A Cowgirl's Christmas Read Online Free Page A

been a much happier time. “Lucky thing you and Dawson didn’t decide on a long honeymoon.”
    “Our weekend in Vegas was fun. Dawson didn’t want to be away from Savannah longer than that and I agreed with him.”
    No sooner had lunch dishes been slotted into the dishwasher than a horn honked from outside, announcing the arrival of the packed SUV, with Eliot at the wheel.  The baby was crying, and Dani was the first one out, rushing her hellos so she could get inside to feed and change baby Bev.
    While Mattie hugged her daughters moments after they emerged from the back seat, Nat and Eliot unloaded suitcases. Callan directed them to the proper rooms then went to help Eliot set up baby Bev’s portable crib in their room. She was still trying to get a read on Eliot, whom she’d first met at Sage and Dawson’s wedding. Eliot was a divorce attorney from Seattle. Charming, funny, but very urban and sophisticated, too.
    Callan wasn’t convinced Eliot was the right man for Dani. Though she acted all confident and professional, Dani was more vulnerable than she let on, especially now that she had a baby to look after.
    “So how is Dani doing?” she asked, as Eliot quickly set up the crib. Clearly he’d done this before and didn’t need assistance from her. Score one for the divorce attorney.
    “She’s amazing. Such a natural mother. Thanks to the nanny she’s hired, she’s even found time to start working from home a few hours a day.”
    For Dani, who loved her research, that was a good thing. And since it was Eliot who had found the nanny, Callan supposed he deserved a point for that, as well.
    “You’re not bad for a city guy,” she concluded as they left the room together.
    Eliot laughed. “So have I won you over, then?”
    “Not quite. But you’re getting there.”
    Around two o’clock, when Portia and Wren were taking baby Bev for a walk and the guys were outside helping repair the fences, Callan had her first opportunity to talk privately with her three sisters. They were all in the kitchen, sipping coffee and nibbling at chocolate.
    “So tell us how it happened,” Dani said, looking awesome in dark jeans and a turquoise cardigan. You would never guess she’d delivered a baby less than two months ago.
    Though Callan had described their father’s death to each of them over the phone, she understood that they wanted to hear it together. And she, too, was anxious to air the story again, this time including details she’d forgotten the first time around. So she started at the beginning, including every single thing she could remember.
    When she got to the part where her father had collapsed, and she’d found him on the ground, she had to stop. Mattie wrapped her in a hug, then Sage moved in and Dani, too. After a few moments, Callan continued.
    “When Dad came to, the first time, he said something. Though he was looking in my direction, it sounded like he was talking to Mom. I’m not sure he even recognized me.”
    “What did he say?” Sage asked.
    “I kept my word, Bev. I kept my word.” She’d repeated the words to herself so often, she knew she had them exactly right.
    “I wonder what his promise was?” Mattie looked thoughtful.
    “Did he say anything else?” Dani asked.
    “Not until we got him back to the ranch. The paramedics were transferring him to the ambulance, when he opened his eyes, looked right at me and said, ‘bastard.’”
    Her sisters looked taken aback.
    “Are you sure you heard that correctly?” Sage asked.
    Callan nodded.
    “Trust Dad to go out with a swear word,” Dani said.
    Dani was right. Their father did swear a lot. But why had he chosen that particular word? Callan had been thinking about it a great deal. “I wonder if he wasn’t swearing, but giving me a rather blunt message.”
    Mattie’s eyes went round. “What are you suggesting, Callan?”
    “Well, thanks to Sage, we all know Mom wasn’t faithful to Dad later in their marriage.” When Mattie’s