A Rancher's Christmas (Saddlers Prairie) (4 page)

“Try away. It won’t work.”

With her chin up and the confident smile on her mouth, she was irresistible.

“That sounds like a challenge—and I always like challenges,” he said, advancing toward her. “Did you mean that?”

“I... Did I mean what?”

“About me trying to convince you.” Her eyes were the prettiest color, green with little flecks of brown and gold. “Did you?”

He brushed the silky lock back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her pupils dilated and he knew she felt some of what he did. She touched her lips with the tip of her tongue in what he recognized as a nervous gesture.

“I—”

He laid his finger over her soft lips. “Shhh.” Tipping up her chin, he kissed her.

* * *

Z
ACH
’
S
HANDS
WERE
cold from being outside, but his lips were warm. And very good at their job. Gina hadn’t kissed anyone since she and Wayne had parted ways in June. Even in their first few months together, when there was some degree of passion between them, Wayne had never kissed her like this.

The kiss was firm, yet sweet and gentle, and something more she couldn’t define. Whatever it was, she liked it. A lot. Zach smelled of fresh air and man and was every bit as hard and muscled as he looked.

His arms tightened around her, and she willingly sank against him. Another kiss followed, and another. Shifting so that she was even closer, he slid his tongue over hers. Gina felt his arousal against her stomach. Her nipples tingled and her panties were instantly damp.

She wanted to go on kissing him forever. Instead she pushed him away.

He looked every bit as stunned by the heat between them as she was. “You better go or you’ll be even later for your meeting,” he said, his eyes hot as he straightened her sweater.

“Right.” She managed to close the safe and hang the painting with barely a tremble.

“You’re a very convincing man,” she murmured on the way to the kitchen. “But—”

“You’re still going to sell.”

She nodded.

By the time they reached the back door, she felt reasonably normal again. “Thanks,” she said as she opened the door for him.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “For showing you the safe, or for those kisses?”

Both. “I’ll see you later.”

“No doubt. Have fun with the lawyer.”

* * *

I
N
A
DAZE
, Gina drove down the highway in Uncle Lucky’s hulking truck. Traffic was light, but then in Saddlers Prairie it always was. Her mind wandered. She couldn’t get over Zach’s kissing her and how much she’d enjoyed it. In Uncle Lucky’s office of all places.

Her uncle had only been gone a few days. They hadn’t even held the funeral yet, and here she was fantasizing about the hunky foreman. What was she thinking?

That was the trouble—she hadn’t thought at all. She’d simply reacted. Boy, had she.

Up in rancher heaven, Uncle Lucky was probably shaking his head, wondering if she’d lost her mind.

She had—temporarily. Zach Horton wasn’t her type. Besides, she wouldn’t be here long. Getting involved with him was a bad idea.

Involved? Gina frowned. Just where had that idea come from? So they’d shared a few kisses. Fabulous, bone-melting kisses, the thought of which, even now, made her lips tingle and her stomach flutter. They didn’t mean anything and wouldn’t happen again.

Though if Zach did kiss her again, she wasn’t at all sure she’d stop him.

Her cell phone rang. Grateful for the interruption and eager to get her mind off Zach and his kisses, she set her phone on speaker mode and picked up.

“It’s Carrie,” her assistant said.

Gina started guiltily. She hadn’t thought about work or Carrie since early this morning. “It’s about time you called me back,” she chided. “Where have you been all day?”

“Where do you think I’ve been?” Carrie sounded defensive.

“I called you early this morning—hours ago.”

“The note from Marsha didn’t say it was urgent. Did she tell you that I was at the office until almost nine-thirty last night? I was up before dawn this morning and worked from home. Then I stopped in at a few of the Grant stores so that I could get a visual to go with the numbers they’ve been sharing.” She filled Gina in on what she’d observed. “I sent you an email with all the details. Did you see it?”

“Not yet, but I’ll be checking soon.” On the way back from the attorney’s office.

Things seemed to be going well, and Gina smiled. “That sounds good, Carrie. I’m impressed with what you’ve done. I thought you were supposed to have dinner last night with that guy you met at the bar.”

“Chad. Yeah, but it was too late for dinner, so we had drinks instead. We made a dinner date for this weekend.”

Been there, done that. Getting ahead sometimes meant putting your personal life on hold. “I’m glad he’s flexible,” Gina said.

“Chad’s an attorney—he understands long hours. That’s one of the many things we have in common.”

Everything Carrie said reminded Gina of herself and Wayne. When they’d first started dating they’d both thought they shared a number of interests. But after a few months, they’d realized that the only thing they really had in common was the desire to climb the corporate ladder. Neither of them had been upset when they’d parted ways.

