John marched out of the barn and Anna followed, but just to close the door before all the heat escaped. Then she leaned her head against the hard wood, wishing every last guest was long gone. She needed to talk to her grandpa.
* * *
That was exactly what Tanner was wishing: that the house was empty, except for him and Walter. Most folks wouldn’t be ready to leave for hours, so Tanner left, but only went as far as the bunkhouse. There he built a fire in the stove and sat down. His mind was like a spiderweb, catching everything that flew by. Christmas Day. Sitting there, he tried to convince himself it was the best thing—Anna marrying John.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
Tanner waited until the man closed the door. “That was a terrible thing you did, Walter,” he said. “She might never forgive you.”
“Who? Anna?” Walter pulled out a chair and sat at the long table.
“Yes, Anna. This place is all she’s ever wanted.”
“Then you give it to her,” Walter said. “It’s yours now, or soon will be.”
“No, it’s not. I didn’t buy anything.” The once-tasty beef had turned to lard in Tanner’s stomach. “I won’t lie and pretend I did.”
“The paperwork in my office says differently. All you have to do is sign it.”
“Where am I supposed to come up with the money to buy the Double Bar?”
Walter patted the table with one hand. “The first seven years you worked here, I never gave you a wage.”
“I’ve always been paid a wage.”
“Pocket money. Not nearly what you were worth.” The judge stood then and hitched up his britches by the waistband. “I put that money in the bank, in an account under your name. Just so happens to be the exact amount I’m selling the ranch for.”
“Walter, I could put my wage in the bank for fifty years and not have enough money to buy the Double Bar.”
“Haven’t I taught you anything?” Walter asked, heading for the door. “It’s the seller who sets the price, not the buyer.”
“It’s not the price, Walter.”
The man stopped with one hand on the doorknob.
“I don’t want the Double Bar,” Tanner said.
Chapter Ten
Anna waited until the last guest departed, and then sought out her grandfather, whom she found in his office, precisely as she’d expected.
“Hello, girl,” he said as she poked her head around the door. “That was one heck of a party.” Gesturing toward the chairs near the fireplace on the far side of the room, he invited, “Come sit down.”
After drawing a deep breath, she closed the door behind her and, shoulders squared, led the way across the room. Once seated, she blurted, “I’m not marrying John on Christmas Day.”
“You don’t say.”
The ease of his tone, the lightness of his mood, had her peering at him. “You already knew that, didn’t you?”
“I suspected.”
There was definitely something different about him. Actually, for the first time since she’d arrived he reminded her of the man she used to know. The grandfather she’d missed so much. “Then why did you tell everyone I was?”
“It was time for me to call him out.” He reached over and patted her hand. “You, too. Oh, he’s a nice enough young man, but if you two really loved each other, you’d have got married in Kansas City and never cared a whit about me and this old ranch.” His fingers then folded around hers and squeezed tightly. “Wouldn’t you have?”
She couldn’t deny that.
“When’s he leaving?”
“Tomorrow, I presume,” she answered.
“Good. I couldn’t take much more of him telling you what to do.” He tugged on her hand. “Sounded too much like your father to please me.”
Her stomach gurgled.
“He’s the one who hired John, isn’t he?”
She nodded.
“You know what he was trying to do, don’t you?”
“I do now.”
He twisted in his chair so they faced each other more directly. “I can’t say I blame him for wanting to keep you in Kansas City. Life isn’t full of roses anywhere, but this country is hard. People out here have to be tough, strong, resilient and even a bit rough around the edges.”
Hurt took over now, and it had nothing to do with John or her father. “I know you don’t want me here, but I’m not leaving.”
He shook his head. “I do want you here, honey. As much as I shouldn’t, I do.”
Even through the sting of her eyes, she smiled. “Well, get used to it. I’m not marrying John and I’m not going back to Kansas City. Not even selling the ranch to Tanner will change that.”
“Well, that’s not a problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tanner doesn’t want the Double Bar.”
A knot twisted inside her chest. “That’s not true.”
Her grandfather shrugged. “He refused to buy it. You may inherit it after all.”
Chilled to the bone, she only shook her head. “I don’t want to inherit it,” she finally whispered. Then she sat up, unsure when she’d slumped in her chair. “Where is Tanner?”
“I don’t know,” her grandfather said. “Willy said he rode out a while ago.”
* * *
Three days later Christmas Eve arrived, but Tanner still hadn’t. Slim had, though, and therefore Anna knew where she was going. The line shack.
“Where you off to, girl?” her grandfather shouted as she hurried down the stairs, fully dressed for the weather that included tiny flakes of snow.
“Where do you think I’m going?” she asked in reply.
He let out the belly laugh she remembered from years ago. “The longer you’re here, the more you remind me of, well, me.”
She stopped long enough to kiss his cheek. “Then I know you won’t worry if I’m not back before dark.”
