Christmas on the Ranch--A Clean Romance

by Julianna Morris

  “Maybe we should invite her to lunch,” his mother said as she turned around.

  “Mom, you’re welcome to be friends with her, but she isn’t a guest. She’s a tenant. Besides, I don’t think she likes me.”

  “Nonsense. You just need to loosen up so she can see how nice you are.”

  Gideon hung his coat on a hook. “I’m not interested in loosening up. Or interested, period.”

  “You needn’t get your feathers ruffled. She isn’t interested in you, either.”

  He swung around, shocked. “You’ve talked about it?”

  Helene smiled serenely. “Not directly, but when I mentioned your single ranch hands, she said that she isn’t interested in romance. I get it. Her husband was the love of her life. She had a wonderful marriage and feels nothing can compete with it. So you don’t need to worry about her hoping to find someone while she’s here. She’s focused on her career.”

  “Right, she’s going to be the next Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz or Diane Arbus.”

  “Imagine one of my down-to-earth sons knowing enough about art to quote the names of famous photographers,” Helene teased. “But I don’t think Alaina wants to emulate someone else’s work. She hopes to be recognized on her own merits.”

  “Fine. By the way, what did Libby say when she called earlier?” Gideon asked to change the subject. “She sounded edgy, but wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, just wanted to talk to you. Has her trip been delayed by the weather?”

  Helene’s expression went from teasing to serious. “Dr. Barstow canceled her internship. Out of the blue, he called and said she wouldn’t be going tomorrow, after all.”

  Gideon scowled. “I don’t understand. Her grades are always great and she was paying her own way. What possible reason can he have? He was getting free skilled labor.”

  “She’s trying to find out,” his mother said. “It’s so frustrating. Libby has done everything that Dr. Barstow asked and even turned down other opportunities because he’d offered her the internship.”

  “I’ll get the truth out of him. Snow or not, I’m leaving for Bozeman right now.”

  “No, you aren’t. Libby was worried you’d do something rash, which is why she told me about it first. We have to trust her to handle this.”

  “It isn’t a question of trust,” he protested, “but when something isn’t fair, you have to—”

  “No.” Helene gave him a hug. “You’re a good brother, but she’s a woman now. We need to respect her wishes.”

  Still bothered, Gideon went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. The day his mother and stepfather had brought Libby home from the hospital he’d sworn he would take care of her. For the first time he was going to be a big brother and taking care of her was his job. Now he was being told hands off.

  It crossed his mind that Alaina Wright would probably think he was archaic for wanting to protect his sister, but he didn’t care. Libby was bright and talented—a go-getter who was going to take the archeology world by storm. It wasn’t right that she was being disadvantaged.

  “Chin up, Gideon,” his mother said, refilling her own cup. “Libby will let us know what she learns. Nothing can be done until then, and she’ll have to be the one to take action, unless she asks for help.”

  “And when was the last time she wanted my help?” Gideon asked, his tone laced with irony. “She didn’t even ask when she moved from her dorm room into an apartment. I could have brought my guys down and had everything done in an hour, instead she hired a group of fellow students. It was the same with putting all her stuff into storage the other day.”

  Helene smiled faintly. “Exerting your independence with big brothers around isn’t easy. Attending college in Montana was a compromise, you know. Her first choice was the University of New Mexico. Maybe she’ll get her post-graduate degree down there.”

  Gideon winced. New Mexico was a long way away.

  “Knowing when to let go is something every parent has to figure out,” his mother continued. “You’ll understand if you ever have a family.”

  “That isn’t going to happen unless I find them under a cabbage leaf.”

  Helene sighed. “I wish you wouldn’t let Celeste have so much influence over your future. Ranching is hard enough without having someone to share it with. You weren’t even married to her that long.”

  Gideon’s jaw tightened at the reminder of his ex-wife. He’d met Celeste when she’d taken a job teaching in his hometown of Shelton. It wasn’t until after the wedding that he’d discovered she hated small towns and didn’t even like kids, much less want one of her own.

