Rancher's Covert Christmas

by Beth Cornelison

  She raised her eyebrows and quirked her mouth in a lopsided grin. “Yes?”

  He was staring like a dope, he realized, and shook himself out of his stupor. “I brought you your boots. You left them in the stable.”

  “Oh!” Her face lit like a child’s on Christmas morning. “Thank you. Saved me a stop on the way to dinner.”

  She reached around the door for the boots, and he caught a peek of the towel she’d wrapped around her. A beat later, her words registered. “Dinner?”

  “Mmm-hmm. Your dad invited me to eat with you. I’ll be over in a few minutes. Just need to dry my hair and throw on some clothes.”

  Another flash of heat pulsed through him with the reminder of her dishabille. He fisted his hands and cleared his throat. “Guess I better hurry and get cleaned up myself then.”

  He touched the brim of his gray Stetson and nodded as he stepped back from the door, then turned to march toward the house. Was it his imagination, or did she linger a moment watching him go, despite the winter air that had to be chilling her wet skin?

  He showered in record time, wanting to be finished and out front when she arrived. Sure, someone else from the family could greet her and play host, but he was the one who’d given her the okay to visit the ranch and conduct her research. He felt a personal responsibility to see to their guest’s needs and to be her escort as needed. His damnable attraction to her had nothing to do with it. Yeah, keep telling yourself that, pal.

  When a knock sounded at the back door a few minutes later, he and Josh both moved to answer it. “I got it,” they said at the same time.

  He took a quick step or two to get ahead of his brother, shooting him a stand-down warning glance.

  Josh returned an amused, knowing grin. Sometimes Zane hated that his brother could read him so well.

  When he opened the door, the frigid December air that blew in stole his breath. Or, more likely, the vision of Erin in a cream-colored sweater that clung to her feminine curves and navy slacks with her dark brown hair curling around her wind-chapped cheeks did the job. Nothing about her clothes was revealing or scandalous, but she managed to look sexy as hell regardless.

  She gave his freshly pressed jeans and pale blue button-down shirt an assessing gaze, too. “Well, well. You do clean up nicely, cowboy. No one would know you were wearing an inch of mud half an hour ago.”

  “Likewise, ma’am.” He ushered her to the living room via the back hall, bypassing the kitchen where the rest of the family was pulling together the meal. He couldn’t say why, but he wasn’t ready to share her with the others just yet.

  When they entered the living room, he lifted Kate’s black-and-white cat, Sadie, off his father’s recliner. “Scoot cat. You don’t get the best seat in the house.”

  “Oh, don’t bother the sweet thing! I can sit over here.” She motioned to the couch but stepped closer to Zane and the cat. “Hello, kitty. We meet again.” When Erin reached out to pat the feline, Sadie gave her a wide-eyed look, jumped from Zane’s arms and scampered away. “Was it something I said?” she said, chuckling.

  “Sadie is skittish and still getting used to all the people in and out of the main house. Kate only moved in here with her a couple months ago.”

  “So I shouldn’t take it personally?” Her cheek dimpled as she grinned, and he felt a funny catch in his chest.

  “No.” He stood in front of the recliner, waiting for Erin to sit first. But her attention had been caught by something across the room, and she headed toward the far wall.

  “Oh, wow.” She stopped in front of an old aerial map of the ranch that his grandfather had framed and hung in that spot nearly sixty years earlier. “That’s the Double M?” She pointed to the superimposed white line that demarcated the property lines and denoted the different pastures and hay fields.

  “That’s the Double M circa 1960 or so. Our property lines have changed somewhat over the years.”

  He crossed the room to stand next to her. Growing up, the old map had filled him with wonder and pride, knowing how the Double M had grown under the guiding force that was his grandfather. The ranch had expanded further when his dad had taken over. Only in recent years had the future of the ranch come into question. Now, as he stared at the familiar old map, his chest tightened. Would his generation be the last to call the Double M home? He’d give anything to preserve the family’s heritage, but recently he’d felt as if the deck was stacked against him. No matter how hard he and his father tried to streamline finances, find new income streams and reduce debt, the ranch seemed to be slipping through their fingers.

