Holiday Heat: The Men of Starlight Bend

by Ashley Jennifer

  “There are lots of reasons why a dam might not accept her foal right away,” Uncle Ted tried to explain. “The problem is I can’t remember any of them at the moment.”

  May leaned into her husband and gently rubbed the center of his back. “It’s okay. I can remember them for you. The mare might be scared of her baby and not recognize it as her own. She might be scared to have it touch her teats because they’re painful from being engorged by the milk.”

  “Or she’s just ornery, which that mare has always been,” Ida offered as she walked back in carrying a large thermos and a stack of paper cups. “I brought coffee if anyone wants it.”

  Jolie instantly reached for a cup and Ida poured in the creamed hot liquid. The temperature in the barn was several degrees warmer than outside, but still cool enough that Jolie felt chilled. The thing she couldn’t figure out was how everyone else around her stayed warm in just thin flannel shirts, or what seemed to be a thin jacket. She knew she could never adjust to this kind of cold, ever.

  “It might be time to restrain Miss Ida May,” Uncle Ted announced as he waited for Ida to pour coffee into his paper cup. “I know we used to do that with some of our more obstinate cows on our dairy farm when I was growing up in rural Michigan or was it Ohio? Either way, we would restrain them.”

  “I thought of that,” Red answered. “But I’d like to wait for Doc Brody to get here first and see what he has to say.”

  “I’m here. I’m here,” Doc Brody said as he entered the barn through the small door on the side. As soon as he opened that door, a rush of cold air and snow raced in licking at any skin Jolie had left uncovered. A shiver raced through her body reminding her once again that this wasn’t Vegas, but rather Big Sky Country . . . cold and snowy Montana.

  She shivered again.

  Within seconds, Ida covered Jolie’s shoulders with a warm blanket. “Here, sweetheart. This will keep you warm. It’s wool. Brought it from the house just for you.”

  “Thanks, but maybe someone else needs it.”

  “We’re all used to these winters. You will be too, once you live through one. But for now, you need to stay warm. Won’t do nobody good if you get sick right before Christmas.”

  “Thanks,” Jolie told her, and pulled the warmth in tight around her body as she waited with everyone else for Doc Brody’s diagnosis, hoping and praying that he could sway Miss Ida May to please allow her very hungry foal to nurse.

  ~~*~~

  By one o’clock, when Jolie should have been on her way to cutting down a Christmas tree with Riley, Miss Ida May had finally allowed her foal to nurse. Red had called Riley about the change of plans, and although Riley was disappointed, she understood and couldn’t wait to see the foal. She promised to stop by later that day.

  After Doc Brody had given Miss Ida May a clean bill of health, along with her foal, he injected the mare with a tranquilizer. Within minutes the squeamish animal finally relaxed and allowed her baby to nurse. After that, the two seemed to get along better, not great by any means, but at least Miss Ida May seemed to be able to tolerate her foal.

  By late evening, after Red had shown Jolie how to clean out a stall both with and without a horse in it, how to add more clean bedding, and taught her how much food to put in the feed buckets, they retreated to the house for dinner. Aunt May and Uncle Ted had already brought in the other horses and groomed them. By six o’clock everyone was exhausted, hungry, and hopeful over the turn of events with the foal and Miss Ida May.

  “I should go,” Jolie told Red once dinner was over, the dishes loaded in the dishwasher, the kitchen tidied up and his mom, aunt and uncle had all gone up to bed.

  They had moved to the living room for dessert and warm brandy. That cherry pie seemed to hit the spot, especially with Jolie, who had eaten two large pieces, along with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Red didn’t know how a woman so tiny could eat so much.

  “It’s been snowing on and off all day, so you know the roads will be almost impassible. One plow, remember? Even Riley couldn’t get through, and from what I know of Riley, she rarely lets the weather interfere with her plans. Hell, she said they had to postpone getting their tree because of the weather.”

  Despite Red’s apprehension about getting involved with Jolie, he couldn’t justify his trying to get her back to Riley’s in town. Sure his rig had some of the best snow tires that money could buy, but that didn’t mean he needed to try . . . or did he?

  “I know. She texted me earlier. I suppose I could spend the night on your mom’s sofa.”

  “You can sleep in my room.”

  Her eyebrow went up as she stood. She’d been sitting on the same sofa as he’d been, but on opposite ends, of course.

  He clarified, and stood up as well. “I mean I’ll sleep out in the barn and you can sleep in my room. I was going to sleep out there anyway, just to make sure Miss Ida May and her foal get through their first night all right.”

  “Can I sleep out there with you?”

  His breath caught in his throat. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “We’re both adults.”

  He could feel his body begin to heat up. “See, that right there is the problem.”

  She took a step closer. “What are you insinuating?”

  He took a step closer, noticing how the red highlights in her hair gleamed in the glow of the white lights from the Christmas tree. “That if you spent the night with me, there would be very little sleeping going on.”

  She moved in even closer, and his body reacted, aching for her. “You mean we’d be watching Miss Ida May all night?”

  He swept a strand of hair behind her ear. He was so close he could lean in and kiss her. “I mean I’d be watching you all night.”

