Deke forked the remains of her steak onto his plate. “I have a healthy appetite and this is better than my own cooking.”
“It’s much better than mine. Are you sure you want to keep dating me when I can’t even make scrambled eggs in the morning?”
“I don’t believe in the outdated notion that women are responsible for all meal prep.”
“Sweet-talker. What does your mother say about that?”
Deke chuckled. “My mom is great,” he said, “but domestic arts aren’t her strong suit. I learned my way around the kitchen and a vacuum cleaner at an early age. Mom uses scrap metal to sculpt life-sized animal figures. Her work has sold as far away as Australia.”
Libby’s brow creased in thought. “I had a class where the prof did a segment on Montana artists who use recycled materials. I think he talked about her. It was pretty cool.”
Deke was proud of his mother’s accomplishments, the same way he was proud of his dad for being a great sheriff.
“Gideon told me that you and your friends are going to look for sites to excavate on the Double Branch,” he said casually. “What’s that all about?”
Libby’s eyes lit up. “Alaina said something that started me thinking. As far as I know, nobody has searched Bannister County for prehistoric settlements. When I mentioned it to Alaina, she remembered reading an entry in Jonah Westcott’s journals that suggested he may have seen something. She’s going over the journals again to look for clues.”
“Why aren’t you reading them yourself?”
Libby made a face. “I can’t decipher Jonah’s handwriting, while Alaina doesn’t have any trouble. She says it’s because she has years of experience reading scribbled scientific field notes. Anyway, she’s doing a transcript and she’ll also keep an eye out during her hikes.”
“Supposing you find a dig site, will you bring your professors in from the college?”
Libby shook her head. “No, at least not right away. It isn’t as if we don’t have any training.”
Knowing she was interested in doing fieldwork closer to home reassured Deke, but it didn’t resolve everything. The age gap between them remained problematic, to him at least, and he still had no idea when or if she wanted a family. She hadn’t said anything about liking kids and it seemed early in their relationship to just ask.
They were in different places in their lives and he didn’t see how a relationship could work without major sacrifices.
Deke noticed his father was looking at them and smiling. It was interesting the way he’d arranged the deputy duty schedule, allowing his son to have time off in the afternoon for the Founders Day picnic. In the past few weeks, he’d frequently pointed out that the voting public preferred married candidates because it showed stability and maturity...and that Deke’s interest in Libby Cranston had been duly noted.
Back off, Deke had finally told him. He wanted to run for sheriff when his dad retired, but he wouldn’t get married just to increase his chance of winning an election.
* * *
GIDEON WAS CONTEMPLATING a lazy snooze under a shade tree when Libby came over with Deke.
“We’re challenging you and Alaina in the three-legged race,” she announced. “After so much food, we need to get up and move.”
Gideon groaned. “I get up and move all the time, kiddo. This is the one day each summer that I can be lazy. Besides, the height difference between me and Alaina is ridiculous. The same with you and Deke.”
“But Alaina will just spend the day taking pictures if we don’t encourage her to join in. If you won’t do it, I’ll find another race partner for her.”
He frowned. His baby sister understood enough about male psychology to guess he also didn’t want to see Alaina racing with someone else. “Fine. If you can talk her into it, then I’ll go along.”
“I’ll be right back.”
She dashed to where Alaina was photographing a horseshoe game.
“This wasn’t my idea,” Deke said to Gideon in an aside.
“You don’t need to tell me that.”
They watched Libby talk to Alaina, who first shook her head before finally shrugging her shoulders. She took her camera off and handed it to Grandma Claire, then they returned to the spot Gideon had picked out for his afternoon nap.
“I guess we’re racing,” Alaina said wryly. “I hear you left the final no up to me.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Uh-huh.”
Together they headed to where the various races were being conducted. They watched a hotly contested sack race being won by a lanky ranch hand. Then children in various age ranges competed in the three-legged races.
All of the adults competing in the three-legged race appeared to be married or courting couples and Gideon wished he’d been firmer with Libby. He no longer thought Alaina would get ideas, but his family was another matter. They’d never cared for Celeste, but they already seemed to think highly of Alaina.
“As usual, you get to tie yourselves together,” Nels Hewitt announced, handing out colorful two-inch wide ribbons.
Without a hint of hesitation, Alaina stood hip to hip with Gideon and fastened the ribbon around her right thigh and his left. “We should do our best to win,” she said, the light of competition in her eyes.
“Uh, sure.”
While she wasn’t quite as diminutive as he’d wanted to believe all summer, the top of her head still came barely to his shoulder. The size disparity was slightly less for Libby and Deke, but several couples in the race were close in stature.
“Let’s coordinate how we move by counting off, one, two, one, two, with one meaning we move our free leg forward together, two being for our tied legs,” Alaina suggested.
“Okay.” Gideon was painfully aware of her pressed against him from hip to ankle.
And it was going to get worse.
“We’re about to start,” Nels called. “Remember, you have to race as a three-legged pair—you aren’t allowed to lift a smaller partner and run two-legged.”
