Small Town Christmas

Chapter One

The folks of Bramble, Texas, believed in doing things up big. And the holidays were no exception. Every building along Main Street was decorated with garland, balls, and bows. A giant, ornament-filled Douglas fir stood in front of the town hall, fake poinsettias spouted from storefront flower boxes, and ropes of evergreen encircled each light post.

Having lived in Bramble for all of his life, the excess was nothing new to Ethan Miller. In fact, he had to admit he liked the town all spiffed up. It put him more in the mood for Christmas-which was only a day away.

As Ethan ambled along the street, he looked up at the blue west Texas skies. It was clear now, but the weather was about to change. He could feel it in his bones.

“Nice ass.”

The words caused Ethan to stop so fast that Buckwheat ran into him from behind. And being run into by a four-hundred-pound donkey could bring even a big man down in a hurry. One knee hit the cement, and he had to grab on to the back of the bench in front of Sutter’s Pharmacy to keep from landing on his face. Old Moses Tate, who was sleeping on the bench, didn’t even break-snore. Of course, without his hearing aids, the man was as deaf as a stone.

With pain shooting up his thigh, Ethan turned to get after Buckwheat for tailgating when his gaze got snagged by the woman who had just spoken. Words dried up in his mouth. Of course, words always dried up in Ethan’s mouth when he was around a woman he found attractive. And this woman he found much more than attractive. She was downright breathtaking.

Hair as thick and black as a bay horse’s tail fell around a face with high cheekbones, a button nose, and lips painted the pink of the sky right before sunrise. She wore big movie-star sunglasses that concealed her eyes and city clothes that would be useless on a farm-but were damned nice to look at. A long, red sweater hugged breasts the size of plump September peaches and curved down over slim hips that would sit real pretty in a saddle. Of course, the painted-on jeans and knee-high boots with their tall, skinny heels wouldn’t work for riding.

Leastways, not horses.

A tingling of sexual awareness settled in Ethan’s stomach. But it wasn’t the first time he’d ignored the feeling, and it wouldn’t be the last. Farm life left little time for giving in to one’s desires.

“Uhh… excuse me, ma’am?” The slow, awkward words that came out of his mouth had his face heating, and his embarrassment only grew when her pretty lips tipped up in a soft smile.

She moved away from the pharmacy window with its display of a tiny tinsel Christmas tree surrounded by brightly wrapped packages and came to stand directly in front of him. Seeing as Ethan was still kneeling, it brought those sweet peaches mere inches from his mouth. And there was no ignoring the heat that slammed into him much harder than Buckwheat.

“Are you plannin’ on makin’ a declaration, Ethan?” she said. “Or are you just takin’ a mornin’ prayer break?”

The country twang that had been missing when she’d commented on his ass was now thick and familiar. His head came up, and he squinted at her mouth, trying to visualize it without paint. But it wasn’t until she reached up and removed the sunglasses that he recognized the face. Eyes the deep blue of Morning Glories stared back at him, and Ethan’s voice rang out as clear as one of Hope Scrogg’s hog calls.

“Sam?” With only a small cringe, he climbed to his feet and within two steps had the woman in his arms. He swung her around once before he realized what he was doing. Then he quickly set her back on her feet and stepped away, more than a little embarrassed by his uncharacteristic behavior. If it had been any other woman, he would’ve been stammering his apologies like a bashful idiot.

But this was Sam.

He grinned back at her, not quite believing his eyes. “Would you look at you? I thought you’d gone and left Bramble for good.”

“I thought so too,” she said rather breathlessly. Her gaze wandered over his face as if taking in all the changes. He figured there had to be plenty. The last couple years had been hard-what with his daddy’s accident and the majority of the farm work falling to him. To a young woman five years his junior, he must look as old and weathered as a leather harness left out in the sun.

While she, on the other hand, looked as fresh as a new spring daffodil. She even smelled like flowers. He filled his lungs with the subtle, sweet scent, realizing too late the effect it would have on a man who’d hadn’t been this close to a woman, other than his mama, in a while. Suddenly, he felt like he had the time he’d gotten sandwiched between a couple linebackers during a high school football game-kinda dazed and loopy.

Confused by his reactions, he dropped his head and ran a hand over the back of his neck. What was the matter with him? Sure, it had been a while since he’d been around a pretty woman. But this was little Sam Henderson, who used to sneak out to the farm every chance she got. Sam, who Ethan had taught to swim and fish and ride a horse. Sam, who, up until she graduated and went off to college, was the closest thing Ethan had to a sibling-or a best friend.

In an effort to get his bodily reactions back on the right track, he reached out and ruffled her hair. “So what brings you back, little Sammy?” He glanced down at the boots. “Besides playin’ dress up?”

The soft smile slipped, and her entire body stiffened. Ethan didn’t know a lot about women, but he knew a lot about animals. And Sam suddenly seemed as pissed as Clara the barn cat when his hound dog, Hooper, got a little frisky. Those pretty eyes narrowed at him right before she placed her sunglasses back on.

“People call me Samantha now,” she said in a citified voice. “Dr. Samantha Henderson.”

He’d heard the rumor going around town about Sam becoming a doctor. But since “doctor” just didn’t seem to go with the image he’d held in his head of a skinny girl in a lopsided ponytail, he couldn’t help but laugh. Which he figured out soon enough wasn’t a good thing to do when a woman was upset already.

“Is something funny, Ethan Michael Miller?” The words came out between her even, white teeth. Her hands tightened into fists. And for a second, he wondered if she was going to haul off and slug him like she had Joe Riley when he’d teased Ethan about his size. The thought made Ethan laugh even more.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You haven’t changed a lick in the last seven years, have you, Ethan?”

He sobered. “Seven years? No kiddin’?” He shook his head. “I guess time flies when you’re havin’ fun.”

She glared back at him. “And is your life fun, Ethan?”

The question took him by surprise. No one in town ever asked him questions like that. They asked him about his daddy and mama. Asked about his opinions on crops, animals, and weather. But never about his personal feelings. Which was probably why it took him so long to come up with an answer. Fun? No, he wouldn’t say his life was fun. It was familiar and comfortable. And that was about all a person could ask for.

Wasn’t it?

A munching noise pulled him away from his thoughts, and he turned to find Buckwheat helping himself to a midmorning snack. Although Ethan didn’t think the fake poinsettias in front of the pharmacy were a good choice. And obviously, Sam didn’t think so either.

“No!” she yelled, and those skinny heels clicked against the sidewalk as she hurried over to where Buckwheat was grazing. “Get away from there!” She waved her arms, but Buckwheat ignored her completely and continued to munch on the bright red flowers. Still, Sam had always been tenacious, and Ethan had to grin when she hooked an arm around the donkey’s neck and tried to pull him away. Too bad Buckwheat had a thing about people touching him. With one flick of his head, he threw her off balance, and she tittered on those silly heels for a second or two before landing hard on her butt.

This time Ethan was smart enough to control his laughter.

“You okay?” He ambled over and stretched out a hand. But she completely ignored it and climbed to her feet.

“I expected more from you, Ethan Miller.” She pointed a finger at Buckwheat, who’d gone back to munching the flowers. “Do you realize the kind of stomach and intestinal problems the dyes and synthetic materials could cause that poor animal?”

Figuring she had a point, Ethan made a distinct clicking noise with his tongue, and the donkey turned from the flowers and trotted over. For his reward, Ethan pulled out a carrot from his overall pocket and stroked the donkey’s soft, long ears while he ate the treat.

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” he said. “Buckwheat’s eaten worse and survived.”

Sam plucked a poinsettia leaf from the corner of the donkey’s mouth. “Obviously, he has dietary needs you’re not meeting. What are you feeding him? I hope it’s not the same thing you’re giving your horses. Donkeys need more protein and fiber.” She glanced down. “And when was the last time you trimmed his hooves? You need to do that every twelve weeks or his joints and tendons will get deformed.”

Ethan squinted at her, suddenly feeling as annoyed as she looked. He might not have a doctorate, but he knew animals. And he sure didn’t need a sassy woman in crazy shoes telling him how to take care of his donkey. Especially a woman who used to think he hung the moon.

He pulled off his straw cowboy hat and scratched his head. “You know a lot about donkeys, do ya, Samantha Louise? Because I seem to remember a young skinny girl who was terrified to get on a horse.” He lifted an eyebrow. “And it took a good three months to convince her otherwise. ’Course, that girl didn’t look nothin’ like the one standin’ before me. So maybe I’m wrong.”

Before Sam could do more than sputter, Rachel Dean’s voice rang out.

“Why, Samantha Henderson, I thought that was you!” She hurried across the street, wiping her large hands on her waitressing apron. She grabbed Sam up and gave her a big bear hug. “I didn’t realize you was comin’ in for the holidays. Last I heard, you was goin’ to some fancy college back East to become a doctor.”

