“I’ll control myself,” Sophie said, laughing.
He watched her with the puppies for a while, then told her they needed a break. Otherwise, he was relatively certain he’d never get her out of there.
They stood outside the riding arena, watching Nan as she took one of the new fillies through her paces.
“Are you as good as your mom?” she asked.
“No one in these parts is as good a rider as Nan Jameson is.” There was a time when he and Cassie had come close, but they were never quite as good.
“But you still know how, right? You rode with her yesterday.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty good for someone who grew up on the back of a horse.”
Sophie’s eyes lit up, and he knew what was coming before the words spilled out of her mouth. “Do you think you could teach me to ride?”
He tried not to cringe. It was not how he wanted to spend his time here. Actually he didn’t really want to spend his time here at all. But was it worth seeing the disappointment in Sophie’s eyes? “I don’t know, honey. We really won’t be here long enough for that.”
“Oh.”
Alex looked away.
“Well, maybe I could just sit on one? And you could lead me around? Just for a little while? I’d just like to know how it feels.”
Avoiding those grey-blue eyes, he glanced down at his watch. “Maybe tomorrow.”
He drove her past the other animal pens, finally stopping at his grandparents’ house. He didn’t need to look at Sophie to know she would be beaming at the sight of his grandparents sitting on their front porch swing, sipping lemonade. Why couldn’t they have arrived when they were squabbling over who was cheating at checkers? Although, knowing Sophie, she probably would have found that equally charming.
Sophie looked over at Alex. “We can stop and visit, can’t we?”
“Considering that I’m likely to get my hide whipped if we don’t, sure.”
She shoved open the truck door, jumped down, and ran over to greet Eleanor and Evan McCullough.
Alex stood back. Their sparkling eyes and giant smiles matched hers, and for an instant it flashed through his mind that she belonged in this family more than he did. Sadness stirred inside and he remembered there was a time that thought never would have crossed his mind. He also reminded himself that this was Sophie. Everyone adored Sophie. Even Gerald Baxter, the curmudgeon senior partner in his law firm.
An hour later, after Sophie had played two rounds of checkers with his grandfather and they had eaten the lunch his grandmother had insisted on feeding them, they headed back to the big house.
“What’s that?” Sophie asked, pointing at a field of trees as they rounded the bend toward home.
“Christmas tree farm.”
“Oh, stop!” she yelled. “Please!”
He didn’t have the heart to disappoint her—not twice in one day. As soon as he put the truck in park, she climbed out, her eyes as big as saucers. “You mean people come here to get their Christmas trees?”
“Yep, we do the whole nine yards. Hay rides, horse and buggy rides, saws to cut down the trees, —”
“Do you decorate?”
“Oh yeah. Big time. Lights everywhere. Giant ornaments on the tallest tree. The whole family comes out and puts it together. Even Santa shows up—usually in the form of my father or Uncle Nigel.”
“And you serve Christmas cookies and hot chocolate?”
“Definitely Christmas cookies and hot chocolate.”
Sophie walked toward the rows of trees, envisioning what it must be like at Christmas. She slid her arm around his waist. “Here I am, marrying into a family who has a Christmas tree farm, and I didn’t even know it!”
Alex shook his head. If it were a diamond mine or an oil well, he could understand this reaction, but a Christmas tree farm? “It’s really no big deal, Sophie. Just part of the family business.”
“Yes, it is,” she whispered softly, still staring in awe. “Can we come here for Christmas? Maybe bake cookies and help out with the hot chocolate, hay rides? Everything?”
Alex groaned.
“I’m sorry.” She looked up at him, realizing it wasn’t nearly as wonderful to him. It had probably meant one thing to him—work. But to her it was everything she had never had as a child. “It just seems so magical. Everything about this place, your family . ”
Alex sighed, taking her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. “If you’d met my family sooner, I’d wonder if you fell in love with me or with them.”
