Forever Santa by Leeanna Morgan Read Free Book Online

me in town tomorrow. Our tree’s a lot bigger than the one we had last year, so I’ll buy more decorations and finish off my shopping.”
    “Makes sense to put these up now, then.” Trent kissed the side of her face. Within seconds he had the decorations sitting back in the box. “Come on, Gracie. Let’s create some new Christmas memories.”
    He walked through to the living room and Gracie followed, staring at their beautiful tree. She frowned at the twinkling lights. She was sure she’d turned them off before they’d left. “Trent, did you turn the Christmas tree lights on?”
    “No,” came a deep voice from the sofa. “That was me.”
    “What the…?” The box of decorations rattled in Trent’s arms and Gracie ran across to the light switch.
    She knew who their late night visitor was, and it wasn’t Santa Claus. “Jacob? What are you doing here?”
    Gracie stared at the frown on her half brother’s face. Two years ago she didn’t know she had a brother, let alone two. She’d come to Montana to search for her birth father and found a ready-made family.
    Her dad already had a wife and two sons by the time she’d been born. After she’d found her dad, her new family had welcomed her into their lives with open arms.
    “One of the ranch hands unlocked the back door for me. I got a call from mom and dad.” Jacob looked worried, more worried than Gracie had ever seen him.
    “What’s happened?”
    “It’s Alex.”
    And just like that, her world started spinning out of control. Alex was her other half brother and four months older than Gracie. He was a three time World Bull Riding Champion, and one of the nicest guys she’d ever met.
    “Alex was competing in Vegas at the National Finals. He was bucked off a bull and trampled.”
    Gracie felt her knees wobble. She reached for Trent. He was right behind her, holding her upright. “Is he okay?”
    “He’s in surgery. Dad’s going to call us in the morning after he’s spoken with Alex’s doctor.”
    Trent picked Gracie up and carried her across to the sofa. “How long do they think he’ll be in the hospital?”
    “I don’t know. The bull did a lot of damage. The surgeon’s are screwing his femur together and doing some work on his right hip and knee. It doesn’t sound good.”
    Gracie pushed herself out of the sofa. “I need to go to Las Vegas.”
    Jacob shook his head. “I’ve already tried, Gracie. There aren’t any seats left on the flights heading there before Christmas. The weather has grounded a lot of flights, so the chance of any cancellations coming up are practically non-existent. The best we can do is stay in Montana and wait for dad’s call.”
    “Why did you come all this way to tell me about Alex? It’s a long trip from Great Falls in this weather. You could have had an accident.”
    “I wasn’t in Great Falls. I was at mom and dad’s ranch dropping off Alex’s Christmas present for them. I didn’t want to tell you about him on the phone, so I drove down here as soon as dad called me.”
    Gracie stood beside her brother. “You can stay here, sleep in one of the downstairs bedrooms. Stay for Christmas.”
    “Thanks, Gracie. I’d appreciate a bed to sleep in tonight, but I told dad I’d look after the ranch while he’s in Vegas. If mom and dad don’t look like they’ll be home for Christmas, I’ll come back and stay for a couple of nights.”
    Trent glanced at Jacob’s backpack. “Do you want to borrow any clothes?”
    “I’ve got everything I’ll need.” With a smile he added, “Unlike my sister, I travel light.”
    Gracie decided to ignore his suitcase humor and gave him a hug. “Thank you for coming all this way to tell me.”
    Jacob hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome.”
    She took a deep breath and stepped back. “Have you had dinner? Would you like a hot drink?”
    Jacob shook his head. “I’m fine, Gracie. I had something to eat before I left mom and dad’s