“We’re not done talking about this,” he said.
Angela’s lips flattened, but she nodded.
“I’m not looking for something short term.” If he were, he wouldn’t have picked Angela. Which was a joke, because even though he wasn’t, he hadn’t wanted to pick Angela. That’s just who he seemed to have fallen in love with.
“Hungree,” Ashleigh said.
“They have breakfast downstairs.” He held up a finger, letting a bag with the clothes he’d bought last night dangle from it. “I think we can cut these off and make them work for the girls to swim.” He grinned. “You can swim, too.”
She rolled her eyes, laughing, and walked to the girls, sitting down on the bed. “How’d you guys sleep?”
“Are we still in the truck?” Holly blinked and looked around.
“We carried you in last night. Don’t you remember?” Angela asked gently, her hand soothing over Holly’s crinkled forehead and hair.
Holly shook her head.
Ashleigh kicked her covers off and crawled over Holly who grunted and pushed at her. But Ashleigh ignored her and crawled into Angela’s arms, snuggling down.
The sight of Angela cuddling with the girls stirred his protective instincts, and he wanted to walk over and put his arms around all of them, pulling the whole ragtag bunch of them together. But he’d seen enough in Angela’s eyes to know that she needed a little time. And he needed to figure out why she’d say yes to two days but not commit to anything more.
It was odd, considering she was the kind of girl who he’d have said would never settle for less than everything.
He needed to do something. “You want me to bring breakfast up?”
“Would you mind? I think that will make it easier on everyone. Except you.” She scrunched her nose up.
“You look like a rabbit when you do that.”
“Do what?”
“That nose thing.”
“Nose thing?”
“Yeah, the little scrunchy nose thing.”
“If you want us to go get our own breakfast, just say so.”
“How does your nose have anything to do with breakfast?”
“I have no idea. I was talking about breakfast, and all the sudden, you start talking about rabbits and noses, and it made me think you didn’t want to go get food for us. Because why else would you say anything about rabbits and noses?”
“I think I know a way to get you to stop talking.” He put a hand in his front pocket and spoke as casually as he could.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I think I’ll try it out later.”
“Really?” She grinned at him, then looked at the girls with lifted eyebrows. Holly, still lying down, shrugged her shoulders.
Ashleigh, snuggled into Angela, said, “Hungree.”
“Right. I’m headed down. Maybe you can teach her to talk in full sentences until I get back.”
“Just be quiet and go get the food and maybe we’ll share with you when you get back.”
He grunted. “If I don’t eat it all in the elevator on the way up.”
“I think duct tape will fix that problem.”
“Unfortunately, you don’t have any.”
“Unfortunately? Hmm. I didn’t think you were like that.”
Mack tilted his head. Was Angela insinuating... His cheeks heated. He shook his head. Probably not.
“I’ll be back.”
There was giggling behind him as he shut the door.
Chapter 18
They had underestimated the time the girls would want to spend in the pool.
After breakfast, Mack had used his pocketknife to cut the lower legs off the pants he’d bought for the girls. They’d gotten them dressed, and Mack had somehow convinced Angela to wear a pair of basketball shorts he’d bought. Men’s. Not that she was complaining. She was guessing it was basketball season, and that might be why the store had them.
Whatever it was, she and Mack both ended up in the pool with the girls. They didn’t have any floaties or lifesavers, but another hotel guest had left a ball and two noodles, which had kept the girls entertained for hours.
Actually, Angela didn’t need the ball or the noodles to stay entertained. Mack in a wet t-shirt was more than enough to keep her attention.
The group of three ladies that had sat at one of the poolside tables sipping drinks and laughing had spent a good amount of time looking at him, too. They’d left about ten minutes earlier, all three of them taking a last look at Mack before throwing their garbage in the trash and walking out.
Angela sat on the pool steps with Ashleigh, who loved moving up and down and splashing in the water, while Mack moved around the pool with Holly on his back.
Seeing the ladies look at him had made her remember what he’d said about his past. He probably hadn’t had any trouble attracting women.
If Angela had been honest with him earlier in the day, not just about not being able to have a long-term relationship with him, but also about the letter that was sitting on his dresser, he might have been able to, if not find a wife in that group, at least test the waters.
He might have missed the opportunity to have the ranch he dreamed about. And it was her fault.
Ashleigh slipped. Her hand slapped at the water, throwing big drops on Angela as her body went down.
Angela grabbed for her, managing to get her before her head went under. Ashleigh laughed, thinking the whole thing lots of fun.
“Come on. Let’s go pick on your sister and Uncle Mack.” She picked the baby up and glided through the water.
Mack turned at the other end of the pool. Holly was off his back and holding on to the noodle. He had his hands cupped, and Angela assumed he was showing her how to paddle.
Her eyes caught. Of course those girls were looking at him. He could be ugly as a mud fence, but if he were that good with children, he’d still catch the eyes of the ladies. There was something about a man who was good with children that spoke to the female heart.
He looked up and caught her watching him. His teeth flashed.