Since Sam’s face was squashed against Rachel Dean’s holiday corsage, she had to wait to be released before she could answer. “I graduated just last week.”

Rachel beamed. “Why, ain’t that somethin’? Little Sam Henderson a doctor. Maybe later I can get you to take a look at my bunions. The medicine Doc Mathers prescribed don’t work a lick.”

“I’d love to help you, Rachel,” Sam said. “But I’m not that kind of a doctor.” She looked over at Ethan and tipped her cute little nose in the air. “I’m a doctor of veterinary medicine.”

Ethan felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach by Buckwheat. Ever since he was old enough to help his father with the livestock, Ethan had wanted to become a veterinarian. But besides not having enough money, his parents had needed his help on the farm. So he’d put his dream on the shelf. In fact, the only person who knew about his secret desire was the same woman rubbing his nose in it. It was enough to make a grown man want to toss down his hat and cuss a blue streak. But farm folk weren’t ones to show their emotions. So instead, he plopped his hat back on his head and nodded to both ladies.

“I best be gettin’ Buckwheat over to Lowell’s barn.”

“We sure appreciate you takin’ care of all the animals for the live nativity over at The First Baptist, Ethan,” Rachel Dean said. “Nobody handles animals better than you do. Why, it’s almost like you speak their language. Sorta like that Doctor Doolittle feller-without the singin’, of course.”

Ethan had to fight down the strong urge to snort a “hah” at Sam. Still, Rachel Dean’s praise didn’t change the jealousy that ate at his insides. A gift was one thing, a diploma something else entirely. While most of his knowledge came from what he could scrounge up on the Internet or in library books, Sam had been taught by the top experts in the field.

“Why don’t you come on over to the diner, Sam?” Rachel Dean said. “If anything will put meat back on those skinny bones of yours, it’s Josephine’s chicken fried steak. And while you eat, I’ll fill you in on all the juicy gossip. Things have sure been excitin’ while you’ve been gone.”

Sam hesitated, as if there was something else she wanted to say to Ethan. But as far as he was concerned, they’d said everything they needed to. The little Sam Henderson he once knew was long gone. And he had no use for an uppity vet who didn’t understand the first thing about a man’s pride.

“Goodbye, Ethan,” Sam said in a voice that didn’t sound all that uppity. A gust of cool December wind blew her hair over her face. She pushed it back and sent Ethan one last look before Rachel tugged her across the street toward the bright pink caboose that served as Josephine’s Diner.

Ethan stood on the sidewalk and watched as they walked away, his gaze trailing down the length of ebony hair to the curvy behind covered in the painted-on jeans. He was still as mad as a dog on bath day, but that didn’t seem to stop two words from popping into his head.

Nice ass.

Chapter Two

“… so Faith Aldridge ended up being Hope Scroggs’s long-lost twin sister.” Rachel kept right on talking as she filled Sam’s cup with steaming, black coffee. “And I’ll tell you what. Those two look so much alike that the entire town was fooled. All except for Slate. He knew after just one kiss that Faith wasn’t Hope. ’Course, he figured out some other things as well-like he couldn’t live without our little Faith.”

The news surprised Sam. Slate Calhoun had been the hometown football hero while Hope Scroggs had been the homecoming queen. It just made sense that they would end up getting married. Of course, love had never made sense.

Sam glanced out the front windows, but Ethan had long since returned to his old truck and driven away.

“I bet Hope was brokenhearted,” she said.

“We all figured as much.” Mayor Harley Sutter swiveled around on the barstool next to Sam’s, his big belly brushing the counter, and his handlebar mustache wiggling as he talked. “But as it turned out, Hope has always been in love with Colt Lomax.”

“Which surprised the heck out of me,” Sheriff Winslow said. “Colt spent more time in my jail than Elmer Tate.”

“And maybe that’s why Hope fell in love with him. It’s hard to resist a bad boy.” Rachel winked at Sam. “Ain’t it, girl?”

Sam smiled in agreement, even though she’d never had a thing for bad boys with bad attitudes. Just soft-spoken farm boys. And it seemed that time hadn’t diminished her feelings. The moment she looked into Ethan’s green eyes, she’d been lost all over again. And when he’d pulled her into his arms, for one brief second, she’d thought he’d felt it too. But it turned out his greeting had been no different than Rachel Dean’s.

“So how long do you get to stay, Sam?”

Sam glanced down the counter to the cowboy with the contagious grin. “Only until the day after Christmas, Kenny Gene. If I’m going to pay back all my student loans, I need to find a job and quick.”

“Well, I don’t know why you couldn’t just set up shop right here in Bramble,” the mayor said. “Folks in Bramble have to go all the way to Odessa to find a vet. ’Course, most folks don’t mess with that and just take their animals to Ethan. That boy has a real gift.”

“So I’ve heard,” Sam said dryly. Of course she knew Ethan had a gift and had known it long before anyone else. It was Ethan who opened up the world of animals to her. Ethan who showed her the comfort found in the soft cuddle of fur or the warm nuzzle of a cold nose. And maybe that was her problem. She’d gotten her love of animals confused with her feelings for the young man who had offered a haven from her dysfunctional family.

As if reading her thoughts, Mayor Sutter asked, “So how’s your mama doin’? She still livin’ in Austin?”

Sam didn’t have a clue. The last time Sam had spoken to her mama had been on her fourteenth birthday-the day her mother had left town. She wanted to blame her mother for the rift in their relationship, but Sam was the one who hadn’t returned her letters or phone calls. Still, the town didn’t need to know that.

“So tell me more about this live nativity scene,” she said in an attempt to change the subject.

Fortunately, Mayor Sutter latched on to the new topic like a bass to live bait. “It was Pastor Robbins’s idea. I guess the church he worked at before us used to have one every Christmas Eve-supposedly it gets everyone’s thoughts back on the reason for the season.”

“Animal poop?” Kenny Gene piped up. “Because I gotta tell you, puttin’ all those animals in that little stable the pastor had me build is just askin’ for trouble.”

“Which is why we put you on poop patrol,” Rachel Dean said.

Kenny Gene’s eyes narrowed. “But I thought I got to be the Angel of the Lord.”

“You do, son.” Mayor Sutter patted him on the back. “But when you ain’t spreadin’ tidin’s of great joy to all people, you’ll be spreadin’ manure in the church flowerbeds.”

Kenny’s eyes lit up. “Well, I guess that ain’t so bad.”

“I just wish our hunt for baby Jesuses was goin’ so well,” Rachel said as she poured the mayor more coffee.

“Jesuses?” Sam said. “You need more than one?”

Rachel’s smile got even bigger. “Since we couldn’t decide on who should get to be Mary and Joseph-Faith and Slate or Hope and Colt-we decided to have two shifts. ’Course, now we need two Jesuses. And we’ve had tryouts for the last week and a half, and not a Jesus have we found. Dusty Ray don’t fit in the manger. Rufus Miles throws fits like he’s possessed. And Titus Smith is allergic to hay.” She released her breath in a long sigh. “Which means we might have to settle for the porcelain doll Darla made. And I gotta tell you that Chucky-lookin’ thing scares me to death.”

Sam muffled her laugh behind a cough. She had missed the craziness of Bramble. Missed it more than she’d realized. In the last seven years, she’d tried to become a cosmopolitan girl. But all it had taken was five minutes in Josephine’s to realize she was small town through and through.

“Not to say that Darla ain’t gifted,” Rachel continued. “Why, her manger-decoratin’ skills are gonna surprise the pants right off of Pastor Robbins when he gets back from that preacher convention in Dallas.”

Mayor Sutter nodded. “The pastor might’ve had a nice enough live nativity at his last church, but it’s not gonna hold a candle to ours.”

There was a chorus of “shore ain’ts” before the conversation moved on to Hope and Faith’s pregnancies and what they should name their babies. After a good hour of listening to children’s names weirder than Hollywood movie stars’, Sam decided she had delayed seeing her family long enough and got up from the stool.

“If you stop by the church a little before six, Sam, I’ll fix you up with a costume,” Rachel Dean said as she handed Sam her change. “We don’t got any more heavenly hosts’ wings or shepherd sheets, but I’ll find you somethin’.”

Sam smiled. It was so like the people of Bramble to include everyone.

“I’ll try to be there,” she said as she made her way to the door.

The weather had turned while Sam had been in the diner. Gray clouds blocked out the blue west Texas sky, and a cold wind press against her as she hurried to her rental car. She probably could’ve called her sister, Marcy, to pick her up from the airport in Lubbock. But she wasn’t willing to be stuck at her father’s house without a means of escape.

