Christmas With the Mustang Man (19 page)

“That's what the meteorologist had predicted, but the storm front moved faster than expected.”

Dallas didn't know whether to laugh or weep. “So the snow is too deep for me to drive? I have four-wheel drive,” she reminded him.

He looked over his shoulder at her. “The truck would probably make it, but I can't say about a trailer loaded with six horses. I'd hate for you to put them and yourself at risk.”

It would be foolish to take such a chance. Even if she
didn't wreck, just getting stuck and stranded in the snow would be dangerous, especially when she'd be traveling for miles through remote areas where there was hardly any other traffic.

She walked over to the table and sank into the chair across from his. “Well, it looks like I'll be here for Christmas, after all.”

With his hands clamped around his coffee cup, he stared at the tabletop. “You'd better call your family and tell them you'll not be heading for home this morning.”

“I never expected this to happen.”

This brought his eyes up and with a wry expression he looked at her. “Your whole trip has been filled with the unexpected.”

She swallowed hard as tears threatened to overcome her. “I spent most of the night bracing myself to tell you goodbye this morning. Now, once the snow melts, I'll have to go through it all over again.”

His gaze fell back to his coffee cup. “Hayley is going to be very happy that you'll be here for Christmas.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say? That the snow is a sign? Some kind of omen that says you're not supposed to leave? No, Dallas. I'm not going to let fate determine your future or mine.”

Then what was going to determine it? she wanted to ask, but didn't. Tomorrow was Christmas and that was a day for miracles. Now all she could do was pray for one to come along and open Boone's heart.

 

Hayley was thrilled that Dallas would be staying for the holiday and the two of them decided to use the snowy day to bake cookies and whip up a batch of marshmallow fudge. As for Boone, he dressed in insulated cover
alls and weatherproof boots and spent most of the day checking on the cows and calves and making sure none were caught in drifts that in some cases were waist deep.

By Christmas morning, the snow had stopped and the sun was shining in a bright blue sky. After breakfast the three of them gathered around the tree and Hayley handed out the few gifts that had been placed under the branches the night before.

Since Dallas had been snowbound and unable to drive into town for gifts, she'd had to make do with what she could find among her things. Fortunately, Fiona had dropped a new bottle of cologne into one of Dallas's bags before she'd left the Diamond D. Dallas had wrapped the soft scent for Hayley. But Boone was another matter, so she'd searched the tack room in her trailer and had discovered a brand-new saddle blanket woven of expensive mohair in deep colors of blue and green.

Hayley had loved the cologne and had drenched herself. As for Boone, he'd appeared to be genuinely touched by her gift. He'd kept rubbing his hand back and forth against the mohair and talking about how it would keep all the sweat pulled away from the horses' back.

“Open yours, Dallas,” Hayley urged. “There's one from me and one from Dad.”

“Okay. Let me tear into yours first,” she told the girl as she unwrapped a palm-size box. “Oh! Earrings! These are beautiful, Hayley!”

The girl beamed from ear to ear. “They're real silver. And they dangle. So every time you turn your head, they'll sparkle.”

“I'll love wearing them.” She walked over to where Hayley was perched on the floor beside the tree, then bent down and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, sweetie. Very much.”

“Now open Dad's,” she urged Dallas. “I want to see what
he
got you.”

Dallas cast him a furtive glance. “He shouldn't have gotten me anything.”

A faint grin moved one side of his lips. “You shouldn't have gotten me anything, either.”

Dallas sat back down in her chair and reached for the tiny round trinket box wrapped with printed silk fabric. She could tell that the box had been handled a great many times down through the years so it was obviously something that had meant a great deal to someone.

Her hands shook as she lifted the lid. And then as she stared down at the piece of jewelry, she momentarily forgot to breathe.

It was a cameo brooch encircled with what appeared to be real diamonds. The workmanship of the piece was exquisite and there was no doubt it would be worth a great deal of money.

“Oh, my! This is— It's absolutely beautiful!”

“What is it?” Hayley jumped from her seat on the floor and hurried over to look at the gift cradled in Dallas's hand. “It's pretty. Where did you get this, Dad?”

“It belonged to your great-grandmother,” he said. “It was a special gift to her from your great-grandfather.”

Lifting her head, Dallas stared at him in wonder. “I can't accept this, Boone. This piece should go to Hayley.”

