Chloe's Christmas Cowboy: A Festive Second Chance Romance

by Bella Settarra

  Chloé gasped. “But he lives here. Even if he didn’t work here he still gets to live on the site.”

  “I don’t reckon he’ll want to live here if he can’t get work in these parts. He’ll be more than willing to sell off that house if he has to move away for a new job – you could get it at a knock-down price and rent it out for a good income.” Bill seemed to have it all worked out.

  “Or just sell to my contact right away and you won’t have to worry about him anymore. I heard how he stood you up on the night of your graduation, sweetheart. That guy’s an all round asshole.”

  Chloé gawped at him. “You know about that?”

  He grimaced. “I’m afraid so, sweetheart. It’s not exactly a secret around these parts – you know how folks are in Rough Oaks. Word soon got around, although he tried to claim it was the other way ’round and it was you that did the dirty on him.”

  “What?” She shrieked in horror, feeling herself glow hot with anger.

  Bill stroked her hand. “Yeah, that’s just the sort of asshat he is. Stands up a girl on her own graduation day and then claims it was her that never showed up. I don’t think everyone believed him; folks didn’t know what to think, to be honest. I don’t blame you for leaving town, it was the best thing you could have done, in my book. Folks can be pretty mean over things like that. You’re better off out of it, if you ask me.”

  “He left me standing in the pouring rain for over an hour. I must have looked like a right idiot stood on the sidewalk outside Marconi’s. I’d taken a cab there so Tyler could drive me home afterward, which meant I didn’t even have my car to wait in. He made such a fool of me. I can’t believe he tried to lie about it afterward. You’re right, Bill. Tyler Brannagh is an asshole.”

  She burst into tears and felt Bill’s arms around her. He had quickly stood up and come over to her. Chloé cried into the warmth of his chest. Hot, angry tears, tears of indignity and despair, tears of upset for the hopes that were dashed that night – and tears of shame for being fooled by that asshat, Tyler fucking Brannagh.

  When she had calmed down a little Bill took her into the sitting room. The furniture was worn, but it had a homey feel to the place and Chloé felt comfortable there. He sat next to her on the small sofa, with his arm still around her, holding her close to his chest. She could hear its steady beat and it soothed her somewhat.

  “Better now?” He asked as she slowly pulled away from him.

  Chloé nodded, sniffing hard. She looked up at his face and noticed his pale, blue eyes. She had always thought he had mean eyes, little slits with no warmth, and his pointed nose and thin lips made her suspicious of him for some reason. Now she could see him close-up he wasn’t that bad-looking at all.

  For a second she thought he was about to kiss her, as he leaned toward her slightly, and she quickly sat back in her seat.

  “I’d best light that fire,” he said with a sigh, and set to it.

  Chloé watched him bend over and light the kindling before adding another couple of logs. The heat was most welcome, and she suddenly realized that she was actually shivering. A crocheted blanket swathed the back of the sofa, so she pulled it around her. She had intended to change out of her dress when she got home, but when Bill arrived unexpectedly at her door she hadn’t been able to.

  He smiled up at her, and his face actually looked warm in the glow of the fire.

  “You need to wrap up warmer,” he said, sliding back onto the sofa next to her. “It’s much colder out here than in the city. You’ve been gone long enough to get acclimatized to Atlanta. You’ll feel much better once you’re back home.”

  He put an arm around her, and, although she enjoyed his warmth, she was beginning to dislike his attitude.

  “I am home,” she said bluntly. “This is where I was brought up.”

  He snorted. “That doesn’t make it your home, sweetheart. This place is nothing like it was when you were growing up here, I’ll bet.”

  Chloé looked around at the peeling paint and worn curtains. “No, it wasn’t like this then,” she agreed, a little sadly.

  “Nothing ever stays the same,” Bill said, holding her a little tighter. “I think you’ve done the right thing. Getting a good job with career prospects is the best way to make money. Look at little Maisie Turner – she’ll never amount to anything.”