“Why don’t you see if you can swim to Miss Angela?” he said to Holly.
Holly, with a death grip on the noodle, turned her still mostly dry head and saw Angela.
Her face crinkled.
Angela held her arm out. “Come on. You can do it.”
Holly bit her lip and looked back at Mack.
“I’ll walk beside you,” he promised. “Kick your feet like I showed you. Up and down. Under the water.”
He stood beside her and waited, giving her time to make her decision.
Angela waited without saying anything more. She was pretty sure Holly would decide to try it, but if she didn’t this time, there’d be other times.
Maybe.
Over the hours that passed, it was easy to start thinking the girls would be with them forever and that it might really be okay to be “more” with Mack.
He hadn’t said what his idea of “long term” was, or his idea of “more,” but she was pretty sure it involved all the things she wanted but couldn’t have with him. Which depressed her.
“Hey, you’re almost here. Just a little bit more,” she called to Holly who was kicking her legs above the water and splashing water everywhere.
“I think you’re gonna get wet,” Mack said, with big splashes of water hitting him.
“I guess I should expect that since I’m in a swimming pool, right?” Angela laughed. She’d braided her hair, expecting that she might have to submerge her head but not really wanting to. She’d never been a big swimmer. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, because doggy paddling was swimming, but it was hard to act with the decorum her parents required when she looked like a drowned rat.
“I kinda like the wet t-shirt look on you.” Mack’s eyes glinted.
Angela’s mouth formed an “o.” Chlorine water splashed into it. She closed it.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever said anything like that to me before.
” She was kind of tempted to cross her arms over her chest, but she was holding Ashleigh. So she shifted the little one slightly.
“Really? You’re acting all surprised when I’m pretty sure earlier in our room you insinuated something about duct tape that, I have to say, I was not expecting but would not mind trying.”
Right. It was a little chilly in the pool, but her cheeks were nice and hot. So was the back of her neck.
She took a step forward. “Good job, Holly. You made it.” Holly’s beaming face turned up, and they shared victory smiles.
“Why don’t you try for the steps now?” Mack suggested.
So like a man to push even farther. Holly was up for the challenge, though, and the kicking and splashing started in earnest again.
Angela watched her go, very conscious of the man that stood not far from her. Her entire face must be as red as the Christmas bow in the hotel lobby.
“I’ll hold Ashleigh,” he said.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that he held his hands out, and Ashleigh started leaning toward him with her arms outstretched.
Angela let her go, then realized that had been her shield. She supposed, being a pastor’s daughter, people were afraid to say those kinds of things to her. Or maybe she’d just grown up around people who were a lot different than Mack.
Yeah. That was probably it.
“Hey. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” She shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and turning to him. “You just really surprised me, that’s all.”
“No. It was inappropriate. That’s my past coming out my mouth. Although...” He gave her a grin that looked a little wicked. “I’d definitely want to talk to my wife like that.”
“I think she’d appreciate it.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“Your wife?” She tilted her head and blinked her eyes at him. “You’re married?”
His eyes glinted, and his face lost the serious look it had. “You are.”
She sighed. Holly was almost to the steps. “Not for long, I hope.”
“You have something against getting married again?” he asked, low.
“Yay! Look at you! You made it to the steps, sweetie.” Angela didn’t want to talk about marriage. Not with Mack. Not when she really wanted everything he was saying. She needed to tell him straight out that his friends would never accept her. And guys that had lived the way the harvest crew had—living in a tiny camper for three quarters of a year. Eating, sleeping, and living on top of each other. Working together in all kinds of weather, putting in those long days and partial nights. They were bonded in ways that would never be broken. She didn’t want to come between them. Her past was bad enough. If they found out she knew about the money? Wow. They would hate her forever.
“No. He cheated on me. That gives me the right to divorce him according to God’s law.”
“And remarriage?” The serious look was back on his face. She wished it weren’t.
“To the right guy, yes.” She flipped her braid over her shoulder. “If you’ve got her, I’m going to swim for a minute.”
Without waiting for his answer, she pushed off into the water, not exactly graceful in her doggy paddling, but graceless was better than the awkwardness of his conversation.
By the time she got back to him, Holly had paddled out to him and was on her way back to the steps.
Angela kept going and met Holly there.
Mack didn’t press her for more, and she had to admit she made sure the girls were between them as much as she could. It was probably better for everyone that way.
MACK LET THE WHOLE marriage conversation thing go. He was pushing pretty hard, and he knew it. They had time, and there was no rush. Maybe Angela wanted to take a break from men for a while. He probably wouldn’t be real interested in jumping back into something before the ink was dry on his divorce papers.
That was a joke.
Because it was Angela, it wouldn’t matter. He was sure how he felt about her. Maybe because of all the relationships he’d had before, he knew what he felt for Angela was different. Better. Stronger.
It was something that would last. Grow and change, sure. Life wasn’t stagnant and wasn’t expecting his feelings to not change. He just knew the change would be deeper and better.
