“Maybe I haven’t. They say you never forget your—” first love “—first kiss. But I’ve had other kisses since then.”
He whistled. “That’s cold, Andi.”
“That’s the truth.”
“All of it?”
She stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“C’mon, don’t play dumb with me.” His laugh sounded strained. “You kissed me back just now.”
“Like I had a choice?”
“We always have choices.” For a moment, his face hardened and his eyes looked bleak.
“I don’t think so. Not always.” He was remembering their past. Good. She wouldn’t have to lay things out for him. And hopefully, once she had finished here, she would never again have to face a sneak attack on her pitifully weak defenses. “When I left you that summer, it wasn’t my decision. But I am making the choice to walk away now.”
Chapter Five
So much for the shy little Andi he had once known. The girl he’d had to coax out of her shell had grown into a strong woman whose still-quiet manner hid one heck of a sucker punch. He could use her as the bad cop to his good cop during an interrogation. He could even admire her skill—if not for the fact that she’d used it against him...and then walked away.
He had changed from the day he first met her, too, in more ways than he wanted to deal with at the moment. But despite everything, he still had a few skills of his own, including his bulldog tenacity when it came to getting to the truth of a matter.
He glanced after Andi, whose hip-swaying departure just about wiped her words from his memory bank. It definitely overrode any annoyance he’d felt at getting sucker punched.
Besides, he’d faced a hell of a lot worse and was still standing. He wasn’t about to let her knock him down. Or to let her get away.
He followed her across the Hitching Post’s backyard toward the cabins a few hundred yards ahead. “Looks like Jed’s had the honeymoon havens fixed up, along with the rest of the place.”
“Yes,” she said shortly, not looking at him. “I’m surprised you noticed the improvements, considering you didn’t seem to recall much about the cabins.”
He laughed. She had seen through his ruse. No big deal. He’d never hoped to get away with claiming he didn’t know the location of the site—not when they’d once spent a rainy afternoon making out in one of those honeymoon havens.
In two strides, he caught up to her. “I recall plenty. But you want to help jog the rest of my memories?” When her cheeks turned pink, making her eyes look even more blue, he couldn’t hold back a smug smile. Yeah, she remembered that day, too.
Up ahead, Jed and his granddaughter Tina came around the side of one of the cabins. Jed hailed them with a wave.
They met halfway, in the shade of a few pines that would protect the cabins from the sun of a long New Mexico summer.
“How’s everything?” Andi asked Jed.
“Looking just fine.”
“The contractors only finished up the remaining cabins this past week,” Tina explained.
Mitch nodded. “My mom said you’ve all done a lot of renovations inside the hotel, too.”
“We sure have,” Jed said. “You’ll have to get Andi to take you on the grand tour.”
He sensed more than saw her stiffen beside him.
“Of course,” she said too politely. “But right now I’ve got to get back and take care of business.”
“Right,” Tina said. “We need to get our order ready for the wedding favors. I’ll go back with you.”
Again, he felt rather than saw Andi’s reaction—relief as she instantly turned away. He went to follow her, then paused, recalling why they had come out this way to begin with. “I got word you wanted me to stop by again,” he said to Jed.
The older man nodded. “Yeah. Let’s sit. You girls go on ahead. Your old grandpa can’t keep up.”
“Oh, you—” Andi cut herself off, but Mitch had picked up on her tone. She’d held back a teasing response—because of him?
“Okay, Abuelo,” Tina said. “See you both later.”
As the women left, Jed gestured to a wooden bench on the porch of the nearest cabin.
He nodded. Though he hadn’t been on his feet for that long, he felt grateful for the chance to sit again.
No matter what Andi had begun to say about Jed’s ability to get around, he had to admit, at the moment, the older man’s healthy stride would put his to shame. It wasn’t pain that drove him to the bench but the stiffness that locked up his knee from time to time. Sitting was the worst danged thing he could do for it, but he’d rather have the opportunity to get limbered up again before he had to cross the yard with Jed. With luck, he would manage a few stretches stealthily enough to keep his former boss from noticing.
He gave thanks Andi had left. Her denial hadn’t carried much weight, not when her eyes had filled with pity, something he refused to accept from anyone and especially not from her.
After they took their seats on the bench, he watched the women cross the yard, Tina’s dark, waist-length braid contrasting sharply with Andi’s flowing blond waves. No doubt in his mind which sight he preferred. The thought of running his hands through Andi’s hair made more than just his bad knee suddenly ache from stiffness. Made him realize how hot he’d gotten over the girl who’d left him behind.
More than anything, his reactions made him see staying close to her might be more of a challenge than he had anticipated.
“Nice view, isn’t it?”
Startled, he turned to stare at Jed. He’d forgotten he had company on this bench.
Jed waved his hand. “A pleasant view of the ranch for any honeymooners who stay out here instead of in the hotel.”
“Yeah...it’s nice scenery.” Especially over near the hotel, where the women were climbing the porch steps. “So, you wanted to see me again.”
“I do.” Jed ran his hand over his pure white hair.
An unmistakable tell. Mom had been right. Something was up with Jed. And the familiar gesture told Mitch his former boss was about to clue him in. “What’s up?”
