Mischief and Mistletoe by Lena Matthews Read Free Book Online Page B

what you were saying upstairs.”
    “Okay.” Charlotte loudly cleared her throat. “Talking about it when you guys aren’t here is fun, talking about it when you guys are here is slightly scummy. So yay. Conversation over.”
    “Fun spoiler.”
    “Whatever, Mayor of Pussyville.” Charlotte grabbed a bowl of mashed potatoes off the island and handed them to Russell. “Take this out to the dinning table.”
    Ty grabbed the ham platter and paused next to his wife. “You do realize this is exactly why we don’t get invited to other people’s houses for the holidays?”
    “I know, right. Isn’t it wonderful?”
    Ty leaned in and pressed a quick kiss across her lips. “No, you’re wonderful. I love you , crazy lady.”
    “You better.” She smacked his ass and sent him on his way. When the men were gone , she looked over at her friend and smiled. “Do I even have to say it?”
    “Nope.” Tamara walked over and took a dish as well. “God is good and so are our men.”
    “Amen,” Charlotte sighed. “Amen.”
     
     
    After dinner and clean up, Ty and Russell followed the ranch hands who were staying overnight to the stables to put the horses to bed. They had let them roam the paddock during dinner, but Ty wanted them boarded up overnight. Even though they all had a good winter coat to keep them warm, Ty still wanted them indoors.
    His babies weren’t fans of being locked down, but dealing with a grumpy horse was better than dealing with a horse with a broken leg. It only took one icy patch of snow to cripple a horse and his bottom line for life. A broken leg didn’t look good on paper, but it wasn’t just about his ability to sell a horse, Ty truly cared for every single animal in his care.
    All but two of the quarter horses he had on hand now had been fo aled on the Dollar with him and the local vet acting as midwives. He had attended the births with as much attention and pride as he did when Charlotte had delivered Candace. Most of the time he had been the first to touch them, the first to groom them, and the first to fall in love with their big doe-like eyes. He loved them almost as much as he loved his own flesh and blood, so it was important to him they weather the snowstorm.
    It took them a good hour to dry the horses, clean out their hooves and put them in the stalls with fresh hay and water. Even though the hands were more than capable of tending to the animals, Ty personally checked each and every horse just for his own peace of mind. When he was satisfied with how they each looked and felt, he gathered the men together and went over the emergency evacuation plan once more, just in case.
    “Just in case” was his go-to phrase to cover up his OCD. He knew it and the men knew it, but they humored him just the same and listened as if this were the first time he mentioned the plan today instead of the third. The Dollar Ranch had been in his family for two generations and he’d be damn if the family business went kaput on his watch. He loved it all too much to let it end now.
    As soon as he was done, he and Russell bid the men a good night and headed back to the main house. The steadily falling snow made the trip a bit longer than normal. Despite what Tamara had said, not a bit had melted. It was almost knee high and it was cold as fuck. By the time they made it back in the house all Ty wanted to do was to strip out of his clothes and hop into a hot shower, but that idea was instantly shot down the second he saw his daughter walking between Tamara and her mother, with her favorite Christmas book in hand.
    When they reached his side, Charlotte let loose of Candace’s hand and immediately went to work on helping Ty take off his outside gear while Tamara did the same with Russell.
    As soon as Charlotte had his coat off, she threw it over her arm and faced him once more. “Everything okay?”
    “On my end. I did all that I could, now the rest is in God’s hand.”
    “He’s a good God, it’ll work