She smiled, remembering the photograph album she’d found that evening when Alex was cooking her dinner, the album with his family spilling off the pages right into her heart. Maybe both, she thought.
“What?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
“I was just wondering . why do you love me?”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He kissed her on the forehead and pulled her into his arms. “Your kindness. Your generosity. You’re amazing, Sophie.” It was different from the love he’d felt before. His love for Sophie was more reserved, more grounded which made him believe it would be longer lasting.
She was staring up at him, as if searching for a deeper answer. He reached inside and pulled one out. “I’ve never met anyone quite like you.” Still the grayish-blue eyes stared at him. “I feel safe with you. We’re good together, Sophie.”
That seemed to satisfy her as both her arms encircled his waist and she pulled him closer. And he felt his breathing return to normal.
Sean McCullough slammed the door shut on his pickup and raced up the back stairs to his apartment above the Canden Valley General Store. This was bad. Pretty much intolerable. He threw his keys harder than he meant to, onto his kitchen table, creating a ding in the pine.
“Damn it!” He cringed at the sound of his own voice as he waited for Sally to hit the ceiling of the store with a broom handle in response.
Why did they have to come here anyway? He was going to have to endure two weeks of this hell? What was next? Christ, they’d even turned what was supposed to be a family picnic into a bloody engagement party!
He opened the refrigerator and reached for a beer but his hand was empty when he pulled it back. What the hell? He’d reminded himself to pick up beer three times today and he’d still forgotten it on his way home from helping his dad at the farm. He considered running downstairs but wasn’t in the mood to chat with Sally. It was his day off. He was not in the mood to talk to anyone, especially someone who thought that Sophie Weldon had him in a turmoil.
Instead he grabbed his keys, rubbing the wounded pine for a moment, then headed for the pub. No cousins or siblings, he was happy to see. Just a lot of hikers who were en route home to wherever that was.
“Hey, Sean, the usual?” Nick asked, drawing a Belhaven before Sean could respond.
“Sure. Thanks.”
“So, how was the picnic yesterday? I would have been there, but since almost everyone else who works here is a McCullough, I had to be here.”
“The drawback of working for the McCulloughs. It was okay, I guess.”
“Didn’t stay long?”
Sean eyed him suspiciously. How the hell did he know that?
“Skye mentioned it.”
“Right. Skye.” Of course. His little sister noticed everything. “I was busy. Had other places to be.”
Nick nodded, clearly unconvinced. “Two ladies headed this way,” he warned, nodding toward the back of the room. “Just your type.”
Sean cringed and looked up to see two very attractive women, dressed in shorts and hiking boots coming toward the bar.
“Hey, you look like you could use some company,” one said.
“Would you like to join us?” the other one asked.
Sean smiled politely. “I don’t think so. But thanks for the invite.”
Both women frowned and headed back to their table.
“He must prefer drinking alone,”
one said. “Or he doesn’t go for the natural look.”
“Probably likes his women to look like they’ve just walked out of a hair and nail salon.”
“Hardly,” Sean mumbled to himself. They had the wrong cousin. He turned around and looked at them. “Sorry, ladies. I’m just not in a great mood. Wouldn’t want to bring you down. Maybe next time.” He hoped they wouldn’t feel insulted by his lack of receptivity to their invitation.
He settled onto a barstool and met the bartender’s perceptive eyes. “What?”
Nick shook his head. “Nothing. You just don’t usually turn down invitations to have a drink with a couple of beautiful women, especially the outdoor type.”
“Yeah, well, this isn’t usually.” For a brief moment, he considered confiding in Nick. If anyone would understand, Nick would. After all, the poor guy had been smitten with his little sister, Skye, for several months now. He just hoped it wasn’t a losing battle.
Like his own battle was likely to be. How the hell had this happened? He couldn’t even think about being with another woman. And he sure as hell couldn’t think about one particular woman without wanting her. Shit. Even now he ached with wanting her.
