Read The Forest Ranger's Christmas for Free Online

whirled around. Clint Hamilton stood behind her, holding the hand of a little girl about seven years old with a cute button nose, flawless skin and a long, blond ponytail.
    “Um, hi.” Josie met his gaze and smiled uncertainly. Immediate attraction buzzed through her.
    His unblinking eyes swept over her. He looked handsome and rustic dressed in a down-filled coat, cowboy boots and brown leather gloves. His gaze dropped away, and she couldn’t help wondering what had produced the wariness in his warm, brown eyes.
    She nodded at the melted droplets covering his broad shoulders. “Is it snowing again?”
    “Just a dusting, but a storm is coming in later tonight.” He showed a twinge of a smile, his cheeks slightly red from the cold.
    “What’s your name?” the little girl asked, her voice hesitant.
    Josie’s gaze lowered to the child, who was bundled up in a glistening red coat, matching rubber boots and a white scarf around her neck. She looked adorable. “Jocelyn Rushton. What’s yours?”
    “I’m Grace Karen Hamilton, but everyone just calls me Gracie.”
    “That’s a lovely name,” Josie said.
    “This is my daughter,” Clint supplied the introductions. “Gracie, this is Frank’s granddaughter.”
    Understanding lit up the child’s expressive eyes. “Oh, I recognize you. I’ve seen your pictures at Grandpa Frank’s house many times.”
    Grandpa Frank? Over the years, Josie had heard other children in town call her grandfather by this name, but it seemed odd to hear it from the forest ranger’s daughter. Obviously, the girl had been inside Gramps’s home. Not surprising. Grandma and Gramps had many friends in this town.
    “Is that right?” Josie felt the burden of Clint’s gaze like a leaden weight. For some reason, the ranger made her feel as though he could see deep into her soul. And in all honesty, she feared what he might find there besides a bitter, unlovable woman who was emotionally inaccessible to others.
    “Yeah, in his photo albums. He shows his pictures to me all the time. And Grandma Vi used to make me chocolate chip cookies,” Gracie said.
    “Ah, I see.” Josie had also loved her grandmother’s homemade cookies. In fact, she planned to make some while she was here. She wanted to bake and decorate and enjoy a slower pace while she could. In Vegas, she didn’t have time for domestic chores, or anyone to cook for.
    “I sure miss Grandma Vi,” Gracie continued.
    Josie did, too. More than she could say.
    “She used to tend me every day while Daddy went to work,” Gracie said.
    Josie jerked up her chin in surprise. Why would a woman of Grandma’s advanced age be tending a young child on a regular basis? This revelation gave Josie the strange sensation that she was the outsider, not Gracie and her tall father. “Really? I didn’t know that. She never mentioned it.”
    “Yeah, she was my favoritest babysitter ever in the world. I miss her a lot.” No longer shy, Gracie smiled widely, showing a missing tooth in front.
    A sinking despair settled in Josie’s stomach. She couldn’t help feeling as though she’d lost something precious when Grandma had died. But one question thrummed through her mind. Why had Grandma never mentioned that she was looking after a child every day?
    Once again, Josie realized how little she really knew about her grandparents. Now that Grandma was gone, Josie regretted taking her for granted, and didn’t want to do the same with Gramps. That was all about to change. Josie would have to tell Gramps about her plans to move him to Las Vegas. And soon. But she dreaded it. If he refused, she wouldn’t make him go. And then what? Maybe she’d sit down and talk with him about it tomorrow or the next day. Together, they’d work something out.
    “I got a new babysitter now. She’s nice, too, but she doesn’t make cookies like Grandma Vi did,” Gracie said.
    “Does your mom work, too?” Josie asked, wondering why the girl’s mother couldn’t watch