“It’s not going to be easy—convincing Tanner, that is.”
“You just leave that to me,” she said, pulling on her gloves. “You’ve got other things to see to. Merilee has my list.”
Anna left the house with laughter floating behind her and held that sound in her heart as she and Thunder traveled the miles to the line shack. There had been time to talk the past few days for her and her grandfather, and they had. About many things, including her father, her mother, her grandmother and Tanner. Especially Tanner.
Anna said a prayer while she rode for the Christmas miracle she now wanted with all her heart, and believing it had a chance of coming true filled her with determination.
When the line shack came into view, the first thing she noticed was smoke spiraling out of the chimney.
Hope hitched up another notch.
Tanner was at the side of the shed, chopping wood, and he set down the ax as she walked Thunder the last few yards to the cabin. “What are you doing out here?”
“Looking for you.”
“Why?” he asked.
She swung out of the saddle and then led Thunder into the corral housing Tanner’s stallion. The two horses snorted at one another and Anna couldn’t help but smile. A stallion and a broodmare only got along at specific times, when nature intended, and that reminded her of her and Tanner.
“Don’t you have enough to do back at the ranch?” Tanner asked. “Seeing how you’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Merilee has my list, and she’s seeing to the wedding preparations in my absence.”
Tanner was at her side now, and her insides were dancing like sparks of a freshly lit fire. He was so very handsome, and even now, eyeing her with caution, he was steadfast, powerful and indomitable. In truth, she liked what she saw more than ever.
“What are y
ou doing?” he asked as she started to loosen the leather saddle cinch.
“Taking off the saddle so she doesn’t sweat.”
He laid a hand over hers. “No.”
She took a moment to weigh her options before she shrugged. “Fine. You take it off. I’ll go make some fresh coffee.”
It was a moment before Tanner realized what had happened, and by then Anna was already heading toward the cabin, her red cape floating behind her as if her feet weren’t even touching the ground. He cursed under his breath and unsaddled the horse, all the while wishing he’d ridden down to Colorado instead of only as far as the line shacks. He couldn’t leave, though, not until he knew what was going to happen. To Walter. To the Double Bar.
“Tanner,” she shouted from the doorway. “Bring in my saddlebag, will you?”
He grabbed the bag, only because he hoped Merilee had sent food—he was already tired of beans and hardtack—and marched to the cabin. “Don’t get too comfortable,” he said, throwing open the door. “You have to head out soon or you’ll be riding in the dark.”
“Then hopefully this won’t take long,” she said, laying her red velvet cape on the upper bunk. Turning to face him, she declared, “I’m not leaving without you.”
He’d only been gone a couple days. How could she have grown more beautiful? His good sense said it was impossible, but missing her as he had, it seemed it was true. Dreams didn’t compare to the real thing. “I can’t leave.” He set her saddlebag on the table. “Someone has to keep the creek flowing.”
“It hasn’t frozen that hard yet,” she said, crossing the tiny space. “It won’t be until January that someone has to chop ice every four hours. Once a day is fine for now.” She was pulling things out of her bag. “I’m sure you’ve opened it up today. The cattle won’t die of thirst before Willie arrives tomorrow.”
He couldn’t deny the truth of that, so he asked, “If Willy’s coming out tomorrow, why are you here today?”
“We always open our gifts on Christmas Eve.” She handed him a package wrapped with red paper and a big green bow. “I brought you your present.”
His cheeks hadn’t burned like this for years, and he set the package down on the table, hoping that would help. “I, uh, I don’t have anything for you,” he stuttered while his mind shouted, “Liar.” In his saddlebag, lying on the top bunk beneath her cape, was her present. An oval keepsake box made of glass with a buckskin painted on the lid. He’d seen it while in town the day of the party and couldn’t help but buy it for her.
“I didn’t expect you to,” she said, handing his present over again. “Open it. Please? I bought it for you in Kansas City.”
Her smile touched something inside his very core. He could say no to men by the dozen, even Walter. Saying no to any other woman never bothered him much either, but telling Anna no was impossible. No matter what she asked.
“Go on, open it.”
He did so carefully, handing her the bow before he undid the paper. Inside the cardboard box was a black string tie. The slide clasp was made of porcelain and had a black stallion painted on it. Tanner couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, I like it.”
She sighed. “Good. I bought it some time ago. I saw it one day and it reminded me of you. Of the day you brought your stallion home and Walter said you’d never be able to train it. Never be able to ride it.”
“That was a long time ago,” he said.
“Seven years,” she said. “Right after my father left.”
Some of the shine left her eyes. He walked over to the beds and dug beneath her cape for his saddlebag. When he returned to the table he handed her the present wrapped in brown paper, with no bow—he’d planned on rewrapping it.
