Читать книгу Christmas With The Cowboy - Tina Radcliffe - Страница 14
Оглавление“Candy canes?” Emma asked.
Lucy Maxwell Harris held up the plastic shopping bag that dangled from her right arm. “Check.”
Emma pulled open the door of the restaurant for her sister, who waddled past and headed into the Oklahoma Rose with a protective hand on her large abdomen.
“Whew.” Lucy ran a hand through her dark cap of hair and adjusted the Santa hat on her head. “Is it hot in here?”
“No. The female air-conditioning system is a little overworked during pregnancy.”
“Is that it?”
Emma nodded. “Any success finding mistletoe?”
“Got that, too. I bought extra to take home to Jack.”
“Isn’t Jack coming?” Emma asked.
“I wish. He’s in charge of the papier mâché volcano the kids are making for the science fair.”
“Hmm.” Emma shook her head. “Difficult to say who got the better assignment.”
Lucy sniffed appreciatively and glanced around. “Oh, this place smells wonderful. Is that steak? You know, I haven’t had anything to eat in over an hour.”
A hand to her mouth, Emma stifled a chuckle while grabbing a menu from a nearby empty table. “Here you go. We won’t let you starve. I promise.”
“They have sweet potato fries.” She shot Emma a conspiratorial glance. “Do not tell Jack, but it’s apparent that I got the better deal tonight.”
“May I help you?” the smiling hostess asked.
“Big Heart Ranch Christmas party,” Emma said. “I was here this morning. The manager said you could unlock the room for us.”
“Christmas? And here I thought that was a typo,” the woman murmured.
“We like to get a jump on the holidays at Big Heart.”
“I guess so. Do you want to schedule Groundhog Day now, as well?”
Emma choked on a laugh. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
They followed the woman through the restaurant, weaving past tables toward a banquet room. As they passed the small dance area where a band was setting up, Emma nudged her sister.
“Look. Live music tonight,” she said.
“Those are the Dixie Hens,” the hostess said, excitement lacing her voice. “They’re almost famous around these parts. Last year they went on tour with L.C. Kestner.”
“Who?” Lucy mouthed to Emma.
Emma shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“I’m happy to ask the band to play Christmas dance tunes for your group,” the woman continued.
“Thank you. That would be great,” Emma said.
“Planning to dance?” Lucy asked.
“Perhaps. I am, after all, highly skilled at the hokey-pokey. Ask my daughters.”
Lucy grinned as the hostess unlocked the door to a private room. Taking a step in, she paused to look up at the ceiling where glittering snowflakes suspended on clear fishing line gently swayed.
“Emma, this is beautiful.”
Emma peeked over her sister’s shoulder at the long tables covered with red tablecloths. Burlap runners decorated the center of the tables and were dotted with mason jars tied with red and green ribbons and filled with berried greenery. In the corner of the room, an artificial Christmas tree complete with ornaments and twinkling colored lights stood proudly. Red and green envelopes with the staff’s holiday stipends tucked inside also hung from the branches.
“I love Christmas.” Emma sighed with pleasure and inspected the room once again. “It did turn out nice, didn’t it?”
“Come on, Em. Nice? This is perfect. Rustic and Christmassy. This is the perfect way to launch the Holiday Roundup.”
“That’s what I thought, too.”
“What’s in those shiny silver favor boxes next to each place setting?”
“My secret recipe truffles to take home.”
Lucy did a double take. “You’re amazing. When did you have time to decorate if you were baking?”
“I snuck over here this afternoon after the cutout cookies were done.”
“Of course you did. I forget that you inherited the family gene for OCS.”
“What?”
“Overcommitted syndrome. Emma, do you ever relax?”
“Sometimes.” Relaxing only gave her time to think. She didn’t need more time to think than she already had.
“Try to remember the D word that Jack taught me when he hired Iris as my admin.”
“D word?”
“Delegate, Em. Delegate.”
“Delegate, huh? That certainly sounds odd coming from the queen of micromanaging.”
“Be nice. I’m still a work in progress.” She glanced at Emma. “What happened to your admin?”
“It turned out she was allergic to the ranch. I’ll get around to hiring a new one, soon enough,” Emma said. “So did you bring your gift to trade?”
Lucy gasped. “The gift exchange!”
Emma reached into her tote bag and handed Lucy a wrapped box. “No worries. I brought several in case someone forgot theirs.”
“Okay, this time your OCS saved the day. What’s inside?”
“I can’t tell you. That spoils the fun of the exchange.”