“Have you had a chance to work on any of our other campaigns?” Gina asked. “Is there anything I should know about?”

She heard the sound of papers shuffling. “Oh, you know—the usual reports and phone calls. All the companies are anxious about their holiday campaigns.”

Something in her voice put Gina on alert. “Is everything okay? If you need help, tell me now.”

“I don’t! It’s super busy, but I’m handling it,” Carrie assured, sounding extra perky.

Too perky. Gina’s worry radar kicked up again. But then, like herself, her assistant thrived on deadlines and stress, so maybe the bubbly enthusiasm was for real.

“Look for an updated report on the Grant stores tomorrow,” Carrie added.

“Do you think you could send it this afternoon? With the funeral tomorrow, I doubt I’ll be checking email until the following day.”

“I’ll try. How are you?”

Gina didn’t have to think long about that. She’d just been kissed more thoroughly than she could ever remember, by a man she had no business kissing, and already she wanted more. She was a confused wreck.

She shook her head. “At the moment, I’m driving my uncle’s old four-speed truck down an all-but-deserted two-lane highway to his attorney’s office.”

“That doesn’t sound fun. You take care of yourself and your family, and don’t worry about me or work. Things are great here.”

Gina disconnected, dismissed her concerns and went right back to thinking of Zach’s kisses.

Chapter Four

Thanks to the meeting with the attorney, checking her email—and not finding the report from Carrie—and running some errands, Gina didn’t return to the ranch until nearly dinnertime. She walked in the back door with her arms full. Her family was in the kitchen—Sophie and Redd getting out cutlery and dinner plates and Gloria putting one of the casseroles into the oven.

“You’re finally back.” Gloria lifted her cheek for a kiss. “What took so long?”

“Honestly, Glo.” Sophie tsked. “Give the girl a chance to catch her breath.”

“For goodness’ sake, Sophie. It’s a figure of speech, not a criticism.”

Gina ignored the petty squabbling and set down her things. “I met with Matt Granger. Then I ran around, doing all the things he needed me to do. I also checked my email and stopped off at Spenser’s to buy trash bags and boxes for when I sort through Uncle Lucky’s things. Since you’re all here...”

She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “You all knew Uncle Lucky left the ranch to me instead of Uncle Redd. Why didn’t one of you say something?”

Her uncle and cousins exchanged looks. “We thought it might be better coming from someone else. I need a kiss, too,” Sophie said, as if their keeping a secret from Gina was no big deal.

Obligingly, she kissed her cousin’s wizened cheek.

“Were you surprised when Matt told you?” Uncle Redd asked, offering his cheek, too.

Gina kissed him, then straightened and frowned. “I would’ve been if Zach hadn’t warned me.”

“
Zach
told you?” Gloria’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t expect that.”

“I’m thankful he did,” Gina said. “I don’t like surprises like that.”

Sophie looked contrite. “We were afraid you’d be upset.”

“That doesn’t mean you should avoid the subject. How would you feel if I did that to you?”

Her uncle gave her a sheepish look.

“I guess we should have told you,” Gloria said.

Sophie bit her lip. “Please don’t be angry with us.”

She looked so anxious that Gina kissed her cheek again. “I’ll live. But from now on, please don’t keep secrets from me.”

“Understood.” Uncle Redd eyed the folders she’d set on the counter. “What’s all that?”

“Papers I took to the attorney. I’m going to put them away and drop these trash bags and boxes in Uncle Lucky’s office. I’ll be back.”

In the office, Gina removed the painting and opened Uncle Lucky’s safe. She returned the folders and then searched for the packet the attorney had described. She found what she was looking for in the back corner of the safe.

She didn’t have to fold back the layers of tissue paper to know what was inside—the watch Uncle Lucky had inherited from his father, who’d gotten it from
his
father. According to the attorney, for some time now, Uncle Lucky had thought of Zach as the son he’d never had and had asked that the watch be passed on to him. Gina knew that Zach would be touched.

Over his seventy-four years, Uncle Lucky had known his share of ranch hands. As far as she knew, he’d never grown as close to any of the others as he had to Zach. It was comforting to know that someone her uncle cared about had lived on the ranch these past few years.

She should’ve been here, too. Once again, her guilt stirred. Every year, Andersen, Coats and Mueller closed from December 24th through January 1st, and she could easily have flown home last year. Her uncles and cousins would have loved that.

Instead, she’d spent Christmas Eve at a party with Wayne. That night, he’d stayed over, but early the next morning, he’d left for a family get-together, and she’d gone to Lise’s townhouse for brunch. She’d spent the rest of the day alone, filling the time with work.