The girls were tired and hungry when they got out of the pool. After they ate, they all took a nap with the girls begging for more swimming when they woke up.
All in all, he was kind of glad of the delay. It gave them a rest from the Christmas festival and all the pressure Angela had felt about that. Plus, even if Angela was kind of avoiding him, it gave him time to spend with her. How could he not love that?
But they had to get back to real life. Clay was expecting his combine, anyway.
Monday afternoon, they weren’t far from Sweet Water when Clay called. Angela was in the passenger seat beside him; the girls had finally gone to sleep in the bunk.
He glanced at Angela before he answered. They’d been riding in silence for the last thirty minutes or so. Not a bad silence, but one in which he was trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say and hadn’t gotten it down yet. Not sure what her reaction would be since he hadn’t broached the subject since they’d been in the pool. Maybe while he was driving wasn’t the best time anyway.
“Go ahead,” he said, after swiping his phone.
“ETA?”
“’Bout an hour.”
“Figure you’re planning on helping Angela with the festival this week.”
“Yeah.”
“How do you feel about Reina and I helping her and you loading up the corn head and trucking out to Nebraska?”
“They have standing corn yet in Nebraska?”
“Just got a call from a guy whose wife was having cancer treatments and then they had rain and you know how it goes. He’s got five hundred acres. Not really worth our time, but hated to tell him no.”
Mack squelched the irritation in his chest. He also swallowed the obvious question: why couldn’t Clay do it? After all, Clay knew Mack planned to help with the festival. But he couldn’t tell his boss no. Especially not when he had all but said he was planning on buying his business.
“I can do it,” Clay said, his voice a little softer. “But Reina’s had a pretty rough life, and I wanted her to enjoy the Christmas season, here on the ranch and in town. It’s her first with Gina.”
Gina was their daughter.
Mack really couldn’t tell him no now.
“Also, I haven’t talked to you for a couple of days about this, but Mav was talking last night like if you decided you didn’t want to go halves in the business, he’d buy it all.” Clay paused for just a second. “That’s up to you. I told him you made that decision.”
There wasn’t too much traffic on the road, although the wind was blowing. Mack didn’t need much concentration to keep the rig on the road.
“I’ll be honest. I don’t know. I know that’s not a fair answer. I was sure that’s what I wanted to do, but if Mav will buy the whole thing, then maybe that’s for the best.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Not sure.” And that was the honest truth. He needed to talk to Angela. He also needed to figure out what was going on with his sister. If he were running the harvest crew from May through November, who would keep the girls? But if he weren’t running the harvest crew, what would he do?
“I’ll go south and do the five hundred acres, but if Angela can’t watch my nieces, you and Reina will have to.” He glanced at Angela as he spoke. She’d looked over with interest when he’d said her name, but she didn’t try to ask any questions while he was still talking. She knew he’d talked to his mother earlier in the day when his parents had started out for their home. No word on his sister.
“That’s fine. We’ve got it.” Clay spoke easily. Mack couldn’t think of anyone, ot
her than Angela, with whom he’d trust his nieces more.
“Okay. I’m assuming you want that corn done yesterday.”
“Yeah. Was hoping you’d load up the corn head and keep trucking today yet. You could be there by midnight, two o’clock.”
“Can’t log that legally.”
Clay snorted. He knew Mack was joking. “Good thing we have an agriculture exemption. I’ll pay for your hotel, by the way.”
“I was getting to that. I need one with laundry facilities.”
“I’ll email your reservation. You get down there tonight yet, you’ll be back for the parade on Thursday.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Thank you. Reina and Gina thank you, too.”
They hung up.
Mack didn’t look at Angela for a bit. To say he was disappointed was putting it mildly. But maybe this would work out for the best. They’d spent a lot of time together. He’d had a great time, but maybe being apart for a few days would be good for them. Maybe she’d miss him.
He tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. “You probably figured out that was Clay.”
“He’s got some corn for you to do?” she asked, polite inquiry on her face.
“Five hundred acres in Nebraska.”
“Oh. When?”
“Now.”
“What about the girls?”
“He’ll watch them if you can’t.”
She nodded. “I can do it, except someone will have to watch them while I work at the diner.” Her hands twisted in her lap. “I’ll have a lot of work to do with the festival, too.”
“Clay and Reina will help you.”
“I don’t want to put them out.”
“You’re not. Reina hasn’t had a whole lot of happy Christmases, and Clay would really like for her to get into the swing of things. You know there’s no better way to get her completely sick of Christmas than to get her to help with the festival.”
Angela laughed.
He loved that sound. His heart hurt because he’d be leaving her.
“So, yeah. They’ll help with the festival. They’ll help with the girls, and if I leave right away, I might be back for the parade on Thursday.”
“Did I hear you saying you weren’t sure if you were still buying the harvest company? Not to pry. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Cowboys Don't Stand Under the Mistletoe (Sweet Water Ranch Western Cowboy Romance Book 10) Page 15