Come Home For Christmas by Susanne Matthews

really want to discover that while he’d been sorry about her problems, she’d obviously misunderstood him, and there was nothing he could do? Did it even matter? Ethan was doing everything he could to undo his father’s damage. She couldn’t blame him for any of it, and she certainly couldn’t kick Leah out of her home.
    That poor little thing didn’t remember her mother and father. While her own biological father had died before she’d been born, she’d had eighteen years of her mother’s love and thirteen with Luke. Ethan would take care of Leah. He was a man of honor; she should’ve remembered that instead of letting Uncle Charles fill her head with lies.
    The fact that Ethan, and probably her uncle, had read her letters to him, those outpourings of girlish hopes and fears, had brought heat to her cheeks when he’d mentioned it last night.
    God, he must’ve thought I was an idiot—a needy, immature idiot at that.
    While she hadn’t read his letters and wasn’t sure she would, sooner or later, Ethan would want a wife and children of his own. Leah was already wishing for a mommy, and from what she’d seen, Leah got whatever she wanted—just as Luke would’ve given her the world if he could—and he had. She simply hadn’t known about it. She thought of her sixteenth birthday when he’d given her Princess.
    You’re my princess, Krista, and now she’s yours. Love her as much as your mom and I love you.
    She should’ve known her stepfather wouldn’t have left her homeless, but alone and distraught, she’d believed the man who was supposed to take care of her—the man who’d stolen from her. As angry as she was with Uncle Charles, she couldn’t fault Ethan.
    The fact he hadn’t married surprised her. He was still ruggedly handsome and the silver in his hair added to rather than detracted from his appeal. He was muscled and lean, and if she was any judge of a man’s physical condition, he was probably in as good as, if not better, shape than Theo had been.
    While she couldn’t remain here forever, she could stay for a few months until she decided what to do with her life. She had six years’ experience as a marketing expert with the Gladiators. Would she be able to transfer that knowledge to another sport? As she recalled football was almost as big as hockey out here, and of course, there was the Stampede. If she moved to Calgary, she could come back to Seven Oaks to ride Princess, visit with Leah, and renew herself.
    The delectable aroma of coffee tickled her nose once more and spurred her to action. Opening the door quietly so as not to wake Leah, she went downstairs, hoping Ethan was the one in the kitchen with the coffee. More than once she’d walked in on her uncle holding court with the hands, and that had never been pleasant.
    “Good morning,” she said as she entered the room. “Where are the hands? You don’t look after all the stock alone, do you?”
    He looked up and smiled, reminding her of other mornings when she’d walked in to find him sitting at the table.
    “You’re up early,” he said, spooning cereal into his mouth. “Coffee’s ready.”
    She found a mug and poured herself a cup.
    “Is that fresh milk?”
    He nodded.
    “I haven’t had that in years.” She poured a generous amount in her cup and added sugar.
    “We have six men working with us year round and we take on another six April to October,” he said answering her questions once she sat across from him. “When I moved in here, Ian, my assistant manager, and his wife, Agatha, took over my house. The other five men have a new bunk house, over near the breeding operation, with a state of the art kitchen. Mosey doubles as a hand and cook. He takes care of their needs with a little help from Mrs. Jones who does the baking. Once a week, we all have dinner together. Aggie, that’s what we all call Ian’s wife, has offered to help with Christmas dinner. She and Mrs. Jones put up quite the meal for Thanksgiving