A Cowboy for Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

news.”
    “It’s not good,” Jack said without emotion, having already accepted his fate. He’d known even before he’d seen the doctor that he was feeling worse than he ever had, and the news the doc had given him hadn’t surprised him.
    “Maybe the doc’s wrong.” Dan wanted to encourage him to fight whatever was ailing him.
    “No, he’s not wrong,” Jack told him, looking up at him to meet his gaze.
    In that moment, Dan could see the pain mirrored in his friend’s eyes and realized just how much Jack was suffering. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
    In the time he’d spent alone since Doc Clemens had given him the bad news, Jack had done a lot of thinking. He had accomplished a lot in his life, building the Lazy Ace into a successful ranch, but there was one thing more he had to take care of before he died. He would never be able to rest in peace unless he got Penny to come home.
    “Yes, there is. I need your help.”
    Dan had no idea what Jack was about to ask, but he could deny his friend nothing.
    “I need you to go back to St. Louis and bring my daughter home. I need to see Penny again before I die.”
    “Your daughter?”
    Jack had rarely spoken of his wife and daughter. What little Dan knew was that Jack’s wife had left him six years ago and had taken their daughter with her. The other hands had told him how Jack had made a trip back to St. Louis to see them some months after they’d left, but his wife had been so determined not to have anything more to do with him that he’d stayed away ever since. Jack had tried to bring Penny back to the ranch for visits, but his wife had refused all his efforts, and the hands knew he’d hardly ever heard from his daughter. When Jack had gotten the news of his wife’s death two years before, he’d tried to contact Penny again hoping she would come home then, but when she had not responded to his letters, he’d given up. Despite all that, Dan knew this time things were different.
    Jack handed him a small oil portrait of Penny he kept on his desk. “Yes. Go get her for me, Dan.” He opened the top drawer and took out a sealed envelope. “I know she might refuse to come, but give her this letter.”
    “I will,” he promised. He took the letter.
    “Here’s the money you’ll need for the trip.” Jack took another envelope out of the drawer and gave it to him.
    “Why don’t you come with me?”
    “No, I need to stay here on the Lazy Ace. Bring her home, Dan. If I could just have her here for Christmas . . .” He fell quiet for a moment, remembering how they’d celebrated the holidays when she was young and living on the ranch.
    “All right.”
    Dan realized it probably wasn’t going to be an easy task to convince her to give up city living and return to Texas. If she’d had little to no contact with her father in all this time, he wondered if she would even care that Jack was sick and dying. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to convince her to return to the ranch. Friend that Jack was to him, Dan knew he wouldn’t return without her.
    “I can get ready and head into town tonight. There should be a stage coming through tomorrow.”
    “Thank you.”
    Taking the envelopes with him, Dan started from the room without saying any more.
    “Dan—”
    Jack’s call stopped Dan before he could walk out the door. He turned back to see his friend looking very weak and frail.
    “Hurry back.”
    “I’ll get her back to you as fast as I can,” Dan promised, and he meant it. One way or another, he was going to see Jack reunited with his daughter. It was the least he could do for a man who’dgiven him so much. He left the main house and went to pack.
    As foreman, he had a small two-room house off to the side of the bunkhouse. Some of the hands were wondering what he was doing when they saw him come out carrying a traveling bag. Dan quickly explained the reason for his trip.
    “Jack’s going to need you boys more than ever now.