“Ow,” Lucy moaned. “Junior just kicked me.” She placed one hand on her belly and one on her lower back.
“How are you feeling, Luce?”
“Large.” She sighed. “And don’t you dare laugh.”
“Trust me, you are not large. Not like I was, expecting twins.”
“Tell that to my lower back. And my feet are so swollen that I can’t wear my red cowboy boots.” She grimaced. “Aren’t you glad you asked?”
“Think positive. You’re having a Christmas baby.”
“I am thinking positive. I’m positive that my back is killing me.”
“Turn around.”
Lucy obliged and Emma massaged her sister’s lower back with the heel of her hand.
“Bliss,” Lucy murmured. “Oh, look, our staff are arriving.”
The band began to play an upbeat and popular Christmas tune at the same time the front door of the restaurant opened and the party guests began to pour in to the small foyer. The scene seemed straight out of a holiday movie. Everyone was smiling, laughing and carrying gaily wrapped presents. Snow falling outside would have made things complete, but the November weather continued to be unseasonably warm.
“Look,” Lucy said. “Dutch is already on the dance floor.”
“It’s hard to resist a rousing chorus of ‘Frosty the Snowman.’”
Shivers swept through Emma and she immediately turned her attention back to the front door of the restaurant. Zach had arrived. He wore a nondescript gray dress shirt and charcoal slacks. Nondescript on anyone but Zach.
“Zach is here,” Lucy commented.
“I see him,” Emma murmured. She swallowed and put a hand to her chest where her heart beat wildly.
Lucy tilted her head and blatantly stared at the tall former navy SEAL. “Why was it you fell for Steve instead of Zach?”
For a brief second the answer stumped Emma. Then she remembered. Steve had courted her. Zach had never made a single overture beyond friendship. She’d fallen for the Norman brother who’d first loved her.
“I’ve always preferred my life simple,” Emma said aloud. “Zach is anything but simple.”
“He’s simply handsome.” Lucy sighed.
“Definitely hard to ignore,” Emma admitted.
“Yes. Which would be why every woman in the restaurant is checking him out,” Lucy said.
“The man is completely oblivious.”
Lucy grinned. “Just like my Jack. I like that in a man.”
Emma laughed. “You’re incorrigible, Lucy.”
“Do you ever think about dating, Em?”
“Women with small children don’t have time to date. What is dating anyhow? It’s auditioning husbands. I’m not looking for another husband.”
“That’s not all it is. It can be cultivating a friendship with someone with the same interests as you.”
“I don’t have time to cultivate anything but dirty laundry and mold in my refrigerator.”
“While I can relate to that, I’m guessing your house is spotless.”
“All the same, the last thing I need is a man in my life. I’m not ready for that kind of challenge. I may never be ready.”
“Zach was always your friend. You could do worse than Zach Norman in your life in any capacity.”
Emma’s hand froze. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m just saying.”
“Well, don’t. Zach is like a brother to me.” She silently corrected herself. He was never a brother to her. A best friend? Yes. Though that bond had disappeared once she married Steve. She had struggled many times over the past few years trying to figure out why they couldn’t at least be friends.
“Zach? Like your brother?” Lucy echoed Emma’s words. “Um, not exactly.” She turned and met Emma’s gaze, then released a small gasp. “You’re afraid.”
Emma glanced away and didn’t answer her sister.
“Em,” she said softly. “Steve died in a car accident. Three years ago. You’re entitled to grieve in your own way and in your own time, but please, don’t let fear get a foothold in your life.”
“I won’t have the rug pulled out from under me again. I might not survive the next time.”
“There are no guarantees for any of us, Emma. You and Travis and I know that firsthand. In fact, every child on Big Heart Ranch knows that lesson.”
“Lucy,” Emma warned.
The eldest Maxwell sibling was silent for a long moment staring across the restaurant at Zach. “Do you ever wonder why Zach has stayed away?”
“I assumed it was something between him and Steve. I’ve asked. The man circles any sort of substantial answer with vague responses.”
“You have eight weeks to find out what’s going on in that navy SEAL head of his.”
“Eight weeks?” Emma’s hand shot to her lips, setting the decorative red and green sleigh bells on her bracelet into tinkling motion. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s here until January.”
“Says who?”
“Me. I signed off on his HR paperwork this morning.”
“I’m confused. Why would Zach have paperwork with Big Heart Ranch?”
“Travis hired him.”
Emma’s jaw dropped. “Zach?”
“Yes. He picked up his security badge this morning.”
“Why would Zach...? Why would Travis...?” she sputtered.
