Free The Forest Ranger's Christmas by Leigh Bale Page B

out the ornaments so we can trim our tree,” he said.
    “I’ll do it, Gramps. Where did Grandma store the decorations?”
    “Up in the attic. But let’s not tackle it tonight. I’m bushed.” He yawned and stretched before sitting down at the table.
    As she dished up the stew, Josie felt the same. Running around in the snow all afternoon had worn both of them out. In spite of the fuzzy slippers she now wore, she wondered if her feet would ever get warm again. Maybe after dinner she’d dash down to the general store before it closed. With another storm on its way, she would need boots tomorrow morning. “Our tree isn’t going anywhere. I need to call and check in with my work, anyway. We can string lights and decorate the tree over the next few days.”
    If only she could forget the kind, enigmatic forest ranger who had just left Gramps’s house, Josie might feel more at peace. She tried to tell herself she wasn’t relationship material. After the cruel words Edward had said to her when he’d broken off their engagement, she had no desire to become romantically involved with another man ever again. Especially a widowed father with a little daughter to raise.
    Okay, that wasn’t true, either. But Josie figured if she kept telling herself that, she might actually start believing it. Eventually. After all, it’d do no good to hope for things that could never be. And yet she couldn’t help feeling as if maybe, just maybe, she deserved one more chance at happiness.

Chapter Six
    C lint tossed another load of laundry into the washing machine. He added a scoop of detergent, the fabric softener, then closed the lid. Stifling a yawn, he slid the milk jug back into the refrigerator and placed the dirty dishes in the sink. Turkey and cheese sandwiches with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. From a can. He’d included sliced apples and carrot sticks, to provide Gracie with additional nutrition. Nothing special like the tantalizing stew Josie had offered. Maybe he should have accepted and fed Gracie before they came home.
    Then again, maybe not.
    Poking his head into Gracie’s room, he found it dark, except for a reading lamp on the nightstand by her bed. Dolls and stuffed animals crowded the top of her dresser. Books and games lined two shelves. He loved each and every drawing and finger painting she had plastered on her walls.
    Gracie sat on the floor in her warm pajamas, holding a blue ceramic dish and a picture of her mother in her lap. He’d taken the picture of Karen the day they’d found out they were expecting Gracie. He’d been so filled with joy, but Karen had seemed reluctant. At the time, he’d written it off as nervousness over becoming a new mother. He hadn’t fully realized yet that her problem went much deeper. That she actually feared she would ruin their baby’s life simply because she was her mom.
    “That’s nice.” He pointed at the blue dish with white speckles.
    Gracie had made it last year in school. A Mother’s Day gift for a mom she didn’t have. Her teacher had told her to give it to her dad instead. Gracie had kept it, insisting she’d one day give it to her new mom, if she ever got one.
    “You about ready for bed, pumpkin?” He stepped inside and picked up a few toys she’d missed when he’d sent her to clean up her room.
    “Yep, I’ve even brushed my teeth.” She gritted her teeth to show him her rows of pearly whites, and stuck her tongue into the gap where her front tooth was missing.
    He laughed. “Good job.”
    She stood and placed the picture aside, skimming her fingertips over the glass pane, as though she were caressing her mother’s face.
    Clint had given her the picture two years ago, when she’d first started asking questions about Karen. He didn’t want her to forget her mother or ever believe she wasn’t loved.
    From what Frank had told him, Josie had grown up believing she was an unwanted burden. Clint could understand how that might make her a bit antisocial. In