The one-story stucco house she’d grown up in hadn’t changed all that much over the last seven years. The lawn and flower beds were better cared for, and the yellow trim looked freshly painted, but other than that, it looked the same. It wasn’t a big house-no more than six rooms total-but it had been a comfortable home.

At least physically.

Emotionally was another story.

Ever since Sam could remember, there had been underlying tension in the house. When her mother and father weren’t arguing, they weren’t speaking. And their discontentment had filtered down to their children. By the time her mother had left, Sam felt almost relieved. Until she realized she was stuck with a father who didn’t know the first thing about showing love to his two teenage daughters.

As Sam got out of the car, a black Lab and a Yorkshire terrier came running up. But since her father had never particularly cared for animals, she figured they belonged to a neighbor. She gave each dog a good scratch before heading up the steps of the porch.

Rather than just walk in, she tapped softly on the screen door. But when the sound of Christmas music drifted from the closed windows, she pressed hard on the doorbell.

The door was pulled open by a woman Sam recognized immediately from the wedding pictures she’d sent. A puff of orange hair surrounded a round face with laugh crinkles at the eyes. Those eyes widened for only a second before the screen door was pushed open. The dogs squeezed past Sam’s legs just as she was pulled against a bright red sweatshirt with reindeer appliqués and a soft body that smelled of gingerbread.

“You came,” Laverne said against her hair. “I worried myself sick that you wouldn’t.” The back door slammed, and before Sam could utter a word, Laverne was herding her over to the large Christmas tree set up in the corner.

“I know I shouldn’t have kept it a secret,” Laverne whispered under her breath. “But I just didn’t want him to be disappointed if you didn’t show up.” She grabbed a big gold bow off a package beneath the tree and slapped it on Sam’s head. “There.” She grinned so brightly, her eyes disappeared. “You’re going to be the best Christmas present he’ll ever get.”

“Laverne!”

Sam’s father’s voice boomed from the kitchen, and Sam jumped. But Laverne didn’t seem to be too intimidated by the gruffness.

“Would you keep it down, Phillip!” she hollered back as she hurried toward the kitchen, the dogs on her heels. “I swear you’re goin’ as deaf as Moses Tate.”

“I’m not deaf, woman,” her father said, “I’m starvin’. When will that turkey be done?” There was a creak of the oven door, followed by a sharp slap.

“Oh, no you don’t, Phillip James Henderson,” Laverne scolded. “You’re not gettin’ a taste until it’s finished.”

“Blame ornery woman,” her father huffed, but with more humor than anger. “Well, if I’m not gonna get any turkey, I might as well get me some sugar.”

In the silence that followed, Sam stared at the doorway and tried to reconcile the happy, loving man in the kitchen with the angry, bitter father of her youth.

It proved impossible.

Pulling off the bow, she tossed it to the coffee table and was halfway to the door when her father’s voice stopped her.

“Samantha?”

She turned. Unlike the house, Phillip Henderson had changed a great deal. His hair was completely gray, and he was almost as chubby as his wife. Sam had to admit that the added weight looked good on him. It softened his features and made him seem more approachable. Or maybe it was the smile on his face. A smile that had been missing for much of her childhood.

Not knowing what to do, Sam held up her hands. “Merry Christmas, Daddy.”

They stared at each other for a few moments until Laverne prodded.

“Well, go on, Phillip. Hug the girl.”

Her father hesitated only a moment before taking the three steps necessary to pull her into his arms. It was awkward. Sam didn’t pull away; nor did she sink into the broad chest that smelled like Old Spice and chewing tobacco. She just stiffened up and waited for it to be over so things could go back to normal. But when her father finally pulled back, he didn’t appear normal. He appeared to be crying.

And Laverne wasn’t far behind him.

“I’ll just let you two chat,” she sniffed before heading back to the kitchen.

Once she was gone, Sam moved over to the partially decorated tree so she wouldn’t have to look at the man she no longer recognized. She had just leaned closer to examine a clay horse ornament when he finally spoke.

“I wrote you some letters.”

Her hand stilled on the bumpy horse’s mane. “I didn’t get them.”

“Because I never mailed them. I never could get the words right.”

Sam turned to find him standing close behind her. His eyes still glittered with tears, but his voice was strong.

“You made that one in fifth grade.” He nodded at the horse ornament. “I always refer to that year as the year of the horse. Every drawing, every library book, and every gift you asked for-or gave-always had to do with horses.” He reached down and lifted another ornament from the box on the table. His callused fingers gently removed the cotton before lifting a red-glitter pinecone. “Now, this one you made in first grade. It started losing its glitter the second year, which was why your mama wrapped it in cotton from then on.”

Sam hadn’t remembered that, and she wondered how he had. He went on to describe every ornament she’d ever made, recounting the year and details that she’d long forgotten.

“This one you and Marcy made.” He pulled out a colorful beaded wreath. “First time you’d ever worked on something together without fightin’.”

Sam couldn’t help the words that spilled from her mouth. “Unlike you and mama, who could never do anything without fighting.”

A sad smile played around his mouth as he hung the ornament on the tree. When he didn’t say anything, she continued with the questions that had eaten her up over the years.

“I realize people get divorced when they discover they don’t love each other anymore, but what I don’t understand is why you waited so long. Why did you continue to put your children through that?”

A long sigh escaped his lips, and he walked to the recliner and sat down. The Lab came wandering back in, and her father ran a hand over the dog’s shiny coat. “Because, believe it or not, I love your mama. And will love her until the day I die. It just took us a while to figure out that sometimes you can love someone and still not be able to live with them.”

“Geez, Daddy.” Sam couldn’t keep the sarcasm, or pain, from her voice. “I wish you’d figured that out before you had kids.”

Her father’s gaze snapped up, and he pointed a finger. “Don’t you even think it, Sam Louise. I’m sorry for a lot of things, but havin’ you and Marcy aren’t among them. Now, I realize you aren’t goin’ to forgive me anytime soon, and I guess I’ll have to live with that. But remember that forgiveness is like a gift-the receiver’s not the only one who benefits. And if you can’t see fit to forgive me, I wish you’d forgive your mama. She’s been real upset about you not replyin’ to her letters.”

Sam stared at him. “You talk to Mama?”

“About every week.”

“Without fighting?”

He laughed. “As strange as it may seem, your mama and I are better friends than we ever were husband and wife.”

“Hey, you two.” Laverne came back into the room carrying a tray filled with eggnog and gingerbread cookies. She set it on the coffee table and handed Sam the Santa mug she’d used as a child. “Marcy should be here any minute. So let’s turn up the music and finish decoratin’ that tree. But first I thought we’d have ourselves a little toast.” After handing Sam’s daddy a mug, she lifted her own. “Here’s to new beginnin’s.”

A part of Sam didn’t want to toast, or decorate a tree, or eat turkey dinner in a house filled with memories of her dysfunctional family. But there was another part of her-the part that had been so lonely the last seven years-that wanted to believe that people could change. That no one was perfect. And time might actually heal all wounds. And maybe those were the truths she needed to embrace this Christmas Eve while standing next to a father she’d yet to forgive and a stepmother who looked like a redheaded Mrs. Claus.

Sam lifted her Santa mug. “To new beginnings.”

Chapter Three

“You want to what?” Ethan stared at his parents as if they had lost their minds. It was a possibility. Winter on a farm could make people a little stir-crazy. Ever since returning from town, Ethan had felt like he’d swallowed a bucket of bees. Of course, that had more to do with Sam Henderson than two hundred acres of farmland.

His mother reached out and patted his hand, which rested on the linen tablecloth his great-great-grandmother had brought over from Germany. “I know this is a shock, Ethan, but it’s not like we’re fallin’ off the face of the earth. We’re just moving to South Padre Island.”

“Just?” Ethan pulled his hand out from under hers and got up from the table, pacing back and forth. “What about the farm? The animals? The folks of Bramble?” He turned and stared at his parents. “Me?”

The weathered skin around his father’s green eyes scrunched up. “You’re thirty years old, boy. You still scared of the dark?”

His mother jumped back in. “Of course he’s not scared of the dark.” She shot Ethan a skeptical look before addressing her husband. “I told you we shouldn’t just drop the news on him, Jeb-especially on Christmas Eve.”

“Hell.” His father got up from his chair. “I thought the boy would be excited to finally get rid of us. I figured that was why he’d never married or brought a girl home besides that cute little Sam Henderson.” He studied Ethan again. “You ain’t one of them…”

“No!” The word came out louder than Ethan intended, and he quickly tacked on a “sir.”

“Then what’s your problem?” his father asked. “You ain’t worried about being able to handle the farm, are you? ’Cause you’ve been doin’ most of the work ever since I fell off that danged ladder and screwed up my back.”