  “But she’s happy,” Chloé pointed out, a little annoyed that he was decrying her friend.

  Bill snorted. “Is she? With no money, a dead-end job in the local super mart and that father of hers to look after? She’s got hardly any social life – not only because he doesn’t want her out of his sight for a minute longer than is necessary, but all her friends managed to pass their exams and get decent jobs away from this dump. The only people she talks to nowadays are the old biddies who go into that awful shop. Even the ranchers use the large store outside of town. Rough Oaks is no place for a young girl.” He shook his head.

  Chloé felt a pang of sadness. She liked being home, but she knew most of her college friends had already left the area. There were a few left here, though, and she intended to catch up with them while she was home.

  “Looks like the snow’s getting heavier,” he said, nodding toward the window.

  He was right. A thick blanket had long-since buried the ground and the windowsill was half-covered.

  “I’d best get out there and see if they need a hand with the horses,” Chloé said, gently pushing him away from her and standing up.

  “Yeah, I guess I’d best get back, too. There’s always so much to do on a ranch – even when you’re the owner, eh?” He chuckled and she managed a weak smile.

  Chloé led the way to the front door and gasped as the bitter cold wind barged past her the second she opened it.

  “You think on what I said, sweetheart. The offer’s on the table for another couple of days while you mull it over. I’ll bet you can’t wait to get back to that cozy little place of yours over in Atlanta, can you? I don’t blame you one bit.”

  He leaned over and kissed her chastely on the lips as he passed her in the doorway. Chloé felt her breath hitch. She hadn’t been expecting it and she felt a little shocked. She shook her head, convincing herself that it didn’t actually mean anything – he was just a slightly older guy being friendly toward his neighbor. He chuckled as he strode steadily down the steps toward his truck.

  Chloé looked over and saw Tyler staring at them from his position by the fence. He looked shocked and angry. Chloé felt a pang in her chest, which was quickly replaced by obstinacy. Tyler had hurt her badly. It was no business of his if someone else kissed her. Jutting out her chin, she waved her hand and smiled to Bill as he climbed into his car and roared off down the drive.

  Pretending not to notice Tyler, she turned and went back into the house. When she saw herself in the mirror she was horrified at the tearstains which ran down her face. She quickly splashed cold water onto her cheeks and eyes, ridding herself of the blotchy remains of make-up.

  She pulled on some jeans and a couple of sweaters as well as her boots and thick coat before venturing back outside again. Her ankle didn’t feel so bad now and she had almost lost her limp, thank goodness. It felt like a form of weakness she could well do without right now.

  Oddly enough, she was looking forward to seeing Tyler’s reaction toward her. If she hadn’t known better she would have thought he actually looked a little jealous at her being kissed by someone else. Serves him right.

  She caught up with him at the stables, where he was settling a rather skittish young mare. He didn’t see her at first. He was cooing gently as he patted the beast’s flank comfortingly. Obviously satisfied that she was all right, he locked the door to her stall and turned around.

  “Need any help?” She couldn’t help noticing how gorgeous he looked as he peered over at her.

  He looked toward the front door of the house and then back to her, silently informing her that he had seen her with Bill. “Sure you’re n
ot too busy?”

  She raised her eyebrows, trying not to notice the hurt expression in his eyes. “I thought you might need an extra pair of hands getting all the horses settled before the snow got any thicker, that’s all.” She tried to sound nonchalant.

  He nodded. “Thunder needs more hay and feed.” He gestured to her horse’s stall just as a guy whom she assumed must be Adam arrived with another horse.

  “That’s the last of them, boss.” The young lad tipped his hat to Chloé and she smiled at him. She didn’t remember seeing him before, but then, it had been a year since she was last here. Saying nothing, she proceeded over to see to Thunder.

  The two men were talking quietly as they settled the other horse in its stall. She went to the back passageway which led behind all of the stalls and took some feed from one of the large sacks in the small room there.