Alaina put her right arm around his waist. Gideon sucked in a breath before putting his left around her shoulders.
He was right—it had gotten worse.
Nels held up his hand. “Ready, set, go.”
The group lurched across the starting line, with several teams falling immediately.
“One, two, one, two,” Alaina said as they stepped forward.
Gideon was impressed. She more than held up her end of the race. Several times he took too long of a stride without thinking but she managed to hang on and step her free foot down to stay within the rules of the race. He would never have guessed she was such a fierce competitor.
It was only after they’d crossed the finish line that a misstep sent them tumbling to the ground. He twisted so Alaina landed on top of him rather than the other way around. The air whooshed from his lungs, mostly from the imprint of her soft curves; he got rougher knocks on the ranch every day. But it was the sound of her merry laughter that hit him the hardest. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d heard someone so joyously happy and he would have kissed her if he hadn’t been aware of everyone watching.
“Gideon Carmichael and Alaina Wright win first place,” Nels announced.
A round of cheering and clapping sounded. Gideon looked over and saw his grandparents and mother had come over to watch. Heat crept up his neck, though there was no reason to be self-conscious. He remembered a Founders Day, not so long ago, when Mom and Stewart had run the three-legged race. They hadn’t tried that hard to win, they’d just enjoyed being together.
Gideon smiled at the memory, his awkwardness forgotten. His stepdad really had been the best.
* * *
ALAINA INSTINCTIVELY TRIED to squirm away from Gideon, but her leg was still tied to his. They sorted out their tangled limbs and were sitting up when
Nels came around with their first-place ribbon. And more importantly, he carried a pair of scissors.
Gideon cut the broad band confining their thighs and rolled to his feet. He put a hand out.
Alaina hesitated an instant.
Helping someone up was a common courtesy, but she hadn’t let him assist with grooming and saddling Nikko, and she had faithfully done her share of the work on their overnight tours. Plainly it frustrated him, but she still wanted to prove she wasn’t looking for someone to take care of her, even temporarily. Yet here, in the old-fashioned atmosphere of the park amid Bannister’s patriotic salute to tradition, the small courtesy didn’t seem like such a bad thing.
“Er, thanks.” Alaina took his fingers and was lifted to her feet with astonishing speed.
She was brushing herself off when a male figure in the distance caught her attention. She’d seen him several times today, looking between her and a sheaf of papers. Right now he was showing it to two other men. While he hadn’t pointed at her, the weight of his gaze sent prickles across her shoulders.
Alaina shook the sensation away.
It was the old guy she’d seen at the post office back in June and he might still be trying to decide why she was familiar. She’d met strangers who reminded her of someone from the past and knew it could hover at the back of your mind until you figured out who and where and what. He might be the type who couldn’t let anything go.
“Is something wrong?” Gideon asked, distracting her.
“No, of course not. I’m having fun.”
He handed her the blue ribbon that Nels had awarded them. “Keep this as a memento.”
“You don’t want it?”
“I don’t need a memento. I attend the parade and picnic every year, along with my mother and grandparents.” Further proof that Gideon wasn’t the loner rancher he pretended to be...and a reminder that he didn’t expect her to be around next year. It was depressing, though she’d always known that living on the Double Branch was a temporary arrangement.
“Thanks,” she said with a determined smile. “Winning a three-legged race is new for me.”
“Don’t they have a Founders Day in your hometown?”
“Port Coopersmith prefers Revolutionary War battle reenactments. They’re a big tourist draw, even though the food they serve is traditional to what the army would have eaten.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask what that might be.”
“It isn’t too bad. Basically it’s boiled meat and beans, with bread and butter.”
Gideon made a face.
“All right, it isn’t that great, either,” Alaina admitted. “But it’s considered very authentic and visitors with a sweet tooth can always stop at the Day-and-Night Donut Hut.”
He chuckled. “Your hometown has a donut shop that never closes?”
“Yup. It was the cool hangout when I was a kid. Probably still is. There aren’t many choices in Port Coopersmith. It’s just a tiny town on the Connecticut coast. No major landmarks, only a few revolutionary-era buildings.”
“It sounds like it was a good place to grow up.”
Alaina relaxed. She’d hoped participating in the race would get Gideon past any lingering discomfort over their kiss and it seemed to have worked. Now it was mostly her own heart she needed to worry about.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE FOLLOWING THURSDAY afternoon was especially warm and Alaina fanned herself as they rode.
“Do you mind if we stop for a while?” Gideon asked. “The animals could use some shade. There’s a stream ahead. The water comes down from a glacier, so it would be a good place to cool off.”
“All right.”
The heat was less oppressive under the trees and Alaina dismounted with a feeling of relief. Gideon tied the horses where they could get a drink and graze, and removed Danger’s doggy backpack to give him water. Free of the orange vest, the German shepherd jumped into the current and rolled around happily. He was a water lover and rarely missed the chance to get wet when it was offered.
