His Christmas Bride

by Lara Van Hulzen

  “That’s Tanner Ranch.” It was a great property. One he hadn’t thought of in ages. He hadn’t been there since he was a teenager when the Tanner family invited him over to ride horses.

  “I know the family who owns it. I’m sure we can use the barn or something.”

  Vanessa rolled her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to get married in a barn.” She moved her hand to cradle his cheek. “The things we do for love, right?”

  Lucas smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “That’s right.”

  “I’ll talk to Cynthia about it. I’m sure she can set this up for us.”

  As Lucas pulled out on the road once more, Vanessa grabbed a notebook from her huge purse and began writing things down.

  “I love that you’re old-school with the notebook. I would think a top executive like yourself would have all her notes on her phone.”

  “Half and half. The important stuff I don’t want to lose is in here.” She tapped her pen against the paper then began writing again.

  The rest of the ride was quiet except for the scratch of Vanessa’s pen on her paper as she scribbled notes for the wedding. Lucas kept his eyes on the road, but his mind wandered to Tanner Ranch. They’d only stopped for a moment, but from what he could see, the property needed some work. It was still gorgeous with a view of plush, green valley behind it – covered in snow now, yes, but equally as beautiful. The red barn against the winter wonderland would make a perfect Christmas backdrop for the wedding, but he might be paying for fresh paint and fix ups. The fence needed some TLC, as well.

  Again, not a problem. He had the time and the money to help with both. Clayton Tanner was a good man. He’d been one hell of a bull rider in his day as well. It was a damn shame he was restricted to a wheelchair now. Lucas had seen him around town from time-to-time when he was back visiting, and the man still had the same big smile and warm handshake. Didn’t seem deterred in any way by his situation.

  Erin Tanner had been his friend as well. They’d met one year when his family had decided to stay all three months of summer vacation in Marietta. He’d been twelve. She’d been eleven. Lucas had always thought she was cute – a shy kid with glasses and a long, blonde ponytail. Over the years, she hadn’t changed, only gone from jeans and cowgirl boots to flowery dresses sometimes, but never wore makeup, always had her hair pulled back, always hid behind her glasses or a book. She’d been bound and determined to run the family’s ranch one day and he was sure if she’d put her mind to it, it would happen.

  McKenna had stayed in touch over the years, but Lucas hadn’t seen Erin since high school. Since the last time he came to Marietta before going to college. He smiled at the memory. They’d kissed behind that red barn one afternoon when she’d confided in him that she’d never been kissed before. Her lips on his were like a warm, summer Montana day complete with wildflowers and the sun on his back. Although the memory was further back in his mind than others, he’d never forgotten the way it made him feel.

  “What are you over there grinning about?”

  Lucas blinked. He tried to tamp down the guilt of thinking about another woman while his fiancée sat beside him planning their wedding.

  “Just that I think Tanner Ranch is perfect.”

  “Me, too.”

  They pulled into the drive of the Graff Hotel.

  “Oh, Lucas. This is beautiful. Everything is going to be absolutely perfect.”

  *

  Erin stabbed at a bale of hay with a pitchfork, then tossed a wad into a stall nearby then did it again for the one beside it. Her dad’s horse, Eight, sauntered over and began to nose through it. Named Eight Seconds in honor of her dad’s bull riding days, they’d taken to calling him Eight. Black with a brown nose and tail, he was gentle and kind. Erin fought the guilt that ate at her every time she came into the stables for not having the kind of time to ride him the way the horse deserved. The thought of selling him turned her stomach. So, she let Tucker ride him and she made sure her horse, Hemingway, was cared for, hoping that they, too, wouldn’t be collateral damage in the crap storm that was a ranch on its way to failure.

  She speared the pitchfork into the hay bale and took off her work gloves, tucking them into her coat pocket. From the other pocket she pulled out apple slices she’d prepared before leaving the house and held one out to Hemingway. A rabid reader since birth, Erin had named her horse after one of her favorite writers. The animal chomped his apple slice then nudged her with his soft nose for more.

