“Makes no sense. Why would we hide?”
“You’re right.”
“Come out when you’re ready.” He gave her a soft kiss, put on his hat and left the tack room, closing the door firmly behind him.
Snatching her shirt and bra from the floor, she put them on. She fastened the buttons with shaking hands. Sexual frustration combined with an unexpected interruption had loaded her up with adrenalin. Last of all she put on her jacket and grabbed her dad’s fishing hat from the shelf where Badger had laid it.
Badger and Cody, if that’s who it was, were talking just outside the door. She heard laughter. Being discovered was a good thing for the tall tale she and Badger had cooked up. It was turning out to be a very convincing story. Just so she didn’t start believing it.
Chapter Eleven
Badger hadn’t been interrupted while making out with a woman in a long, long time, not since Atlanta’s finest had caught him with his pants down in the back seat of Eileen Stanley’s BMW.
He had his pants on this time, but when he’d come out of the tack room, he hadn’t been exactly presentable.
Sure enough, it had been Cody who’d arrived to feed the horses. His startled reaction at seeing Badger had changed to speculation and then he’d started laughing. “Hey, sorry.”
“No problem.” Badger couldn’t help laughing, too. It was a funny situation. “The horses need to be fed.”
“True, but you and Hayley must be a little frustrated with this setup.”
“You could say that.”
“I mean, with her staying at the parsonage and you sleeping here, I wondered what you planned to do about the issue.”
“Clearly we haven’t solved it or we wouldn’t be makin’ out in the tack room.”
“I had a similar problem with Faith. She was at her dad’s house and I was here.”
“What’d you do about it?”
“Well, it was June, for one thing.”
“Oh. You could sneak off in the bushes.”
“That was her plan but I wasn’t crazy about it. I set up a bed inside my camper shell.”
“Wasn’t that kind of obvious?”
“Not really. I was planning for my upcoming road trip, so it looked like preparations for my journey. But mostly it was so Faith and I could get horizontal in comfort. The ground is not optimal.”
“And now it’s really out of the question.”
“Yeah.” Cody laughed. “I’d hate to think what would happen if you tried it in the snow.”
“Shrinkage would happen, that’s what.”
Cody grinned. “Yep. Not the way to impress your lady.”
“Hauling her into the tack room isn’t exactly smooth, either. Is there a hotel around here? Or a B and B?”
“There is. Let me—oh, hey, there.” He turned as Hayley came out, her cheeks flushed. “I’m trying to remember if we’ve ever officially met.”
“I don’t think so. These aren’t the circumstances I would have chosen for our first meeting, either.”
“Don’t give it another thought.” He stuck out his hand. “Cody McGavin at your service, ma’am.”
“Hayley Bennett.” She shook his hand.
Winston chose that moment to let out a piercing whinny.
Cody laughed. “There’s the dinner bell! You two want to help feed? I could use a hand. Faith’s up at the house cooking with Mom. We’ll eat well tonight.”
“I’m sure. And I’d love to help feed.”
“Me, too,” Hayley said.
“Then let’s fetch us some gloves.” Cody walked into the tack room. Later, as they were delivering hay flakes loaded into a wheelbarrow, he had a moment when Hayley wasn’t within earshot. “That place that might work?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll get you the info tonight.”
“Great. Thanks.”
The massive dinner table piled with food and the joking that went on during the meal reminded Badger of nights in the mess hall, only with more women. He’d served with female pilots, even dated a couple, but they weren’t in the majority.
Tonight they outnumbered the guys by two. Neither Kendra nor Aunt Jo had a sweetheart. Cowboy had told him the stories—Aunt Jo had divorced her cheating husband years ago. Kendra’s Air Force pilot husband had died young, ironically not in the service but at home from an aneurism. Clearly both women were strong enough to make it on their own.
But the others gathered around the table seemed able to take care of themselves, too. Not a shrinking violet in the bunch. Hayley, who sat on his left, fit right in.