This Christmas was bound to be even more lonely, but she wasn’t about to come back here in a month.

She locked up the safe, placing the package in her purse.

When she returned to the kitchen, mouthwatering smells greeted her. Her stomach growled, demanding to be fed. Someone had set the table, and the family was seated around it. “That smells so good, and I am so hungry,” she said, licking her lips.

“The casserole needs to bake at least another thirty minutes, so I’m afraid dinner won’t be for a little while yet, but sit down and relax.” Gloria patted the chair next to her. “Tell us what else Matt Granger had to say.”

“You all know that Uncle Lucky wasn’t exactly flush with cash. There’s enough money in the bank to pay salaries and the bills for a few months but not much extra.”

The next part was difficult, but Gina needed to say it. She cleared her throat. “Mr. Granger explained that even though Uncle Lucky left the ranch to me, I’m not legally bound to keep it. He said that what I do with the ranch is up to me.”

“What do you plan to do?” Uncle Redd asked, but his resigned expression told her he already knew the answer.

“This is what I told Zach and Mr. Granger.” Gina made sure to look each of her relatives in the eye. “I’ve had some wonderful times here, but I can’t keep the ranch. I guess I’ll put it on the market, hopefully before I leave town.”

In the beat of silence that filled the room, Gina’s family traded looks.

Sophie shook her head. “I’m afraid that won’t work. You see, next Thursday is Thanksgiving, and Carole Plett always closes her real-estate office for the entire week.”

“Then I’ll talk to her tomorrow. She’ll be at the funeral, right?”

“Unfortunately, she won’t,” Gloria said. “I was at Anita’s Cut and Curl this morning, getting my hair done for tomorrow. Carole happened to be there, too. Her daughter in Elk Ridge just had a little girl, Carole’s first grandchild. As you can imagine, she’s eager to get her hands on that baby, and since the real-estate business is slow this time of year, she decided to close up shop this afternoon. She’s probably pulling into Elk Ridge just about now.”

“That reminds me,” Uncle Redd said. “We got a sympathy card from her today. She donated a big bouquet of flowers for the funeral.”

“That was real sweet of her.” Sophie looked pleased. “I was over at the church earlier today, making sure everything is ready, and those flowers look just beautiful.”

So much for listing the property while she was in town. Gina sighed. “I guess I’ll call her from Chicago.”

“That’s a real good idea, honey,” Uncle Redd said. “It’ll give you more time to think about whether you really want to sell.”

“I don’t have to think, I—”

Uncle Redd fixed Gina with a stern look she rarely saw, and the rest of her words died in her throat. “This land has been in our family for generations,” he said. “It ought to stay in our family.”

“He’s right, cookie,” Sophie said. “You should pass it on to your children—when you have them.”

Gloria narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of children, how much longer are you going to wait before you get married and start a family?”

Gina gave her a wry look. “Gee, Gloria, why don’t you ask me something
really
personal?”

Undaunted, her cousin settled her hand on her ample hips. “I’m family. I can ask you anything I please. And don’t try to put me off.”

“Fine. At the moment I’m not dating—I just don’t have time. You know how busy I am with work.”

“What happened to Wayne?” Sophie asked. “He sounded like a nice fella.”

“He is,” Gina said. “But things didn’t work out.”

Hating the pitying looks on her cousins’ faces, she added, “It wasn’t a bad breakup or anything. We realized we didn’t love each other and that we didn’t have a future together. We parted on good terms.” She shrugged. “I promise you that someday I’ll get married and start a family. But it won’t be for a while.”

“But you’re thirty years old.” Gloria frowned. “You should already be married and settled down. Why, when I was your age, I’d already been married and widowed.”

Gloria’s husband, Harvey, had died in Vietnam and she’d never recovered. As far as Gina knew, she hadn’t dated since.

“Tony and I tried to have kids.” Sophie gave her head a sorrowful shake. “But I kept losing them early in the second trimester.”

“My first wife couldn’t get pregnant at all,” Uncle Redd said. “The second one said that taking care of me was enough and my third had had her tubes tied. If this family is to continue, it’s up to you.”

The constant pressure to marry and have babies never stopped. “Hey, this is the twenty-first century. I’m still young and I have a career, remember? I love what I do, and I’m darn good at it. That’s why I was promoted to the assistant vice-president position last spring.”

“And we’re all real proud of you,” Uncle Redd said. Sophie and Gloria nodded enthusiastically. “But couldn’t you hold on to the ranch?”

Gina hated to disappoint her family, but they needed to understand. “Who’s going to pay the ranch crew’s salaries when the money runs out? Even if I paid them with my own funds, and I’m not going to do that, we all know that sooner or later, the ranch will need even more cash to stay afloat.”