  “So what’s changed?” Erin asked, and he had to mentally backpedal to put her question in context.

  “On the map?”

  She nodded.

  He rubbed his hands on the seat of his jeans, drying the clamminess that had accompanied his latest worry spell. Pointing to the top of the map, he said, “Well, we lost a bit of land here when the state put in the new highway. Granddad got a nice check out of it that he used to upgrade equipment, though, so that was no biggie.” He tapped the bottom right corner. “This area down here is ours now. We bought it from another rancher when he went bankrupt about ten or fifteen years ago. And this area here—” he pointed to the left side of the map “—was bought when the owner died and Mr. Miller’s kids decided they wanted out of the ranching biz.”

  She nodded and pointed to a spot in the middle of one of the pastures. “What’s that black spot?”

  “Lightning started a prairie fire a few weeks before this aerial shot was taken. That’s the burned area.”

  “And this?” She pointed to another spot. “Is that water?”

  “A pond. Yeah.”

  She glanced at him. “The one that got poisoned last year?”

  He frowned. “How do you know about that?”

  She hesitated. “I... Your father told me.”

  He did? His pulse jumped in surprise. He hadn’t realized she’d had much chance to talk to his father yet, although his dad had driven her back to the ranch this afternoon. So maybe...

  He folded his arms over his chest and turned back to the map with a scowl. “Yeah. That’s the one.”

  “So where did the herd drink after that?”

  He tapped the map. “We moved them to this pasture. This pond is smaller, but it sufficed. It’ll be years before we can safely use that pond again.”

  “How did you—?”

  “Dinner’s ready!” Josh bellowed from the kitchen, cutting her off.

  Rather than get any deeper into the discussion of the trouble the vandal had caused, Zane quickly ushered Erin into the adjoining dining room, steering her with a light touch at the small of her back. Zane pulled out the chair at the end of the table where his mother usually sat, and Erin slid into the seat. He took his place, immediately to her right, just as his dad, Kate and Josh arrived from the kitchen with platters of pancakes and bacon.

  “As I said, the ladies who usually do the food prep around here are at the hospital with Dave, so we went with one of the only things we know how to prepare. Breakfast,” his dad said, setting the plate heaped with bacon on the table.

  She smiled gamely and put her napkin in her lap. “Breakfast for dinner was a favorite at my house growing up. And who can argue with bacon anytime of day?”

  “Erin, have you met my fiancée, Kate?” Josh asked.

  The willowy blonde who’d stolen Josh’s heart smiled warmly and offered her hand to Erin. “Nice to meet you. So you’re a writer?”

  Zane thought he detected a slight hesitation before Erin nodded and said, “That’s right. Congratulations on your engagement. I hear the wedding is in just a few weeks.”

  Josh helped Kate with her chair and gave Erin a goofy, slap-happy grin. “Seventeen days.”

  His brother and Kate exchanged a sappy look. Zane was happ
y for his twin, but at times he felt a twinge of something he hated to think was jealousy. Marriage and family was something he’d always thought he’d have before Josh did. Not that it was a competition. Even though so many other things in their history had seemed a battle for them. Who had lost their tooth first? Who had gotten better grades? Who had made the football team? Who had dated the prettiest girls? Who had stayed on the bronco longer?

  Or maybe that had been all his own perception, his own need to succeed. Often Josh didn’t seem to care about anything other than having fun and doing his own thing.

  Once Josh and his father had seated themselves and the food had been blessed, Zane passed the bacon to Erin before helping himself.

  “Aren’t Piper and Brady going to join us?” she asked.

  “No,” his dad said. “They live in the foreman’s house across the way with Roy and their son, Connor. They fix their own meals, except for special occasions.”

  She nodded. “Ah, got it. So Connor is Piper and Brady’s son, and Roy is Brady’s father...” She wagged a finger in the air as she mentally processed the information, squaring the relationships in her head.

  Zane handed his brother the plate of bacon and asked, “So you got your first taste of ranch life today. What did you think?”

  Her eyes widened, along with her grin. “Amazing. Exciting. Muddy.”

