t a coincidence,” she confirmed. “Your dad helped me pick her out and offered to keep her at Brannon Ridge until after Christmas, when we take her to the Dalton ranch to be trained.”

“Louisa is going to be so excited!”

“I think so.” Her daughter was a smart, kind,goodgirl. Louisa worked hard in school, did her chores when asked and was generally kind to her brother. She had channeled her grief over losing her father at such a young age into a passion for horse riding and Faith wanted to encourage that.

“I won’t tell. I promise,” Addie said.

“Thank you, honey.”

Addie was a good girl, as well. Some children of divorce became troubled and angry—sometimes even manipulative and sly, pitting one parent against the other for their own gain as they tried to navigate the difficult waters of living in two separate households. Addie was the sweetest girl—which seemed a minor miracle, considering her situation.

“Maybe once she’s trained, Lou might let me ride her once in a while,” the girl said.

Faith didn’t miss the wistful note in Addie’s voice. “You know, if you want a horse of your own, you could probably talk your dad into it.”

Quite frankly, Faith was surprised Chase hadn’t already bought a horse for his daughter.

“I know. Dad has offered to get me one since I was like five. It would be nice, but it doesn’t seem very fair to have a horse of my own when I could only see it and ride it once or twice a month. My dad would have to take care of it the rest of the time without me.”

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