He looked back at the two women whom he normally would have happily taken up on their offer. He wished to hell he was inclined to join them. He wished to hell he had even an inkling of interest in anyone other than Sophie Weldon.
Chapter 7
“Not even for a little while?” Sophie was trying hard not to sound too disappointed, but she had wanted to ride one of the horses since she’d arrived at the ranch.
“I’m sorry, honey. But Angela needs help with this. I have to review the paperwork and get it back to her. I really should have taken care of it this morning but you wanted me to show you the ranch.”
Sophie swallowed the familiar sense of guilt. But she wasn’t willing to give up. “Maybe later this afternoon?”
“I promised Matt I’d drive over to Winslow to meet him. He has to bid a job. You don’t mind, do you?”
She put her arms around his neck from behind while he sat staring at his computer screen. “Of course not. You hardly ever get to see him.”
“I knew you’d understand. You are wonderful, you know that?” He turned so he was facing her. She leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips.
While Alex worked at his computer, she went for a walk, returning in time to see him off. She wasn’t sure what she would do with herself the rest of the day, but she would make the best of it. First she would take advantage of having the laptop to herself. She spent well over two hours searching for companies that could help her find her father but was not impressed by a single one. She had gone through the same websites numerous times in the past and had even hired a couple of them, to no avail. She did not know why she expected this time to be any different.
Maybe she would have to break down and ask Sean McCullough for his help. Just not today, she thought. Not until he had come around and could bring himself to at least pretend to welcome her into the family the way the rest of the McCulloughs had.
She didn’t see that happening anytime soon. He’d been his usual unfriendly self at the picnic, not even saying hello to her. She decided she shouldn’t take it personally, considering that he’d stayed maybe an hour, if that, and had barely spoken to anyone. Most of the time he had stood there under one of the old heritage oak trees, wearing his faded jeans and a light grey T-shirt, cowboy boots and hat, nursing a beer.
When she took a break and went downstairs to fix herself a cup of coffee, Grant had beaten her to it. He poured her a cup and set out a platter with enough muffins and cookies to feed half the valley.
“Where did Alex go?” he asked.
“With Matt. He has to bid a job.”
“And left you here to fend for yourself?”
“I’m fine. He took me on a tour earlier and we stopped in to visit with Evan and Eleanor for lunch. Need anymore help?”
Grant laughed. “Oh, no, you’re not working your whole vacation away. You do know we have some extra pickups if you want to go into the village. Or you could go over to Winslow.” He handed her a set of keys. “These are to the dark blue one parked out front.”
Sophie accepted them happily. She did want to see Winslow but right now, the book café was beckoning. She was tempted to stop at the general store and test the waters with Sean, but decided it was too soon. Instead she went directly to the book café. She found a couple romances, used—much to Alex’s chagrin, she was sure—and settled in with a cappuccino.
“Mmm, you’re a romantic. Not surprised.”
She looked up at the familiar voice. Sean’s little sister.
“Hi, Skye!”
“Hey, Sophie.” Skye didn’t wait for an invitation to join her. “Alex abandon you?”
“He’s with Matt.”
“Of course. You must be bored if you’re here.”
“Not at all. One of my favorite things to do. Read and sip cappuccinos in a book café.”
Skye took a sip of her green tea. “Want to do something? It’s my day off.”
Sophie closed her romance. “Absolutely! That’s really nice of you.”
“Not really,” Skye said, a twinkle in her eyes. “We’re on strict orders not to overwhelm you, just to make sure you feel welcome. Do you?”
“Definitely.”
“Whew. Wouldn’t want to face the fury of all those aunts and uncles and grandparents, to say nothing of my own parents.”
“So, now that you’ve shared that illuminating information with me, care to tell me the whole story?”
Skye batted her McCullough blue eyes innocently. “Whole story?”
“I sense a hidden agenda here.”
