Christmas Catch-Up IV (River's End Ranch Book 39) Read online

“Really?”

  “Jace called it a mental exercise, but I think Dad was being serious.”

  “And whose side was Elf on?”

  “He was watching college football on TV, and occasionally chiming in with a vote for Nilla Wafers.”

  Ellie snorted. “I can see why you wanted to get out of there.”

  “No.” Will dropped a kiss on her hair. “I wanted to get out of there so I could spend some time with my wife. But now I am energized and recharged, and I can face the cookie-investment debate.”

  Ellie stepped back, and nodded seriously. “Godspeed, brave warrior. You risk much.”

  She pretended to lay a benediction on his head, but he grabbed her around the waist for one more quick, laughing, kiss.

  That’s why she was still smiling when she entered the kitchen to see Muz holding the baby, and Dink and Belle rolling out cookie dough. Her sister looked up and smiled knowingly.

  “You look happy! I guess the winter air agrees with you, huh?” she teased.

  “Winter air?” Belle threw in, not looking up from her choice of cookie cutters. “I’d say it’s more like a certain man agreed with her.”

  Dink jabbed her sister-in-law with an elbow. “Oh, like you have room to talk? I saw you sitting on my big brother’s lap earlier, when you went in there to let them ‘test’ the last batch of cookies.”

  Belle gasped in mock-indignation. “He pulled me down, I’ll have you know. I am nothing if not professional when it comes to Peanut Butter Kisses.”

  “The cookie or the actual kiss?”

  Ellie was glad when Muz interrupted their banter, worried it might come back around to her again, and not knowing if she needed to defend herself against the kissing-in-the-snow allegations.

  “My little Schnoogle-Bottom here prefers his kisses peanut-free, don’t you, my love?” Muz blew a raspberry on the baby’s Christmas-onesie-encased tummy. “Because he thrives on kisses, yes he does.”

  Reddy’s laughter was high-pitched, and never failed to make Ellie smile. He’d only recently started laughing so much, and his NanaMuz was one of his favorite people. Probably because of her ridiculous made-up nicknames.

  “I suppose ‘Schnoogle-Bottom’ is better than ‘Pumpernickel-Melon’ or whatever it was you were calling him last week,” Belle said as she pressed the cookie cutters into the dough. “I dunno where you come up with this stuff, Muz.”

  Ellie crossed to get a root beer from the fridge. “You don’t need to worry about it ‘til it starts making sense.”

  “All of my words make perfect sense, yes they do,” Muz said to the baby. “Don’t they, Schmoopy?”

  “Is there a reason all of her words start with ‘schmoo?’” Belle asked Dink in a mock-whisper.

  “Not all of them,” Dink replied. “She calls my brother ‘Elfikins’, and Dad used to be ‘Canoodle.””

  Ellie remembered that one. “Actually,” she corrected. “I think it was ‘Little Baby Canoodle-Puff,’ wasn’t it?”

  While Belle hid her snort of laughter, Muz blew another raspberry on Reddy’s tummy. “See? They all make perfect sense, don’t they? Don’t you think Papa is a Canoodle-Puff, my little Schnookle-Bottom?”

  The baby chose that moment to let out a sweet little fart, which sent his adoring ladies—even Ellie—into peals of laughter.

  “I think—” Belle tried to choke out between chuckles, “I think you should call him ‘Cutie-Poots’. No, wait!” She straightened, still holding her stomach. “I call that! That’s my nickname for him! Cutie-Poots, you can’t have that, I copyright it!”

  Ellie put back the root beer, unopened, knowing she was laughing too hard to try to drink anything carbonated. “I dunno, I might have to steal it…”

  Muz had Reddy up against her shoulder and was patting his back while giving the younger women a haughty glare. “Don’t be ridiculous. ‘Cutie-Poots’ is a terrible nickname.”

  Belle could tease her mother-in-law with the rest of them. “Oh, but Schnoogie isn’t?”

  “Schnoogle-Bottom, thankyouverymuch,” Muz said, her nose in the air. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take little Schnooklerino here up to his room for a new diaper and some NanaMuz time.”