He’d been impressed with Faith earlier, but this was his first introduction to Mandy and Zane. Mandy was a powerhouse who ran her own fashion business with one hand and helped Zane’s Raptor Rise operation with the other.
Zane recounted the latest rescue of a male bald eagle who had become tangled in the string from a Mylar balloon. “Fortunately we discovered him before he’d hurt himself. He’ll be fine.” He turned to Badger. “How soon can you come over for a tour of the facility?”
“How’s tomorrow afternoon?”
“Great.” Zane looked at Hayley. “You’re welcome to come, too.”
“I’d love to, but I promised to bake Christmas cookies with my mom. It’s a yearly tradition.”
“Wouldn’t want to mess with that.” Badger said. “What if I go tomorrow and then we can go over together after Christmas?”
“Perfect.”
“You’ll be blown away by the tour.” Bryce’s girlfriend Nicole had bright red hair and the enthusiastic attitude to go with it. “That place is amazing.”
“I’ll bet. I’ve been wantin’ to see it ever since I saw some pictures y’all sent over. And there was a video of a golden eagle release, too.”
“I took that.” Aunt Jo looked proud of herself. “I’ll never forget the experience.”
“I’m sure I wouldn’t, either.” Badger glanced at Zane. “Any releases scheduled in the next few days?”
“Sorry. Not for another month or so.”
“Stick around and you can see one,” Ryker said.
Olivia, Trevor’s girlfriend and the McGavin family accountant, spoke up. “Don’t forget I want to go on the January release.”
“I’ve got you down.” Zane looked over at Badger, his gaze steady. “Want to reserve a spot? They’re going fast.”
“Hey, boys.” Kendra tapped her fork against her glass. “No hard sell, especially at the table. We all hope he’ll choose to live here. Let’s leave it at that.”
Cody grinned at Ryker. “Yeah, stop badgering the poor guy.”
Everybody groaned, but Kendra’s edict held. The subject was dropped.
April had made sure to sit on his right, and he’d enjoyed getting to know her. She was a little thing, and friendly as all get out. Clearly her cheerful personality softened Ryker’s drill sergeant tendencies. Seated on April’s other side, Ryker relaxed in his chair and sipped a beer while watching her with an adoring gaze.
“What was Ryker like in the Air Force?” she asked as the meal wound down. “You’re the only one here who can tell us.”
“You want the truth?”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
“He was a pain in the ass.”
Her brown eyes sparkled with mischief. “Funny, he says the same about you.”
Badger looked at Ryker over the top of April’s head. “You do?”
Ryker shrugged. “I call ‘em like I see ‘em.”
“Okay, tell me this.” April tucked her napkin next to her plate. “Who’s the better pilot?”
“I am,” they said together.
She laughed. “Probably could have predicted that. Okay, one more question, Badger. Did he ever talk about me?”
Ryker put down his beer. “Answer that and you’re a dead man.”
Badger grinned at him. “Only when he was drunk.”
Ryker’s eyes narrowed.
“And what did he talk about?�
��
“Sorry, ma’am.” He held Ryker’s gaze. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
“Well done, Badger.” Kendra pushed back her chair and stood. “It looks like we’ve avoided bloodshed. Who’s ready for dessert?”
“Hot damn.” Zane got up, too. “We finally get to eat the Yule log you’ve been raving about.”
“We’re eating a Yule log?” Badger was confused. “Isn’t that what you burn?”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Ryker said. “I could swear I saw a birch log in the fireplace, like always.”
“And another one in the fridge,” Cody said.
“Actually I got two.” Kendra started gathering plates and everyone else stood to do the same. “I wanted plenty to go around.”
As they all carried dishes and food into the kitchen, Badger turned to Hayley. “Does your family burn a Yule log for the twenty-first?”
“No fireplace.”
“Oh, right. What about this other one that’s for dessert?”
