Rebecca Winters - A Texas Rangers Christmas

Hey, buddywere here now. Lets go inside.

Texas Ranger Caige Dawson unfastened his sons seat belt so he could get out of the car. Even at eight years old, it was clear Josh was going to be tall like Caige. On cue, his boy started to cry and hugged him for dear life before clutching his hand.

Since the accident three years ago, which had turned the Dawson family inside out and resulted in divorce, Caige went through this ritual with Josh anytime they had to be separated. Usually a special school bus picked him up and brought him home, but an incident on the bus last month had scared him and he didnt want to ride it or go to school anymore.

For the past few weeks Caige had been working closely with Josh. Hed gotten him to the point where Josh didnt have to be carried inside the school to his classroom in order to get him to stay. Lately hed made it through a whole school day and had accepted driving home with Elly, Caiges housekeeper and Joshs caregiver, in her car. This was an encouraging sign according to Dr. Sweeney, the neuropsychologist, who said that pretty soon theyd reintroduce him to the bus.

Caige opened the school door. Everyones going in.

Joshs tear-filled blue eyes, light in color like his mothers, fastened on his father in panic. This was the moment when Caige had to harden himself against that look. It begged his dad to take him back home.

See? Theres Mrs. Wright.

The special-education teacher smiled. Come on in, Josh. Weve been waiting for you. She gave Josh a warm hug that, Caige noted thankfully, was reciprocated before she led him to his desk. Caige turned away quickly and headed out of the school to the parking lot.

He decided some angels came to earth disguised as people. Mrs. Wright was one of them. Now wasnt the time to worry that this was her last year of teaching, or whether Elly would tell him shed made up her mind to move to Lubbock so she could be near her daughter and grandchildren. Caige had a good system going with Elly. To change anything in the routine would cause a major earthquake for his son.

Although Elly hadnt said anything specific, she would probably make the decision any day now. Her daughter and son-in-law were begging her to spend Christmas with them while they found a place for her to live that was close by.

Christmasonly three weeks away. Caige had been contemplating getting Josh a dog. Hed discussed it with Dr. Sweeney. A dog would provide stimulation and love, but would take a team effort to train. Until he knew Ellys plans, he couldnt think of adding a pet to their household.

As for Joshs mother, he had no idea if Liz would make an appearance. Last Christmas had turned into a nightmare. Shed come to spend part of the day with Josh, but she was still in denial about his brain injury. It was a struggle for her to face him.

Caige had seen the horror in her eyes as she regarded her special-needs son. Josh had to have seen it, too. He was an intelligent boy who clung to his father the whole time. When Liz left before the day was out, Caige was secretly relieved.

Liz never seemed to notice their son had been making progress. The moment he exhibited any kind of atypical behavior, it frightened her, and she fell apart.

Since the afternoon three years ago when Josh had been hit by a car in front of their house, Caige had been forced to slow down and take life a second at a time. Hed graduated to minutes, and later, hours at a time.

Liz was convinced Caige blamed her because shed been in the house and hadnt realized their five-year-old had tried crossing the street. Nothing could have been further from the truth in his mind. Accidents happened. But he couldnt talk her out of her guilt.

If anything, he blamed himself. Their marriage had already been going through some rough stages because of his unconventional work schedule. Sometimes he had to be away for several weeks on a case. This put a heavy load on Liz.

Obviously it had been more than she could handle. When she realized Josh would never be the same again, her breakdown had been so severe, shed moved in with her parents and filed for divorce. At the precarious moment when Josh needed both parents more than ever, Liz wasnt emotionally or physically available.