“I just think it’s crazy, is all,” Ethan said. “Why would you and Mama want to live on a beach when you’ve spent your entire life on a farm?”

“Maybe that’s why,” his mother said in the soft voice that had always soothed Ethan. She patted the table. “Come sit down, Ethan, and quit pacing like an expectant cat.”

Begrudgingly, he sat back down in the chair, but couldn’t help crossing his arms and staring belligerently at the toes of his work boots.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” his mother said, “your father and I aren’t exactly spring chickens. We were in our late thirties when God finally blessed us with you.” Since Ethan’s hands were tucked under his armpits, she reached out and patted his knee. “And we couldn’t be more proud of the man you’ve grown into. But I agree with your father. There comes a time in every man’s life when he needs some space. And since you don’t seem to be in any hurry to fly the coop-we are.”

“Fly the coop?” Ethan’s jaw dropped as he stared at his mother. “I stayed for you-for you and Daddy because I didn’t think you two could make a go of the farm without me.”

“Now, don’t lie, boy,” his father said. “You get flustered just walkin’ into Josephine’s Diner.”

Ethan jumped back up from the chair and sputtered out the words. “F-flustered or not, if I’d known how you felt, I would’ve left a long time ago to pursue my own dreams.”

“Now, don’t be gettin’ all upset, Ethan.” His mother stood up and sent his father a stern look. “What your father means is that anyone can see that you were born to be a farmer. It’s obvious in the way you love animals and get so darned excited during harvest. But if you want to sell the farm, your father and I will support that.” She shrugged. “Maybe it’s time for all of us to leave the hard work behind and have us a little fun.”

Fun? First Sam and now his parents. Ethan was really starting to hate that word. Fun was something kids had, not grown adults who had responsibilities. He ignored the fact that he wasn’t exactly acting like an adult either.

“We’re not selling the farm,” he said. “I’ll figure out a way to buy you out so you can race off to South Padre and have some fun on the beach.”

His parents exchanged bright smiles.

“That won’t be necessary,” his daddy said. “Back when you was born, we put a little money aside, and since you never used it for college…”

The tires of the truck hit another pothole, but Ethan still didn’t slow down. He had never been the violent type, but he couldn’t help thumping the steering wheel with his fist as he turned onto the highway that led into Bramble.

A college fund? His parents had put money in a college fund and never mentioned a word? Okay, so maybe at eighteen he hadn’t exactly acted like he wanted to go to college. And maybe some of that had to do with being a little scared. But what good were parents if they couldn’t force a shy, backward kid out the door?

Of course, it had worked out real well for them. They had gotten years of free labor and now had a nice, fat nest egg to buy a motor home so they could “have fun” in some South Padre retirement village. Well, maybe it was time for Ethan to have a little fun too. He pressed harder on the accelerator and watched the skinny gauge of the speedometer inch up the miles per hour. Except when it got to seventy-five, the old truck started to shake so badly that he had to ease back down to sixty.

Ethan still made it to Bramble in record time. He’d planned on heading over to Lowell’s barn to check on the animals people had brought in for the nativity scene, but instead he pulled into Bootlegger’s Bar. He’d been to the bar before-every person over eighteen years of age had been in Bootlegger’s at one time or another. Ethan just wasn’t what you would call a regular, which explained the surprised faces when he ambled in the door.

Of course, Ethan was a little surprised himself when he looked at the bar and saw who was sitting there. The beginning line of a joke popped into his head: An angel, a beer-bellied wiseman, Joseph, and a pig walked into a bar…

“Well, hey, Ethan!” Kenny Gene waved him over so exuberantly that his wing clipped Mayor Harley Sutter’s wiseman crown and knocked it to the floor.

Harley sent him an annoyed look before leaning down to pick it up. “So what brings you to Boot’s, Ethan?” He readjusted the plastic crown on his balding head. “I thought you were supposed to be gettin’ the animals over to the church.”

“I am. But I thought I’d have me a beer first.” Or six, Ethan thought as he slipped onto the stool next to Joseph. Even in his sour mood, Ethan couldn’t help grinning at the floral sheets draped around his friend Colt Lomax-especially when the man had once been the biggest bad boy in Bramble. But before Ethan could do a little friendly teasing, the baby pig sitting on Colt’s lap released a squeal of delight and launched himself at Ethan.

Ethan laughed as his face was covered in wet pig kisses. “I’ve missed you too, Sherman. But it looks like you’ve been well taken care of.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Colt said. He took another drink from his long-necked bottle, the pink-flowered sheet sliding up his tattooed arm. “Hope and my sister, Shirlene, spoil that pig rotten.”

Ethan was glad to hear it. Ever since he’d given the pig to Hope as a gift, he’d had second thoughts. Sherman was special-the runt of the litter that Ethan hadn’t expected to live. But the tiny piglet had surprised him. And what Sherman lacked in physical size and strength, he’d made up for in brains. And not just brains, but a sixth sense about people. Even now, he studied Ethan with his intense beady eyes, almost as if he could feel Ethan’s emotional turmoil.

“I’m okay, boy,” Ethan whispered close to his ear. Still, Sherman continued to stare at him until Manny, the bartender, brought over the beer and a bowl of mixed nuts. And food could distract Sherman from just about anything.

While the pig devoured the nuts, Ethan turned back to Colt. “So I guess Darla is responsible for your Joseph’s outfit?”

“I wish,” Colt grumbled. “If Darla had made it, I could’ve gotten out of it. But how do you tell your wife of two weeks-your pregnant wife, no less-that you aren’t going to wear the costume that she went to all the trouble to make for you?”

“Well, I have to admit that the purple yarn belt is a little flashy,” Ethan teased. “But other than that, it’s not so bad.”

Colt grumbled something under his breath about annoying farmers before Mayor Sutter spoke up.

“Well, I think you should be honored, son. It’s not every day that a man gets to be Joseph to our little Hope’s Mary. It just doesn’t get much better than that.” The look on Colt’s face said that he could think of a lot of things that were better.

“Unless you’re Slate and get to be Faith’s Joseph.” Kenny Gene shook his head, causing the halo that was attached to his cowboy hat to wobble. “Man, Pastor Robbins ain’t gonna know what hit him when he sees our nativity scene.”

Ethan figured that was an understatement. The pastor had been in Bramble for only a year and was still trying to adjust to west Texas life. Tonight might just send him straight back to California-or over the edge.

Colt downed the rest of his beer and slipped off the stool. Standing, the floor-length floral robes looked even more amusing.

“Come on, Sherman.” Colt jerked the sheet from under the toe of his biker boots and picked up the staff that leaned against the bar. “Let’s get this over with.”

But the pig refused to budge from Ethan’s lap. Even when Colt reached for him, he grunted out a refusal and continued to lick the nut bowl.

“Smart pig.” Colt patted Sherman’s head. “I wish I could get out of it so easily.”

Ethan laughed. “I’ll watch out for him, Colt. You just watch out for that lightnin’ bolt when God notices who’s playin’ Joseph.”

“Real funny, Ethan,” Colt said before he headed for the door.

“We better get goin’ too, Kenny,” Mayor Sutter said. “Cindy Lynn will have our hides if we’re not there for the big dress rehearsal.” He glanced at Ethan. “You comin’, son?”

Ethan held up his beer. “After I finish this.”

Once they were gone, Ethan sipped his beer and tried to have fun. He failed miserably. Manny was busy closing up the bar for the night, which left Ethan no choice but to watch the Christmas movie on the television over the bar. It was the one where Jimmy Stewart gets to see how the world would change if he’d never been born. And it depressed the hell out of Ethan. Since he didn’t have a brother to save from a frozen pond, wasn’t married, and didn’t have children, he figured the world would do nicely without him.

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.”

Instead of coming from the television, the words came from just over his shoulder. And Ethan turned to find Sam’s sister, Marcy, standing there. She wasn’t wearing a sheet or wings, just a red dress that revealed more of her large breasts than it covered. She reached up and flicked one of the jingle bells that hung from her earlobes, and the tinkling noise had her laughing.

“What do you know, Marcy Henderson is handin’ out wings to angels,” she said as she slung an arm over Ethan’s shoulders.

“Hey, Marcy,” he said. Since he’d never found Marcy attractive, Ethan had no problem talking to her. Too bad they’d never had anything to talk about. While Sam loved animals, football, the farm, and a multitude of other things that Ethan liked as well, Marcy seemed to like only two things-herself and men. And Ethan didn’t care to talk about either subject. He glanced at the door and wondered how long it would take him to get to it. But before he could even gather Sherman up in his arms, Marcy took the seat next to him.

“Buy a girl a drink?”

Figuring a drink might get her arm off him, he motioned to Manny, who came over to take her order for “Sex on the Beach.” Manny didn’t even blink at the word, but Ethan’s face burned with heat. Or maybe his embarrassment had more to do with the image that flashed into his brain. An image of his parents having sex on the beach in South Padre.

