Be Mine This Christmas Read online

  Gib Douglas has been on the road a long time, with no place to really call home. When he pays a holiday visit to relatives in Sweetgrass Springs, the last person he expects to encounter is the girl he loved, the girl who’d promised to marry him and love him forever…until she betrayed him and married someone else.

  Dulcie Maguire gave up her dreams so that Gib could follow his all those years ago. She made a decent life for herself while watching him soar to success with great pride, never expecting to see him again. Now widowed, she’s in dire straits with four children depending on her, when into her life walks Gib again—and she realizes that she’s never gotten over him.

  But the man he’s become is not the boy she once knew—and he may never forgive her, once he knows the secret she’s been concealing.

  THE TEXAS HEROES SERIES

  The Gallaghers of Morning Star

  Texas Secrets

  Texas Lonely

  Texas Bad Boy

  The Marshalls

  Texas Refuge

  Texas Star

  Texas Danger

  The Gallaghers of Sweetgrass Springs

  Texas Roots

  Texas Wild

  Texas Dreams

  Texas Rebel

  Texas Blaze

  Texas Christmas Bride

  The Book Babes of Austin

  Texas Ties

  Texas Troubles

  Texas Together

  More Sweetgrass Springs Stories

  Texas Hope

  Texas Strong

  Texas Sweet

  Be Mine This Christmas

  Texas Charm

  Texas Magic

  Be My Midnight Kiss

  Lone Star Lovers

  Texas Heartthrob

  Texas Healer

  Texas Protector

  Texas Deception

  Texas Lost

  Texas Wanderer

  Texas Bodyguard

  Texas Rescue

  Be Mine This Christmas

  A Sweetgrass Springs Story

  Jean Brashear

  Copyright © 2016 Jean Brashear

  EPUB Edition

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  About Be Mine This Christmas

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  The Families of Sweetgrass Springs

  Cast of Characters

  Map of Sweetgrass Springs

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Texas Charm

  About the Author

  Connect With Jean

  To see a larger version of the current generations of Sweetgrass Springs founding families, click or tap here

  To see a larger version of the current generations of Sweetgrass Springs founding families, click or tap here

  SWEETGRASS SPRINGS

  Cast of Characters

  (titles in parentheses mark a character’s primary story)

  THE FOUR FOUNDING FAMILIES:

  THE GALLAGHERS (Josiah Gallagher, Sweetgrass Springs founder)

  Ruby Gallagher – diner owner and the heart and soul of this struggling small town

  James Gallagher – Ruby’s brother and father of twins Jackson and Penny plus Rissa.

  Scarlett Ross – Ruby’s granddaughter, New York chef whose deceased mother Georgia never told her they had family in Texas (Texas Roots, Texas Dreams)

  Jackson Gallagher – video game tycoon and prodigal son of James who’s been missing for twenty years (Texas Rebel, Texas Christmas Bride)

  Penelope Gallagher – Jackson’s twin sister, shark lawyer who left Sweetgrass Springs behind (Texas Blaze, Texas Christmas Bride)

  Clarissa Gallagher – youngest child of James and horse whisperer; the only one of James’s children who cares about the ranch (Texas Wild)

  THE MCLARENS (Ronald McLaren, Sweetgrass Springs founder)

  Gordon McLaren – owner of the Double Bar M Ranch with his son Ian (Texas Hope)

  Ian McLaren – Gordon’s son whose mother abandoned him as a child; now runs Double Bar M Ranch. Unofficial mayor of Sweetgrass Springs and its mainstay alongside Ruby (Texas Roots, Texas Dreams)

  Sophia McLaren Cavanaugh – the mother Ian has never forgiven for leaving him behind (Texas Hope)

  Michael Cavanaugh – Ian’s half-brother by Sophia’s second husband. Neither Michael nor Ian was ever told the other exists (The Book Babes, Texas Hope)

  THE PATTONS (Tobias Patton, Sweetgrass Springs founder)

  Vernon Patton – deceased, abusive father of Veronica and Theodore (Tank)

  Veronica Patton Butler – Jackson Gallagher’s teenage sweetheart left behind when he vanished. She married Jackson’s close friend David Butler. Owner of a flower farm and David’s widow (Texas Rebel, Texas Christmas Bride)

  Theodore “Tank” Patton – deputy sheriff and the most reviled man in Sweetgrass Springs (Texas Hope)

  THE BUTLERS (Benjamin Butler, Sweetgrass Springs founder)

  Raymond Butler – deceased father of David Butler

  David Butler – one of the most beloved citizens of Sweetgrass Springs. High school buddies with Jackson Gallagher, Ian McLaren and Randall Mackey. Died leaving his widow Veronica with a son Ben and twins Abby and Beth.

  Beth Butler – David’s sister who died in the car accident that caused Jackson Gallagher to be banished

  OTHER IMPORTANT SWEETGRASS SPRINGS CHARACTERS:

  Randall Mackey, close friend of Ian McLaren, Jackson Gallagher and David Butler. Joined the Navy after high school; became a SEAL. After leaving the service, wound up as a stuntman in Hollywood (Texas Wild)

  Bridger Calhoun, former SEAL buddy of Mackey’s, now a firefighter (Texas Blaze, Texas Christmas Bride)

  Harley Sykes (wife Melba, a quilter) – one of the coffee group that meets every morning at Ruby’s. One of the town’s most colorful characters.