  Apparently Celeste had thought a Montana ranching community sounded deliciously romantic until she was actually living there. When he’d taken over as foreman at the Double Branch for his great-grandfather, she’d announced she was returning to Chicago, because there was no way she was going to live on such an isolated ranch. Divorce papers had arrived a short time later. The settlement she’d wanted, though hardly justified, had emptied his savings at the time, but he hadn’t fought it. Writing a check had been an easy escape from a big mistake.

  From now on he was going it alone. The only thing he regretted about staying single was missing out on a family.

  “Who could that be?” his mother mused as a vehicle drove by the house and parked.

  Gideon went out to the porch and saw a Bannister County sheriff’s SUV.

  “Hey, Deke,” Gideon said as the deputy got out. He and Deke Hewitt were close to the same age and had become good friends over the past several years. “Coffee?”

  “I won’t turn it down. Especially if your mom made it.”

  “My coffee isn’t that bad.”

  “Not if you enjoy drinking diesel fuel. How ya’ doing, Danger?” Deke said to the German shepherd who was dancing around his feet. He leaned down and rubbed the dog’s neck before giving the calmer Cookie a pat. “Is this a new herder?” he asked.

  “A Labrador retriever?” Gideon laughed. “Not the usual breed for working cattle. Cookie is my sister’s dog. We’re keeping him here for the summer.”

  As they came inside, the dogs went to their respective beds in front of the fireplace. Cookie immediately began chewing the snow from between his toes, but Danger simply turned his feet and belly to the warmth and yawned. He still had his thick winter coat and was well insulated from the cold.

  “Good morning, Deke,” greeted his mother. “Would you like some breakfast?” she asked. “I started eggs, just in case.”

  “That would be a treat. We had a couple of tourists who got lost and went off the road in the snow last night. No injuries, and luckily they stayed in their vehicle, or else the situation might be worse. I’ve been directing traffic for the tow truck.”

  In the kitchen Gideon poured a mug of coffee for his friend and Deke drank it down, quickly followed by a second. He was dressed for cold weather, but a chill could creep in, regardless.

  “I understand someone new is staying on the Double Branch,” Deke said. “In the foreman’s house.”

  No privacy in Bannister County, Gideon thought ruefully. “That’s right. It’s a budding wildlife photographer. She moved in yesterday afternoon.”

  “She?”

  “Yup. She’s trying to get her career off the ground. I’ve rented the cabin to her for a year.”

  His mother put a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast in front of Deke. “She’s a lovely woman. Her name is Alaina Wright and she’s also interested in Bannister County history. I’m going to call your uncle this morning and arrange for her to photograph my great-great grandfather’s journals at the museum, along with the Theodore Roosevelt letters.”

  “Don’t set it up for today,” Deke said hastily. “The roads are slick and I’d hate to clean up after another accident.”

  “I won’t. A weekday would be best, an
yhow.”

  * * *

  DEKE NODDED. HE scooped huckleberry jam onto a slice of toast and bit into it. Nobody made better jam than Helene Cranston and her huckleberry was the best of all. Last year she’d paid his nephew’s scouting troop to pick five gallons of hucks.

  “What else do you know about Mrs. Wright?” he asked casually.

  Aside from tourists, they didn’t get many newcomers to Bannister, so he liked to learn as much as possible about them. It was how his friendship with Gideon had started. Even though Gideon had been Colby Westcott’s great-grandson and a frequent visitor to the Double Branch, keeping an eye on the situation here had seemed warranted. Everything had turned out well and Deke was convinced the elderly rancher had lived longer due to his great-grandson’s presence.

  “Alaina is a widow,” Helene explained. “She’s awfully sweet and quite capable.”

  “Never mind that, she wants to take pictures of wolves,” Gideon said in a dire voice.

  Deke frowned. Wolves were a touchy subject in Bannister County. “Let’s keep that under our hats,” he suggested.

