Rafe left the engine idling as he hopped down from the truck and removed the tow-rope. She stood by her car waiting with her arms folded across her chest. When the tow-rope was back in the toolbox, he turned and faced her.
“I guess I should give these back,” she said, removing the gloves from her hands, and handed over the shovel.
“Yes, thank you.” He took them.
She glanced down at her feet covered with his boots. “I’ll have to return these to you once I get home and replace them with my own shoes.”
“That’s fine. And I’ll get your boots back to you, too.”
Sighing heavily, she raised her gaze and met his. Her expression was etched with guilt, especially around her eyes and her deep frown.
“I’m really sorry about what happened. I hope Katie will allow you to explain things to her.”
He released an uncomfortable laugh. “What’s there to explain? She caught me kissing another woman.”
“True, but... it didn’t mean anything. Right?”
He shrugged. “I suppose it didn’t mean anything, but that’s not the point. I cheated on her.” Anger touched his voice, making it rise. “I know you don’t know me very well, but I’m not that type of guy. I’ve never been that guy who cheats on his girlfriend.”
Holly’s gaze narrowed on him as she stepped closer. “So if you’re not the kind of guy who kisses other women while in a relationship, why did you kiss me?”
Rafe threw his hands in the air. “I. Don’t. Know. It just happened, okay? I couldn’t stop it.” He shouldn’t have said those words so sharp and accusing, but he couldn’t stop the irritation flowing through him.
She gasped. “Do you think it’s my fault?”
He rolled his eyes. “No, of course not, but—”
“But?” She stopped him. “Seriously, Rafe? You’re going to turn this around and make it look like I’m to blame?”
He shook his head. “You distract me, but I don’t know why.”
“Oh, now I’m a distraction!” Her cheeks flamed as her nostrils flared. “Rafe Montgomery, you’re definitely not the guy I thought you were. I don’t know what I was thinking when I had the urge to kiss you. But you’re right. It didn’t mean anything at all.” She marched the few feet to her car and climbed in. “I’ll make sure you get your boots back today,” she snapped before closing her door.
Rafe didn’t try to stop her as she drove away from him toward Timberland.
Great! Within a half hour, he’d made two women hate him. His luck wasn’t looking very good lately.
HOLLY STOOD IN FRONT of the big picture window in her mother’s living room that overlooked the entrance to the canyon. It was a beautiful sight as snow covered the ground and trees. Truly, a winter wonderland. Living in California for the past six years, she had come to cherish the memories of her family playing in the snow, building snowmen and snow forts. Around Christmas time, the houses were decorated with lights, making the snow so colorful at night. She’d never forget that feeling of joy.
Being the first snow of the season, the sun soon melted some of it. If she looked really hard, she’d be able to see a few green spots on the mountain. Some of the houses between the town and the mountain were semi-visible. In fact, if Holly peered closely, she might even see where the Montgomery ranch was located.
Growling, she pushed the thought out of her head as she continued to hang red and green twinkling lights in the window. Her cell phone played Christmas music in an attempt to set the mood. If only she could get into the mood, too. Just when she figured she had forgotten all about those emotional twenty-four hours of passion-surfing with Rafe, another thought would jump in her head, bringing back her heartbreak all over again.
The jerk! How dare he blame her!
She inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, trying to clear her mind again. It had been three days since that chaotic day. As promised, she’d taken his boots back to the ranch later that day. She’d tried not to make too much noise driving up to the house, and then tiptoed onto the porch, leaving the boots in front of the door. She was grateful nobody had seen her.
Thanksgiving had passed, and Christmas loomed closer by the hour. She wasn’t ready, only because she hadn’t been out shopping yet. She worried that she’d run into Rafe or his cousins. After all, this town was smaller than she’d remembered.
She huffed silently. Getting over her anger would be next to impossible right now, but she must do it. Mother would need her to do some Christmas shopping, too. Holly glanced over her shoulder toward her mother. Thankfully, Mom’s fall hadn’t caused more than just a broken bone in her leg. But still, she couldn’t walk without a crutch for six weeks, and old Doc Griffin wanted her off her leg as much as possible. That man was older than some of the hills out near Timberland. He’d delivered Holly and her two sisters, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d delivered her mother, too.
Just like all the previous years, Holly’s mother sat at the kitchen table preparing the cast list for the town’s annual Christmas program of Christ’s birth. Putting a smile on her face, Holly carefully placed a string of lights on the window frame and taped it to the wood. Her mother would undoubtedly ask Holly to play one of the parts this year, since she was home for the holidays. She prayed it wasn’t the angel. Too many memories came with that year.
The chirp of her cell phone ringing brought Holly out of her thoughts. She pulled her cell phone out of the front pocket of her jeans and answered. “This is Holly.”
“Hey, Holly. This is Brian Parker. How are you?”
Excitement shot through her. “Hey, Brian. I’m good. How about yourself?”
“I’m fan-tastic! I heard from one of our sponsors for the new project, and you won’t believe the funding they are putting up for this movie.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s great.” Holly glanced at her mother. The older woman watched her with suspicious eyes. Holly moved to the front door, opened it, and walked outside to make her conversation more private.