Alaina tucked her camera away and knelt upstream to splash her face. She yelped. “That’s liquid ice.”
Gideon grinned. “I told you it came off a glacier.”
She scooped her hand in the water and sent a spray in his direction. He returned the favor and soon they were engaged in a mock battle. When it ended, they were both wet and laughing.
Alaina sat on the grass and wiped a drip from her chin. “That was fun.”
“Yeah.” He plopped next to her. “I can’t remember the last time I did something so silly.”
“What about the three-legged race and when you accused Danger of stealing your funny bone?”
“Except for that.”
Alaina felt drunk with sunshine and pleasure as she put an arm around his neck. “Let’s be extra silly.”
Gideon didn’t need more encouragement. He pulled her into a kiss filled with heat and passion. It was only when his lips traveled to her throat that she gulped and scooted away.
“Um, is it okay to drink from the stream?” she asked, though she knew perfectly well that even high mountain water could have contaminants.
“Better not without filtering,” Gideon said, his chest heaving. “I’ll get our canteens.”
Alaina let out a breath. She should have controlled her impulsiveness. When he returned with the water, she gave him a contrite look. “I apologize.”
He sat down and handed her a canteen. “Don’t apologize. You made me feel like a teenager again. It was nice.”
She swallowed a few mouthfuls and capped the bottle. “Then you weren’t such a serious guy back in the day?”
“Nope, life of the party. But I grew up and got married to the wrong woman. It was a disaster from the beginning, except I was too proud to admit it. So when Grandpa Colby’s foreman retired and I came to run the ranch, I wanted to prove myself. The family plan was for Flynn to eventually get the Carmichael family ranch in Shelton, while I was supposed to inherit the Double Branch, the Westcott family legacy. But I didn’t want to take anything for granted.”
“That’s a whole bunch of history and responsibility to land on your shoulders all at once.”
“Yes and no. Grandpa never made me feel as if I had to earn the Double Branch, but ranching in the mountains is different than raising cows at lower elevations, so I needed to learn a good deal. I’m still learning.”
Alaina wiggled her toes in her boots. “Life would be boring if we ever stopped learning. But surely he didn’t mean for you to stop enjoying other things. You can love what you do, but still see there’s more to living than raising cattle.”
“Ranching doesn’t leave much for anything else,” Gideon said wryly. “People get romanticized ideas about it, but this is basically a 24/7 commitment. My having to work outside of a traditional eight-to-five time frame is one of the things my ex-wife resented the most.”
“Long work hours are why your marriage broke up?”
“That, along with her hating small towns and not wanting kids, something she kept me from knowing until after we were married. We’d barely said I do before she started pushing for us to move to Chicago. I’m a rancher with a degree in animal science. What was I going to do in the city? Anyhow, when it came time for me to run the Double Branch, she said goodbye and had her lawyer send divorce papers.”
“She was a fool.”
“I should have known better. But when we were dating, I talked about wanting a family and that I’d be moving to Bannister County someday, so I didn’t hide anything from her. She even said things like, that sounds nice and asked me to tell her about the Double Branch as if she were really interested.”
Alaina watched the dappled sunlight on the stream for a long minute. It was inevitable that you discovered things about your partner after getting married, but it shouldn’t be so
mething huge, or that they deliberately didn’t reveal. She’d always known that Mason’s career would continue taking him to wherever wolves were found. Together they’d traveled through North America to Mexico, and Europe to Asia. If she’d gotten him to change, he wouldn’t have been the man she’d fallen in love with.
“How about you and children?” Gideon asked at length.
“We wanted a family, but kept putting it off, thinking we had time. Now I don’t like putting anything off.”
He tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “Such as photographing wolves or having a water fight?”
“Absolutely. When you’re old and gray, you’re going to remember today and smile.”
“I’m going to remember it next week and smile. I suppose after everything—the divorce, then losing-Grandpa Colby and my stepfather—I have gotten too grim. Our outings have been a tonic.”
Alaina regarded the wet splotches on her jeans from their mock battle. “I’m glad. I’ve worried the time away would impact the Double Branch too much. I even wanted to volunteer with the haying, but figured it would take more effort for you to teach me what to do than to just leave you alone.”
“I noticed you took pictures.”
“Hundreds. I don’t know if the world needs another book on ranching, but I may give it a shot.”
“In addition to your wildlife subjects.”
“Naturally. So, how is the Double Branch managing without your constant attention?”
“Not badly. I’m letting Nate handle more, which he likes, and I’m able to keep an eye on the herds and check fences while we’re out. It would be different if my cows were dropping their calves. I wouldn’t dare go anywhere then.”
Alaina nodded. Helene and Libby both had described calving season—a backbreaking, unrelenting effort to save lives and keep losses to a minimum. Listening to them made her wonder how anyone managed to make a living at ranching.
“Should we go on?” Gideon asked. “The horses have cooled down by now.”
Alaina got up. “Sure.”
Christmas on the Ranch--A Clean Romance Page 16