“Uh-oh. Don’t look now, but Mr. Navy SEAL has his eye on you,” Lucy said.
“What?” She turned toward the door.
“He’s sort of lost out there in the crowd. Go save him,” Lucy said quietly.
Emma blew a soft raspberry. “Zach Norman does not need saving.”
“Everyone needs saving, Emma.”
“Fine. Whatever.” She started across the room, pausing at intervals to greet the staff.
Zach’s gaze followed her the entire time.
“I heard you’re staying until January,” she said when she was finally standing in front of him, looking up at all six feet five inches of solid muscle.
Zach offered a silent scrutiny, his expression shuttered.
“Well?” she prompted.
“Hi to you, too, Emma.” He nodded and stared at her. “Blinking reindeer earrings, huh?” His gaze moved to assess her holiday party outfit. “Interesting sweater.”
She glanced down at the knit vest with the ornament embellishments. “Ugly sweater contest.”
“I’m guessing you’re going to win.”
When Zach winked, Emma’s eyes widened with surprise.
Focus, Emma.
She pushed the hair back from her face, setting her jingle bell bracelet into motion. The sound was a welcome distraction.
“Nice bracelet,” he said.
She began to smile and then remembered that she was annoyed. The man had bested her. Again.
“So is it true? Are you staying?” she asked.
“Who told you?”
“The source is really not important.”
“I’m working for Travis.”
“You are so stubborn. You’ll work for Travis, though your knee says otherwise, but you refuse to even discuss RangePro.”
When Zach just stared at her, Emma almost backed down from the stormy gaze. Instead, she stood her ground and refused to look away.
“Could we call a truce on this whole RangePro thing? At least until the holidays are over?” he finally said. “I mean, isn’t this time of year supposed to reflect peace on earth? Goodwill to all men?” Zach paused. “Even me?”
Emma wilted at his quote from the Bible. Suddenly, she recalled the kid next door forced to return home to an apathetic mother for the holidays when he longed to stay at his father’s ranch for Christmas.
Ashamed of herself, she took a deep breath. Why was it the man brought out the cranky and uncharitable in her?
Big Heart Ranch staff continued to enter the restaurant, pushing Emma closer to Zach as they tried to make their way to the banquet room.
Emma stepped back, struggling to overcome with a smiling face and a positive attitude. “You’re right. I apologize.”
“A holiday truce, then?”
When Zach held out a hand, she nodded and stared at his hand, afraid to actually touch him. “A truce it is. The party is this way.” She started toward the back of the restaurant.
“Excuse me, Emma,” a woman said from behind her.
She turned. “Oh, Zach, this is Josee. One of our wranglers.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
“Zach, is it?” the pretty blond-haired woman asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Would you like to dance?”
“Pardon me?” Zach’s eyes widened as his gaze skimmed the dance floor.
“I wondered if you’d like to dance,” Josee repeated.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am. I already promised this dance to Emma.”
“Another time, then.” Josee smiled and looked from Zach to Emma with curiosity before she turned away.
“You didn’t promise me this dance.”
“I fully intended to.” Laughter filled his gray eyes. “Besides, isn’t this your favorite song?” he asked.
Emma cocked her head. “That’s ‘Jingle Bell Rock.’”
He held out his hand. The hand she’d avoided only minutes before.
“As if you really want to dance,” Emma mumbled.
“Are you going to turn me down in front of all these people?”
Emma glanced around at the speculative gazes turned their way. He had her and he knew it.
Leaving her no choice, Zach took her hand. “It’s a two-step,” he said. “Your other hand goes to my shoulder and then you step.”
“I know how to dance.” She hesitantly placed her left hand on his shoulder. “What about your knee?”
“Let me worry about my knee.”
“But...”
Zach shook his head. “You’re a substitute mother to sixty some kids at Big Heart Ranch. That’s plenty, don’t you think? Besides, I don’t need a momma.”
“I... I...” What was he saying? Didn’t he realize that she could not concentrate on the conversation while her hand was enveloped in his?
A long silence stretched between them as Emma worked hard not to tangle her feet and fall on her face.
When Lucy walked past the dance floor and her gaze connected with Emma’s, her sister stopped and did a double take.
“Lucy sure looks, um, ripe,” Zach said. “When’s she due?”
“Christmas.”
“Christmas. Everything seems to revolve around Christmas.”
“Only for eight weeks of the year.”
“Only eight weeks,” he murmured.
Emma turned her head and stared at her hand in his. His hand was so large, yet hers seemed to fit perfectly.