“Let’s just say, they’d like to see more of Alex. Figure if you like us, he’ll be more willing to come home.”
“Ah, in other words, your invitation to do something was totally insincere. You’re just trying to get in good with the family.”
“Exactly,” Skye said. “Glad we got that cleared up. So what do you want to do?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, we could go next door to the pub and get drunk but it’s only two in the afternoon, a little early for that. Have you had lunch?”
“An early one with your grandparents when Alex took me on a tour of the ranch.”
“Of course. Eleanor McCullough doesn’t let anyone get away without feeding them first. We could take a drive over to Winslow. Shop. Walk on the beach. You’re the visitor. You choose.”
Sophie hesitated, then asked, “Do you know how to ride horses by any chance?”
“Grew up on the back of one.” Apparently a common hobby in the McCullough family. “How about you?”
“I’ve never been on one. Alex was supposed to take me riding—well, not exactly. I was going to sit on the horse and he was going to lead it around the arena.”
“Sounds real fun.” The sarcastic edge to Skye’s tone was hard to miss. “Finish that drink and we’re off.” She glanced down at Sophie’s shoes. “You didn’t happen to bring some boots with you by any chance?”
Sophie shook her head. “Well, I did, but I kind of doubt they’d work for riding a horse.” To say nothing of how upset Alex would be if she got them muddy.
“What size do you wear?”
“Six and a half.”
Skye gulped down her tea and jumped up. “Perfect. Come on. You can borrow a pair of mine. I’ve got loads. You’ll need them to kick the horse.”
“Kick it? Does it hurt?”
“They’ll love you for it. Trust me.” Skye laughed and took her hand and tugged. “Mostly you just affectionately squeeze them.”
An hour later, with a lot of assistance from Skye, Sophie was sitting on top of a beautiful chestnut mare. “This is amazing.”
“Damn,” Skye muttered, shoving her cell phone back into her pocket.
“What? Am I doing something wrong?”
Disappointed, Sophie climbed down from the horse per Skye’s instructions. At least she’d gotten to sit on one.
“Sorry. We’ll do it again soon. Wednesday morning would work. Do you want to? Or do you want to wait for Alex to teach you?”
Sophie quickly decided it was safer not to rely on Alex, and assured Skye she would be there. “I’ll surprise him. I’ll become an accomplished rider in one week and he’ll think I was raised on the back of a horse too.”
“Pretty hard to become an accomplished rider if you’re standing there looking at the horse instead of sitting in the saddle,” a familiar and hostile voice said.
“Well, you could fix that.” Skye turned to confront her brother as he came up behind them.
“And why would I want to do that?”
“Because you’re my brother, my nice kind big brother, and you do everything I ask you to do.”
“Dream on.” Sean stepped out of the line of fire in time to avoid the punch that Skye aimed in his direction. “Besides, I’m kind of busy—”
“Sure you are,” Skye challenged, nodding toward the horse he was leading behind him. “Don’t make me hurt you, Sean McCullough. You know I can.”
Sophie wondered if she was serious. She suspected it was all part of sibling jousting, but at the same time, she suspected Skye was not one to make idle threats. “It’s okay,” she said quickly. “I’ll be fine waiting until Wednesday.”
“Like hell.” Skye glared at Sean. “You’re going to ride anyway. Take Sophie along.” She didn’t wait for an answer. She gave Sophie a quick hug and walked away. “And drop her in town when you’re done. She’s driving the dark blue ranch pickup. It’s parked outside the café.”
“It’s okay, really.” Sophie shoved the reins at him. “But maybe you could put her away for me?” She turned to follow Skye.
Sean took the reins out of her hand, cursing himself for his irrepressible mouth. And cursing his little sister for putting him in this position. If he didn’t show Sophie how to ride and Skye found out, he’d never hear the end of it. He wouldn’t just be incurring the wrath of his sister, but of the entire McCullough clan.
Summer Day Dreams Page 7