His gaze didn't waver from hers. “I have other things saved for Hayley. The cameo is yours now.”

Dallas didn't know what to say, and even if the words had been there, she couldn't have pushed them past her burning throat.

“I… Please, excuse me,” she finally choked out, then jumped to her feet and rushed from the room.

She was sitting on the side of the bed, wiping at the tears on her face, when the bedroom door creaked open.
Glancing up, she hoped to see Boone. Instead, a concerned Hayley was easing toward her.

“Dallas? Why are you upset? Dad gave you the brooch to make you happy.”

The girl's simple statement was enough to help Dallas compose herself and she smiled through her tears.

“Yes. I know that he did. I'm just feeling a little weepy…'cause it's Christmas. And everything is special on Christmas.” Sniffing back the last of her tears, she reached out and smoothed an errant strand of hair from Hayley's cheek. “Now, what do you say about you and me going to the kitchen to see what we can find to cook for dinner?”

“Yeah! Can you make mashed potatoes?”

Smiling, Dallas rose to her feet and reached for Hayley's hand. “I think I can manage that.”

The two of them exited the room and started down the hallway. “What about macaroni and cheese?” the girl asked.

“If it comes from a box I can.”

Hayley giggled. “Oh, Dallas, you're so funny. And I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetie. Very much.”

The next day those same words were repeated to Hayley, only this time Dallas's voice was full of tears as the three of them stood out in the bright sunshine and said their final goodbyes. As the snow had melted, her heart had begun to break and when she'd finally driven away from White River Ranch, she'd had to face the fact that Christmas with her Mustang Man was truly over.

N
early a month later on a cold Friday night, Dallas was sitting in her office at Angel Wings Stables when her grandmother Kate came strolling through the door.

It wasn't unusual for the tall, curvy woman to show up at Dallas's riding stables. Kate was as agile as a person in their fifties, and in spite of her eighty-four years she pretty much did what she wanted to do and went where she wanted to go. But the stables were already closed for the night and no one else was around except Dallas and the horses.

“Grandmother! What are you doing out so late?”

The Donovan matriarch walked over to Dallas's desk and took a seat in front of her granddaughter. “I thought I'd drive over here and see what's been keeping you here night after night. Instead of coming home and having dinner with your family.”

Kate was a stickler for the family to gather around the
dinner table. It was her way of keeping tabs on everyone and making sure all was well with her flock.

“I'm sorry,” Dallas apologized. “I've had several new children enroll in the program and half of them have rather severe physical handicaps. Lass and I have had to come up with all sorts of ingenious straps and buckles to keep them safely in the saddle.”

Kate batted a hand through the air. “I've already heard about all that.” She pointed at Dallas's desktop and the papers scattered about. “The kids are gone for tonight. What's keeping you here now?”

Shoving a hand through her hair, Dallas sighed. It was obvious her grandmother had shown up to pry. And maybe it was time for someone to dig into the mire of Dallas's miserable thoughts. She needed help from someone.

“I was going through the mail and found this.” She picked up a small envelope and handed it to Kate. “It's from Hayley Barnett. She's—”

“I know who she is,” Kate interrupted, “she's that horse trainer's daughter.”

“See what she has to say,” Dallas urged.

Kate pulled out the single sheet of paper and began to read aloud:

As Kate folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope, Dallas dabbed at her teary eyes.

“Do you have any idea how that letter makes me feel?” Dallas asked.

Leaning forward, Kate placed the envelope on the desk. “I think I have a good idea. You feel like your heart is ripping apart.”

Too choked to speak, Dallas merely nodded and Kate said, “When you first came back from Nevada, I could see that you were a changed woman, Dallas. I've watched you struggling to get back into your regular routine, but it's not the same and you're far from happy.”

Sighing, Dallas leaned back in her chair. Her grandmother was so right. She'd never been more miserable in her life. Since the day after Christmas, when she'd said a tearful goodbye to Boone and Hayley, nothing had been the same.

“You know, Grandmother, I always believed that no matter what occurred in my life, the Diamond D would always be my place of solace, would always make me happy. But it isn't making me happy now.” With a shake of her head, she rose from her chair and began to move aimlessly around the spacious office. “That sounds awful, doesn't it? I have so much here. You, all of my family. This wonderful riding program that helps so many needy children. I should be satisfied. But I guess I never realized that when you give your heart to a man it stays with him, and I'm not doing very well without it.”