  The men chuckled, and his father said, “Oh, yeah. It’s dirty work for sure.”

  Erin took a bite of her bacon, and her eyes closed as a satisfied moan rolled from her throat. “Ooh, that’s good.”

  Her hum of pleasure stopped Zane in the middle of forking two pancakes onto his plate. The sultry noise reverberated through him, and a sweet heat like maple syrup puddled low in his belly.

  “How long did it take to train the dogs to help herd the cows like that?” Erin divided her gaze between Zane and his father.

  “They were already trained when we got them,” Zane said. “Training dogs takes time, and there’s enough work to do around here without adding that job.”

  “Oh, right. I can imagine.” She took a bite of pancake, then once she’d swallowed, added, “They were amazing to watch. It’s incredible how they responded to your whistles and commands and knew just what to do.”

  “They definitely earn their keep,” his dad said with a laugh.

  Zeke chose that moment to jump onto the table and sauntered across to sniff the plate of bacon.

  Erin gave a startled laugh, and Josh shot out of his chair to grab the feline before he could steal any meat. As Josh lifted Zeke from the table, the cat’s long fluffy tail swished and knocked over the red taper that his mother had stuck in the middle of an evergreen-and-holly Christmas centerpiece.

  Zane groaned as he righted the candle. “Clearly not all of our animals are as well trained.”

  “My apologies,” his father said, “My wife spoils that cat. Gives him free rein.”

  “No problem,” Erin replied, her amusement glowing from her eyes as well as her grin.

  Damn, she was beautiful. Even without makeup as she was now, her skin was flawless. Her fringe of dark lashes framed her bright evergreen eyes, and her smile shone brighter than the spotlight that drew customers to the Christmas tree lot at the edge of town. Having had her mahogany curls teasing his cheeks as they rode out into the pasture today, he knew firsthand her hair was every bit as soft as it looked. His mind’s eye conjured an image of himself threading his fingers through her unruly mane while their bodies tangled and she moaned with the same sexy pleasure she’d expressed for the bacon. When she cast a glance his direction, he realized he was staring, and he jerked his attention to his plate.

  Damn! He didn’t need a distraction like her around when the family was struggling to stay afloat and an unknown vandal was attacking them. He wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the downed fence today was the handiwork of their saboteur.

  “So what happened to the fence? How did it get torn up, so that the herd got out? Do you think it was the same person who has been wreaking all the other havoc around here?” Erin asked, as if she’d read his mind.

  He glanced toward his father, knowing the topic of the vandalism could stir him up and raise his already high blood pressure. Josh, too, sent a concerned glance to the end of the table where Michael sat.

  His dad drew a slow, measured breath and set his fork on his plate before raising his eyes to meet Erin’s. “While it certainly could have been further sabotage, the fact is that fences are in constant need of repair. The weather, the wildlife and the herd can all do their share to damage the fences. We ride the fence line daily as part of our maintenance schedule.”

  “And what do you think was responsible for the section out today?” she pressed.

  “Who’s to say?” Josh wiped his mouth, then took a sip of his water. “Could be a combination of things. I didn’t see evidence of tampering. Although, Roy was the one working the fence. Guess we should ask him what he saw.”

  “Tell me more about the other incidents of sabotage,” Erin said, crunching another strip of bacon. “Who discovered the damage? What evidence did the culprit leave behind?”

  Zane tensed and sent his father another covert glance. “Maybe that’s a conversation for another time. Not a topic that’s good for digestion.”

  His father shook his head. “No, don’t put her off, Zane. She needs the full picture to do her job.”

  Zane turned toward Erin, and his gaze clashed with hers. “But her job is to write about the adventure business and highlight the positive, tell people an inspirational story of siblings with a passion for the outdoors.”

  “That doesn’t mean she can’t ask about the trouble we’ve had lately.” Josh stabbed a bite of pancake, and syrup dripped from his fork as he added, “I mean, that’s one of the main reasons we decided to start McCall Adventures—the extra income to get the ranch out of the red.”

  Zane tensed and sent his brother a stern look. “Things not to discuss in mixed company—politics, religion...and personal finances.”