“Your mama says your time is pretty much your own, and I could use your help.”
“Anything I can do, you know I will.”
Jed smiled. “I figured that. Well, you know we tend to get busy here around the holidays.”
“I remember.” The dude ranch had always been popular with folks wanting a break from colder climates.
“Now we’ve got Christmas and a wedding to prepare for, both coming up in less than a month. My girls are doing most of the work on their own, and they could use an extra pair of hands.”
Mitch nodded slowly.
“Normally, I’d get a couple of the boys in here to give them some assistance. But we’re shorthanded, and Pete’s up to his eyeballs in work as it is. If you could manage to spend some time around here, you’d be doing us all a favor.”
Mitch nodded again. Compared to some of Jed’s plans, this one sounded harmless. And he had meant it when he said he would do anything to help Jed.
To tell the truth, he would be doing himself a few favors, too.
He could avoid his family’s hushed voices and averted gazes.
He could bypass some trips to the sheriff’s department in town. No matter how often his dad encouraged him to drop in, he knew how all those visits would make him look. He’d seem no better than an old retired cop who took his vacations anywhere from Maine to Alaska but spent those days hanging out with the local law.
Most of all...best of all...he would have a reason to hang around the ranch. A chance to be near Andi and to find out what was up with her.
If she wouldn’t tell her family what was worrying her, she’d have to tell someone. She needed an outlet, as his department-assigned shrink would say. Considering her decision to walk away from him, getting her alone had presented a problem. Jed had just handed him the solution.
With all those perks attached to the request, how coul
d he turn the man down?
He couldn’t appear too eager, though. “Sure,” he said casually. “I’ll be happy to lend a hand. For whatever time I’m in town.”
* * *
“WHAT DO YOU think of this design?” Andi turned the pattern book on Tina’s desk to show her cousins the photo she was indicating.
With the waitress on duty ready to set the tables for dinner, they’d had to move all their samples from the dining room into Tina’s small office off the lobby. It didn’t matter to her where they worked, as long as she kept busy enough to keep her mind off Mitch...and that kiss that had made her lose control.
Her face burning, she glanced quickly at her cousins. Luckily, Jane and Tina had both switched their attention to the pattern book.
Jane looked at the fabric swatch in the photo. “I like the other one better.”
“I like this one. Then Tina gets to choose.”
“Oh, no, I don’t,” their cousin said. “You two are the experts.”
“We need a tiebreaker.”
“And if Tina doesn’t want to be on the spot,” Jane said, “she shouldn’t be. Shay’s in the kitchen. Don’t you think we should get her in on this? She’s got a good eye, too.”
“Great idea,” Tina said.
Shay, who was a frequent visitor to the Hitching Post, was dropping off an order of ice cream. Though Paz made the desserts for the hotel dining room, they had contracted SugarPie’s to provide the wedding cakes and pastries for the receptions. But when it came to ice cream, they relied on the Big Dipper, the shop not far from SugarPie’s in the heart of Cowboy Creek’s small business district.
As Tina left the office to track down the other woman, Andi caught Jane looking at her with a thoughtful expression.
“I see Mitch is back again,” Jane said. “And he appeared just when you happened to be at the corral.”
She snapped her head up. “That was a coincidence.”
“On your part or his?”
“What does that mean?”
“It seems way too coincidental he showed up at the same time you were standing there waiting.”
“I wasn’t waiting. I was checking on Trey.” She caught Jane’s grin and realized her cousin was teasing. She also knew she had overreacted. Forcing a smile, she added, “So...you suspect Eddie and Laurie of synchronizing the clocks on their cell phones?”
“No, actually, that hadn’t occurred to me.” Jane’s tone turned serious again. “Maybe fate stepped in, leading Mitch here at just the right time.”
“No. It was Grandpa wanting to see him. And Laurie asking him to bring her to the ranch for a ride.” Hoping to close the subject, she glanced at the pattern book again. “There’s no need to wait for Shay. I don’t know why you’re digging your heels in over this. Now, look. This morning, you agreed with me this pattern’s a better match for the tableware.”
“Yeah, and I’ve always agreed that you and Mitch made a good match.”
“Jane. Please.”
“Now, you look,” Jane said quietly. “You can’t hide anything from me. I know how you felt that summer you were seeing him. And I heard you crying the night before you left the ranch. You cared a lot. So did he. You two really had a chance together.”
A chance she had blown back then, and that circumstances now put out of her reach. “That was a long time ago.” Her children’s births and husband’s death ago.
“And here you are, in town at the same time.”
“Just another coincidence.”
“I won’t argue that. But my point is, how likely is it this will happen again soon?”
Focusing on the pattern book kept her from meeting Jane’s eyes. It couldn’t help close her ears to Jane’s softly spoken words.
“Maybe you both need to take this second chance.”
Shay walked into the office, saving Andi from a response.
“Shay,” Jane said, “you’re still planning to waitress for us the night of the wedding?”
“Oh, yes, I’ll be here. I’m looking forward to it.”