A cold wind stung her cheeks. Without a jacket or a coat, the bitterly cold air moved through her clothes, quickly. Perhaps she should have taken some covering.
“I thought I’d start calling people before the craziness of the holidays began, to make sure everyone is on board. I really think this will make it big.”
Closing her eyes, she smiled. Making it big was a good thing. Her name would be attached to Brian’s, and that would help gain the reputation she needed to make it big herself. “That would be a dream-come-true.”
“Well then, Miss Holly, you’d better start dreaming, because I’m going to shoot for the stars with this movie.”
Her heart swelled with hope. Could this be real? She wanted to shout with excitement, but still didn’t dare. Too many dreams in her life had crashed and burned and left her feeling empty. There were days she’d lose the energy to dream, or to believe in others.
“I will, Brian. This is so exciting.”
“So, are you still with me?”
“Of course, I am.” She smiled widely.
“We are still planning on January 2nd, however, you and I might need to meet sooner. I’ll let you know.”
“Yes, please do.”
A red 4x4 truck driving slowly past her mother’s house caught Holly’s attention. Immediately, she recognized Luca Montgomery. Inwardly, she groaned. He smiled and waved, so she returned a wave before going back inside the house.
It was confirmed. She had a stalker!
“Okay, I’ll talk with you later,” Brian said.
“I’ll be waiting. Thanks, Brian.”
She hung up the phone and slid it back into her pocket. She quickly ran her hands up and down her arms, hoping to warm them. It was definitely too cold to be out in this kind of weather without something heavy to wear.
Holly returned to the Christmas lights, but before she stood in front of the large window, she peeked out the side of the window, out onto the street to see if Luca was still
lurking. Thankfully, she couldn’t see his red truck.
Brian’s words still rang through her ears. He might need to meet with her earlier. But could she leave her mother while the woman was still on crutches? Holly might not have any other choice. Hopefully, Ivy or Noelle could help for those few days Holly would have to leave their mother unattended.
“Holly, dear?” her mother asked.
Holly dropped her arms, still holding onto the lights and turned. “Yes?”
“I was wondering...”
Here it comes... Holly tried not to grin. She knew her mother well. This was when her mother would ask her to play a character in the program.
“Do you think you can ride into town today and check the theatre?”
Holly’s stomach dropped. She’d actually been wrong about what her mother was thinking? That was unusual, especially as the program was so close. But what her mother was asking of Holly was worse!
“Why?” She did not want to go back to the theatre. The last time she was there, Rafe had kissed her, which started the whole fiasco with her feelings.
“Well, it snowed so much the other day, and the snow was so heavy.” Her mother shook her head of curly brown hair sprinkled with white hairs. “I don’t think the theatre has had a new roof for several years. I worry that the snow could have ruined the roof somehow. And you know, if that happens, we won’t be able to have the program there.”
“Yes, I know.” Holly sighed and glanced out the window again as she studied the light in the sky. If she left now, she’d be back to the house before sunset. She draped the string of lights over the closest chair. “I’ll go check on the theatre now.”
“Thank you, dear. I’ll be putting the cast together tonight and making phone calls to inform them of their parts. We’ll start rehearsals in a few days, so I need to make sure everything is in working order.”
“Yes, you definitely need to do that.” Hesitantly, Holly wandered to the coat closet, reached inside and pulled out her coat. “I’ll be back shortly.”
“All right. Be careful, dear.”
Holly grabbed her keys and hurried outside. The drive into town didn’t take very long now that the roads were plowed. And thankfully, another snow storm wasn’t scheduled for seven more days, according to the weather stations.
She parked in front of the old theatre and turned off the engine. The street was still busy with cars moving from one store to another, trying to get the final deals of Black Friday weekend. But the building appeared empty. Of course, that was what she’d thought the last time she entered.
Her mother had given her keys the other day, so she still had them in her possession. She opened the back door and walked inside. This time when she switched on the light, it came on. At least that worked.
She peeked on the stage, and everything looked good there. From where she stood, she couldn’t see any water dripping from the tiles. Slowly, she stepped toward the prop room. If she didn’t check this room, her mom would send her back for sure. But the closer she came to the room, the more her heart pounded and her hands shook.
Stop it, Holly! He’s not going to be here.
A memory popped into her mind of him taking her by the shoulders, turning her, and kissing her full on the mouth. Afraid at first, she had soon relaxed and participated.
She shook her head. No more, please!
But her mind wasn’t listening to the panicking voice inside her conscience. Instead, she couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss by her car. He’d held her so tight. His kiss was so passionate. She had loved it and wanted more.
Growling, she stomped her foot. This had really gotten out of hand. She needed to find a way to stop these memories immediately.
Just as Holly stopped in front of the room, she noticed something different on the floor. It appeared shiny. Too shiny... almost watery.
Panic consumed her and she hurried and opened the door, flipping on the light quickly. Water dripped from the ceiling in several places. The floor was covered with a good inch of liquid. And the props... were ruined. All of the cardboard boxes were wet, too.