Kate frowned at her. “Then why the heck aren't you
doing something about it? Moping around here, hiding in your office every night isn't going to fix anything!”

Feeling more helpless than she'd ever felt in her life, Dallas lifted her arms and let them fall to her sides. “What am I supposed to do? Boone sent me away. He doesn't believe I can be happy on White River Ranch.”

“Could you?”

“Oh, Grandmother, when I first arrived there, I thought I'd traveled to the end of the earth. It all seemed like nothing but lonely desert. His closest neighbor is ten miles away. There's no cell phone reception and it takes more than forty minutes just to drive into town. And it's so tiny that Hayley has to ride the bus over to the next town just to go to school. Boone has one ranch hand to help him and he doesn't come in every day. Horse buyers do come to look at the mustangs, but I only saw one while I was there. That business won't pick up until spring. But…I don't know how to explain it—there's a stark beauty about the place and it began to grow on me. Now I miss it almost as much as I do Boone and Hayley.” She looked directly at her grandmother. “To answer your question—yes, I could be happy there. But how do I convince Boone? He's already had one bad experience with a woman who couldn't deal with his lifestyle. He's afraid to try again.”

“Hmmph. And for a long time after that no-account Allen you were afraid to try again. But you have. And if your Boone cares enough, he'll see that he doesn't have a choice in the matter.” Rising from the chair, Kate walked over to her granddaughter and curled a comforting arm around her shoulders. “My advice is to quit wasting time. Pack your bags and get up there. Show him that you mean business.”

“But he wants me to take time to think and—”

“Think, hell! He's stalling. You get yourself up there and don't give him a chance to say no.”

As she peered into her grandmother's strong face, a glimmer of hope stirred inside Dallas. “Do you really think he'll be glad to see me? He hasn't contacted me since I left.”

“Have you tried to contact him?”

Dallas shook her head. “No. I thought— I didn't want to push myself on him. I've been waiting—hoping he might call.”

“Waiting and hoping might be a good tactic for fishing, but not for catching a man.” With a hand at her back, she urged Dallas out of the office. “Come on, honey. Let's go home and I'll help you pack.”

 

Where the hell was she? Boone raced through the barn, desperately hoping he'd find Hayley tucked away in some dark corner, but there was no sight of her. And with Angel in her stall, and Rock out in the corral, he knew his daughter wasn't out riding. He'd already hunted through the house and there'd been no Hayley there, either.

As soon as he'd picked her up at the school bus stop this evening, he'd driven straight home and let her out at the house. After that, Boone had saddled up and ridden out to work on one of the windmill pumps. When he'd returned a half hour ago, she'd been gone and now he could only fear the worst.

Had she run away? Had some evil person come to the ranch and hauled her away? Oh, God, it was getting dark and he had to do something!

Racing back to the house, he realized he had no other choice but to call the sheriff's department. They might not consider her a missing child, but Boone sure as hell
did. She was a responsible girl. She didn't just go off on her own without consulting him first!

Inside the kitchen, he was about to reach for the phone, when it suddenly rang. He jerked up the receiver and then practically cursed out loud when he heard his father's voice on the other end.

“Dad, I don't have time to talk now. Hayley is missing and—”

“Hayley isn't missing. She's with me.”

Totally stunned, Boone stared blindly at the wall in front of him. “What? Where?”

“At my house in town. I picked her up at the ranch a couple of hours ago.”

“You—why?”

“She called me. Asked me if I'd come get her. I told her I would. I could tell she was unhappy and I thought it would be better than her trying to run away.”

Thank God his daughter was safe and that his father sounded perfectly sober. But there were a wad of questions rolling through Boone's head, far too many to be hashed out over the phone.

“I'll be there shortly.”

“Boone, I wouldn't be too hard on her. She's pretty upset.”

Since when had Newt cared about his granddaughter's emotional health? Boone wondered grimly.

You've not exactly shown a wealth of understanding to your daughter lately, Boone. For the past month, ever since Dallas left, you've known that Hayley was depressed and moody. But you haven't done anything to make things better for her.

How could he? He didn't even know how to help himself, much less help his daughter to get past the pain of losing Dallas. Hayley blamed him for letting Dallas go,
for not asking her to marry him and become a part of the family.