Geez, I really am losing it. He shook the image away, disrupting a sleeping Sherman and causing him to grunt in disapproval. But the sound achieved what Ethan wanted. Marcy removed her arm as she jumped off her stool.

She held a hand to her chest and waved one long red nail at Sherman. “Who let that thing in?”

“Marcy, you know animals have always been welcome in Boot’s,” Manny said as he placed her drink on one of those little napkins. “Especially if they know how to mind their manners.” He reached out and patted the pig’s head. “And Sherman always minds his manners.” He arched a brow at Marcy. “Unlike some people I know.”

Marcy ignored the comment and turned back to Ethan. “It figures that you would have some kind of animal with you. You and that sister of mine can’t seem to stay away from them.” Casting a wary look at Sherman, she eased back onto the stool. “I just had to suffer through two hours of Laverne and Daddy gushing over my sister becomin’ a doctor. Not a real doctor, mind you, but an animal doctor. Geez, what was she thinkin’?”

Ethan wondered the same thing. What had Sam been thinking when she stole his profession? And why hadn’t she ever mentioned the fact to him? Of course, she had written him a few times, and he’d never written her back. He had justified it by telling himself he was too busy with the farm, but in reality he’d been mad at her for leaving in the first place. Hell, he was still mad at her.

As he took another drink of beer, Marcy stuck out a leg and pointed to her red shoe. “Although I got me a pair of New York designer shoes out of the deal. ’Course, now I have to come up with a gift for Sam. Somethin’ that’s never been easy, considerin’ she has the worse taste in clothes of any human I know. Unlike me, who happens to have unlimited fashion sense.”

Ethan glanced over at Marcy. Fashion sense wasn’t the only difference between her and Sam. Marcy didn’t have a cute little button nose. Or a mouth shaped like a rosebud. Or a slim body with breasts that were… perfect. Two perfect swells that looked great in a red sweater. Or a snug Western shirt. Or a tiny, white drill team uniform.

Ethan’s brow crinkled. What the hell? Where had all those images come from? He could understand the red sweater-he’d just seen her in that today-but the other clothes she hadn’t worn since high school. And while he was puzzling over this, some locked chamber in his brain opened up and a wellspring of images flooded his mind. Images of Sam horseback riding, her cute butt nestled against the saddle and her breasts jiggling in a tight T-shirt. Leaning over the corral fence in a pair of tattered cutoffs. Stretched out in a pile of fresh-cut hay in faded jeans and a snap-down Western shirt that showed just a hint of cleavage.

And once those images ended, his mind filled with others. Sam helping him with the birth of a calf and laughing as the wobbly baby cow took its first steps. Sam eating watermelon and spitting the seeds at him. Sam catching her first fish. Sam helping his mother can pickles. Sam sending his father get-well cards when he’d fallen off the ladder.

Sam.

“See anything you like?”

Marcy’s words made Ethan realize too late that, while he’d been thinking about Sam, he’d been staring at her sister’s abundant breasts. As his face heated, she leaned closer.

“It’s a shame, you know.” She tapped his bottom lip with one long fingernail. “You really are cute, Ethan Miller. And I’ve often wondered about those big feet of yours. But as much as I love men, I can’t bring myself to poach on my sister’s property.” She shook her head. “You would think that with all them good-lookin’ college boys, she’d get over you and move on. But nooo, every time she calls she asks a million and one questions. Is he married? Does he have a girlfriend? Is his hair still as blond? His eyes still as green? Even when I mentioned that there was a distinct possibility that you were gay, she wouldn’t shut up.”

Suddenly Ethan couldn’t get his mouth to work. All he could do was stare at Marcy as his heart thundered in his ears. Sam wasn’t over him?

Completely unaware of his stunned confusion, Marcy took another sip of her drink and continued. “I figure it has to do with all those reruns of Little House on the Prairie she used to watch. She was obsessed with the episodes that featured that awkward, blond farmer dude. She specially liked the one where Half-pint finally gets him to notice she’s a woman by wearing a pair of high-heeled-”

“Boots.” The word slipped out of Ethan’s mouth without much thought, especially considering he’d never watched that particular television show in his life.

Marcy shot a glance over at him. “I was going to say shoes.” Her eyes crinkled like two squashed spiders. “You actually noticed what my sister was wearin’? What color was her sweater?”

If Marcy’s plan was to confuse the hell out of him, she was doing a pretty damned good job. Between the things she’d said about Sam, Little House on the Prairie, and shoes, he didn’t know what they were talking about. Still, he answered the question.

“Macintosh-apple red.”

“And her eyes?” She leaned closer, her face starting to look intense and scary.

He swallowed. “Deep blue like the sky at twilight just after the last rays of the sun flicker out.”

Marcy plopped back on her stool as if she couldn’t quite believe his words. Ethan knew how she felt. He was pretty stunned himself. Which was why he almost fell off the stool when Marcy reached over and grabbed the front of his Western shirt.

“Now, I realize you like to do things nice and slow, Ethan,” she said. “And I’ll be the first to tell you that, on certain occasions, nice and slow works out real good. But this ain’t one of those times. Sam plans on flyin’ out day after tomorrow.” She smiled slyly. “And if Half-pint is going to get her awkward farmer for Christmas, we have no time to lose.”

Chapter Four

“Y’all!” Cindy Lynn’s high-pitched voice came through the bullhorn she held to her mouth, causing most of the costumed folks of Bramble to cover their ears. “Would you stop yammerin’ and get in your positions? And, shepherds, remember, I said ‘sore’ afraid-that means you’re so scared your muscles hurt. So look hurt!”

Sam didn’t have to worry about looking “sore afraid.” Instead, she had to worry about looking like a complete idiot in the sheep costume Rachel Dean had given her. At least she wasn’t the only one. Being that Bramble was a cattle town, the shepherd’s herd was made up of a good twenty townsfolk and a billy goat that was eating the hem of Moses Tate’s wiseman robe as Moses slept in one corner of the stable.

“Good Lord.” Shirlene Dalton sashayed up in a pretty white dress and huge wings, looking more like a voluptuous Victoria Secret model than a member of the heavenly host. “If Cindy Lynn doesn’t put a sock in it, this angel is going to deliver something more than good tidin’s.” She winked at Sam. “Hey, honey, I heard you were back in town and pretty as ever.” She reached out and adjusted the sheep ears on Sam’s white hoodie. “Which is saying something in that getup.”

Sam grinned. She had always liked Shirlene. Of course, everyone liked Shirlene. The woman was not only beautiful. She was sweet and fun-loving. Not to mention filthy rich. At the thought of all her oil money, Sam’s grin faded.

“I was sure sorry to hear about Lyle’s death, Shirlene,” she said.

Shirlene’s smile never even drooped, but her pretty green eyes held a sadness that spoke volumes. “Weren’t we all, honey. Weren’t we all.” She flapped a hand that glittered with diamonds. “But let’s not talk about me. How have you been? I can’t tell you how proud your daddy is of you graduating with honors from that big, fancy school. And I know he’s hoping-as we all are-that you’ll start up your practice right here in Bramble.”

For Sam, opening a practice in Bramble would be like a dream come true. Or half a dream. Her gaze swept over to the stable.

Ethan was there comforting the animals that had been tied to the rails of the wooden structure. He usually wore overalls, but tonight he was dressed in pressed jeans, a Western shirt, and a blue jean jacket. With the black felt hat pulled low on his head, he looked more like a cowboy than a farmer. At least he did until the baby pig popped his head out of the top of the jean jacket. Then Ethan just looked heartbreakingly perfect.

“If you feel that way about Ethan, honey, why’d you stay away so long?”

Sam looked back at Shirlene. Either Shirlene was extremely observant or Sam wasn’t as good as she thought she was at hiding her feelings. Of course, it made no difference now. Tomorrow Sam would be on her way back to New York. The thought caused a lump to form in her throat that not even a hard swallow could remove.

“Maybe because Ethan doesn’t feel the same way,” Sam said as she plucked at the lumpy cotton batting that covered her sweatshirt.

“Then change his mind.”

Sam shook her head. “You don’t know Ethan. He might be sweet, but he’s as stubborn as they come.”

Shirlene snorted. “Believe me, honey. There was no one more stubborn than Lyle Dalton. The man was convinced I was too young for him. And if I’d waited around for him to make the first move, I’d still be waitin’.” Her perfectly plucked eyebrows lifted. “Men don’t know what they want until you show them.”

That was easy for a woman who looked like Shirlene Dalton to say. One little twitch of her hips made men go wild. Sam, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as well endowed. Besides, she’d thrown herself at Ethan more times than she could count without a reaction, and her self-esteem couldn’t take any more rejection.