She groaned and closed her eyes. This was not good at all. The snow storm had ruined Christmas!
SIX
“I want to sell the ranch.”
Rafe paused, waiting for his cousins’ reactions. Both Blake and Luca had shoved a bite of stew into their mouths, but then froze. Their eyes were wide. Luca even had the audacity to stare at Rafe as if he was half crazy.
After a few seconds passed without his relatives saying anything, Rafe cleared his throat. “Did you hear me?”
“Yeah.” Blake set his spoon on the table and leaned toward Rafe. “You said you want to sell the ranch.”
Rafe sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Right.”
“But you didn’t say why,” Blake continued.
Rafe folded his arms across his chest. “We all went to college and got a degree. Right before my dad died, I’d received several offers to join medical teams. I put them on hold to help run the ranch, but I don’t want to do this any longer.” He nodded to Luca. “You have a business degree. And you,” he switched his attention to Blake, “can be an engineer. So why haven’t we pursued our degrees? Did we pay all that money for college, just so we could run the family ranch for the rest of our lives?”
“But... but,” Luca frowned, “this is what we know. This ranch has been in our family since our granddad’s granddad first built it.”
“True, but they didn’t have college degrees, either. They were raised to be cattle ranchers. If our fathers wanted us to continue in their footsteps, they wouldn’t have allowed us to go to college.” Rafe pushed away from the table and stood, taking his empty bowl to the sink. “Don’t you guys want a better life than this? I know I do.”
Blake and Luca exchanged glances. Rafe wished he could read their thoughts now. He’d been postponing saying anything to them for quite a while now, but lately, he’d just been irritated over everything, and he just couldn’t hold his tongue anymore.
“When are you going to sell it?”
Rafe raked his fingers through his thick hair as he met Blake’s questionable stare. “I was thinking of putting it on the market early on in the new year.”
“What will we do?” Luca whined.
Rolling his eyes, Rafe moved back to the table and sat. “It will take a while before the right buyer notices and makes an offer on the ranch. I’m sure we’ll all have plenty of time to look for jobs. But I wanted to say something now so that we can be prepared when the time comes.”
Luca stared at his half-empty bowl of stew for several quiet seconds until he shook his head, slowly at first, and then faster. His gaze lifted and met Rafe’s again.
“No. I don’t want to move. I like living here. I like my room. I like the free open space. I like riding my horse.” His eyes watered. “I won’t let you sell the ranch.”
Sadness crept over Rafe. He really hated making people upset, but he understood his cousin. “Then do the two of you want to buy it from me?”
Luca glared. “You know we don’t have the money.”
Rafe shrugged. “Okay, so what if I just sell the land? I’ll keep our house, but I’ll sell the land.”
Luca glanced at Blake, who had remained suspiciously quiet during this conversation. Blake’s lips were pulled tight, and deep creases lined his forehead. His gaze shifted between his brother and Rafe. Finally, he nodded.
“I want us to keep the house, too, mainly because it’s been in the family for years,” Blake said in a bitter tone. “But what use is land without the house?”
“I don’t know.” Rafe leaned his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands. Why couldn’t his cousins understand he was torn up about this, too? He had been this way since his father died.
“But there is one problem I see with keeping the house.” Rafe lifted his head and peered into Blake’s eyes. “We might be bachelors now, but we won’t be this way for the res
t of our lives. Our parents didn’t live here together and raise their kids, so why should we?”
Luca slammed his fist into the table. Rafe jumped and turned his way.
“No!” Luca shook his head. “Rafe, you are the one who wants change, so I think you should be the one to move out. We’ll send you a check every six months for the earnings the ranch has made, just like your father did with our father.”
Rafe studied the younger cousin. It wasn’t like Luca to voice his opinion, or even raise his voice, and this sudden attitude shocked Rafe. “Then are you prepared to buy the house so that you can own it?”
Growling, Luca pushed away from the table and jumped to his feet. He glared at Rafe. “This is not fair. You’re trying to run my life.”
“No.” Rafe stood, facing his cousin. “I’m trying to find my own life. I love my family, but we can’t live together forever. It’s time we started living the way we want to live. It’s time that I finally become a doctor.”
“You’re the only one with the problem.” Luca poked his index finger into Rafe’s chest. “Because Blake and I have been just fine.”
“Well...” Blake joined them. “I’ve actually been thinking of my future, too. I don’t want to work on a cattle ranch for the rest of my life.” He shrugged. “Sorry, bro, but I’m with Rafe on this one.”
Relief rested on Rafe’s shoulders, grateful that his cousin understood. Now if they could only get Luca to see reason.
“You are both disillusioned,” Luca shouted. “This ranch is where we are supposed to be. We can’t sell the ranch. I won’t let you.” He spun around and marched toward his room, mumbling incoherently.
Rafe sat back down and leaned his head into his hands, resting his elbows on the table. “I just don’t know, Blake. Am I wrong to think this way?”
Blake sat beside him. “No. We need to think of our futures. Ranchers lose money every year. Soon, there won’t be any need for ranchers.”
A Thrill of Hope Page 7