And now Boone could only blame himself for this whole mess.

 

When he arrived at Newt's house in Pioche, his father and Hayley were sitting at the kitchen table playing checkers. She shot Boone a cold, stony look, but Newt was more affable and invited his son to take a seat.

Hayley turned an accusing glare on her grandfather. “You told him I was here!”

“I had to, honey. He would have been worried sick about you.”

“No. He wouldn't have!” she practically shouted. “He doesn't care about anyone but himself!”

Before either man could stop her, the girl jumped to her feet and ran from the room. Boone started to go after her, but Newt quickly caught him by the arm.

“Let her go for right now.”

Boone couldn't ever remember a time that Newt had given him orders. Maybe if he had, if he'd shown enough interest to give his son orders, then things would have been different for the two of them.

Easing down in the chair across from his father, Boone let out a long, weary breath. “I understand she's been unhappy with me lately. But what in the world set her off like this today? She was okay when I picked her up at the bus stop.”

Newt rose to his feet and shuffled over to the cabinet, where he began to put a fresh pot of coffee on to brew. It was a damned sight better than seeing him splash whiskey into a shot glass. “One of her best friends didn't show up for school today because her mother had just had a baby—a boy. Hayley is jealous of her, you know. She
wants brothers and sisters, too. She wants to be like her friends.”

“Hell, Dad, I don't even have a wife. How does she expect me to give her siblings? She's too young to understand—”

“She's almost a teenager. She understands much more than you think,” Newt interrupted. “From what I can gather, she's pretty cut up about this Dallas from New Mexico. Hayley had somehow gotten her hopes up that you were gonna marry this woman.”

Boone helplessly shook his head. “I want to.” Just admitting it made him feel better, but it sure didn't fix anything. “But it's not that simple.”

“Why not? She doesn't love you?”

Boone grimaced. “She says she loves me.”

Newt walked back over to the table. “So what's the deal?”

Boone's shoulders slumped with defeat. “The ranch. She'd never be happy there. You know what it's like. I could never ask another woman to live there. It wouldn't be fair or right.”

Newt opened his mouth to speak and Boone braced himself for another long pitch to sell the place. But that didn't happen. Instead, his father sank back into a chair and studied his son for long, thoughtful moments.

“Boone, I'm gonna tell you something. Something that I should've told you a long time ago. I just wasn't man enough to do it.”

“Dad—”

He held up a hand to halt Boone's protest. “Don't worry, I'm not going to start lecturing you about selling the place. That—well, since your mother died I've been thinking a lot about things. Guess that's about all I have to do anymore is to think. Anyway, I was wrong to push
you to sell. But that's not the issue now. You're letting White River Ranch ruin your life. Just like I did. And that's a waste. A shameful waste.”

Boone stared at him as he tried to comprehend. “You blame the ranch for your problems? That's—”

“Hell, no! I made my own problems. That's what I'm trying to say. All these years I've felt sorry for myself. I blamed the ranch for everything.”

“Because you didn't like it? Because you never wanted to leave Arizona? That's hardly any reason to feel sorry for yourself.”

The older man's gaze dropped to the tabletop and for the first time that Boone could ever remember, he saw real sincerity on his father's face.

“There was more to it than that, Boone. I let hatred fill me, consume me until…well, hardly anything else mattered. You see, there was more to it than what you were ever told. When I was in junior high, I made the decision that I wanted to be a doctor. I worked very hard to make perfect grades in all the right subjects. I wanted everything to go in my favor so that I would be accepted to a good medical school. Your grandparents went along with my plans and saved money for my college education. I contributed to the fund by working through the summers mowing lawns and sacking groceries at a local supermarket. I didn't expect them to pay everything for me. I was more than willing to work to reach my goal.”

A doctor? His father had wanted to be a doctor! It was a stunning revelation. One that Boone could hardly wrap his thoughts around. And yet, he could see for himself that the old man wasn't lying. “So what happened?”

“By the time I reached my senior year in high school your granddad decided he was tired of mining. He wanted a ranch and when he saw White River he wouldn't let
anything stop him from getting it. He used all of my college funds to buy the place. I was—” He shook his head. “I was devastated and so angry I couldn't see straight. He'd squashed my dreams to find his. After that, I decided nothing mattered. I decided if my parents hadn't cared any more for me than that, then to hell with them.”