  “I’ve already told my ranch hands not to talk about her, or what she’s doing. She hadn’t even been here a full day before asking if they’d seen any.”

  Phew.

  Deke had been a boy when the authorities began reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone, but he remembered how upset it had made people. Some of the older ranchers were still unhappy about the decision, though none had experienced a serious loss in their herds because of it. Their resistance probably harked back to a time when wolves were an archetypal enemy, deeply distrusted, though they rarely attacked human beings.

  “Maybe she won’t find any,” he said after swallowing a bite of the scrambled eggs. “They’re shy. I’ve lived here my whole life and never seen one.”

  “Maybe. Mrs. Wright knows they don’t range far when they have pups to protect, and it’s hard to believe she’ll go out in deep snow.”

  Helene gave her son a stern look. “Don’t underestimate Alaina. She’s very determined.”

  “We’ll have to wait and see,” Deke said. In her own way Gideon’s mother was just as stubborn as her son, and he didn’t want to land in the middle of a debate between the two of them.

  He finished his breakfast and thanked Helene for the meal. Ranchers in Bannister had their quirks, but they were a hospitable lot. He just hoped they would know better than to be rude to the newcomer because she wanted to photograph an unpopular predator. Actually, no predator was popular, but there was something about wolves that some folks couldn’t tolerate.

  * * *

  GIDEON CONSIDERED BRINGING Danger with him when he rode out later, then decided the dog was better off at home, snoozing in front of the fire with Cookie. Danger had other ideas, following him to the barn and eagerly wagging his tail. He was a working dog, and no matter what the weather conditions might be, he wanted to be part of the action.

  Snow could distort visibility and Gideon was cautious as he rode out. He may have gone overboard when warning Alaina about the dangers of a bear attack, but it wasn’t something to take for granted, even this close to the ranch buildings. Grizzlies presented a greater risk to his herds than a pack of wolves.

  He’d never lost a cow to a wolf, but he had to bears.

  A weak ray of sunlight peeked between the clouds as he rode. Though it quickly disappeared, he knew the snow would melt just as rapidly once the storm front had passed.

  He inhaled a deep breath of the crisp air. Ranching in the mountains was different from back home in Shelton County, but he loved it here.

  Suddenly he reined in Brushfire, his jaw dropping as he saw Alaina prone on the ground, taking pictures of a yellow glacier lily crusted with snow.

  “What are you doing?” he demanded.

  She looked up as she accepted Danger’s enthusiastic greeting with pets and neck rubs. “It’s a remarkable invention called photography. You should check it out sometime.”

  “Give me a break. You’re lying in wet snow.”

  She shrugged. “So I am.”

  “You have to be more careful. Getting wet can lead to hypothermia on days like this. Not only that, I could have been a wild animal creeping up to attack you.”

  Alaina laughed. “Not a chance. I’ve been watching you ride toward me from the moment you came around the trees and hillock that blocks the view of the main house and barns. Danger barked and scared the bluebirds I was photographing, so I focused on something that wouldn’t be frightened by a dog or a big cloppy horse and its rider.” She gestured to the glacier lilies.

  “Brushfire isn’t cloppy.”

  “Ooh, sorry, I didn’t mean to insult him.”

  “And I don’t believe you saw me coming,” Gideon added, his protest sounding feeble, even to himself.

  “I have proof.” Alaina got up, pressed some buttons and turned the camera around for him to see. Sure enough, she’d photographed him riding across the valley. “Want to see more?”

  “No. Why are you out here already? It’s snowing and you just got to the Double Branch.”

  “Because I was restless and snow makes for interesting pictures. I’ll be going out during the winter, so a small June blizzard isn’t a big deal. By the way, when did you notice me?”

  “In plenty of time,” he said, refusing to admit that he’d failed to see Alaina until he was practically on top of her.

  Anyway, one of the ways to avoid bears was making noise so you didn’t surprise them, which meant he didn’t try to be silent when he rode. That was also one of the advantages of having Danger with him. Unless you’d told him to be quiet, Danger barked at everything.