“Shirlene!” Cindy Lynn’s voice echoed across the front lawn of the church. “I realize you think you deserve special treatment because you’re hostin’ the big Christmas party tomorrow night. But tonight I am in charge, and you need to be with the other angels on the bleachers instead of cavortin’ with the sheep.”

Shirlene’s eyes narrowed. “If her husband doesn’t wise up and slip that woman a Xanax, I’m going to do it for him. Because if anyone should be tranquilized, it’s Cindy Lynn.” She sashayed off just as Rye Pickett came hustling around the corner of the church.

“Pastor Robbins is comin’!” he yelled. “He just pulled up into the back parkin’ lot and should be here any second.”

“Places, y’all!” Cindy Lynn’s voice screeched even higher.

Not wanting to bring on Cindy Lynn’s wrath, Sam hurried to get to her flock on the other side of the stable. Unfortunately, as she came around the corner of the wooden structure, she ran smack dab into Ethan. His hands slipped around her waist, and she was lifted clean off her boots. As always, the closeness of his large body sucked all the wind right out of her.

Usually, he released her as soon as he touched her. But this time, his hands tightened on her waist as he continued to hold her inches from the ground. Beneath the brim of his cowboy hat, his deep green eyes stared at her as if it was the first time he’d seen her.

“Sam.” The word hung in the cold night air between them, not quite a question and not quite an answer.

“It looks like Ethan was just a late bloomer.” Rye Pickett’s voice cut through Sam’s daze. “First, I saw him at Bootlegger’s with Marcy, and now he’s hittin’ on her sister.”

Her eyes narrowed. Ethan had been at Bootlegger’s with Marcy?

Anger replaced desire, and she shoved against his chest until he released her. She might’ve given him a piece of her mind if the outside lights hadn’t clicked off, throwing the front lawn of the church into darkness. The darkness worked much better than Cindy Lynn’s screeches. Before Sam could utter a word, she was being pushed along with the crowd as people hurried to get to their spots.

Sam no longer felt like being part of the Christmas celebration. But just as she started to make her way through the flock, the doors of the church opened.

“Hit it, Darla!” Cindy Lynn yelled through the bullhorn.

The outside lights came back on along with about a zillion others. Twinkle lights covered all the bushes and trees. Multicolored lights lined the windows of the church. And a bunch of Japanese lanterns hung from the eaves of the stable Kenny Gene had built. A stable that was painted bright Bramble High purple and framed by fake palm trees covered in more lights.

“ ‘And there were in the same country,’ ” Cindy Lynn’s voice rang out. “A country no doubt very similar to the great state of Texas.” There was a mutter of “amens.” “ ‘Shepherds abiding in the field, keepin’ watch over their sheep by night.’ ”

The townsfolk sheep all started to baa, except for the goat who continued to munch on sleeping Moses’ robe. “ ‘And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them.’ ” When nothing happened, Cindy yelled louder. “And an angel of the Lord came upon them!”

A spotlight suddenly shone on the stable. And with a creak of rope, Kenny Gene rose above the huge star on the very peak. He might’ve looked pretty authentic if not for the cowboy hat and the shovel of poop in his hand.

“I ain’t ready,” he said. But when Cindy Lynn hissed at him through the bullhorn, he stopped looking for a place to drop the pooper scooper and spoke his lines.

“Don’t be scared, for I bring y’all tidin’s of great joy that will be to all folks. For unto yew is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign onto y’all; Yew shall find the babe wrapped in swallowin’ clothes and lyin’ in a manger.”

On cue, Mary leaned over the tiny wooden manger. Since Faith and Hope looked identical in their costumes, Sam wasn’t sure which Mary it was until Slate Calhoun stepped up. He looked down at Faith with so much love that tears welled up in Sam’s eyes. But they evaporated quickly enough when Faith lifted the baby Jesus from the manger.

It had to be the scariest-looking doll Sam had ever seen in her life. With its vacant glass eyes and sneering expression, the porcelain face could only be described as demonic. And Rufus Miles, who was perched on Hope’s hip waiting for his turn at baby Jesus, must’ve thought so too. Rufus took one look at the doll and let out a bloodcurdling howl that sent shivers up Sam’s spine.

The howl frightened Lowell’s cow so much that he jerked back on his lead rope and pulled a two-by-four loose. The board slapped Ethan’s donkey, Buckwheat, in the butt, causing him to kick the back wall of the stable in self-defense. Japanese lanterns wobbled as the entire stable fell backward, the top point of the star of Bethlehem catching Kenny’s arm and sending animal poop showering down. But it wasn’t the poop that had the people scurrying for cover as much as the icy rain that suddenly fell from the sky. Josephs scooped up Marys, and along with wisemen, shepherds, sheep, and the heavenly host, made a mad dash for the church while Cindy Lynn screamed through the bullhorn.

“Come back here! We ain’t finished!”

But a freezing rainstorm beat out a live nativity scene any day.

Instead of heading inside, Sam chased after the goat that was following Moses Tate into the church, still munching on his robes. And once she had the goat by his halter, she turned back to the collapsed stable to help Ethan with the other animals.

Lowell’s barn was only a block and a half away from Main Street. But by the time she finished helping Ethan get the animals safely inside, she was soaked to the skin and freezing. She would’ve headed home for a hot bath if Ethan hadn’t been blocking the only exit.

He held his hat in his hand, his wheat-colored hair wet and in need of a good trim. Droplets of water dripped down his cheeks and a square jaw that was as stubble-free as it had been earlier that morning. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again.

“What, Ethan?” Sam propped a hand on her hip, squeezing water from her jeans. “Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly lost the ability to talk to me. Especially since it’s only women you’re interested in that seem to make you stammer.” She lifted her eyebrows, but the effect was lost beneath the soaked, sagging hood. She shoved it off her head. “Of course, I guess you didn’t worry about talkin’ when you were at Bootlegger’s with my sister.”

A baffled look spread across his face, and he rubbed the back of his neck. At one time, the gesture had been endearing. But now it just annoyed her.

“I guess not,” he said. “Seein’ as how me and your sister didn’t do much talkin’.”

Could blood vessels pop from mere anger? Sam thought it might be possible as she stared at Ethan and tried to keep from racing over and slapping him upside the head.

“Now, you and me, on the other hand,” he continued, completely unaware of her anger, “we’ve always been able to talk up a storm. Something I’ve missed more than I was willing to admit.” He glanced up at her, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Are you gonna hit me, Sammy?”

It took a real effort to unclench her fists.

“No, Ethan,” she said. “I’m not going to hit you. I’m going to leave.” She walked around him. But before she could get through the huge opening, the wide wooden doors slammed shut. At first she thought it was the wind. Except when she tried to push them open, neither would budge. She pressed an eye to a knothole just in time to see a devil in a red dress race off in the sleety night.

“Marcy!” she yelled as she rattled the doors. “This isn’t funny.” But her only answer was a shriek of laughter, followed by a “Merry Christmas, baby sister.” Sam turned to find Ethan smiling. “You think it’s funny, do you?”

“A little,” he said. “And the Sam I used to know would’ve thought it was funny too. Did you lose all your humor?”

“No. I just acquired some taste.”

Ethan’s eyes ran over her soaked sheep sweatshirt, and his smile got even bigger. “I can see that.”

She ignored the comment and turned back to the doors, but no matter how much she shoved, pulled, and kicked, they refused to open. Finally, she gave up and slumped down to the dirt floor. The baby pig came trotting over and sat down only inches away, staring at her with eyes that seemed a little too human. She might’ve questioned Ethan about the animal if the wind hadn’t blown through the cracks in the door, causing her to shiver until her teeth chattered.

“We’d best get you out of those clothes,” Ethan said. And when her gaze snapped up to him, he blushed. “Uhh… I mean you’d better get out of those clothes before you catch a chill.”

“Are you proposing that I run around buck naked, Ethan?”

His face got even redder, but the look that entered his eyes wasn’t what Sam would call embarrassment. More heat with a whole lot of sizzle. “Didn’t you once ask me to do the same thing?”

“I did not,” she protested as she climbed to her feet.

His blond eyebrows hiked up. “Sutter Springs. Your senior year.”

The memory snapped back and hit her square between the eyes. “Oh. That time.” She turned away and walked over to Buckwheat’s stall. She held out her hand and waited for the donkey to nuzzle it before she stroked his big, soft ears. “That doesn’t count. I was only a stupid kid who thought that skinny-dippin’ might be fun.”

The popping noise of snaps coming undone had her looking back at Ethan. Her breath got hung up in her chest. She had seen Ethan without a shirt many times over the years-farm work could be hot and sweaty. But that didn’t prepare her for the sight that greeted her now. The skinny body of a boy had been replaced with the hard body of a man, and it took every ounce of willpower Sam had to keep her mouth from dropping open-or her body from melting into a puddle. Ethan had muscles. Lots and lots of tanned muscles.