“This is quite the crowd,” he observed.
“This is nothing. Wait until Thanksgiving.”
“Was I supposed to bring a present?” Zach asked with a nod toward the guests who walked past with gifts tucked under their arms.
“They’re fun white elephant exchanges. I brought extras.”
He glanced toward the banquet room filling up with people. “Tell me about this Christmas party.”
She shrugged. “It’s a party. Eat food, make merry. Mingle.”
“I don’t—”
“Mingle,” she finished for him. “Somehow I thought you might say that.” Emma sighed. “But you know Dutch and Tripp and Travis. Chat with them.”
“Travis has his wife.” He raised his brows. “And it looks like they found the mistletoe.”
She turned in Zach’s arms to see Travis kissing his new bride beneath the mistletoe that he had hung in the doorway of the banquet room.
“Young love,” Emma said. “You know how it is.”
“Can’t say that I do.” He glanced around. “Looks like the single men are outnumbered around here.”
“That’s true. Tonight it’s just you, Tripp and Dutch.”
“No dates invited?”
“Dutch’s sweetheart is the ranch physician, General Rue Butterfield. Rue is out of town at the moment with a family emergency.”
“And Tripp? What’s his story?”
“Tripp? Oh, he’d never bring a date. He’s even more private than you are.”
“Am I private?”
“As locked up as a clam. If you want to pass the time, ask Dutch to tell you about the John Wayne impersonator he saw in Tulsa last week. By the time he finishes with his tall tale, dinner will be served, then we’ll get down to business.”
“What business is that?”
“The Holiday Roundup.”
The song ended and Emma stepped away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. Relief and disappointment crowded her at the same time.
“The Holiday Roundup,” he repeated. Zach rubbed a hand over his jaw. “It seems apparent that I showed up at Big Heart Ranch at the wrong time of year.”
“Or maybe it’s the right time, and you just don’t know it yet.”
When his dark eyes met hers, Emma’s heart stopped and everything seemed to be in slow motion as the words she had just uttered echoed through her while Zach Norman turned away.
Maybe it was the right time, and she just didn’t know it yet.
* * *
Zach downed his eggnog and turned to Dutch. “We’re doing what?”
Around them, holiday music continued to play as the party wound down. The old wrangler had just dashed his high hopes of slipping out of the party soon. Zach was certain he had a rash over most of him from being social tonight. He didn’t do social, and yet here he was.
Dutch grabbed the last broken cookies from a tray that only a few hours ago overflowed with Christmas cutout cookies and popped them into his mouth with a loud smack of his lips. “I’m telling you, Miss Emma makes the best cookies. Her chocolate muffins would take a blue ribbon anywhere.”
“Dutch, quit eating and answer me.”
“I told you. It’s chore-pickin’ time.” He nodded to the large box wrapped like a Christmas package that sat at the end of the banquet table.
“Miss Lucy and Miss Emma divide up the chores for the Holiday Roundup and you pick yours from that big box there. Everyone gets two.”
“I never heard of anything so unorganized. This is worse than being voluntarily told in the navy.”
“The gals say it keeps the program fresh. New ideas and perspectives and everyone owns the event.”
Zach released a breath. “I can guarantee there is nothing that resembles my skill set in that box.”
“Don’t matter. It’s the spirit of the season that counts. Making memories. Having fun.” Dutch’s gaze scanned the room. “Did I ever tell you how I was Mary in the living nativity one year?”
“Now you’re messing with me.”
The seasoned cowboy offered a slow shake of his head. “Wish I was. I had to shave my ’stache.”
Zach ran a hand over his face and swallowed.
“Come on.” Dutch nodded to the box. “Best get it over with.”
“You first,” Zach said as he followed.
Dutch put a hand in the box, pulled out two papers and stepped aside to allow Zach to do the same. “What did you get?” Dutch asked a moment later.
“I haven’t opened them yet,” Zach returned.
“I’ll trade you. Sight unseen.”
“Not a chance.” Zach gave a nod toward Dutch’s slips of paper. “What did you get?”
The cowboy grimaced. “Porta potty duty and horse-drawn carriage driver.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Depends on which direction the wind is blowing.”
Zach stared at the seemingly innocuous papers in his own hand.
“Hurry up and open yours,” Dutch said. “Miss Emma’s coming around with her clipboard to document your assignment.”
“Then I better get moving.”
It would be a very good idea to keep his distance from both clipboards and the youngest Maxwell sibling. He was still trying to figure out what got into him earlier. Dancing with Emma. That came out of nowhere.
