Christmas With the Mustang Man (18 page)

“She'll be gone,” he stated flatly. “Satisfied?”

The shuffle of Mick's footsteps sounded behind him
and he looked over his shoulder to see the other man standing only a step away. His expression was rueful, which only made Boone feel worse than terrible.

“All right, I'm sorry. I've been speaking out of line. But damn it, you're the closest thing I have to a brother. Hell, you're the closest thing I have to a relative, period. And I guess…I don't want to see you go through another nightmare like you did with Joan. I want more than that for you. And I can't see anything good for you coming out of this thing with Dallas.”

Boone opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, Mick held up a pleading hand. “Wait. I'm not finished. Don't get me wrong. I like her. She's beautiful, intelligent and not afraid to get her hands dirty. She seems to know more about horses than I could ever hope to know. And on top of that she's nice. With a résumé like that, it sounds like she'd make the perfect wife for you. But you know where she's come from and it ain't a place like this.”

Mick was so right it made Boone sick. “Don't worry about it, Mick. In a few days this place will go back to just you and me and Hayley. And the calico,” he added pointedly. “She stays.”

A faint smile twisted Mick's lips. “So Miss Holiday stays. I guess I can live with that.”

But could Boone live with Dallas's leaving? That time was coming soon and the closer it got, the more his heart was beginning to break.

Live without Dallas? Oh, God, with Dallas he was just now learning to live again.

B
oone and Mick worked through lunch as they saddled up fresh mounts and rode out again, this time to move a herd of mustangs from a nearby pasture over to a fenced area with fresh grazing.

By the time this chore was finished, it was midafternoon and Boone's stomach was growling with hunger. He left Mick and his sack lunch in the barn and quickly headed to the house. But halfway there, he stopped in his tracks and stared at the truck parked near the gate of the backyard fence. While he and Mick had been away from the ranch yard, Marti had delivered Dallas's truck. And even though he'd known this time would soon arrive, it still came as a shock to him.

When he stepped into the kitchen, the radio was playing lowly, but other than that, the room was empty.

Forgetting the gnawing hunger in his belly, he quickly strode out of the room and into the family room. The
lights on the Christmas tree were twinkling, but Dallas was nowhere around.

He was about to call her name, when he heard a footstep in the hall and hurried to catch up with her.

“Boone! I didn't hear you come in,” she said as she paused and waited for him to join her in the dimly lit passageway.

“I just now got back.” He pushed the words through his tight throat, then swallowed as his gaze searched her beautiful face. Last night he'd kissed her smooth skin and sweet lips, he'd touched the most intimate parts of her, and as incredible as it all had been, those moments and hours hadn't been nearly enough. He was certain a lifetime of loving this woman wouldn't be enough.

“Marti delivered my truck,” she said solemnly. “I wasn't expecting him to go to the trouble of bringing it all the way out here.”

“That's Marti. He goes beyond the call of duty to make his customers happy.”

She let out a long breath. “Well, I gave him a hefty tip to show my appreciation.”

“So, what now? It's a bit late in the afternoon to be leaving today, isn't it?”

She looked at him expectantly, as though she was waiting for him to say more and when he didn't, her gaze fell to the floor.

“It is rather late. By the time I got the horses loaded and everything ready to go I wouldn't have much driving time before dark. I'll just wait until morning—if it's all right with you.”

Boone couldn't stand it a second longer. Latching onto her shoulders, he pulled her into his arms.

“It's more than all right with me, Dallas.”

Her hands clung to him and when his lips covered
hers, the hunger he felt in her kiss literally rocked him back on his heels.

When he regained his balance he swept her up in the cradle of his arms and with her arms locked tightly around his neck, he started toward his bedroom.

Halfway there, Dallas asked, “What if Hayley comes home early?”

“She won't. It'll be tonight before she gets back. But I'll lock the door if that will ease your mind.”

It would take more than locking the door to ease Dallas's mind, she thought, as he gently placed her on the bed. But she wasn't going to ruin these precious moments wrestling with that worry. This was the man she loved and she was going to enjoy loving him for as long as she could.

 

More than thirty minutes later, Dallas walked out of Boone's private bathroom to find him already off the bed and stuffing the tails of his shirt down in his jeans.

“I've got to get back to the barn. Mick is waiting on me to finish a bit of work we'd planned to do before he leaves for the day.”