  There was the sound of footsteps and she could hear Adam saying goodbye to Tyler, who had evidently let him go early because of the weather. Afraid that Tyler would catch up with her in the store-room, she quickly grabbed a partially-full sack and hurried toward the doorway. Too late. Tyler stood by the door-jam, towering over her. She gasped and dropped the sack.

  He raised an eyebrow and stared at her. When she finally managed to stop gawping at the handsome hunk, Chloé bent down and started to scoop some of the spilled feed back into the sack. In an instant he was crouching next to her, his large, gloved hands replacing the food quicker than she ever could. As she went to scrape some stray oats from the stone floor his hand came over hers and she gulped. She could feel his heat permeate both hers and his gloves, and warmed her trembling skin.

  “I-I can manage,” she told him, in more of whisper than the determined remark she had hoped to make.

  He chuckled. It came from somewhere deep within his throat. “Oh, I’m sure you can,” he replied.

  Angrily she whipped her hand from under his and stood up with the sack. She stormed past him and went to replenish Thunder’s feed. The horse had plenty of fresh hay so she gave him a good pat, straightened his blanket and locked the stall.

  Marching toward the house she could hear soft thuds in the snow behind her and knew Tyler was following her. She hurried as much as she could, determined not to make a fool of herself by falling in the snow again. He caught up with her as she reached her front door.

  “Wait a minute,” he demanded.

  She spun around to face him, angrily. “Shouldn’t you be working?” she spat out at him.

  He grabbed her arms. “No, actually, I shouldn’t. You see, when you’re your own boss you get to choose when you work and when you don’t, and I choose to call it a day, any objections?”

  Chloé swallowed, feeling a little nervous looking into those deep, brown eyes while feeling his strong hands on her. “Well good for you. You might have fooled my uncle, Tyler Brannagh, but you don’t fool me.”

  She was a little surprised when he let go of one of her hands and allowed her to open the front door. And she was more than a little annoyed when he quickly followed her into the house.

  “Chloé, we need to talk.” His voice was deep and she was surprised at how attractive she found it, especially when she looked at the handsome cowboy.

  She jutted out her chin in defiance. “Why? So you can try to soft-soap me the way you did my Uncle John? Well, I might be a woman, Tyler Brannagh, but I’m not weak. Certainly not as weak as him. My uncle was an old man who turned sour after he lost his wife and you took advantage of him.”

  She pointed at him angrily as her voice rose.

  Tyler stopped where he stood and let go of her arm. “Your uncle was sour long before he lost your Aunt Brenda,” he told her evenly. “And he wasn’t in the slightest bit weak. I don’t understand why he left me the house and all the livestock, but he must have had his reasons. Maybe we’ll never know what he was thinking, but the fact is it was his wish to leave them to me and I intend to honor that.

  “I can’t make you believe me but I didn’t do anything to cheat or coax all that out of him – heck I was as shocked as you were. The fact is that we’ve got this place between us and we have to figure out a way to make it work.”

  Chloé hated him for being so calm about it all. But then, why shouldn’t he be? He’d got what he wanted. She chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. “All right. Let’s talk.”

  They hung their coats in the hall and went into the sitting room where the fire was still burning, providing a welcoming warmth and a golden glow to the room. Tyler remained standing until Chloé sat down in her aunt’s favorite armchair, and then he sat on the sofa, placing his hat next to him. Chloé couldn’t help feeling a little touched at his good manners, and the fact that he hadn’t sat in her uncle’s chair.

  “I know it’s early days, but I need to know what you’re intentions are,” he began slowly.

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “I’ve got the house and the livestock, so obviously it would be ideal if I could keep them all here on the ranch. The only trouble is that I don’t have any money to speak of. I don’t know if I can afford to keep them here, that all depends on you.”

  “I don’t know what the going rate is to rent land on a ranch, do you?” Chloé kept her voice even. Bill Simmons might think he was a good businessman, but she had gotten a degree in accountancy and she knew a thing or two about finance.

