inside. Despite their short acquaintance, he was certain Celeste wasn’t like that.
Her kindness to Olivia touched him. He tried to tell himself that was the reason for this strange reaction to her. It was gratitude; that was all.
Somehow he wasn’t buying it as he passed the entrance to The Christmas Ranch on his way to the Star N.
“What is that place?” Olivia asked, gazing out the window at the colorful holiday display they could see from the road.
“It’s a place where people pay money to help find the Christmas spirit,” he explained. “They have different activities here like sledding, sleigh rides, that kind of thing.”
“Look, Dad! That sign says Home of the Real Sparkle,” she read. “That must be where he lives! Can we pay the money and see him and maybe do some of the other stuff? The sledding and stuff?”
Her request took him by surprise, especially considering how apathetic she had been about decorating their house for Christmas. She hadn’t summoned much energy at all for celebrating this year. He couldn’t blame her after what she had endured, but it was one more thing that broke his heart, especially considering how excited she had been about the holiday season in years past.
Maybe Celeste Nichols and her reindeer book were rubbing off on Olivia.
“We’ll have to see. I thought you weren’t very interested in Christmas this year.”
“I guess we could do a few Christmas things,” she said slowly. “Whether we do them or not, Christmas is coming anyway.”
“True enough.” For a girl who had just turned seven, she could be remarkably wise sometimes. She was tough and courageous, he told himself. Even if she was struggling now, she would make it through this eventually.
“Is this where Celeste lives?” Olivia asked when he pulled up in front of the little house not far from the bigger Star N ranch house.
“That’s what she said. The foreman’s house.”
“Look. She has a Christmas tree, too.”
Since her family ran The Christmas Ranch, he would have been more shocked if she didn’t have one.
“I wonder if I can see her cute little dog, Linus.”
“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised,” he told her.
Olivia opened the passenger door almost before he had the SUV in Park, and she raced up the driveway without him, only limping a little. While he was still unbuckling his seat belt, she was already at the doorbell, and by the time he reached the door, Celeste had opened it and was greeting his daughter.
“Of course,” she was saying. “You can absolutely come in and meet Lucy the cat. She loves new friends.”
Apparently his daughter had invited herself inside. He rolled his eyes but followed her when Celeste held open the door for both of them.
The house wasn’t large, perhaps only eight or nine hundred square feet. The living room was decorated in a casual, comfortable style, heavy on bright colors, with lots of plump pillows and books. The Christmas tree was about the only holiday decoration, he was surprised to see.
“Nice place,” he said.
“Thanks. I just moved over a few months ago from the main house, but so far I’ve been enjoying it. I’m close enough to help out with my niece and nephew when my sister Faith needs me. At the same time, I’m far enough away from the chaos that I can write. I’ve even got my own writing space in the second bedroom.”
“It’s comfortable.”
She smiled. “I like it.”
Her furry-faced little dog scampered in from the kitchen, followed by an elegant-looking black cat, who watched them carefully from the doorway as if trying to determine whether they were friends or foes.
“Hi, Linus.” Olivia sank to the floor to pet the dog. After a moment, the cat sidled over.
“That’s Lucy,” Celeste said. “She can be a little snooty at first, but once she warms up, she’ll be your best friend. Just give her a moment.”
Sure enough, while Olivia mostly paid attention to the small dog, the cat moved closer and closer until she rubbed her head against Olivia’s leg.
“I think she likes me,” she whispered.
“I’m sure of it,” Celeste said with a smile.
“Looks as if you need to pick up a pet or two,” she said to Flynn in an undertone.
“Don’t give her any ideas,” he said in the same low voice. Their gaze met and he felt a strange jolt in his gut at the impact of those green eyes behind the glasses.
“You don’t want a little dog?”
He shrugged. When he was a kid, the only pets had been his mother’s annoying, yippy little purse pooches. He had never really thought seriously about it before, too busy with work and his shared custody of Olivia.
When things settled down for her a little, maybe he would think about it. She did seem to be enjoying Celeste’s pets.
Both he and Celeste seemed content to watch her petting the two pets, and he was aware of that elusive sense of peace seeping in again.
“How’s the house cleaning going?” she asked him.
He thought of the work still ahead. “I don’t think I realized what an undertaking it was to clear out eighty-five years of living. After about three days of work, we got one of the rooms cleared out today.”
“Good work.” She paused. “If you need help, I’m available most evenings.”
She looked embarrassed after she spoke, though he wasn’t quite sure why, when he took the offer as nothing but generous and kind, especially in the hustle-bustle of the holidays.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely.
She gazed at him for a moment, then shifted her attention back to Olivia, but not before he saw a hint of color climb her cheeks.
“What are you doing with your business in California while you’re here?”
“I’m doing as much as I can long-distance, but it hasn’t been easy. Since the shooting, I’ve basically had to trust my second-in-command to take much of the load at the sites. I’ve been handling the administrative things after Olivia goes to bed. Everyone who works for me has been great. I couldn’t ask for better people in my company, but I think we’re all ready for things to start getting back to normal after the holidays.”
She looked between him and his daughter, her expression soft. “You’re a good father, Flynn. Olivia is lucky to have you.”
“I don’t know about that,” he muttered. “A good father would have known what was going on at her mother’s house. I should have seen it. It wasn’t a stable situation for a young girl. Elise had boyfriend after boyfriend traipsing in and