Quickly Dallas pulled on her jeans and sweater while he dealt with his boots. “I can see you're in a hurry,” she said. “But I'd like to talk with you about something important.”

Tugging on his boot, he raised to his full height to look at her. “Can't it wait until tonight when we'd have more time?”

She shook her head. “I'd rather do it before Hayley returns.”

He walked over to her, his gaze thoughtfully studying her face. “All right. Mick will just have to wait then.”

A nervous smile played with the corners of her lips. “I'm sorry. I realize this isn't a good time. But I'm not
sure when a good time would be for what I want to say. I just know that our time together is running out and then it will be too late.”

“Dallas, let's not—”

She touched a forefinger to his lips. “Wait, Boone. Just let me say this—I have to say it. I love you. I don't want to leave tomorrow. I don't ever want to leave you.”

His brown eyes flickered with emotions she couldn't decipher. Was he glad, frustrated, uncomfortable? She was desperate to know exactly what was in this man's heart.

“Oh, Dallas, I'm honored. Never in my life have I dreamed that a woman like you would care for me. But the both of us can see it would never work for us.”

“Never work? Why? Because you don't care for me?”

Groaning, he turned away from her and raked a hand through his tousled hair. As Dallas stared at the rigid line of his back, she blinked at the hot moisture stinging her eyes. Somehow she'd sensed this would be his reaction. Even so, she couldn't have left this ranch without telling him how she really felt.

“Of course I care for you!” He whirled back to her. “Do you think that last night…that what just happened with us a few minutes ago was just something physical for me?”

Hot color burned her cheeks. “I'd hoped not, but I don't know—”

His nostrils flared. “That's just it, Dallas. We don't know each other. Not enough.”

She frowned. “Then how are you so certain that things couldn't work for us? We need time to—”

“We don't have time!”

“I don't have to leave tomorrow,” she argued.

“Your family wants you home for Christmas. And
you
want to be home for Christmas. You need to leave in the morning. I
want
you to leave in the morning. Got that?”

His stubbornness infuriated her. “I don't
got
anything. But I can see that you've lived alone for so long that you're afraid to change! Afraid that you might see there's life beyond this ranch!”

He came to stand within an inch of her and Dallas began to outwardly tremble as she thought of all that he'd given her and all that he never would.

“This ranch is my grandparents' legacy,” he said, his low voice laced with conviction. “It's everything to me.”

“I'm not asking you to give it up. I would never do that.”

A sad smile suddenly touched his face and Dallas's heart wanted to weep at the sight of it.

“Just like I would never ask you to give up your home and family back in New Mexico to live here. I've been through that once with another woman, Dallas. I'm not going to watch this place destroy you, too.”

“I'm not Joan. And it's insulting for you to imply that I'm no better or stronger than her!”

Both his hands suddenly wrapped around her upper arms and then his cheek was pressed tightly against hers.

“My darling Dallas, please don't be angry with me. I'm not saying you're anything like her. You're strong and loving and all the special things I'd want in a woman. But you've not thought this through. You've not considered all the things you'd be giving up, sacrificing just to be here with me.”

She pulled her head back far enough to look into eyes. “When I talked to my mother this morning something in my voice told her that I'd fallen in love with you. And you know what advice she gave me? She quoted my grandmother. ‘A woman's home is where her man is.' The question is, Boone, are you my man?”

Anguished shadows filled his eyes. “If you're asking me if there will ever be a woman in my heart other than
you—then no. But I—” He released a long, tortured breath. “You're right, Dallas, I am afraid of changing. Afraid I'll disappoint you, hurt you—see everything that's special between us break apart.”

“Oh, Boone, Boone,” she whispered as her hands came up to frame his face. “For a long time now I've been afraid to let myself love again. I was afraid of making another bad mistake, of choosing the wrong man, and even if he was the right one, would I be woman enough to hold on to him? But with you…I can't stop what my heart is feeling or telling me. We can make this work. If you'll just give us a chance.”

Groaning with torment, he turned and walked a few feet away from her. “Go home, Dallas. Go home and think about this. And then maybe in a few months if you still want to give it a try—well, you can let me know.”

She gasped. “A few months! Boone, I—”

He looked over his shoulder at her and this time his features were set like a piece of cold iron. “That's the only way I'll consider anything, Dallas. Because I'm pretty sure once you get back to New Mexico you're going to change your mind about this place—and me.”