  “Oh, you’re not above begging now, are ya?” she teased.

  The horse shook his head back and forth as if to say, “Nope. I’m not.”

  She laughed and handed him another apple slice. Eight had come to the door of his stall wanting his share, which Erin was happy to hand over.

  Her phone rang, the sound slicing through the peace and quiet of the stable. She took it from her back pocket and looked at the screen.

  “Cynthia. Hmm.”

  She hadn’t seen her friend in a while, the other woman busy with a new baby to care for and a gorgeous cowboy to keep her warm at night, so Erin answered, curious as to why Cynthia was calling.

  “Hello.” She rubbed Hemingway’s nose as she talked.

  “Erin. Hi! It’s Cynthia. I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to get together, but I was wondering if you could meet tonight for dinner. How about Rocco’s? My treat.”

  All day she’d been looking forward to a long bath and time to read one of the new books she’d picked up the other day from the library, but a night out with a friend sounded nice.

  “Sure. What time?”

  “In about an hour?”

  “Sounds great. I’ll be there.”

  She ended the call and smiled down at her phone. Yes. This was the exact distraction she needed from her worries.

  An hour later, she sat in Rocco’s, freshly showered, her hair styled and although she still wore jeans and boots, they weren’t her work clothes. To have on a nice buttoned-down top and jean jacket along with black jeans and her cowgirl boots she saved for going out gave her a sense of being someone other than the woman who mucked stalls and dealt with animals all day.

  She’d arrived early, whether from excitement or the simple fact it didn’t take her long to get ready now that she’d cut her hair, she wasn’t sure. Maybe both. She tucked a lock of hair behind one ear then reached for her water glass to take a sip. It had been a while since she’d been to Rocco’s, but it hadn’t changed. Checkered cloths still adorned the tables and a candle stuck in a Chianti bottle gave off a soft glow from the center of the table.

  As much as she would love to get out more, it hadn’t been a priority of late. Well, if she were honest with herself, it never was. A wallflower in high school, she was the girl friends would drag to parties, but she’d end up in a corner somewhere watching others flirt and dance and have a great time. It wasn’t even that she was all that introverted. It simply wasn’t what she enjoyed. Riding horses, reading books, learning about how weather systems affected the ranch animals were things that intrigued her. Boys and dances weren’t on her radar.

  Besides, she was the “mousy” one with glasses who had no interest in makeup or clothes or jewelry. She never could understand what was wrong with her liking jeans and a long-sleeved shirt over fancy dresses or low cut tops. She’d spent most of her time outside mucking horse stalls or helping her dad with cattle. The things girls had worn at her high school were never conducive to those activities.

  Lucas St. Claire had been the only boy to ever look her way. Not that he had in a romantic sense. They’d been friends. His family had come over to ride horses one day and Erin had hit it off with his sister, McKenna. But Erin could see Lucas’s love for ranch life right away. The horses, being outside. Every time the St. Claires were in Marietta, Lucas would find his way to Tanner Ranch. Erin always hoped it was, even in the slightest way, because of her, but she knew deep down it wasn’t. He loved being on
the ranch. Their friendship a mere convenient addition to the time he’d spent there.

  She shook her head. No more thinking about Lucas St. Claire. Tonight was a night out with a friend, one she hadn’t seen in a while and looked forward to catching up with.

  Cynthia came through the door and smiled when they saw one another. Erin waved and Cynthia came over and hugged her.

  “Hey. Sorry I’m late. I wanted to get the baby settled before I left.” She took a seat next to Erin and hung her purse on the back of her chair.

  “You look amazing.” Erin could only imagine how life with a gorgeous cowboy and new baby could boost one’s morale.

  “Thanks! You, too. Gosh, I’ve always been envious of your hair, but this cut looks fantastic on you!”

  Erin ran her hand down her hair. The shoulder length cut had taken some getting used to, but she loved it.

  “Thanks.”

  Their waiter came by and took their drink order, then left them to look over the menu, which of course they didn’t. They dove right into conversation.