  As she walked by, she held out the baby for Ellie to kiss. That baby-head smell would never get old, and Ellie took a big whiff, closing her eyes in bliss.

  “Okay, Muz, but try not to teach him any nonsense. Will wants his first word to be ‘Dada.’”

  “Nonsense?” Muz said to the baby as she headed for the stairs, pretending to be offended. “Nonsense. Did you hear that, Schnookikins? She thinks I’m nonsensical…”

  If Ellie hadn't been looking at her sister right as Muz walked out the door, she would have missed the wistful look that floated across Dink's face. Why? Because of the women's easy banter, or because of the baby?

  Come to think of it, Dink and Jace had been married just as long as Ellie and Will had. They both adored kids, and were instrumental in the success of the new kids’ camp last summer. Was it because they were still living in that tiny house they hadn't had kids yet?

  And for that matter, when was Belle going to get around to having a baby? Sure, she and Ellie's brother had been married less than a year, but there’s no time like the present... Ellie told herself to stop trying to manage everyone else's lives.

  It was just... She and Will were so happy with little Reddy in their lives. She wanted everyone to experience that happiness. The happiness that came from looking into the eyes of your baby son or daughter and knowing a love that you could never before have imagined. It was just so special, and she wanted her sister and brother to experience that too.

  Yep, time to meddle.

  “Soooo, Belle...” Ellie stepped up to the other side of the kitchen island and began scooping the cut cookies up off the counter with the spatula and sliding them onto the prepared trays. “Have you and Elf thought about having a baby?”

  “Having a baby?” snorted Belle, without looking up from her careful cookie-cutter placement. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days? I am a married woman, no need to get euphemistic.”

  “Eeew!” Ellie squealed. “I don't need to think of my big brother making babies!”

  The three of them giggled a little before Belle looked up, one brow raised.

  “Oh, you were being serious? No. No no no!” She held up a metal Santa in one hand and a reindeer in the other. “I'm only twenty-four, and I get to cuddle all the babies I want to at work, when I have to cover for Debbie in the infants’ room. Elf and I have talked about it...” She shrugged, and reached for a third cookie cutter. “But we both agree that if we want kids, it won't be for a while yet. I'm happy with my job, especially now that it's winter and I get to help on the bunny slopes with the youngest skiers. And Elf and I...” She blushed slightly, no longer meeting Ellie's eyes. “Well, we're pretty happy right now, it being just the two of us.”

  Hmmm. Well, it was hard to fault her reasoning. Belle was a few years younger than her sisters-in-law, and Ellie could see how she might not be ready for kids yet. It was that “if” that concerned her. How could Belle not want kids? Especially since she was so good with them? Ellie figured it was up to her to convince Belle otherwise... Luckily, she had a few years.

  Meanwhile... Ellie turned to her sister, who had been doing her best to ignore the conversation, head bent industriously over the dough she was rolling out for Belle’s cutters.

  “How about you, Dink? I'll bet you and Jace would make the most beautiful babies. My Reddy needs a cousin to play with! How about it?”

  Without looking up from her work, Dink replied, “How about what?”

  “Babies!” The word burst out of Ellie in an exasperated huff. “When are you and Jace going to start having kids?”

  “Oh.” Dink seem to be paying special attention to one particular corner of the rolled dough, going over it again and again with the pin. Finally she shrugged. “Not yet.”


  There was something about the way she answered, about the way she seemed to want to avoid the conversation, which had Ellie’s sisterly instincts on the rise.

  “Not yet? As in…you talked about it but decided to wait, like Belle? Or not yet, like you don't want kids? Or not yet like...?”

  She trailed off, inviting Dink to explain. A long, awkward silence passed before Belle finally nudged Dink with her elbow.

  “You’ve got to tell her,” she said in a soft voice.

  “Tell me what?”

  Ellie’s eyes darted between the two of them, wondering what Belle knew that she didn’t. Neither of them looked her way, but Dink finally raised her eyes to meet Belle’s.

  “If you don't,” Belle nodded seriously at Ellie’s sister, “I will.”

