Holiday in Stone Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

broke in, " you have a family, too."
    "I meant wives, husbands, children," Olivia said, embarrassed.
    "Two o'clock, you don't need to bring anything, and wear something you haven't delivered calves in."
    She glared up at him. "Can I see my nephew now," she asked, "or is there a dress code for that, too?"
    Brad laughed. "I'll get Rudolph settled in a nice, cozy stall while you go inside. Check the attitude at the door--Meg wasn't kidding when she said she was in the holiday spirit. Of course, she's working extra hard at it this year, with Carly away."
    Willie and Ginger came from behind the barn, Willie rushing to greet Olivia.
    "His name is Rodney," Olivia said. "Not Rudolph."
    Brad gave her a look and started for the barn, and Rodney followed uncertainly, casting nary a backward glance at Olivia.
    Willie, probably clued in by Ginger, was careful to give Rodney a lot of dog-free space. Olivia bent to scratch his ears.
    He'd healed up nicely since being attacked by a wolf or coyote pack on the mountain rising above Stone Creek Ranch. With help from Brad and Meg, Olivia had brought him back to town for surgery and follow-up care. He'd bonded with Brad, though, and been his dog ever since.
    With Ginger and Willie following, Olivia went into the house.
    Mac's playpen stood empty in the living room.
    Olivia stepped into the nearest bathroom to wash herhands, and when she came out, Meg was standing in the hallway, holding six-month-old Mac. He stretched his arms out to Olivia and strained toward her, and her heart melted.
    She took the baby eagerly and nuzzled his neck to make him laugh. His blondish hair stood up all over his head, and his dark blue eyes were round with mischievous excitement. Giggling, he tried to bite Olivia's nose.
    "He's grown!" Olivia told Meg.
    "It's only been a week since you saw him last," Meg chided, but she beamed with pride.
    Olivia felt a pang, looking at her. Wondered what it would be like to be that happy.
    Meg, blond like her husband and son, tilted her head to one side and gave Olivia a humorously pensive once-over. "Are you okay?" she asked.
    "I'm fine," Olivia said, too quickly. Mac was gravitating toward his playpen, where he had a pile of toys, and Meg took him and gently set him inside it. She turned back to Olivia.
    Just then Brad blew in on a chilly November wind. Bent to pat Ginger and Willie.
    "Rudolph is snug in his stall," Brad said. "Having some oats."
    "Rudolph?" Meg asked, momentarily distracted.
    Olivia was relieved. She and Meg were very good friends, as well as family, but Meg was half again too perceptive. She'd figured out that something was bothering Olivia, and in another moment she'd have insisted on finding out what was up. Considering that Olivia didn't know that herself, the conversation would have been pointless.
    "Liv will be here for Thanksgiving," Brad told Meg, pulling his wife against his side and planting a kiss on the top of her head.
    "Of course she will," Meg said, surprised that there'd ever been any question. Her gaze lingered on Olivia, and there was concern in it.
    Suddenly Olivia was anxious to go.
    "I have two million things to do," she said, bending over the playpen to tickle Mac, who was kicking both feet and waving his arms, before heading to the front door and beckoning for Ginger.
    "We'll see you tomorrow at the ground-breaking ceremony," Meg said, smiling and giving Brad an affectionate jab with one elbow. "We're expecting a big crowd, thanks to Mr. Country Music here."
    Olivia laughed at the face Brad made, but then she recalled that Tanner Quinn would be there, too, and that unsettled feeling was back again. "The ground's pretty hard, thanks to the weather," she said, to cover the momentary lapse. "Let's hope Mr. Country Music still has the muscle to drive a shovel through six inches of snow and a layer of ice."
    Brad showed off a respectable biceps, Popeye-style, and everybody laughed again.
    "I'll walk you to the truck," he said, when Olivia would