High Country Christmas

by Joanna Sims

  London grabbed the foal’s spindly legs encased in the slippery fetal sac. She told Tyler, “I’m going to pull with the contractions.”

  With each pull, the foal came a little bit farther out into the world. “We have a head!”

  That was the information Tyler was waiting to hear. The foal’s head was where it should have been in a normal presentation. London was patient and persistent, pulling with each strong contraction.

  “We have shoulders...” Tyler heard London say. If they could get past the shoulders, they were on the home stretch.

  Rising Star made a groaning sound and thrashed her head.

  “The foal’s out!” London said loudly. She didn’t waste time—she cut open the fetal sac that covered the foal’s body.

  Tyler was at her side. “Is it breathing?”

  “Breathing,” London confirmed, lifting up the foal’s leg. “It’s a he.”

  London peeled off her dirty gown and gloves, disposed of them and then stood in the open doorway of the stall next to Tyler. Neither one of them seemed to have words. They simply stood together and watched the foal wiggling, for the first time, in the hay. Soon, the new mom would regain some of her strength and clean her foal. As much as London wanted to go into the stall, she knew that she needed to let Rising Star bond with her foal without an audience. She’d have plenty of time to bond with the little fellow later.

  London wiped the moisture from her eyes and gave a shake of her head to quell the rush of emotion she was feeling while she shut the stall door. Watching a new life come into this world always touched her; no matter how many times she witnessed it, each experience felt like the first time.

  Tyler couldn’t take his eyes off London. This woman, so strong and determined, was the mother of his first child. He felt proud to be standing next to her. He knew, right then, that she was meant to be more than the mother of his child. She was meant to be his wife.

  “You did good tonight.” He put his arm around her shoulder.

  She smiled briefly. “So did you.”

  She didn’t pull away from him, and this gave him reason to hope. They had gone through something here tonight.

  “It’s two o’clock,” London finally said. “You should go and get some rest.”

  “I never leave the newborns on the first night,” he said. When he was a boy of six or seven, they had lost a foal overnight. He’d never forgotten it.

  London shook her head. “Neither do I.”

  “Then we’ll both stay.”

  They each picked a spot in the adjacent stall and prepared to pull an all-nighter. London needed to see Rising Star recover some of her energy and begin to clean her newborn. She needed to see the colt stand up for the first time. Then she could relax. One after another, she tied pieces of hay into knots to give her hands something to do. She had created a little pile of knots when Rising Star finally levered herself upright, found her colt and began to clean him. London smacked Tyler on the leg several times.

  Tyler moved closer to her to get a better view of the scene unfolding in the next stall. This was the miracle of life. And, to her amazement, Tyler, whom she had always pinned as a devil-may-care cowboy too shallow to be taken too seriously, got it. He was as fascinated with the miracle they were witnessing as she was. She was usually alone with the mare and foal after a birth, and she liked it that way. But Tyler’s actions had naturally mirrored her own. He had been completely still—completely quiet. Like her, he wanted to be a witness, not an intruder.

  London leaned her body forward, silently rooting for the wobbly legged colt to finally get up on his feet after so many unsuccessful attempts.

  Come on, little fellow. You can do it. Come on...

  Rising Star gave the colt a push with her nose and that push gave the newborn the extra boost he needed to get on his feet.

  “Yes!” London whispered, her hand instinctively reaching for Tyler’s and squeezing it tightly. She looked over at him—he was in profile and his features were obscured in the low light. But she could see that he was smiling. Rising Star stood up to be with her colt and that was the finale.

  In celebration, she found herself hugging Tyler. Hard. He hugged her back, just as hard, and then kissed her on the top of her head.

  “This’s what I’ve been waiting for,” Tyler finally said in a low voice.

  London broke the hug, retrieved a diluted iodine wash and dabbed it on the spot where the umbilical cord had been attached to reduce the risk of infection. After she applied the iodine, she couldn’t stop herself from staring at the perfect little colt. He was black with four white socks. All of these months, she had wondered what the foal would look like, and now she knew. He was a stunner.

  “You’ve got a winner on your hands here, Star,” she said to the mare. She loved this colt. She had loved him for months. It was going to be so hard to say goodbye to him when she went back to school. Why couldn’t he be hers? London brushed the thought out of her mind with a shake of her head.

  Tyler had created a temporary bed out of bales of hay and was waiting for her. The sun would be up in a couple of hours, but she just couldn’t bring herself to go back to her room. And it appeared that Tyler was of the same mind.

  “Come join me,” Tyler said.

  “You want me to lie down with you?” London asked, not entirely opposed to the idea.

  “I just found out recently that I like sleeping with you better than I like sleeping alone.”

  She had been stifling one yawn after the other for hours. She was exhausted, so the odds of her falling asleep when she closed her eyes were very high. Why was the thought of falling asleep in Tyler Brand’s arms so appealing to her?

  “Come join me.” Tyler repeated the invitation.