  Josh snorted. “Well, shoot! That’s all the fun stuff!”

  Kate sent her fiancé a lopsided smile and poked him with her elbow. Turning a polite smile to Erin, she said, “Why don’t you tell us about yourself, Erin? Where is home for you?”

  Zane gave Kate a nod of thanks for rescuing the conversation. He couldn’t say why talking about the family’s recent troubles bothered him so deeply. Erin might need certain insights about the family to promote the best aspects of the adventure tours, but he still had an unexplained wariness about her. Her questioning of the sheriff deputy’s handling of Dave’s accident might have been on point, but it had felt like an intrusion to Zane. Or maybe an indictment of how he’d been overseeing the incident for the family.

  “I live in Boulder at the moment,” Erin said. “I love the area, but I’m not married to it. If I got the chance to move to the west coast, say Portland or Seattle, I think that would be cool.”

  “And wet...” Zane and Josh said at the same time.

  Erin divided a look between them, grinning. “Did I just witness a woo-woo kind of twin thing?”

  “Yes,” Kate said.

  “It’s not woo-woo,” Zane countered.

  “It’s kinda woo-woo,” their dad said with a lopsided grin. “They’ve done stuff like that their whole life. Sympathy pains, reading reach other’s minds, saying the same thing at the same time...”

  Erin shifted an intrigued gaze toward Zane. “Now this is interesting. Tell me more!”

  He shrugged. “Typical twin stuff. No big deal.”

  Josh aimed his fork at his brother. “Now see, I knew he was going to say that!”

  Zane gave Josh a wry look. “Yeah? What am I thinking now?”

  Josh pressed his fingers to his temples, pretending to be tuning in to Zane’s thoughts,
then gave a mock-offended gasp. “Zane, such language! There are ladies present!”

  Erin and Kate chuckled, and Michael rolled his eyes. Zane lifted a corner of his mouth in amusement as he shook his head at his brother. “Doofus.”

  “Dork,” Josh returned.

  “Now seriously,” Erin said, putting her hand on Zane’s wrist, “I want to hear the twin and triplet tales. I find the link between twins fascinating. As your triplet, does Piper share any of the woo-woo stuff with you or is it just you two?”

  Warmth curled in Zane’s belly, and he dropped a surreptitious glance to Erin’s hand on his. Could she feel the none-too-subtle drubbing of his pulse?

  “We have the usual sibling bond with her,” Josh said, “but it’s not quite the same as the connection Zane and I have being identical twins. Some of that is because we’re brothers. I understand him better than Piper. Women are...weird.”

  Kate chuckled. “Excuse me?”

  Josh leaned over and kissed Kate’s cheek. “Your weirdness is part of the reason I love you.”

  His fiancée shook her head. “Nope. Still feel insulted.” She glanced to Erin. “You?”

  Erin grinned. “Well, I rather like being a little weird. Keeps life interesting.”

  Josh raised his glass to her. “Exactly.”

  Zane snorted. “In that case, Josh is very interesting.”

  Erin set her fork down and leaned back in her chair, waving a finger to the family in general. “I love this. The family banter and teasing. I’m learning a lot that will help me with my research, give it depth and a framework.”

  She gave his father a long look, and Zane’s father returned a subtle nod. A funny niggle told Zane the silent exchange between them was significant, but he couldn’t guess why. Through the years, he’d sent his sibling enough covert glances and silent messages around the dinner table to know when something was up. That he couldn’t decipher the message passed between his father and Erin unsettled him.

  For the rest of the meal, conversation turned to the progress in preparing for Kate and Josh’s Christmas wedding. Dress alterations, flower selection, the music for the reception. Not having much to add to that discussion, Zane was better able to sit back and observe Erin. Her eyes grew animated as she shared ideas with Kate, showing the same enthusiasm Piper and her mother had for such details. Meanwhile Josh, who wouldn’t know an amaryllis if it hit him in the head, had only occasional contributions to the discussion of poinsettias and evergreen sprigs, sweetheart necklines and keyhole backs. Zane studied his twin across the table with a mix of amusement, joy...and uneasiness.