She wasn’t about to confess that despite her large paycheck, keeping the creditors off her back kept her virtually broke. She was too humiliated. “Besides, I live more than eleven hundred miles away,” she went on. “How could I possibly run the ranch? And don’t tell me I should move back here. I have a good job in Chicago, and I like living there.”

A stony silence met her words.

“Times are tough,” Uncle Redd said. “There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to sell the Lucky A.”

Gina hoped he was wrong. “Well, then—”

A knock at the door cut her off. Relieved at the interruption and wondering who had come to pay their respects, she jumped up. “I’ll get that.”

She opened the door and found Zach.

* * *

“H
EY
,” Z
ACH
SAID
, wiping his feet on the mat.

“Hi.” Gina looked surprised to see him—and a little confused. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

“Your cousins invited me to dinner.”

“And you’re right on time, Zach,” Gloria called out from the kitchen. “Don’t just stand there heating up the great outdoors, Gina. Let the man in.”

Gina stepped back. Her cheeks were flushed, reminding him of how she looked after he’d kissed her a few hours ago. Not that he needed reminding. He’d thought of little else since.

“You’re just in time, Zach—the casserole will be ready in a few minutes,” Gloria said. “If you haven’t washed up, now’s the time.”

No one moved except Gina. Walking beside her toward the utility room, he smelled her perfume and the subtle scent of woman underneath. And wanted to taste her again. Just what he needed.

He stood back while she washed her hands at the big utility room sink. “You okay with me being here tonight?” he asked over the hiss of water.

“As long as you don’t try to convince me to change my mind about the Lucky A.”

He glanced at her sexy mouth. “I can’t guarantee that.”

Her eyes darkened. She quickly rinsed and dried her hands. She seemed flustered.

“Speaking of the ranch, how was the meeting with the attorney?” he asked as he lathered up.

“Thanks to you, I didn’t get any surprises. I can’t believe my family didn’t say anything. I told them that I’m going to sell.”

Zach turned off the tap and took the towel from Gina. “I’ll bet that went over big.”

“Not so much. I’m tired of thinking about what I should and shouldn’t do with the ranch. Could we please change the subject?”

If she was still thinking about it, then she hadn’t made up her mind after all. Zach smiled to himself. “Sure.”

“Did you know that Uncle Lucky left you a few things?”

“Me?” He couldn’t imagine what, but he was intrigued.

She nodded. “I’ll tell you about it after dinner.”

He could live with that.

They returned to the kitchen. Zach couldn’t help noting the sly looks on the faces of Gina’s family. What were they up to?

“Zach, you’ll sit next to Gina,” Sophie directed a little too offhandedly.

So that was the game. They wanted to push him and Gina together. Gina closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.

Zach sat down to a bubbling casserole and thick slabs of homemade bread.

When everyone had filled their plate, Gloria smiled at him. “How was your day?”

“Busy.” He told them about the broken heater in the big water tank.

“What happened there?” Sophie asked, pointing to the cut on the underside of his forearm.

“I got into a little argument with a barbed wire fence.”

“Ow.”

Zach had suffered worse. “It’ll heal.”

His plate was empty, but he was still hungry.

Gloria noticed. “Please, have more. You wouldn’t believe how many casseroles we have to eat up.”

He helped himself and dug in.

“Uncle Lucky left some of his things to Zach,” Gina said near the end of the meal.

“Oh?” Sophie looked as intrigued as Zach.

Gloria and Redd leaned forward eagerly. “What did he leave you, Zach?”

“Gina hasn’t said yet.”

“Spit it out, girl,” Redd ordered. “Before we all die of curiosity.”

“I was going to wait until after the meal, but all right.” Gina turned to Zach. “Uncle Lucky left you his horse, Lightning.”

“Ah.” Redd sat back with an approving nod. “Lucky loved that horse so. It’s fitting that he’d want you to have her.”

The horse was a beauty and as fast as her name. Zach was deeply moved. “I never expected that.”

“There’s more,” Gina said. “You also get his saddle.”

The handcrafted saddle had been one of Lucky’s prized possessions. “Are you sure?” Zach asked.

Gina nodded. “He put it in his will.”

“I remember when Lucky bought that,” Sophie said. “It was the year all of us took Gina to the state fair in Great Falls.” She smiled fondly at Gina. “You were about ten.”

“I remember that! I was with Uncle Lucky when we stopped at the saddle maker’s booth. He had a big, round belly that stretched his shirt so tight, I was sure all the buttons would pop off.”

Her family chuckled. She had them all wrapped around her baby finger. Zach could see why. With her eyes sparkling and that pretty smile on her face, she could charm a barn rat.