  Alaina, on the other hand, had kept a low quiet profile to take her photographs.

  He supposed she’d have to stay in a location for hours, waiting for her subjects to appear. While he could offer suggestions about wildlife trails to observe, she might get annoyed again. Besides, why help her find spots that presented a greater risk? In particular he was thinking about the wolf pack ranging on an upper section of his ranch for the past two years. He rarely saw them and only knew the general location of their den, but telling others was a bad idea. He doubted that even his ranch hands had guessed a pack lived there. It seemed best, because this way he didn’t have to deal with unhappy neighbors who were afraid that wolves would start killing their cattle.

  “I can give you a ride back to the ranch,” he offered.

  It was either that, or worry about Alaina being caught flat if the weather changed again. She had a small backpack, but it didn’t look loaded enough to contain much survival equipment.

  From the way Alaina eyed Brushfire, he suspected she wasn’t fond of horses. “Thanks, but I’m fine. I was getting ready to return on my own and would rather walk.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Gideon rode on, then after a few minutes, drew in the reins and glanced back. He was relieved to see Alaina heading toward the ranch center.

  Brushfire snorted and stamped a foot on the ground. He wanted to go, not just stand around. Danger scampered about, letting out loud yips in agreement.

  “All right, you two,” Gideon said, patting Brushfire’s neck.

  The new growing season was here, snow notwithstanding, and they had a lot of miles ahead of them.

  CHAPTER THREE

  IT WASN’T NICE of her, but Alaina wanted to laugh at the memory of Gideon’s expression when he’d seen one of the pictures she had taken of him. He believed she was ill-equipped to live on the edge of a wilderness, much less take forays into that wilderness. But she wasn’t a fool—life had dangers wherever you went.

  Exhilaration zinged in her veins.

  She was finally in Montana after all her planning and training. Mason’s sister was the only one who’d understood why she wanted to challenge herself so complete
ly. Janet had offered her legal services, carefully drafting the agreement with Gideon Carmichael to make sure he couldn’t wiggle out after a month or two and try to keep all of the money. Janet was a sweetheart, but she had a dim view of human nature, probably from dealing with so many corporate sharks.

  Alaina hadn’t been sure a legal contract was necessary; now she realized it was for the best. It wasn’t that she thought Gideon would deliberately cheat her, but he already seemed to regret his decision to let her live on the Double Branch.

  He was a difficult man to figure out. Though the ranch seemed prosperous, ranching had more than its fair share of ups and downs. Everything from the weather to market prices for beef could affect annual profits, which was why she’d thought he would welcome the income from renting his foreman’s home.

  Back at the cabin she spent several hours examining photos on her large 4K monitor and making notes on each series of shots. She was especially pleased with the ones she’d taken of bison in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley. A band of mist clung to a distant layer of hill and trees, and the colors of sunrise suffused the scattered clouds with peach, gray and silver, breaking the intense blues and greens. Amid it all were the buffalo with their massive shoulder humps, gorging on the grass.

  Alaina had hoped to see wolves, but aside from a lingering howl drifting across the valley, she hadn’t gotten lucky. It might have been different if Mason had been there; he’d had a gift for finding them.

  She pushed the thought away.

  The sound of a vehicle arriving caught her attention and she got up to look out the window.

  It was the same model SUV that Alaina owned, and the driver parked in front of the main house. The front door flew open and Helene came rushing out to throw her arms around the newcomer. Cookie raced in circles around the two women, barking excitedly until the young woman crouched to give him some affection.

  Could it be the daughter Helene had mentioned?

  Alaina wondered if she should go over and say hello. It felt odd not to, and even odder when Helene gestured toward the cabin and shook her head. Alaina went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea, still trying to decide what the proper social response should be in the situation. After all, Gideon treated her like an annoying blip to his daily schedule, while Helene seemed eager to become friends. It made things awkward.