“Fun.” Ethan tossed the shirt into the corner with a flex of bicep. “I’ve been hearing that word a lot lately.” He sat down on a milking stool and tugged off his boots before he removed first one sock and then the other. His big feet had her thinking about what Marcy had once told her, which in turn had a question popping out of her mouth.

“Is that what you were doing with Marcy at Bootlegger’s, having a little fun?”

His gaze moved back over to her, and his head cocked to one side. “Me and Marcy? I wouldn’t call it fun-” A grin split his face. And Ethan’s smiles had always made Sam’s stomach feel all light and airy.

“Are you jealous, Sam?”

“Yeah, right.” She turned back around to pet Buckwheat. “Why would I be jealous of you and my sister, Ethan?” Suddenly, Ethan was standing right behind her, his body radiating heat like a thoroughbred after a long, hard ride.

“I’ve never had fun with your sister, Sam,” he said in his soft, soothing voice. “In fact, the only woman I’ve ever really had fun with is you.”

Sam tried to remember how to breathe. “Me?”

He reached over her shoulder and stroked a hand down Buckwheat’s forehead, and she found herself transfixed by the gentleness of his long fingers. “You don’t think we had fun together?”

It was hard to think when surrounded by hard muscle and the scent of damp male. “N-no, it’s not that. It’s just that I didn’t think you… noticed.”

His hand slipped from Buckwheat and curled over the edge of the stall door. “I noticed. It seems I noticed a lot more than I thought I had.” His breath fell warm against the top of her head. “I came by your house the night you left.”

She turned around to find him much too close. “You came by my house?”

He nodded. “I wanted to say goodbye.”

“But we’d said goodbye earlier that day.”

He swallowed hard, and she watched his Adam’s apple slide up and down his tanned throat. “Not the way I wanted to.”

Her stomach did a crazy, little quivery thing that had nothing to do with her soaked sweatshirt. “And what way was that, Ethan?”

Heartbeats ticked off what seemed like a year’s time before he lifted his hand and stroked a trail of heat down the chilled skin of her cheek. Using just one callused finger, he traced over her lips, pressing the bottom one down gently before letting it spring back up. She sucked in a breath and tried to steady her suddenly tipsy world, but then those long, golden-tipped lashes lifted, and she was lost all over again in the deep green of his eyes.

“Did you miss me, Sam?” His words came out rough and hushed. “Did you miss me as much as I missed you?” He dipped his head and replaced his finger with his lips. He was hesitant at first, taking small sweet sips that had Sam swaying on her boot heels. His large hand cradled her chin as his other dropped from the railing and settled on her hip to steady her.

“You’re soaked,” he whispered against her mouth. “Lift your arms.”

She obeyed without the slightest hesitation. Numerous questions nibbled at the edges of her mind. But for now, she was exactly where she’d always wanted to be: in Ethan’s arms. Although, once he pulled the hoodie over her head, she couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of embarrassment. Especially when his gaze settled on her simple white bra. She couldn’t see his eyes beneath the thick fringe of his lashes, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what he was thinking when his nostrils flared and his hands tightened in fists on her wet sweatshirt.

Only seconds later, the sweatshirt was tossed aside, and she found herself in the heated embrace of a man who was through with sweet kisses. His lips settled over hers in a hot, hungry assault that held not a trace of shy farm boy. While his tongue brushed against hers, his large hands encircled her waist just above the low rise of her jeans and tugged her closer to the heat of his wide chest. The kiss seemed to last for hours, yet ended much too soon.

He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers as their heartbeats echoed each other’s. “Now, that was fun.”

Chapter Five

Ethan planned on having a lot more fun. But then Sam shivered. He might’ve thought it had to do with his kisses if goose bumps hadn’t covered the arms looped around his neck. Figuring his fun could wait, he pulled back. He glanced down at the soft flesh that swelled above her bra, and it took closing his eyes before he could finally step away. A stack of horse blankets sat on the seat of an old tractor, and he lifted a couple off the top.

“Here,” he said as he handed her one of the blankets.

She took it slowly, her eyes wide and confused. He couldn’t blame her. After Marcy had left the bar, he’d felt pretty dazed and confused himself. But surprisingly, it hadn’t taken that long for things to fall into place. It seemed his hesitant heart just needed a little nudge.

Whistling, Ethan headed to the back of the barn to look for Lowell’s space heater. He was on his second round of “Jingle Bells” when he finally located the heater behind an old bike and some farming tools. He quickly found an outlet and plugged it in, and then stretched out the extension cord as he walked back toward the front stalls.

Sam had wrapped a blanket around her and was hanging his wet shirt on the railing, right next to her sweatshirt, jeans, the white bra, and a teeny-tiny pair of flowered panties.

Ethan’s whistling stopped mid “dashing through the snow” as his gaze flickered over her body. The blanket was tucked up under her arms and covered her from breastbone to calves. Still, all it would take was one yank to have her as nekked as the day she was born.

“Are you going to turn that on?”

The question brought his eyes back up to her pretty blue ones, and he thanked God for the cold, wet denim that kept embarrassment at bay. As it was, his voice still broke like a fourteen-year-old boy’s when he spoke. “Y-yes, ma’am.”

To hide his blush, he stepped into the only empty stall. It turned out to be not as empty as he thought. Sherman was stretched out in a pile of fresh hay. His gaze followed Ethan as he set the heater in one corner and clicked it on.

Sam peeked into the stall. “Why are you putting it in there?”

“It will conserve heat if we stay in a more confined space,” he said as he walked back out and grabbed the rest of the blankets.

She clutched the blanket and looked around. “You don’t think we’ll have to spend the night here, do you? I mean, surely someone will come looking for us once the storm dies down.”

“Probably.” He tried not to look at her as he shooed Sherman over and spread the blanket out on the hay. “But just in case, we should be prepared.”

Sherman snorted, and Ethan glanced over at the pig to find those beady eyes pinned on him with something that could only be described as condemnation. Ethan tried to ignore the look and continue making the bed, but it wasn’t easy. Especially when Ethan was lying through his teeth. Not lying exactly, more like failing to mention the fact that in the corner behind that tall stack of baled hay was a door. A door that Sam would have no problem walking through if she knew it was there. And Ethan wasn’t ready to let her go. At least, not yet. Not until he got some answers.

And a few more kisses.

Unfortunately, when Sam stepped into the stall, she didn’t look like she was in that big of a hurry to get back to the kissing portion of things.

“I’m not sleeping with you, Ethan Miller.” Her arms were folded tightly over her chest.

Just the thought of sleeping with Sam had Ethan’s face flaming. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was thinking that we would do more talking than… uhh… sleeping. But first I need to get out of these wet jeans. They’re starting to itch worse than a bad case of fleas.”

Her big blue eyes wandered down to the fly of his jeans. And figuring even wet denim wasn’t going to keep him from embarrassing himself, he hurried out of the stall. It didn’t take him long to get his jeans off and spread them out on the rail with the rest of their clothing. He left his boxers on and tucked a blanket around his waist, then went about shutting off all the lights. By the time he returned, Sam was sitting on the blanket he’d spread on the hay with Sherman’s head in her lap, the orange coils of the space heater reflecting off her dark hair.

“It’s almost like he can talk to you with his eyes,” she said as she scratched between the pig’s ears.

“He likes you,” Ethan said as he took a seat across from her. He hesitated only a moment before adding, “You’ll make a good vet, Dr. Samantha Henderson.”

Her gaze lifted to his. “Not better than you.”

“I’m not a vet.”

“Tell that to half the people in Haskins County.” Her serious look filled his heart with pride. She glanced down at Sherman. “He is a pet, right?”

Ethan smiled. “You think I’m fattening him up for slaughter? You should know that I’ve never much cared for pork.”

“Or beef, mutton, or venison.”

“Shhh.” He held a finger to his mouth. “Don’t tell anyone. Josephine will have my hide if she ever found out I didn’t like her chicken fried steak.” He squinted at her. “How did you get out of eating it this morning?”

“I hid most of it in my napkin.”

He laughed. “I bet we’re the only two vegetarians in the entire state of Texas.”

“No doubt.” She smiled. It was a smile he hadn’t seen enough of since she’d been back, and he basked in the glow like a cat in the sun.

“We know each other pretty well, don’t we?” he said.

She looked down and ran her hand over Sherman’s back. “I thought I knew you, but the Ethan I remember never hung out at Bootlegger’s-or tried to kiss me.”

“My mistake.”

Her gaze snapped back over to him, but he continued before he lost his nerve. “Do you have a crush on me, Samantha Louise?”