  “So you’re the voyeur type?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Is this one of those times?”

  “Depends on what you want me to see.”

  “I think you . . . ”

  “…got the attic bedroom all made up for you, Jolie,” Red’s mother said as she entered the kitchen from the living room, carrying towels, pajamas, a bar of soap and other miscellaneous things that Jolie couldn’t make out.

  Red and Jolie instantly stepped apart.

  Red cleared his throat. “No one’s slept in that room in ages, Mom. Isn’t it dusty?”

  “I beg your pardon, but I keep a neat house and just cause nobody sleeps there don’t mean it doesn’t get used and May and me don’t keep it clean. ‘Sides, I do all my sewing in there, and May likes a quiet space to do her knitting. And the light’s good on that side of the house.” She turned to Jolie. “You must be dog-tired. I’ll get you all settled in and show you the amenities so you feel right at home. Feel free to take up anything you want from the fridge, but I already put some homemade cookies up there along with a tall glass of milk and a pitcher of water. Our home is your home.” Then she waved an arm and motioned for Jolie to follow before she left the room.

  “Seems I’ll be sleeping in the attic,” Jolie told him, looking disappointed.

  Not as disappointed as he felt.

  “Yep. My mom likes her guests to be comfortable. She’d have a cow if she thought you slept in the barn.”

  “Then I guess I’ll be sleeping in the attic.”

  But as she passed him, he couldn’t resist pulling her in his arms and giving her a good-night kiss.

  “Are you coming?” Red’s mom yelled from the other room.

  They pulled apart and shared a devilish smirk, then Jolie quickly rushed out of the room leaving Red in a state of total frustration.

  ~~*~~

  “Oh my,” Ida said, while trying to catch her breath from the narrow stairway. “I don’t come up here often enough. May is actually the one who uses this room more than I do.”

  The small room with the slanted white ceiling looked simply magical, and smelled of pine needles and cookies. Tiny amber colored lights had been strung across the ceiling, giving off a soft warm glow. An ant
ique blush-pink dressing table and white chair sat in the corner of the room, the dressing table adorned with white electric candelabras and lacy doilies. A four-foot high soft-pink Christmas tree decorated with small glittery pink pinecones and silver balls sat on a white table in the opposite corner under the large windows. White lacey curtains adorned the window giving it a whimsical feeling against the backdrop of the moon peeking in through the glass. A rose-colored floral-print overstuffed chair and matching ottoman invited someone to come and sit for a spell, and the reading lamp next to it, along with the small round table stacked with books, magazines, and knitting supplies, including yarn balls of all colors, suggested that May already did.

  The white iron ornate double bed looked about as comfy and inviting as heaven itself, with a blush-pink flowery down quilt and a stack of pillows anyone would certainly get lost in. The nightstand not only held a lovely pink-shaded white lamp, but several romance novels, with Riley’s latest stacked on top, a pretty glass water decanter and matching drinking glass, a plate of assorted cookies, that tall glass of milk and several candy canes which had been slipped into a red and white striped cup.

  “This room is beautiful,” Jolie said, her eyes misting. She’d never been treated so well by people she’d just met in her entire life.

  “Yes, it’s May’s little hideaway. Her husband has all but forgotten about this room, so she sneaks up here at least once a day to replenish the well, so to speak.”

  “I can see why.”

  “It used to be my room when Red’s dad was alive. We spent most of our married life together up here, but once he passed, I couldn’t sleep up here anymore. Too many memories, so I moved downstairs to the guestroom, and May completely redid the room into a little retreat.”

  Jolie didn’t know much about Red’s family. What little Riley had told her wasn’t nearly enough. All she knew was that Red’s dad had passed about a year and a half ago, and his mom had taken it hard. She also knew that Red had been engaged right around that time, but something happened and they called it off.

  “I’m sorry about your husband. That must have been rough to lose the man you love.”

  Ida sat on the end of the bed, and placed everything she’d been carrying down next to her.

  “Words can’t describe it. But, you go on. You have to, both for the person you loved and for yourself. You can’t let grief win or you’re giving up on the one thing that you shared with the person you loved . . . a happy life. Anyway, that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

  “Your husband?”

  “No. My son. I know you two have just met, but I can see something building between you. I saw it during breakfast, out in the barn today when Miss Ida May wouldn’t nurse her foal, and I saw it again tonight in the living room.”

  Jolie wanted to slide under the bed with embarrassment.

  “We were just teasing each other. Nothing more.”

  “I know my son. He hasn’t been ‘teasing’ a girl in way too long. Not since his fiancée walked out on him. Then when his dad passed, I think we both locked our hearts away. It’s okay for me, I already experienced true love with my soulmate, but my son hasn’t. He has his whole life ahead of him and I hope that one day he finds that kind of love. I hope you do too. Maybe you already have. I don’t know. Maybe there’s someone waiting for you at home and my son is just a diversion. Whatever your situation might be, Red can’t endure another leavin’ girl, and for that matter, neither can this family.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Jolie told her feeling the weight of Ida’s words on her shoulders.