He was beginning to realize that if he wasn’t on guard at all times, history would be repeated. His history...of acting like a love-struck idiot when Emma was nearby.
Dodging around the buffet table, Zach headed to the other side of the room. He stooped behind greenery to examine the Christmas tree decorations, though his height made it nearly impossible to hide.
“Your envelope is near the back of the tree.”
She found him.
“I wasn’t looking for an envelope.”
“What were you doing?”
He raised a hand and decided against explaining. “How did anyone know to give me an envelope?”
“That’s a very good question,” Emma said. “Lucy’s admin, Iris, reads minds. You can thank her later.” Emma plucked a green envelope from the tree and handed it to him.
Zach shook his head. “This is really not necessary.”
“Deal with it. It’s a Christmas present.”
“Presents are for little kids.”
She scoffed. “Who told you that?”
My mother when I turned six and my parents divorced.
“It was understood at my home.”
“Oh, Zach, I’m so sorry. While the holidays aren’t simply about presents, certainly a child should experience the joy of giving and receiving.”
“It’s really a moot point, Emma. I don’t do Christmas.”
“You don’t believe in Christmas?” She offered a dramatic sigh. “Sort of makes you like Scrooge, doesn’t it?”
“Does that make you Tiny Tim?”
She cocked her head in thought. “I’d like to think of myself as one of the benevolent characters who show you the error of your ways.”
“Right. Right.” He stared at her ridiculous blinking reindeers. “For the record, I never said I don’t believe in Christmas.”
“Could you elaborate then? What is it about Christmas that you have a problem with? I mean besides presents and Christmas parties. And by the way, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you sure have a long list of things that you have issues with.”
“Emma, you’re sort of an overanalyzer. Anybody ever mention that?”
Her eyes rounded. “You have issues with me, too?”
“Now you’re putting words in my mouth.”
“I’m a therapist. I analyze. It comes with the territory.”
“You’re a child therapist and I’m not a child.”
Emma shrugged. “The same principles apply to grown-up children.”
“You aren’t my therapist.”
Her lips formed a thin line, and Zach could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“You don’t want to know.”
“I asked, didn’t I?”
“I’m trying to figure out what happened to make you so disillusioned. And why does it seem like you’re angry with me? We used to be friends.”
“That was a long time ago. We were kids.”
She jerked back as though she’d been slapped.
Zach immediately regretted opening his big mouth. Emma was everything good and right in the world, and he had managed to dim her light with his special brand of darkness.
“May I see your assignment slips?” The words were clipped and flat.
“Sure.”
He pulled the crumpled papers from his pocket, smoothed them out and glanced at the words. What harm could come from putting up lights and greenery?
“Oh.” She released a long-suffering sigh.
“Oh?”
“You’re on my team.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“There’s no need to apologize.”
“Sure feels like I ought to.” He shrugged. “So where do I start?”
“Excuse me, Emma, Zach. I hate to interrupt.”
Both Zach and Emma turned to find Lucy standing close with a concerned expression.
“What’s wrong?” Emma asked her sister.
“I’ve maxed out. I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to bail on you.”
“Do you need a ride home?” Zach asked.
“Oh, how sweet of you to offer, but Travis and AJ are dropping me off. They live right down the road.” She glanced around at the room and frowned before she put a hand on Emma’s arm. “I feel horrible leaving you with cleanup.”
“Go, Lucy,” Emma said.
“Are you sure?”
“Cleanup is my specialty. You of all people know how true that is.”
“I’ll help,” Zach said. The words slipped from his mouth before he had a chance to outrun them.
Lucy and Emma turned to him, startled expressions on their faces.
He offered an embarrassed chuckle. “Come on. I think I can handle a little disaster recovery, ladies.”
Emma bit her lip, saying nothing.
When Lucy stood on tiptoes from her five-foot-two-inch height and planted a kiss on his cheek, Zach froze.
“What was that for?” he murmured.
“Just to say thank you.” She offered him and Emma a benevolent smile. “Take good care of my sister.”
“Oh, good grief,” Emma said. “Lucy, will you please go home?”
“I’m going.”
“Call me in the morning to check in,” Emma called after her. “And stay home if you need to.”
“I just might.”
“Good.” Emma grabbed a trash bag.
“Let me help with that.”
“Zach, you really don’t need to stay,” Emma said.
“I’m on your team.”
“That’s the Holiday Roundup.”
“Let me help you get out of here and home to your children.” He paused. “Besides, I just promised your sister...”
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the vinyl floor tiles. “Do I look like I need to be taken care of?”
