Lois Richer - Her Christmas Family Wish

Wyatt hid his smile when the little girl planted her feet and stubbornly refused to move.

“This man would make a good daddy for us, Mommy,” the blue-eyed sprite mused, her silvery-gold head tilted as she assessed Wyatt.

That was so not funny. Wyatt suppressed his overwhelming desire to bolt.

“Then he—” Gracie continued jerking a thumb at Cade “—could be my brother. I’d really like to have a brother,” she added, her head tilted to one side thoughtfully. Then she frowned. “’Cept I don’t want him to spit on me.”

Wyatt cleared his throat, intending to voice a firm yet delicate refusal that would end the child’s ludicrous notion real fast, before her mother latched on to it. Instead he got sidetracked by the lady’s burst of laughter.

“You used to spit up exactly the same way, Gracie.” The mom chuckled when her daughter wrinkled her nose in disgust. “But we don’t need a daddy,” she said in a firm voice. “We’re fine just the way we are, you and me. Don’t you like our family?”

Instead of rushing her child away from a touchy subject, as Wyatt had seen other parents do, the mother waited for a response. He admired her serenity and total focus on her child and made a mental note to practice the same kind of patience with Cade when he got older so he’d be the best father a kid could have. He’d do whatever it took to be a better father to his son than his own father had ever been.

“Our family’s nice,” Gracie agreed. “But I want a daddy. And a brother. Melissa and Courtney have brothers and daddies,” she said, her chin thrust up.

“So you’ve told me, many times.” A resigned sigh colored the mother’s response. “But I’m sure there are other kids in your kindergarten class who don’t. Each family is different, Gracie. One isn’t better or worse than another, just different.” She smoothed the child’s rumpled curls. “We need to get our ice cream now so we can go to Wranglers Ranch.”

Wranglers Ranch? That was the place that sponsored camps for troubled kids. Months earlier the owner, Tanner Johns, had left a message on Wyatt’s answering machine asking him if he was interested in taking on a full-time vet position there. Wyatt, his hands full caring for Cade, hadn’t responded. Though he kept running into Tanner at church, the rancher had never pressed him for a reply, simply offered friendship. Wyatt figured Wranglers’ ministry must be growing because of a mention at last week’s church service about a youth group outing to the ranch.

“And—” Gracie dragged out the word, giving him and Cade another once-over before blowing out a heartfelt sigh. “Now that Beth and Davy live at Wranglers Ranch, they have a daddy, too. I’m the only one who doesn’t.”

The pathos in her mournful words reached in and squeezed Wyatt’s heart, until he caught the mother’s grimace as she rolled her eyes at him.

“Oh, that’s not the worst of my shortcomings,” she explained with a teasing chuckle. “Last week Gracie was the only one in her kindergarten class not allowed to stay up late to watch a TV show.” She raised her eyebrows in a pseudo-severe look. “As you must know, single parenthood isn’t for the faint of heart.” She fluttered her fingers. “We have to go. Bye.”

Wyatt nodded bemusedly until her gaze dropped to his shirt.

“You, uh, might want to get that off before it dries,” she advised quietly. Then she took Gracie’s hand and firmly drew her toward the freezer section.

Wyatt grimaced and used the wad of wipes she’d handed him to clean up the mess as best he could.

“Thanks a lot,” he said to his son who was now happily blowing bubbles.

Wyatt quickly gathered the rest of the items on his list and hurried through the checkout determined to avoid another encounter with more of Cade’s admirers. But in the parking lot he noticed the same woman buckling her little girl into a car seat. Pure impulse and an innate curiosity he should have suppressed sent Wyatt walking briskly toward them.

“How did you know?” he asked abruptly.

The woman jerked in surprise, bumping her head on the car before she ducked out.

“Ow!” She raised a slim arm to rub the top of her head. “Sorry?” Her eyebrows drew together as she frowned at him.

“How did you know Cade was going to be sick?” Wyatt repeated.

“Years of pediatric nursing and a child of my own,” she explained with a shrug. “It’s the kind of look I learned to interpret fast and clean up faster.” She checked out his shirt. “Good job. Did you feed him something new for lunch?”

“A couple of brussels sprouts,” he admitted. “He seemed okay with them.”

“Ew! I’m afraid I’d have the same reaction as he did. Not my favorite vegetable.” She shrugged at Wyatt’s frown. “Well, sorry, but it’s not.”

“Rounded nutrition is the best thing for kids,” he repeated, quoting verbatim from the baby book he used as his parenting mentor.

The woman opened her lips to say something but was interrupted.

“What’s that boy’s name?” Gracie asked, poking her head forward.

“He’s Cade. I’m Wyatt. Wyatt Wright,” he said, shocked that he was voluntarily giving his name to a child and her mother—a single woman, to boot. But there was something about this woman that drew him. Because she was attractive? Compelling? Intriguing?

All of the above.

“We’re Ellie and Gracie Grant. But I already know who you are, Wyatt.” Ellie laughed at his surprise. “I’ve seen you at church. In fact, you’re the current hot topic.”

“I am?” He frowned at her. “Why?”

“Mmm.” She tapped her forefinger against her lips. “How can I put this delicately? Let’s just say there are a lot of single ladies at our church who feel you’ve been a widower too long, that you need a good woman to help you with this little guy.”

Aghast, Wyatt stood frozen as Ellie chucked Cade under the chin. Cade’s giggle was Wyatt’s favorite sound because it made him feel like he wasn’t the awful failure his own father had been.

He wasn’t sure how to reply, though he wanted to ask Ellie if she was one of those ladies from church. Not that it mattered. Wyatt doubted that even knowing she was would end the zip of electricity curling up his spine.

“Don’t worry, Wyatt.” That thread of laughter lilted through Ellie’s voice. She winked at him. “You’re safe with me.”

“I am?” Wyatt gulped down a rush of disappointment. Hey! Shouldn’t he be feeling relief?

“Yep, very safe.” Ellie checked that Gracie was secure, then carefully closed the car door, maybe so her daughter couldn’t overhear? “Despite Gracie’s comments, I am not on the hunt for a husband. Raising Gracie takes all my focus. I’m not interested in romance,” she said airily, though he heard a bit of an edge to the words.

Wyatt didn’t have time to ask why a gorgeous woman like her wouldn’t want love in her life because she walked around the car and pulled open the front door. She tossed him a funny, almost sad smile, then climbed inside and drove away.

“Well,” he said to Cade as he pushed the grocery cart toward his car. “That was interesting. But don’t do the sick part again, okay? It makes us both smell bad. Got it?”

Cade crowed his agreement as if he knew that the encounter with that remarkable woman and her daughter had made his daddy’s day brighter.

While Wyatt fastened Cade in his seat, then loaded the groceries, his thoughts replayed his interaction with the mother-daughter duo. He’d liked them both, but he especially liked Ellie’s forthrightness.

Wait a minute!

“Focus on parenthood,” he ordered his wayward brain. “You’re a single dad with a veterinarian practice that barely supports you and a ranch that needs tons of work and money.”