It's a Christmas Thing

J.T. "Rush" Rushford is not looking forward to Christmas. A year ago his marriage ended and he learned that Claire, the four-year-old he had raised as his own, was not his child at all. He has no parental rights and no wish to celebrate anything.

He has brought his mobile veterinary practice to Branding Iron, Texas, intending to work through the season quietly. Then Claire's parents book an extended cruise and leave her with him for the holidays — a gift with an expiry date, and one that hurts as much as it heals.

The second Christmas Tree Ranch novel from Janet Dailey brings in a sharp local judge, an ageing mutt and a very pregnant cat, and makes its case for the kind of family that is chosen rather than inherited.