“I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds cool.”
“And tastes even better.” Kendra pulled two large bakery boxes out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter. When she lifted the lids, everyone gathered around to admire what looked like two branched logs frosted with chocolate and decorated with molded sugar poinsettias and tiny mushrooms.
Badger whistled under his breath. “Those are a work of art.”
“They are.” Hayley was wedged in next to him. “Seems a shame to cut into them.”
Crowded in with Ryker’s family and Hayley pressed against his side, Badger had trouble separating fantasy from reality. If he had to choose right now, he’d choose the fantasy of being madly in love with Hayley.
“Oh, you’ll want to cut into them,” Mandy said. “It’s delicious, a thin layer of chocolate cake rolled up with mocha chocolate mousse inside. And buttercream frosting textured to look like bark. I ate one of the samples Abigail was passing out last week. Take a picture if you want to save it for posterity.”
“I’ll take a picture to show my folks.” Hayley jostled Badger as she pulled out her phone. “I’m going to suggest this for next year.”
He could have moved a little to give her more room, but he liked being mashed together so he held his position.
“Okay, you’ve all seen it,” Kendra said. “Who wants to help serve? Not you, Trevor. You’re in charge of the fireplace.”
Several people offered to help, including Hayley, who said she’d waitressed her way through college.
Kendra smiled at her. “Then we’d be grateful to have you. Jo and I never waitressed a day in our lives.”
“I’ll help, too,” Badger said. “I’ve never been a waiter, but if I can juggle empty plates I can probably manage full ones.”
“Juggling practice!” Ryker snapped his fingers. “We should practice after we finish dessert. I stashed a box of red and green thrift-store plates in my old bedroom. Mom, if you don’t need me, I’ll go get ‘em for later.”
“Looks like we have plenty of hands on deck, son. Go ahead.”
“I’ll help serve,” Cody said. “But I need a quick minute with Badger.” He motioned him back into the dining room and took out his phone. “Get your phone, buddy.”
Badger took his out of his pocket.
“Here you go.” Cody showed Badger his screen. “The Nesting Place B and B. I’m texting you the number.”
“Excellent. Thanks, Cody.” He couldn’t duck out now, but he’d find a moment during the evening. The way things were going with Hayley, he needed to find a place where they could deal with their lust or one of them was liable to go up in flames before this vacation was over.
Chapter Twelve
What a wonderful evening. Hayley had loved it all—the traditions, the teasing, the room filled with laughter. And singing. Bryce and Nicole had brought their guitars and had played any Christmas carol thrown at them.
Badger, Ryker and Cody put on a brief juggling demonstration. They were way better at it than Hayley had expected. April told her Ryker was a genius at hand-eye coordination, but she admitted Badger might be his equal. Cody was the team’s weak link, but he didn’t seem to care. He was endearingly good natured about it.
The magic of Christmas was alive and well at Wild Creek Ranch. She didn’t want to leave, but she didn’t share a room down the hall with Badger. The birch Yule log in the fireplace had been reduced to hot coals by the time she got to her feet and announced she should go home.
That prompted a touching flurry of hugs and suggestions that she should consider moving to Eagles Nest.
“Montana has all sorts of elder care programs,” Zane said. “We could put you to work, no problem.”
“You could be a roving consultant,” April said. “Ryker could fly you all over the state, right, cowboy?”
Badger looked at her. “You call him Cowboy, too? I thought it was only me and the guys in our squadron.”
April smiled at him. “I’ve called him that forever, but it’s not like his handle or anything. Out here, if you happen to be dealing with a guy who can ride and rope, you might call him cowboy for the heck of it. I think you gave Ryker an actual name, with a capital C.”
“Yes, ma’am. He was the only one who got that label. Just like I was the only one who was called Badger.”
“And who gave you that name?”
Hayley was glad April had asked the question. She’d wanted to, but their relationship was so new that she’d hesitated.