  Part of Ellie bristled at the realization her sister-in-law and her sister had been sharing secrets behind her back. But another part of her acknowledged she had been fairly wrapped up in preparing for Reddy's arrival, and then falling in love with her baby... She supposed it was possible she hadn't spared her sister the attention she needed over the last year.

  Ellie wasn't sure what to say, how to acknowledge the fault aloud, so she just pressed her lips together and waited for her sister to say something.

  Finally, Dink met her eyes.

  “Not yet...” She took a deep breath. “Not yet as in, the doctors say we can't have children.”

  Stunned, Ellie's first response wasn't an elegant one. “What? She squeaked. “What do you mean?”

  When she spoke, Dink’s words were monotone, as if they’d been rehearsed. “About six months ago we went to the doctor, to ask why we weren’t pregnant yet. We've been trying all the old wives’ suggestions, and a bunch of other silly stuff.” She didn't blush, or even crack a smile. She said the words dully, like they no longer pained her. “The doctors define infertility as trying for more than a year without getting pregnant, so Jace's insurance covered all the tests.” She dropped her gaze to the rolling pin in her hands, and shrugged. “The results were pretty clear. The only way we're ever going to be able to have a baby of our own is with really expensive invasive in-vitro fertilization. And even then...” She shrugged one more time. “Nothing is guaranteed.”

  Ellie stood there, gaping. Dink would never have a baby? The thought was too terrible to bear; she dropped the spatula and wrapped her arms around her middle. How horrible, to think of never feeling little Reddy moving inside her, never holding him in her arms. Ellie’s eyes filled with tears, imagining her life without her baby in it.

  “Ellie.”

  When Belle snapped her name, Ellie’s tear-filled eyes flew to her sister-in-law’s dark ones. Belle stood close enough to Dink their arms touched, and it was obvious she was lending her support.

  “Ellie,” Belle began again, more gently, “Whatever it is you’re about to say, think about it first.” She cut her eyes to Dink, then back again. “Think about what’s needed.”

  Her words were slow to penetrate, but when they did, Ellie nodded slowly, understanding dawning. Her reaction to her sister’s revelation had been all about herself, and her own feelings. Dink didn’t need to hear that, or need to hear how terrible Ellie considered her situation…

  She took a breath, and met her little sister’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Dink. That stinks.”

  Dink shrugged with a nonchalance that was obviously forced. “It’s okay. We’re dealing with it.”

  “Would a hug help?”

  Her sister’s smile was watery, but it was there. “A hug always helps.”

  Moving around the kitchen island, Ellie wrapped Dink in a hug. After a long moment, Dink’s arms snaked tentatively around her middle.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Ellie asked against her sister’s teal-dyed hair, and felt a shrug in response.

  “You were so wrapped up with little Reddy, I didn’t want to take away from that.”

  Before Ellie could respond to that—to apologize for not being there for her sister—Belle joined them in the hug, wrapping her arms around both of them. So instead, Ellie spoke to her.

  “Thank you for being there for Dink. I’m really glad she felt comfortable talking to you about it.”

  Belle smiled slightly, her cheek pressed against Dink’s shoulder. “Me too.”

  Another pair of arms—much larger and hairier—wrapped around all of them from the other side, and Ellie’s head whipped sideways to meet her brother’s eyes.

  “Hi!” he said brightly, not loosening his hold. “Are we doing Christmas hugs? Is that what we’re doing?”

  It was hard not to snort with laughter, but Ellie managed it. “We’re doing comforting hugs.”

  “Oh, good,” he deadpanned. “I’m excellent at that.”

  With only a little grunt, he bent his knees and lifted all three of them off the floor—not much, but enough to make Belle squeal and Ellie squirm. When he plopped them down, their little huddle broke apart, with Ellie and Belle backing away towards the island. Dink, on the other hand, turned to offer her big brother a longer hug. Elf obliged.

  Jace chose that moment to enter the kitchen as well. “Are we doing Christmas hugs? Is that a thing?” He turned to Ellie. “Do we do Christmas hugs in this family?

  Ellie knew he’d grown up without a real family, without the Christmas celebrations she and her siblings had treasured. But the Redferns had happily accepted him into their fold, and he’d joined in their teasing and laughter just like Will and Belle.