  Tyler sighed and shook his head. “I guess you can ask whatever you want. I’m at your mercy here.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” She spoke pointedly; glad to have the upper hand for once.

  “I’ll go to the bank tomorrow and ask them for a loan to help out with the cost of renting the land,” he said with a thoughtful frown. “But they’ll need to know what sort of money we’re talking about – just a ballpark figure would do. Do you have any idea how much you might be asking?”

  Chloé shook her head. The sight of him sitting there in the firelight was doing strange things to her insides and she couldn’t help feeling distracted. His vulnerable situation added to his appeal and she sighed. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

  Quickly she cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with the place yet. I might sell up and let someone else worry about it all. It’s even more complicated now that it’s been split up like this. I don’t quite know what to do.” She knew she sounded pathetic, but at least it was honest.

  “Perhaps we should both go to the bank together?” he suggested. “You could talk to someone about what your options are, and what would be viable. I could see about getting a loan for the rent using the livestock as collateral.”

  “And what if it’s not viable for me? There’s no point in me throwing good money after bad. If I sell up now I can be out of here in the next couple of days.” Even the thought of it brought a lump to her throat.

  “Is that what you want?” His voice was quiet.

  She looked over at his face, shining in the half-light. His rugged features, that firm chin, those big brown eyes, and that oh-so-lickable throat of his made her insides clench. Chloé gasped. No-one had ever had such an effect on her before. She quickly looked away as she felt her face begin to get hotter.

  “I-I don’t know what I want.” She lied. She knew exactly what she wanted and he was sitting right opposite her.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A loud knock at the front door made them both jump.

  “Are you expecting somebody?” Tyler stood up.

  “No. Certainly not at this time of night, it’s after seven,” she replied looking at the clock on the mantle. She could only just read the time in the half-light and gasped when she realized how late it was.

  “In that case I’ll answer it.” He didn’t wait for a reply; he marched out of the sitting room and into the hallway.

  “Oh, I might have guessed I’d find you sniffing around here.” Bill’s voice could be heard sneering from the front doorstep. “So are you going
to invite me in or do I have to stand out here all night?”

  “Well now, that all depends on what it is you’re wanting.” Tyler didn’t sound happy.

  She heard a snort which must have been from Bill. “Not the same thing as you, evidently,” the older man replied. “I actually thought Chloé might be hungry so I’ve brought her over a meat and potato pie. I figured she won’t have had time to do any shopping and her freezer was almost empty when I looked in there last night.”

  “Thanks, I’ll see she gets it.” Tyler was obviously speaking through gritted teeth and Chloé wondered whether he was reading something into Bill’s remark. A few hours ago she would have been glad that he was so mad at the thought of someone else being in her kitchen, but right now she just felt awkward. She didn’t want to go out there and invite Bill in, but she didn’t want to be rude, either.

  She heard a scuffle at her front door, and Bill shouted, “I can do it myself, thank you.”

  “I don’t believe I invited you in.” Tyler’s voice bellowed back at him.

  Chloé couldn’t stand it any longer. She was so embarrassed that they were fighting on her own front doorstep she flung open the sitting room door and stormed down the hallway.

  “There you are.” Bill offered her a smile before looking smugly back at Tyler. “I brought you over some supper, but Brannagh seems to be a little confused over which house he’s just inherited.”

  Tyler’s jaw dropped, as Bill barged past him and strode toward the kitchen.

  “How the hell did you know about my inheritance?” he demanded, following him.

  Bill stopped and turned back to face him, a supercilious grin on his face. “Chloé told me all about it.”

  She felt a thud in her gut. Tyler stared at her like she’s betrayed him, while Bill continued into the kitchen and there was a clanging sound as he must have been putting the pie in the oven.

  Chewing the inside of her cheek, she sighed heavily as Tyler frowned at her.