“My first year in the service there was a guy in my squadron who liked matchin’ people with their…I forget what he called it.”
“Spirit animals?”
“That’s it. He decided that a badger worked for me because I walk my own path at my own pace. That’s the general idea, anyway.”
April smiled. “That’s awesome. Do you?”
Badger gazed at her. “Mostly.”
“Good.” April gave him a hug. “I’m glad to have finally met you, Badger. And for the record, I admire you for keeping Ryker’s secrets. I didn’t expect you to crack.”
“I wasn’t bein’ noble, ma’am. As you observed, he threatened to kill me.”
“You and I both know he’d rather cut out his heart than hurt you.”
Ryker wrapped an arm around her waist. “Gee, thanks. You just ruined my last chance to intimidate this joker. From now on, he’ll ride roughshod over me.”
She laughed. “Like anyone could ride roughshod over you.”
“Except you.” He drew her against his side.
“That’s the truth. She’s got your number, Cowboy.” Badger captured Hayley’s hand in his. “Now if y’all will excuse me, I’ll walk this lady to her car.” He helped her on with her coat.
As they went out the front door, people called out Merry Christmas and call me. She’d given her phone number to most of the women. She’d be in Eagles Nest through New Year’s, so coffee dates were a definite possibility.
“They like you,” Badger said as they walked across the porch and down the steps, his arm draped across her shoulder.
“I like them.”
“It seemed like you made a connection with everyone, especially the women.”
“I did. But I need to be realistic. You’re Ryker’s pal from the military. If I dump you after the vacation, I doubt they’ll want to have anything to do with me.”
“Then don’t dump me.”
Her breathing picked up speed. She stopped walking and turned, dislodging his arm. Her breath made little puffs of fog in the still air, broadcasting her agitation. “But…but I thought we’d agreed to—”
“Easy, darlin’. Don’t panic.” He smiled down at her. “We’ll still break up.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “You had me worried for a minute.”
“Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m not deviatin’ from the plan. Just refinin’ it. We’ll break up, but it doesn’t have to be acrimonious.”
His pre-law
education was showing. But she wasn’t supposed to know about that. “You’re right. We’ve set it up that we haven’t spent a lot of time together. It would be logical that we’d find some issue we hadn’t anticipated.”
“Why does it have to be an issue? Why can’t we just go our separate ways?”
“Because we’ve sold this as a love match. Everybody thinks we’re crazy about each other, so we need to butt heads over something.”
He nudged back his hat. “I’m a pretty easy goin’ guy. Not the buttin’ heads type. Can’t we just tell everybody it didn’t work out?”
“You can get away with that sometimes, but your nearest and dearest will think you’re hiding your pain.”
“Ryker won’t.”
“My mom and dad will, though, and Kendra might. When a couple’s madly in love, it doesn’t end with a handshake. There’s anguish and misery.”
“Then I guess I’ve never been madly in love.”
“You’ve never suffered when you split with someone?”
He shrugged. “No, ma’am. Just figured it wasn’t meant to be and moved on. Have you suffered?”
“Only one time to the point of long crying jags, and that was when I was in college. I was madly in love and so was he, with me and three other women. He said he needed all of us for different reasons.”
“Bastard.” He touched her cheek. “I’m sorry. Wish I could break his nose for you.”
She laughed. “No worries. I broke it.”
“Whoa! Well done, you. Did you punch him?”
“Nope. Whacked him in the face with my sociology textbook. Good thing some classes still used actual books then. I wouldn’t have risked my laptop. Anyway, no one wondered why we called it quits.”
“I get that. Listen, are you cold? Because I’m—”
“I’m freezing.”
“Then how about continuin’ this conversation in your car? And turnin’ on the heater?”
“That’s brilliant.” She fished out her keys and started for the rental sedan. “So what else could we disagree on? Religion?”
“I believe in live and let live.”
“Politics?”
“People split up over that?”
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