  Today, though, the teasing seemed bittersweet.

  Ellie offered a small smile. “We do hugs anytime in this family.”

  “Ah.” Jace blinked his handsome light-brown eyes and turned to his wife, who was extricating herself from Elf’s hug. “You finally told her, huh?”

  Dink crossed to Jace, who wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on the top of her head. Elf snagged Belle, pulling her up against his side, one large arm around her shoulders. He seemed to understand what was going on, and Ellie was miffed for a moment that she was the last to know this important news in her sister’s life.

  Still, she had to admit she understood their reasoning, and the very last thing Dink and Jace needed right now was for her to get all fussy because she felt slighted. So instead, she tried for a smile.

  “So what are you two thinking?”

  One of Jace’s elegant brows rose. “In general? About hugs, or Christmas, or what?”

  “About…” Ellie swallowed. “About the whole infertility thing.”

  “Ah.” His arms tightened around Dink. “Well, we trust the doctors, so we’ve accepted their verdict.”

  Ellie met her sister’s eyes, and saw that was true. And somehow, the pit in her stomach felt a little less horrible. Knowing Dink wasn’t denying the tests’ results, wasn’t railing against the universe, disbelieving…somehow, that made it seem better.

  Jace continued. “And no matter how much we loved being a part of Reddy’s birth and his early weeks, we know that’s not the only way to have children.”

  Dink nodded, bumping her head against her husband’s chin. “We’re not sure yet if we’re totally ready for kids.” She exchanged a glance with Belle, who’d said the same thing. “But we’ve already started looking into the fostering requirements for Idaho.” She patted Jace’s arms where they rested against her stomach. For the first time since her confession, she seemed animated at the topic. “Jace’s experience in the foster care system showed us there are kids—babies—out there who need our love. Maybe one day we’ll do IVF, but I think it’s important to both of us to give a loving home to kids who have already been born.”

  Ellie couldn’t swallow past the lump in her throat. Dink’s statement had been the most beautiful thing she could recall her sister ever saying, and the pit in her stomach turned into a million tiny butterflies, who all took flight at once.

  Looking at her sister, in the arms of a man who obviously loved her, Ellie knew she’d be alright. They
’d all be alright, no matter what path to motherhood—Or not, she thought, glancing at Belle—the universe took them on.

  This time, the tears in her eyes were from happiness. The future wasn’t always what she expected, but as long as she had the love of her family, and her husband, it was beautiful. Speaking of whom…

  “What’d I miss? I can only talk about Oreos and Gingersnaps for so long before I— Why are we all standing around looking emotional?”

  Will came up behind Ellie and slung his arm over her shoulder as he asked the question.

  She snaked her arms around his middle, and pressed her cheek against his chest, reveling in the steady beat of his heart and the certainty of his love. “We’re just here, thinking about how very blessed we’ve been.”

  “Yep,” Will quipped, “I am pretty awesome.”

  “Not with you,” she snapped as she swatted his side, but then rubbed the sting out. “We’re blessed because we have each other, no matter what. And because it’s Christmastime.”

  “And because,” Jace spoke up, “we have a future together.”

  Elf smiled down at Belle. “And no matter what, we’ll have a family that suits us.”

  There. That’s what life was all about, wasn’t it?

  Ellie smiled up at her husband, the man who made her a mother. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas.”

  Sadie and Shawn

  (Sarsaparilla Showdown)

  “Are we gonna open a present tonight, like we did last year? Can we, Mommy?”

  Sadie smiled down at her daughter—her step-daughter, really, but sometimes it was hard to remember sweet Violet had only been a part of her life for a little over a year. She’d met the nine-year-old and her delicious father last fall, and now it seemed Violet remembered their first Christmas together just as well as Sadie did.

  She opened her mouth to agree to the tradition, when a pair of arms wrapping around her middle interrupted her.

  “You think a Christmas Eve present is a good idea, huh, Sprout?” Shawn squeezed a gently. “What do you say, Mommy?”

  It was hard not to giggle in joy at the subtle reminder, or at the way her husband’s touch still managed to make her feel.