Still shaken by Jane’s statement, Andi fought to focus on the other woman. “How’s your gran?” They all knew Shay’s elderly grandmother had been having some health issues.
“Not too bad. I’m on my way to pick her up now. But Tina said you wanted to show me something?”
“Yes, if you have a few minutes.” She indicated the two samples. “Which one?”
“This one’s a better match,” Shay said immediately, pointing.
“Perfect,” Jane said. “You’ve got a good eye, too.”
Shay had chosen the same pattern Jane had so suddenly been unable to make up her mind about.
“I always did like interior decorating,” Shay said. “Well, if that’s all you need, I’d better get going.”
After she had left the room, Andi frowned and turned to Jane. “‘Perfect’?” she repeated. “That was another rapid turnaround on your part, wasn’t it?” When her cousin shrugged, she added, “You set me up. You gave Tina a reason to leave the room just to give yourself a chance to question me about Mitch.”
Jane shrugged. “Possibly. But that’s one thing I haven’t changed my mind about. You and Mitch. Remember what I said?”
Maybe you both need to take this second chance.
“Oh, I didn’t forget. But it’s not going to happen.”
* * *
AS PETE HANDED him an uncapped bottle of beer, Mitch nodded his thanks and set it down on the coffee table in the other man’s living room.
Outside, the sun was hanging low, filtering through the curtains. On the other side of the room, a handful of kids played a game with blocks, toy cars and a plastic runway that seemed to involve a lot of rules.
He nodded toward a blonde five-year-old. Pete’s daughter. “Rachel seems to have taken charge over Tina’s and Andi’s boys.”
“She does that often,” Pete admitted ruefully. “But I’m getting her to learn the value of sharing. I think.”
He looked at Pete’s son, playing happily by himself in a playpen nearby. Pete said the boy was just two, while Andi’s son would soon turn three.
He’d been gone long before any of the kids had been born. Long before Andi had become a wife and mom.
He took a swig of beer, then, forcing a laugh, shook his head. “Have you got enough kids around here to keep Jed happy?”
“Ha. Not even close. At least, not close and permanent, which is the way he would like. I know he wants Andi to settle down here with her two.”
“And she doesn’t go along with that?”
“Doesn’t seem to. According to her, she’s here for the holidays and to help get the bridal business off the ground, then she’s headed back home.”
“Home being...”
“Arizona. Fountain Hills, Scottsdale, somewhere around there.”
“Nice area, so I’ve heard. And steep, if you’re talking Fountain Hills.”
“I gather you mean money more than the elevation. That’s what I hear, too. But her husband comes from money. It’ll be hard for her without him, of course, but I reckon she’ll be all right financially.”
He nodded. Between the man’s background and his responsibility to a wife and kids, Andi’s husband would have been prepared to take care of his family. Mitch took a long swallow from his bottle. “It was a shock, hearing he’d gotten killed.”
“Yeah.” Pete shrugged. “I don’t know all the details. I’m not sure anyone does.”
Another family crisis Andi had kept from the rest of her family and friends. Her mother’s illness. Now her husband’s death. How much more would she try to handle on her own?
He knew what she was going through, knew what grief could do. He’d fought his way through it. And he wouldn’t leave her to fight alone.
“What was it the boss wanted us to talk about?” Pete asked.
He shrugged. “He just thought the two of us would want to catch up. I’m glad I managed to run into you this afternoon
. You can’t have too much free time if you’re shorthanded.”
His beer halfway to his mouth, Pete paused. “What are you talking about?”
“What Jed and I talked about. He said you were short a few cowhands.”
At that, Pete grinned and shook his head. “Your old buddy’s on the payroll now, and you know he’s worth any three wranglers.”
Mitch and his best friend, Cole, now Tina’s husband, had gone through school together. Cole had always been a hard worker and had done nothing but ranch work since they’d graduated.
The other man frowned and watched the kids play. After a few minutes, he turned back. “Did he say something about work not getting done around here?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“What else did he say?”
“That you’re snowed under. He asked if I’d help the women out over at the hotel, give them a hand with moving furniture in the banquet hall, put up some of the Christmas decorations.”
After a moment, Pete said, “The boys would normally help, but we’ve got plenty going on around the ranch to keep them busy. That’s just like Jed to put another able-bodied man to work.”
“He never did miss a chance to do that.” He gave a rueful laugh, trying to hide the suspicions that had begun to gnaw at him.
Yeah, Jed never had liked seeing any of his boys sitting idle. But he had always been one to take care of his cowhands just as well as he cared for his family. The boss would lend a helping hand to former employees no matter how much time had passed since they’d worked on Garland Ranch.
Damn.
He should have realized it sooner.
True to form, his old boss wanted to help him. To give him a reason to feel useful.
Pride ought to make him turn down Jed’s request, but doing that would also mean walking away from time with Andi.
He could see her now as clearly as he’d seen her earlier, standing in the sunshine out by the corral.
I’m not wearing well, she had said when he touched the fine lines near the corner of her eye. Others would have pointed out lines on their faces as proof of their troubles. Andi had just given him a laugh. One that didn’t ring true.
The Lawman's Christmas Proposal Page 5