  She lay down next to him, rested her head on his shoulder. At first, her body was stiff next to his, but when he grabbed her hand and positioned her arm around his waist, she realized it was ridiculous not to relax.

  “One of us has to stay awake...” Her eyelids closed.

  He rubbed her shoulder. “You rest. I’ll take the first watch.”

  “Okay.” She murmured her agreement.

  Tyler wrapped her up in his arms and she released a long, tired sigh. He felt her relax with that sigh, which made him smile. Deep, steady breathing followed—Tyler tilted his head to get a look at her face in the dim early-morning light. She had fallen asleep in his arms. And with London sleeping so soundly in his arms, completely trusting him to watch over her, Tyler discovered that he was happier now—hungry, tired and sitting on bales of hay—than he had ever been before.

  He had always known that he was going to be a rancher. It was in his blood. But beyond that...beyond what he was going to do with his life...he had never known who would be at his side when he was handed the reins of Bent Tree. Now he knew. As certain as he was that he belonged to the land of Bent Tree Ranch, he now knew that he belonged with London Davenport...with London and the child growing inside her. They, along with Bent Tree, were his future.

  * * *

  London stood on the threshold of Tyler’s cabin, poised to knock. It was impossible not to remember that last time she’d stood at his door...that was the night they had conceived. London knocked on the door quickly; while she waited for him to open the door, she looked around to see if anyone was around to notice her visiting Tyler.

  “Hey...I was just about to track you down,” Tyler said. He was fresh out of the shower, feet bare. He had nice feet. “Do you want to come in?” he asked. And then he smiled. “Of course you do. That was a stupid question. Why else would you be at my door?”

  She stepped inside and he closed the door behind her.

  “Is Logan here?” she asked on their way to the kitchen.

  “No...I don’t expect him back until later. Something to drink?�
��

  “Water. No ice, please.” She slipped onto a bench at the breakfast bar.

  “We had quite a night, didn’t we?” Tyler handed her a glass of water, no ice.

  “Thank you...” She accepted the glass. “Yes. We did. Your mom is over the moon about the colt. Who can blame her, right?”

  Tyler took a swig from his bottle of beer. “He’s a good one.

  “I was impressed with you...” he continued with a compliment.

  “Thank you.” She rested her hands on either side of her glass, glad to have something to do with her hands.

  “How are you feeling?” Tyler put his bottle down and put the palms of his hands flat on the kitchen counter.

  “A little tired, but other than that...good.” He hadn’t wasted much time getting straight to the topic they both wanted to discuss.

  “Are you feeling...different?”

  She shook her head with a small smile. “It’s still really early. I don’t feel different. Not yet.”

  “It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that our baby is growing inside you right now.” Tyler stared at her intently. “But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea.”

  Instead of responding, she took a sip of water.

  Tyler came to her side of the counter. “What I’m trying to say to you is that I want our child.”

  He took her hand in his. “And I want you.”

  London tugged her fingers free. “I did want to talk about the...pregnancy with you.”

  “The pregnancy...” Tyler’s brows dropped. “That sounds so clinical.”

  “I’m sorry...” She slid off the stool to put some distance between herself and Tyler. When he was standing so close, it was hard for her to remember to keep her guard up.

  “I wanted to tell you that I’m going to continue with the pregnancy.”

  “It never occurred to me that you wouldn’t,” Tyler said, surprised.

  London’s hand naturally went to her abdomen. “And I’m going to back to school. I only have one semester left.”

  “I was thinking that you could finish your degree after the baby is born...”

  “And then I’m going home to Virginia.”

  They were on opposite ends of the wood breakfast bar. It Tyler a second or two to process what London had just told him. The pregnancy had changed nothing. She was still planning on returning to Virginia and taking his child with her.

  “And if I asked you to stay here, on the ranch, as my wife...?”

  London saw the pain and confusion in Tyler’s deep blue eyes and she regretted that she was the cause of it.

  “I’m sorry, Tyler...but no...”

  Tyler crossed his arms in front of his body. “No to staying in Montana? No to marrying me...or both?”

  “Both...” She whispered the word. “I have to say no to both.”

  Chapter Five

  She had refused to give him any real explanation for rejecting his offer of marriage. As far as he was concerned, she didn’t have a legitimate reason to turn him down. Would having a legitimate reason hurt less? He doubted it.

  For the next several weeks, his mind was always occupied, imagining reasons she had to go back to Virginia. Time and time again, he came back to the only logical explanation—it had to be another man. But regardless of that, it occurred to him that she owed him the truth as the father of her unborn child. Instead of heading back to work after lunch, Tyler headed to the foaling barn.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” Tyler said.

  London, who had been admiring the colt Barbara had named Rising Sun, jumped. She had been so enamored with the new baby that she hadn’t heard Tyler approaching.

  “I have to admit...I’m obsessed.” London smiled fondly at the colt before she turned toward Tyler. It was unusual to see him in the foaling barn in the afternoon. “Do you need something?”

