Page 77 of Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas
“I’d rather be riding your pony, too, and I heard he can be extremely naughty.”
Maya gave a rough-sounding chuckle. “Not last night, though. He was a hero, just as brave as a cavalry horse.”
“Yeah, he was. You were, too.”
“Not really.” Dropping her gaze, Maya pinched a fold of the blanket between her fingers. “I was pretty scared.”
“You can be scared and brave. In fact, I don’t think you can be bravewithoutbeing scared. It’s part of the definition.”
“I cried a lot, and Will had to tell me what to do before I remembered to call Dad.”
Camille shrugged and then regretted it when a sharp throb of pain shot through her skull. “You did it, though, and that’s what matters. Just think, right after regaining consciousness, you rode a horse bareback out of a burning building and went for help. That’s like a braver, more bada—…ah, tougher version of Paul Revere.”
“Nice save,” Steve said dryly as he came into the room. He’d been there most of the day, but he’d left an hour earlier to, as he vaguely put it, “take care of some things.”
“Itwasa nice save, Maya,” Camille said, pretending she didn’t know he was talking about her almost-swear. “You and your dad saved my life and most of the ranch. If you hadn’t called for help, more than just the barn and that acre of trees would’ve burned. The whole place could’ve been lost. Thank you.” Her voice became serious as she hugged Maya against her, looking at Steve over the girl’s head.
Their gazes met, and she could see all the pain and exhaustion and relief in his eyes. It exactly echoed her feelings, and she felt a little lighter to be able to share them with him.
“Dad?” Maya’s voice was small as he pulled a chair closer to the bed and settled on it. “What’s going to happen to Uncle Nate?”
Steve’s eyes closed for a moment, the lines of his face heavy with anger and grief. Reaching out, Camille took his hand, and he clutched hers so tightly that the pressure was just short of painful. “Uncle Ryan and Uncle Joe took him to a place where people will help him figure out why he did such a terrible thing.”
“So, he’s in rehab?” Maya asked, and Camille bit her lip to stop a completely inappropriate laugh from escaping. Sometimes Maya seemed very young, and other times she seemed to be old and wise.
“Not really. It’s more like a hospital.”
“Can’t he just leave if he wants?”
“No.” Steve’s jaw tightened as he squeezed Camille’s hand tightly, revealing how conflicted he’d been about the decision. “He knows that if he doesn’t spend at least ninety days at this place and work hard with the therapists there, we’ll be talking to the sheriff, and he’ll be arrested.”
“Why wasn’t he arrested now?”
Steve scrubbed a hand over his face. “Joe and Ryan cut off the other lock and got rid of the evidence before the fire marshal got there. As far as she knows, Nate got drunk and accidentally lit the barn on fire. He went for help, but tripped and hit his head and passed out. He didn’t know Maya was inside.”
His eyes took on a gloss that made Camille’s insides twist with sympathy.
“Is this okay with the two of you? I would’ve thrown him in the sheriff’s car myself if Joe and Ryan hadn’t convinced me to give therapy a try. You were the ones hurt by his actions, though. If you want him to go to jail, I’ll change my report.” Steve looked back and forth between Maya and Camille, looking so torn apart inside that she hurt for him.
“I don’t want Uncle Nate to go to jail,” Maya said, shooting Camille an anxious glance, as if she was worried about Camille’s reaction. “He didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, not really. He was really, really dumb, but I’m glad he’s going to therapy instead.”
“I agree,” Camille said and felt Maya relax against her. “I’m still really angry at him, but I think therapy is a better solution than jail.” She didn’t mention it to Maya, but she knew that Steve was already aware how very, very angry she was at Nate.
“Okay.” Giving a tight nod, he sat back in his chair, although he didn’t relinquish her hand. “This isn’t a very Christmassy place, is it?”
“No,” Maya said mournfully. “Camille and I were just talking about what we’d rather be doing than sitting here on Christmas, like opening presents or going on a sleigh ride or riding Q.” Her eyes widened. “Where are Q and the rest of the horses staying?”
“We moved them to the pasture next to Joe’s cabin. There’s a run-in shed there, so they’ll have somewhere to go out of the weather. You two did a great job getting all of them out. They’re still a little spooked, but none of them have even a scratch.”
“Good.” Camille leaned back as the knot at the back of her head pounded with the beat of her heart. “Except for the barn and the acre of trees closest to the barn, it turned out to be a happy ending, after all.”
“Thanks to the two of you.” Leaning forward, he gently kissed Maya and Camille on the forehead. His phone chimed, and he pulled it out with his free hand. Whatever he saw made a smile tug on one corner of his mouth. “Well, we can’t bring the sleigh in here, but…”
Zoe, Micah, and Will piled into the room in front of a wheeled cart filled with gifts. Camille smiled, happier to see the other kids than she was about the gifts.
“You brought the presents!” Maya cried happily, climbing off Camille’s bed.
“Is that remote-controlled?” Camille asked, eyeing the wagon-like cart when she noticed none of the kids seemed to be pulling it.