Her mouth dropped open, right before her eyes scrunched up. “Marcy.”

He felt like jumping up and punching the air like a ten-year old. Instead he kept it together. “So you do have a crush on me.”

“Did.”

The word deflated him like an overfilled balloon. “So you don’t now?”

“Kids have crushes, Ethan. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a woman.”

His gaze drifted down to the blanket that had inched low enough to reveal two soft swells of perfection. “Believe me, I’ve figured that one out.” He lifted his eyes. “So how does the woman feel about me?”

Even in the dim light, he could tell that her face turned as red as an August tomato. “I-I… well, I think I…”

He smiled. “I’m the one who stammers, Sam. Don’t you start.” He scooted closer until their knees touched, and took her hand. It was much smaller and softer than his with smooth close-clipped nails. And he couldn’t help lifting it and brushing his lips over the tiny blue veins that pulsed in her wrist. “How about if we take it slower, sort of like we did when you were learning to ride? Do you like me?”

“Of course I like you, Ethan.”

The quick reply had him grinning like a fool. “What do you like about me?”

She stared down at their clasped hands for what seemed like forever before answering. “I like that you don’t take anything for granted. Not the sun, or the rain, or a friendship. I like the way you treat animals and people, with love and understanding. And I like that you rarely lose your temper. Even when I couldn’t do something, you never got mad and started screaming. You just showed me again until I got it right.” Her gaze lifted. Her deep blue eyes uncertain. “Do you like me?”

Like wasn’t really the word, but he also didn’t want to scare her off.

“Yes,” he said as he caressed her palm with his thumb. “I like you, Sam Henderson. I like that you never made me feel stupid because I do things slower than most folks. And I liked that no matter what I was doing-mucking out a stall or weeding a garden-you joined right in and helped me. And I like the way you treat animals. And the way you don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. But mostly, I liked the way you looked in your drill team uniform.”

She sat up, dislodging Sherman’s head. “My what?”

He waved his hand at her body. “That tiny little skirt and white top that you wore when you were on the drill team.”

“When I was seventeen, Ethan Miller?” A smile eased over her face. “Why, you pervert.”

“I was, you know. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the thought of those can-can kicks out of my mind.”

She shook her head. “Now you tell me. Do you realize how hard I worked to get you to notice me? How many excuses I came up with to try to get you to touch me-to kiss me?”

“You’re five years younger than I am,” he said. “I guess I was waiting until you grew up.”

“I was eighteen for six months before I left. Why didn’t you do anything then?”

The hurt in her eyes was like a swift kick to his stomach, and it brought with it all the pain he’d felt when she left. A pain he’d tried to ignore by pretending that what he felt for Sam had been nothing more than friendship.

“I guess I was scared. Since I had never had a girlfriend before, I didn’t understand my emotions. All I knew was that I didn’t want you to go. But once I was standing on your front porch, staring at your doorbell, it seemed like a pretty selfish reason to keep you in Bramble.”

“I would’ve stayed, Ethan,” she whispered. “For you, I would do just about anything.”

He released her hand and rose to his knees, pulling her up with him. “Then don’t go, Sam.” He pulled her into his arms and spoke against her damp hair. “Stay here in Bramble.”

“Why?” The word came out muffled against his throat, and she pulled back and repeated it. “Why do you want me to stay, Ethan?”

For a man who had trouble talking to women, the words slipped out without a hitch. “Because I love you, Sam Louise. And if you leave, I’ll be forced to follow you to New York, where I’ll be a fish out of water if ever there was one.”

She smiled up at him. “I don’t want to go back to New York. I want to live on a farm in my hometown with the man I love.”

He kissed her then, and her mouth opened up for him like a flower to a bee. Her hands slipped around his neck, and she pulled him closer, close enough to realize that scratchy wool blankets no longer stood between them. The shock of skin against skin had them both pulling back. Sam’s eyes were wide and innocent, while Ethan’s couldn’t help dropping down to sweet raspberry-topped peaches that trembled from her quickened breath.

“I’ve never been with a man,” she said.

Her words had his heartbeat tripling, and his gaze sliding back up to her eyes. A smile broke out on his face, a smile he felt all the way down to his toes.

“And I’ve never been with a woman,” he said. Her eyes widened even more, but before the questions could start, he kissed her. Not a hungry kiss that would lead to hours of unbridled passion, just a sweet kiss that tasted of springtime and promises yet to keep. Pulling back from that kiss was one of the hardest things Ethan had ever done. He reached down and lifted the blanket around her and, after a brief, heated slide of knuckles against soft breast, tucked it neatly into place.

“You’re not going to make love to me, Ethan?” She looked so disappointed and hurt that he almost gave in. But if he’d learned anything on the farm, it was that time and patience always produced the best harvests.

“Oh, I’m going to make love to you, Sam. I’m going to love you like no man has ever loved a woman. But since this is our first go-around, I figure we shouldn’t put the cart before the horse.”

Her brow knotted. “And just what does that mean, Ethan Michael?”

“I want to court you. I want to bring you flowers, and sit on your porch swing, and see how many kisses I can swipe before your daddy comes out and tells me to leave. I want to take you to the movies, and football games, and maybe just into town to show off my girl.”

If it wasn’t for her big smile, Ethan might’ve been worried about the tears that trickled down Sam’s cheeks. But since his own eyes brimmed, he figured he understood and merely cradled her chin and kissed them away.

“And after I’ve made up for all the missed opportunities of my youth-including taking a few college courses, I’m going to make you my wife. In name. Soul. And body.”

“Oh, Ethan.” She threw herself into his arms, knocking him back to the hay as she covered his face with kisses.

“Enough.” He laughed. “If you keep this up, I won’t be responsible for what happens.”

She gave him one last kiss on the very tip of his nose before settling down in the hay next to him. Ethan probably should tell her about the door so they could get dressed and get back to the church. And in a few minutes, he would. But for now he just wanted to savor the moment. To lie there in the sweet-smelling hay with the girl he’d always loved, and the woman he’d never expected.

Sherman trotted over and nosed his way between them. When he had snuffled around until he was comfortable, he looked up at Ethan.

And damned if that baby pig didn’t wink.

“Shhh.” Pastor Robbins held a finger to his mouth. “I’ve found them.”

Most of the town crowded in through the big barn doors, taking turns peeking at the two sleeping forms curled together in the stall.

“Poor things are out cold,” Rachel Dean said. “ ’Course, I can’t say as I blame them. Live nativity scenes are more exhaustin’ than a person thinks.”

“Too bad all the hard work was for nothin’.” Cindy Lynn glared at Rye Pickett. “Pastor Robbins didn’t even get to see our performance.”

“Well, it ain’t my fault,” Rye defended himself. “He did pull up in the back. I can’t help it if Rachel Dean had to go inside to the bathroom and chose that moment to come out the front door of the church.”

“When a girl’s gotta go, a girl’s gotta go,” Rachel said.

Kenny Gene pushed his way through the group, smacking everyone with his large wings as he went. “Except now that the stable’s all busted to smithereens, the pastor ain’t gonna get his live nativity scene.”

The entire town looked forlorn until the young pastor spoke.

“I don’t know about that, Kenny.” He glanced down in the stall at Ethan and Sam. “I think I’m looking at one right now.”

“What do you mean, pastor?” Rachel Dean craned her neck to get a better look in the stall. “You mean Ethan and Sam? But then that would mean that Sherman is…”

Harley Sutter took off his wiseman crown and scratched his head. “Well, that pig does have a pure heart.”

“As pure as they come.” Moses Tate rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “And he sure ain’t as loud as that Rufus Miles.”

“Well, I’m not buyin’ it,” Cindy Lynn said. “Joseph and Mary weren’t cuddled together like a couple of spoons in a drawer. They were kneelin’ over the baby Jesus, givin’ him his due respect.”

“You’re right, Cindy Lynn,” Pastor Robbins said. “But doesn’t it also make sense that Joseph and Mary were tired? They had traveled a long way, and Mary had just given birth. So it seems reasonable that they would lie down in the hay to sleep that first Christmas night so long ago. And that Joseph, being filled with love for his new family, would’ve placed a protective arm around them and pulled them close-just like Ethan has done with Sam and Sherman. Because isn’t that what Christmas is all about-love and family?”

Kenny Gene looked at Pastor Robbins. “And the folks of Bramble are family, ain’t we, Pastor?”

“We sure are, Kenny. Everyone on the face of the earth is part of God’s family.”

Kenny smiled, and his shoulders lifted, causing his wings to expand. The storm had passed, and the clear night sky filled the opened barn doors, casting Kenny in soft starlight.

“ ‘And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praisin’ God, and sayin’, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and goodwill toward men.’ ”