  “Yes. I need a straight answer from you.” Tyler glanced down at her flat abdomen. “I deserve the truth. Are you involved with another man, London? Is that why you turned me down?”

  Caught off guard, London was still formulating a response as Tyler took a step closer to her and said in a low, controlled voice, “Because if you’re intending for another man to raise my child...to...to take my place as a father...you’re going to have a fight on your hands.”

  London quickly looked around. They had agreed not to speak about the pregnancy until she finished her first trimester. And now Tyler was mugging her in the barn, in broad daylight, demanding answers.

  “You think that I would sleep with you when I’m involved with someone else?” she asked in a harsh whisper.

  “You’ve never given me a chance to know who you really are...”

  “Well, let me give you a quick overview... I’m not that kind of woman, okay? There isn’t another man. That’s not why I turned you down.” London took a step closer to him. “I turned you down because I have a plan and that plan is to finish my degree and then get back to my life, my family, in Virginia.”

  “Plans change,” he stated.

  “Not these,” she said firmly.

  Tyler took a deep, thoughtful breath in through his nose while he stared at London. Something just wasn’t adding up for him. There was always a wall up with her. It was if he was looking at the woman through glass—he could see her, but he couldn’t really touch her.

  He wanted to shatter that glass wall, but he didn’t know how.

  Tyler acted on instinct, without thinking it through. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. London kissed him back for a sweet minute before she pulled away.

  “We both have work to do, Tyler.”

  He took a step back, readjusted his hat on his head. “That’s right.”

  When she didn’t offer to continue the conversation later, he added in a very quiet, very steady voice, “I’m not going to let you just walk away with my child without a fight unless you have a damn good reason, London. So far, I haven’t heard one.”

  The look in her eyes shifted. She hadn’t liked the threat. He hadn’t liked issuing one, but he needed her to know his position. She was carrying his child, and for now, she had all the control. But that didn’t mean that he would allow her to call all the shots for the long term. “Tonight,” London whispered, her eyes skirting around. “Come to my place tonight and we’ll talk. In private.”

  She was angry, and he couldn’t allow himself to care. He was willing to put up a fight for his firstborn.

  London turned away from him. “Now...you can keep right on standing here, if you want. I’m getting back to work.”

  * * *

  That night he prepared himself as if he were going out on a date. Showered, shaved, clean nails, clean jeans... He’d stopped short of putting on cologne. This woman had him plumb confused. He had a hard time concentrating on his work, and he never had trouble concentrating on his work. His work on the ranch was his life. A place where he could escape almost anything...but he couldn’t escape London. She was with him wherever he rode, on every job, and he couldn’t seem to block her.

  Tyler looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His shirt was buttoned up so high that he looked as if he was going on a job interview. He actually always felt as though he was on some sort of strange job interview when he was with London, but he never got the job. Irritated, he started to unbutton his shirt. He yanked it off, threw it on the bed and then pulled on a plain black T-shirt. This wasn’t a date. It was a meeting—he needed to remember that.

  He headed to the main barn without notice. Working to his advantage was the fact that the members of his family, in one way or another, were occupied with wedding plans for his sister Jordan. His mother was in charge of wedding central in the house, and his father was focused on movin
g the chapel. He was able to fly below the radar, handle his business with London undetected, and he liked it that way.

  * * *

  London lifted up her plain white T-shirt and looked at her body in profile. She ran her hand over her stomach. It was still completely flat, but she knew that there was a life growing in there. She met her own eyes in the mirror and stared at herself. She already loved this child and would do everything in her power to have a healthy pregnancy. But if she could go back in time, to that night when they had conceived, would she change it? Yes. Yes, she would. She had been trying so hard, for so long, to lead an uncomplicated life, to unravel messy entanglements from her past and live a life free of drama. Why had she gone to Tyler’s room that night? Why? It was such a stupid, stupid decision.

  London lowered her shirt when she heard a knock at the door. “Come in...”

  Tyler opened the door, entered and then shut the door behind him. She had never had anyone in her small one-bedroom apartment located in the main barn. This was her private space—a place where she could be herself without any judgment.

  London tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans to give them something to do. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  Tyler put his hat down on the café table for two. “No. Thanks. I’m good.”

  Tyler sat down in one of the chairs at the tiny kitchen table. She joined him at the table, her arms crossed in front of her. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have.

  “I’d rather not waste time with small talk,” Tyler said with a grim expression. “If that’s all right with you.”

  She nodded. “I can’t live in Montana, Tyler. I know that’s what you want. But you need to get that idea out of your head right now. I think it makes sense for me to have full custody, but we can work out a liberal visitation schedule. I’ll send pictures...we can video chat every night...but I’m going back to Virginia. That’s nonnegotiable.”

  Tyler circled a scratch on the table with his pointer finger several times before he tapped the center of the imaginary circle. He looked up at her then.