  Raymond Benefield (wife Nita, also a quilter) – one of the coffee group regulars.

  Arnie Howard – coffee group regular at Ruby’s who’s been warming Ruby’s bed for many years but can never convince her to marry him

  Jeanette Carson – sharp-tongued veteran waitress at Ruby’s. Attended high school a few years behind Ian McLaren, for whom she’s been carrying a torch for years (Texas Charm)

  Brenda Jones – skittish teenaged waitress at Ruby’s who just showed up in Sweetgrass one day and has secrets she keeps (Texas Sweet)

  Henry Jansen – busboy turned cook at Ruby’s; young man whose chivalry towards Brenda turns to blushes when noticed (Texas Sweet)

  Spike Ridley – tattooed Goth pastry chef with an attitude; her skills are unparalleled, but her motto might as well be “have mixer will travel.”

  Walker Roundtree – country music superstar; spars with Jeanette and performs at several Sweetgrass weddings (Texas Charm)

  Chapter One

  Gib Douglas strode through the jetway of the Austin airport, appreciating more than ever that he normally could take a team plane and dispense wit
h the cattle call that even first class tickets couldn’t completely eliminate.

  He wasn’t unaware of how much his life had changed since he’d last lived in Sweetgrass Springs. He appreciated all that his success afforded him. Hard work and complete dedication had brought him a long way in the last fourteen years.

  He wouldn’t think about how different his life could have been. He never thought about Dulcie anymore. He didn’t want to think about her now. He thanked his lucky stars she’d moved away once she’d betrayed him and broken his heart.

  He was a grown man, not a gangly teen gearhead crazy in love and thinking it was forever. He had his choice of women now, and that suited him much better.

  At baggage claim, his aunt and uncle brightened when they spotted him, joy all over their features. He’d seen them at a race only a month ago, but his time was always claimed by the demands of running a championship racing team.

  He accepted Aunt Nita’s hug and Uncle Raymond’s backslap. They’d been so good to him when he’d been orphaned in his teens. Childless, they’d taken him in without question, and he would never be able to repay the love they’d showered upon him, however hard he tried.

  “Oh, Gib—” Nita Benefield squeezed him once more as they turned to go. “I am so very happy to see you and to have you to ourselves this time.”

  He needed to be working. The demands of a top-caliber team never stopped, racing season or not. He quashed his feelings of guilt that he wasn’t back in the shop in Charlotte and wrapped his arm around his aunt’s thin shoulders.

  She dropped the magazine she’d been holding, and he bent to retrieve it.

  NASCAR Hottie! screamed the headline, complete with photo. Champion crew chief headed for Seychelles with top model girlfriend.

  “Aunt Nita…” Gib rolled his eyes. “Don’t believe everything you read.” He’d stood next to the model for five minutes at a cocktail party during Champions Week.

  And he hated being called a hottie. The gossipmongers had gotten one thing right, though—his team had won NASCAR’s top series championship three weeks ago, and he had two prior championship titles under his belt.

  “It’s a good likeness, honey. No question that you’re more handsome than any of the drivers,” she remarked. “And you’re tall, which women like. But that girl needs some meat on her bones. Anyway, she doesn’t seem your type.”

  It wasn’t only his aunt who made remarks about his looks, and Gib squirmed every time they did. All that mattered was his ability to assemble the best team, to make sure his driver had the top-performing car week after week after week. The fact that he got photographed so often was only an annoyance to him. The driver was the face of the team, the one who did all the public appearances, that sort of thing. What Gib looked like amounted to nothing—only how he delivered mattered.

  Anyway, did he have a type? Since he had no life outside the track, he wasn’t sure about the answer to that question. That’s what this trip home to Sweetgrass Springs, Texas was all about: downtime. He hadn’t been back since he left right out of high school to pursue his NASCAR dream.

  “Don’t start matchmaking, Nita. He’s doing just fine with his life, best I can tell,” said his Uncle Raymond.

  “I would never do that, Raymond.”

  His uncle snorted, and Gib had to grin.

  “If you want some of Gib’s bar cookies, Raymond Benefield, you’ll mind your manners.”

  “You made me bar cookies? The ones with chocolate and coconut and pecans?”

  “Of course I did. I have the makings for all your favorite foods. I’m so happy to have you home for Christmas.” She patted his arm. “It’s the best present I could ever ask for.”

  And didn’t that make him feel guilty? She and Uncle Raymond had been there for him after his parents’ deaths in an auto accident, and suddenly being saddled with a teenage boy couldn’t have been easy. They held a special place in his heart, but though he called often, taking time for trips back to Sweetgrass had been a luxury he couldn’t afford, given his demanding schedule. Instead he brought them to him. He made certain they had good tickets to the Texas NASCAR races each year and any others they wanted to attend. He spent as much time with them at races as he could manage, but since they’d opened their home as a bed and breakfast, getting away wasn’t easy for them, either. Although Gib was tired after the grueling season and had a lot of work to do before Daytona in February, there was no way he could refuse when they’d asked him to come be with them this holiday.