  “I’m so glad you could meet me. I wanted to talk to you but didn’t want to do it over the phone.”

  Erin’s stomach did a little flip. That didn’t sound like a friend wanting a night out for fun. Cynthia had an agenda. That couldn’t be good.

  Erin took another sip of water then asked, “Oh, yeah? Why is that?”

  “Well, I got a call yesterday from a woman named Vanessa. I guess she found CH Solutions online and wants to hire me to plan her engagement party and wedding. She’s here from New York.”

  “That’s fantastic.” Erin was aware of how hard Cynthia had worked to form her own event planning business. It sounded like a great opportunity, and one Erin had no clue how it could have anything to do with her.

  Cynthia leaned in and put a hand on Erin’s arm. “Erin. She’s marrying Lucas St. Claire.”

  Erin’s stomach dropped to the floor. Lucas was getting married?

  “There’s more.”

  The way Cynthia now rubbed Erin’s arm could only mean more bad news.

  “They want to have the wedding at Tanner Ranch.”

  Chapter Three

  Any appetite Erin had when she’d come into Rocco’s disappeared.

  Lucas St. Claire was getting married, and he wanted to have his wedding at her family’s ranch? Never in a million years did she think the universe could be that cruel. She stared at Cynthia, unsure of how to respond. Having both grown up in Marietta, they’d been friends for a long time. Cynthia was the main person, the only person, Erin had confided in about her feelings for Lucas. As a teenager, those feelings were everything. He was her dream guy. She’d hoped that would fade over time, but it hadn’t. Well, a little. Lucas could be someone completely different than the boy she knew ten years ago.

  But there’d always been a sliver of hope in the back of her mind that someday, they’d meet again and maybe, just maybe, he’d have feelings for her, too. With Cynthia’s words, that sliver of hope slipped away and disappeared.

  Married. Lucas. The only guy she’d ever been in love with was getting married.

  “You okay?” Cynthia’s hand still sat on Erin’s arm. “I know that’s a big chunk of news to take in.”

  The waiter returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Cynthia asked him to give them a few more minutes.

  On automatic pilot, Erin opened her menu.

  “Do you want to order first then talk?”

  Erin nodded, words still failing her. Her mind spun in circles, her eyes unable to focus on the words describing Rocco’s yummy Italian food.

  She closed the menu and set it down. “I’ll just go with spaghetti and meatballs.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll do the same.”

  Cynthia waved the waiter over and ordered for them. When he was out of earshot, Cynthia turned to her again but waited patiently like the friend she was for Erin to talk.

  “Well, um. Wow. I’m really not sure what to say. Why does he want a wedding at our property? That doesn’t make any sense.” Somehow sticking to details made her less nauseous. Asking where and when he’d met his soon-to-be-bride were things Erin wasn’t quite ready to hear.

  “This Vanessa woman called. I didn’t talk to Lucas. She said they were driving by and saw your property and that it was, and I quote, ‘the most divine spot for the ceremony.’” Cynthia rolled her eyes and took a sip of her club soda. “Granted, your land is gorgeous, but still… Divine?”

  Erin appreciated her friend’s loyal attempt at disliking this woman from the get go, but all Erin could think was—Lucas drove by my house and all he could think of was that he wanted to get married there? Did Erin not even enter his mind? The memory of their kiss, her first kiss, was as clear to her as the candlelight before her.

  All those times they’d sat on her dad’s tractor, talking and laughing. How he loved to race horses across the meadow. She’d let him win most of the time. Much better on a horse than he was, she could’ve beat him every time, but the joy on his face as he won by a nose, the grin on his face… she’d lose over and over and over again for that.

  Lucas was getting married. She shook her head. Of course he was. They weren’t kids. And it had been ten years. What a silly fool she was to daydream that he would return, sweep her up, and ride off into the sunset with her. She needed to stop reading so many romance stories.

  “Did they say anything else? I mean, I agree with you. The land is beautiful, but our barn needs touch ups and there are definitely things that a bride wouldn’t want in her wedding photos.”