Dallas opened her mouth to argue, but instantly changed her mind. Arguing wouldn't help now. It would take more than words to convince Boone that their future was together.

“If that's the way you want it,” she said quietly.

“That's the only way,” he said, then strode out of the room before any more could be said.

 

That night Dallas was in her room packing when a knock sounded on the door.

“Dallas, I'm home! May I come in?”

“Of course,” Dallas called to the girl.

The door opened and Hayley quickly rushed over to her and gave her a long hug. When she finally stepped back, she immediately noticed the open bags on Dallas's bed.

“Oh. You're getting ready to go home.”

Home was here, Dallas thought. How she'd come to that conclusion she wasn't quite sure. But something had happened to her after she'd talked with her mother this morning. She'd begun looking at her life from all angles and she'd decided that in many ways she'd been living like Boone, clinging stubbornly to a piece of land as though it was the substance that made up her happiness.

Stifling a sigh, she did her best to smile brightly at the girl. “Yes. My truck is ready to go now. And my family is expecting me home for Christmas.”

“Oh,” Hayley said glumly. “Will you get there in time? When we were driving back from Vegas, we heard on the car radio that snow was coming. You might get into a blizzard.”

Dallas had heard the same thing on the local evening news. Boone had tactfully suggested she should get an early start in order to outrun the oncoming storm. “I'll leave early enough to miss the storm. And if I drive straight through I'll be home in time to celebrate with my family.”

Her head hanging now, Hayley eased down on the side of the bed. “I was hoping that you'd be here with us for Christmas. But I guess you'd rather be with your family.”

I would very much like for you to be my family,
Dallas wanted to say. But she couldn't put such a notion into Hayley's head. The situation was already bad enough without dragging this girl's tender heart into the mix of things.

Without thinking, Dallas picked up a shirt and stuffed
it into one of the leather bags. “What will you and your father do on that day?”

“Nothing, probably.” She let out a woeful sigh. “He'll give me a Christmas card with some money in it. And I'll give him a gift. And then he'll get steaks out of the freezer and cook 'em. 'Cause that's the most special thing we eat.”

Dallas studied the girl's bowed head. “You don't ever have turkey and dressing and traditional things like that?”

“We don't know how to cook that stuff.”

“Oh, well, steaks are good,” Dallas said with as much encouragement as she could muster. “But that's enough of that. Tell me about your trip. Did you have fun?”

For the next few minutes Hayley was happy to give Dallas a detailed description of everything she and the Harrisons had done and seen while in Las Vegas. But once she'd finished, she rose abruptly from the bed and started to the door.

“Are you leaving?” Dallas asked with surprise. “It's not bedtime yet.”

“Well, I'm kinda tired. And I don't want to keep you from your packing.”

Dallas glanced at the few items left lying on the bed. “You're not keeping me from packing.” She walked toward the girl. “Hayley, is something wrong?”

With a broken sob, the girl ran straight to Dallas and flung her little arms tightly around her waist. “Oh, Dallas, I don't want you to go home! I want you to stay here with me and Dad—forever!”

Above Hayley's head, Dallas had to fight back her own tears. “Oh, honey, don't cry. We'll see each other again.”

“We won't,” she said between sobs. “You'll be just like my mom—you'll forget all about me!”

Tears slipping from her eyes, Dallas hugged the girl close. “I'll never forget you, Hayley. I promise.”

 

Dallas had the alarm set for five o'clock the next morning, but she hadn't needed the intrusive buzzer to tell her it was time to get up. She'd hardly slept a wink as she'd spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, wondering where she was going to find the strength to drive away from Boone and Hayley.

Dressing quickly, she decided to leave her bags in the bedroom until she'd had coffee and loaded the horses. When she entered the kitchen, Boone was already at the table with a small transistor radio sitting in front of him.

The disc jockey was saying something about snow, but Dallas paid little heed as she went straight to the coffeepot and poured herself a mug. Where she lived snow was a routine thing throughout the long winter. She and her family worked through it and around it, but they never feared it.

“You can forget about leaving this morning,” Boone said abruptly. “There's already a good ten inches of snow on the ground and it's still falling.”

Stunned, Dallas stared at him. “Snow? Already? But I thought it wasn't supposed to be here until later tonight.”