  So he was back in his hometown, the place it hurt him to even think about.

  Because of Dulcie.

  Dulcie Langley had been his first love, the girl he’d intended to marry. The one who’d promised to join him in Charlotte the second she graduated from high school one year behind him. The woman who’d moved away from Sweetgrass at Christmas break her senior year instead.

  And married someone else.

  “I declare, I am so excited about taking you to supper at Ruby’s, so I can show you off.”

  Gib yanked himself from his dark thoughts. Dulcie was old news and had lost the power to hurt him years before. If Aunt Nita wanted him to accompany them to Ruby’s for supper, he didn’t have the heart to say no, even though he wanted to fall face-first onto a mattress in the worst way. To sleep for a week or so and make a stab at catching up on all he’d lost during the season.

  They asked so little of him, and they’d given him so much. How could he say no? Thus he found himself, a couple of hours later, getting out of Uncle Raymond’s truck and staring around him in astonishment at the town square.

  “Wow. Everything looks different.” The town had been barely hanging on when he graduated.

  His uncle beamed. “Sweetgrass is growing. We told you about Ruby’s granddaughter Scarlett showing up out of the blue, right?”

  “You did, but—” The old courthouse gleamed, though its windows were dark. “Is that where the new restaurant will be?”

  “It already is. Scarlett was wearing herself out, trying to cook at the diner full-time and get Ruby’s Dream up and running, and after she nearly died giving birth to little Sophia, Ian put his foot down. A new doc came to town while Scarlett was on an enforced sabbatical, and his wife is a gourmet cook herself, so between having Laura Cameron here and restricting Dreams to Thursday through Saturday nights, closing the diner on those nights, some of the pressure has eased off Scarlett and Ruby both.”

  “Ruby’s still cooking? How old is she now?”

  Uncle Raymond flashed a quick grin. “Not too old to put a knot on your head if you should dare suggest she can’t manage the work.”

  Gib laughed. “She always was a pistol.”

  “She hasn’t changed,” Nita observed. “But she is so much happier since Scarlett showed up.” A little laugh. “Those two are something else. I told you about them trying to pull off surprise weddings for each other, didn’t I?”

  “You mentioned it. Sounds as though Sweetgrass is as colorful as ever.” He glanced around again. “But where are all the inhabitants of those lighted windows coming from?”

  Raymond shook his head. “That building is full of Jackson Gallagher’s geeks, here from Seattle and his video game headquarters. They’re taking over the town.” But he seemed cheerful about it all. “One of them set Harley up with the internet radio station. That’s how he interviewed you.”

  “The old coot doesn’t sound as though he’s changed a bit.”

  “He hasn’t. Never will.” Gib heard the fondness for an old friend in his uncle’s tone.

  It really made Gib stop and think.

  He knew a lot of people, had an entire organization at his back, but he had no one in his life in Charlotte who’d known him before he was successful. No one who’d be his friend for years and years, as his uncle and Harley Sykes were for each other.

  And no Dulcie. No babies to watch growing up.

  He had everything he’d thought he wanted on the material score,
plus more fame than he’d ever imagined for himself. But love and home…

  You couldn’t have everything, he guessed.

  “Ready to go inside?” his uncle asked.

  “Sure thing.” He held the door open for his only family.

  Harley started the stampede when he called across the room, “Well, now, lookie here. If it ain’t the famous Gib Douglas. You need to do a live show with me, son. Name your day.”

  Ruby waved from the kitchen. “Dinner’s on me, young man. Welcome home.”

  Soon they couldn’t move toward a table for all the people crowding around. Gib wasn’t a driver and did what he could to stay out of the limelight, but he was frequently interviewed during races and was a regular guest on motorsports shows. Moreover, he knew that his actions would reflect on the team and its sponsors, as well as NASCAR itself. NASCAR fans were notoriously brand loyal, and it cost a lot of money to mount a racing team. Sponsor money was crucial to everything they did, and being part of a championship team only increased the responsibility for behaving in a manner that would do credit.

  So no matter what Gib wished he could be doing this night, he had to live up to the accessibility fans expected and just be grateful he wasn’t a driver or this would be ten times worse. He glanced over at his aunt and uncle. I’m sorry, he mouthed.

  He needn’t have. Both were beaming. Aunt Nita looked like a kid at Christmas as he greeted those he’d known in his youth and spoke to others he hadn’t.

  “Well, look at you, Gib Douglas. No one would ever recognize that tall skinny kid.” A gut-busting husky laugh tickled his memory as he turned toward the tall, stacked redhead moving his way, a red-haired cherub in her arms.

  “Clarissa?” he goggled.

  “I grew up. I’m called Rissa now.”

  “You sure did.” Clarissa Gallagher had been a classmate, a coltish girl who’d definitely grown up. He glanced at the child she held. “Is this one yours, I’m guessing? Hey, sweetie.”

  The little girl’s long eyelashes fluttered over startling green eyes that matched those of the tall, dark man who approached behind them.