She frowned. “I thought you said—”
“I lied,” he interrupted. There was nothing else he could say, and he might never have another chance to give it to her.
Although she eyed him curiously, the stars had returned to her eyes, and when she opened the box, she gasped. “Oh, Tanner, it’s beautiful. It looks just like Thunder.”
The way she was gazing at the keepsake box had him wanting to go to her, tell her all the things he’d thought of the past couple days, including how it hadn’t been just the judge who’d been disappointed when her trips home had been canceled. He wanted to tell her that he’d lied the other day, too. That he could go against Walter. For her. Therefore he was glad the coffeepot started to spit and sputter, giving him something else to do.
As he skirted around the table, and her, to the stove, she said, “I love it, Tanner, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he answered, moving the pot to the handmade bracket built on the side of the stove for just for that purpose.
“I had yours engraved. Turn it over.”
The string tie was still in his hand, and turning it over, he could see the porcelain was set in gold, but the dim light didn’t allow him to read the engraving. He moved closer to the table where the lamp sat.
To Tanner Maxwell. Love, Anna Hagen.
He tried to stop his heart from skipping every other beat, but it was useless, even though he knew people used the word love without meaning it. “That’s nice, thank you.”
She reached over and took the tie from his hand. “When the jeweler asked me what I wanted engraved, I rattled this off without thinking.” She set the tie down and took hold of his hand. “Do you want to know why?”
The warmth of her fingers was sending a charge up his arm, into his chest. “Why?” he asked, unable not to.
She stepped closer, holding his hand tighter. “Because loving you wasn’t something I ever needed to think about. It was a constant.”
Although Tanner liked what he was hearing, he didn’t want to take it out of context. “Anna—”
Two fingers from her other hand pressed against his lips. “I love you, Tanner. I have since I was a little girl and you found me crying in the barn.” Her hand moved to cup his cheek. “Over the years, when I thought of coming home, it was to you, not the Double Bar.”
His heart stopped. “I’m not buying the Double Bar from Walter.”
“That’s fine. We don’t have to live here.” She grinned up at him. “It’s not the ranch I love.”
“What about John?”
She shrugged. “He should be back in Kansas City by now. I can’t say for sure, though.”
He didn’t know if delight had ever raced through his body as fast as it was right now. “You’re not marrying him tomorrow?”
“No. I was never really engaged to him.” She shrugged. “My father said I couldn’t travel out here alone, and when John agreed to travel with me, my father said only if we were engaged, so we pretended to be.”
“Your engagement was false?”
“Yes,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way this time.”
Tanner was glad she hadn’t, but felt inclined to remind her, “Your father hates me. Always has. I’m an outlaw.”
“You are not an outlaw, and I don’t really care what my father thinks.”
“You don’t?”
“No. He’s had women looking after him from the minute he was born. I’m glad it’s no longer me, and he’d better keep Virginia, because I’m not going back.”
Tanner had to chuckle. Anna did have a mind of her own. One he loved.
Chapter Eleven
Anna had been fully prepared to argue until the sun set and rose again. As it was, she’d never been so peaceful in a conversation. So content with what she had to say. Then again, Tanner had a way of calming her.
His smile faded, though. “What list is Merilee seeing to for you?”
“My wedding list,” she answered. “I’m still getting married tom
orrow.”
“To who?”
“You.”
Another smile played at the corners of his lips. “I never asked you to marry me.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here. To ask you to marry me.” She let go of his hand and placed both hands on his shoulders. “I have to warn you, though, the Double Bar is Grandpa’s to do with as he pleases. Being born his granddaughter doesn’t give me any rights other than the right to love him. Be thankful he’s my grandfather. But, honestly, Tanner, it never was the ranch.” A single tear slipped from her eye and she let it trickle down her cheek. “The moment I saw you at the train station I felt as if I’d come home, and ever since then, the only time I felt that way was when I was with you.”
When Tanner didn’t immediately respond, she continued, “We might have to live here, though. My grandfather adores you. Almost as much as I do, and he’s very happy with my choice. Someday, once he learns I’m my own person, my father will come to love you like Grandpa and I do, but the truth is, Tanner, I don’t really care what anyone else thinks. It’s my life, and I know what I want.”
His hands slid around her waist. “You do, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.” She wanted to arch into him, stretch upward to kiss him, but there was one more thing she had to say. “All I ever wanted was someone who would walk beside me. Not in front, telling me where to step, or behind, telling me what I was doing wrong, just beside me, holding my hand as we go forward together. You’ve always done that.” She stretched on her toes then, to whisper next to his ear, “But if I ever see you kiss another woman like you did the other night, I’ll hunt you down like a rabid coyote.”
Tanner’s arms tightened, brought her up against him in a strong, unbreakable hold. “The feeling’s mutual,” he said.
She closed her eyes as happiness swam through her veins.
Christmas Cowboy Kisses Page 21