  She’d done the best she could with keeping things up around the ranch, but with only Wendell and Tucker to help and her brother every six months or so when he was sober enough, things were falling behind.

  “She said they’d spare no expense. Paint, repairs, everything.”

  Erin sat back in her chair. Having someone else pay to spruce up the ranch did sound appealing. But her stomach still turned at the thought of why. If she agreed to this, she would have to make herself scarce as much as possible. There was no way on God’s green earth she would be able to stand and watch Lucas say “I do” to another woman.

  “They’re having an engagement party this coming weekend at the Graff. Vanessa wants you to come.”

  Erin sat up again. There went any thoughts of keeping her distance. “What? Why?”

  “She wants to meet you. She wants to know the person who owns Tanner Ranch.”

  Technically, Clayton Tanner still owned the ranch, but Erin thought arguing that point wouldn’t get her anywhere.

  “Look, Erin, I wanted to be the one to tell you this before the town gossip mill got spinning.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “But also because I quoted her an insanely high estimate of cost… and she went for it.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Cynthia leaned in with a grin on her face. “What I’m saying is, that by agreeing to have the St. Claire wedding at Tanner Ranch, you will get paid a crap ton of money.”

  Erin blinked. Her meeting with the bank earlier that week flashed in her mind. They were behind on payments. Being able to get caught up would be a huge weight lifted. It wouldn’t catapult them into success status, but it would for sure get them out of the valley they were in.

  “And as your friend, I say you should go to the engagement party.” Cynthia leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her drink.

  “Why?” Cynthia knew better than anyone what a nightmare that would be for Erin. Lucas hadn’t laid eyes on her in years and clearly, hadn’t thought about her, either. Why should she show up at his engagement party?

  “Because it could be your moment.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

  Erin had to laugh. “What are you talking about?”

  “Come on! We’ll get you the perfect dress, you can rock that new hairdo of yours. Make your grand entrance, girl. Show him exactly what he’s been m
issing all these years.”

  “At his own engagement party? That’s classy.”

  Cynthia rolled her eyes. “Okay, so maybe I’ve read too many princess stories. But I had my Cinderella moment. I think you could, too.”

  Yes, Cynthia had caught her cowboy in a breathtaking dress and storybook moment. But Erin had a hard time believing that was in the cards for her. And close to impossible for it to happen between her and Lucas.

  “Don’t wallflower this one, Erin.” Cynthia winked. “Show up looking amazing, be your beautiful self, and see where that might take you. No matter what, you’ll get what you need for the ranch. But I have a feeling this is your time to shine, my friend.”

  Erin shook her head. “You’re nuts. Even if I could break up the engagement, the wedding is gone. Therefore, ranch problems not solved.”

  “But then you’d have Lucas.”

  “I don’t want Lucas for his money.”

  “I hear you. And I didn’t mean it like that. But you’ve gotta admit, it will be fun to see the look on his face when you show up.”

  Erin doubted Lucas would have any sort of reaction when he saw her. Sheesh, he most likely wouldn’t even recognize her, but Cynthia’s optimism was catchy. A sliver of hope peeked back into her mind.

  Cynthia lifted her glass for a toast. “To happily ever after.”

  Erin clinked her glass to Cynthia’s and took a sip of her drink. She wasn’t in complete agreement on how happy her ever after would be, but her holiday season just went from ho-hum to holy cow.

  Lucas St. Claire was back, and this time she wasn’t going to avoid him.

  *

  Lucas sat at on one of the barstools that lined the massive island in the family kitchen. He and his brothers used to slide across it on their stomachs when they were kids. Whoever got the farthest got bragging rights, as well as the first batch of cookies Glenna, their housekeeper, had baked.

  Growing up in what was a mansion to the rest of the world was the simply the norm for the St. Claire kids. Their main house was in New York and a bit smaller than the Marietta property, but with so much more space in Marietta, they could expand. And they had, though Lucas would love to make it a working ranch, complete with cattle and horses. Never having the courage to approach his father with that plan, he’d tucked it away in the back of his mind as a possibility in the future.