  Ida stood and headed for the staircase. “You worked hard today with that foal, and with the other chores. You’re a natural rancher. Breakfast is at five. Coffee’s whenever you want it. See you in the morning. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

  “Goodnight Ida.”

  And she disappeared down the creaky stairs, shutting the door behind her leaving Jolie to wonder how she was going to handle her growing feelings for Ida’s son.

  Chapter Six

  Red made himself as comfortable as he could out in the barn on the old bed that his dad had put out there years ago for the extra help whenever the ranch work got to be too much. At one point there had been four beds out in the barn, but those beds had long ago been given away.

  Red still slept out there every now and then when one of his rescued thoroughbreds was having a particularly rough time adjusting to its new home, or whenever one of them was really sick. They seemed to respond to having him around and he was more than happy to accommodate them.

  Tonight, however, he felt that Miss Ida May and her foal needed him more than any of those other horses. They’d come through a lot, and even though they seemed to be doing okay, Miss Ida May wasn’t accepting her foal one hundred percent, yet. The foal still seemed to spook her at times, and Red wanted to be able to administer another tranquilizer if she needed it.

  Maybe he could give himself one in the process.

  He’d almost done something tonight that he may have regretted in the morning.

  The dang thing about it was, he’d only known Jolie for less than a couple days.

  “What’s that all about?”

  He’d heard his dad tell the story of how he knew as soon as his mom spoke to him that she was the girl for him, but it still took them almost two years of courting before he ever attempted to make love to her, at least that was the story he always told.

  Red punched down his pillow, and rolled onto his side.

  “She lives in Las Vegas, cowboy. Get a grip.”

  He closed his eyes and listened to the sweet suckling sounds the foal made, and tried his best not to think of Jolie Shepard, a woman he knew virtually nothing about.

  His night was filled with thoughts of her in his arms, and in his bed. And each time he told himself to forget about her, and each time he couldn’t chase away how she’d felt when he held her in his arms, how she smelled, and how many times he’d wanted to kiss those sweet lips.

  Sometime during the night, he made his way across the barn and checked on Miss Ida May. Her foal was asleep, curled up on a bed of hay in the corner, while she hung around the gate.

  “You best be loving that nameless baby of yours or I’m going to have to keep giving you drugs, and I sure as hell don’t want to.”

  The horse whinnied, blew out air, and stomped a front foot, while Red soothed her for a moment, then stumbled back to bed. He told himself as long as Miss Ida May’s ears weren’t pinned back, everything would be fine.

  At least that was what he told himself.

  When he awoke again, he heard singing.

  He glanced at his phone. It was three in the morning.

  He figured it was either his mom or his aunt singing to Miss Ida May, but that was his sleep deprivation talking. Neither of them would ever come out to the barn to sing to a horse. It could only be one person.

  He raked a hand through his hair, slipped on his jeans and made his way to Miss Ida May’s stall. Once there he saw a vision of pure beauty curled up over the foal—Jolie, humming that same song: “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.

  Soon Miss Ida May padded over to them, and nudged her foal with her nose. The foal cried, then stood while Miss Ida May waited stone still and allowed her foal to eagerly nurse.

  When Red caught Jolie’s gaze, he was stunned by how lovely she looked in the low light of the barn, hay caught in her hair and on her clothes.

  She kept singing as she got up and walked towards him. He gently opened the gate, and she stepped outside the stall. He closed it again, and Miss Ida May never even flinched.

  “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “You looked too peaceful. Besides, I wanted to see if I could help Miss Ida May on my own. She seemed to like my song when she was in labor, so I thought maybe it would soothe her now.”

  “It seems to have worked.”

  “I know.”

  “Did you clean out her stall?”


  “Yes, and the other ones as well, and put down clean bedding like you showed me.”

  “But I never heard a thing.”

  “That’s because I didn’t want you to.”

  He saw her shiver. “You’re cold,” he said and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I should go back to my room,” she told him while resting her head on his shoulder.

  He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t want her to go anywhere but into his bed.

  “Why, when I have a perfectly comfortable bed only a few steps from here.”

  He hoped she would take him up on his offer, albeit an offer that was more for him than for her. If he was any kind of gentleman, he’d offer to escort her back to her room. Unfortunately, tonight, he wasn’t any kind of a gentleman.

  “But you’re in it,” she told him with a snicker.

  “I know. Funny how this works in my favor.”

  “We hardly know each other.”

  “That can be fixed once you get into my bed.”

  “It’s too soon.”

  “You leave in less than three days. We have to work fast.”

  “Not that fast.”

  He chuckled, and she moved to look up at him. “I wasn’t talking about tonight.”

  “I was,” then she kissed him and the barn, the horses, the universe melted away. Within a heartbeat he swooped her up and carried her over to his bed.

  “Wait!” she said before he put her down.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He thought maybe he was holding her too tight, or she wasn’t feeling good, or she thought this was a big mistake or who the heck knew . . . .

  “I want to make something clear.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “This is just sex . . . nothing more.”

  “A little more . . . I have to make sure you’re warm.”

  “Believe me, I’m more than warm.” Then she cuddled up next to his chest, slipping her arms around his neck making him feel like he’d just rescued her from a burning building and she would be forevermore grateful.