Hearts Crossing Ranch Anthology

by Tanya Hanson

  His heart pounded just like it had, poolside, before the beginning of every competition.

  ****

  Aw nuts. She tensed against the bench seat of Bragg’s truck. Breaking down in his arms just now was tempting enough to make her want to snuggle there next time the demons raged. Every time. But Tony had entered the picture. Of all people. And of all the things she regretted, making a date with Tony might be at the top.

  She wrinkled her nose. They were both cut from the same mold, people who hurt people. But comparing his mouth with Bragg’s was coming up short. Shivering a little at the memory of Bragg’s kiss, she once again recalled that sweet brush of heaven against her lips, and right now, the warm strength of his arms.

  As Bragg braked to a slow stop, the bad blood between him and Tony was almost palpable. Pastor’s scriptural edict and hand-clasping prayers, or not.

  She would keep the date. It wasn’t anything long-term, and she needed friends. She had no reason to let it be anything else. Tony was good-looking, and there was nothing wrong with sharing a meal with a nice man who had helped her out. Or sharing the expense of one, if he was an equal opportunity date. Besides, she needed to remind herself that Bragg was off limits. Especially since he’d grown comfortable spouting off about God.

  She didn’t live in a prehistoric cave or on a lost island. Of course she’d heard the words. She just didn’t believe them, or need Him. Whoever He was. The Baby in the manger? Doves and burning bushes and other myths she’d heard about? Not her thing. Better to keep her lost soul to herself—if souls even existed—and not have Bragg worry about her.

  But Tony’s presence clearly left a visit to the Hearts Crossing ranch off the table, and somehow the disappointment rankled, God-speak or not.

  “Hi, Tony,” She called out, as she jumped from the truck into the frosty air and approached her car. “What’s up?”

  He had the grace to flush even though his exertions had already put color into his cheeks. “Thought I’d get your car back to you safe and sound. I hitched a ride with the plow. Got off at the Double Tree. Helped them shovel their drive and road, borrowed the shovel, and hiked over here.”

  “I’ve got an army shovel in the trunk,” she said inanely, wondering why the location and condition of her car hadn’t worried her at all. It was as though she knew someone would take care of it and it would be all right.

  Then again, something deep down had hoped that someone would be Bragg.

  Her boots slid a bit on the snow as she reached Tony.

  Bragg wasn’t far behind.

  Uh-oh. Did Bragg hopping out of the truck portend something bad, something dramatic? Maybe the latter, she decided. She knew the pastor’s Scripture had taken root. Like a spider web you walk into, the words seemed to wisp around even her ears.

  “I’m almost done,” Tony said with a nod at Bragg. “If I—we can’t get traction, maybe Martin here could give us a tow out.”

  Bragg nodded, with a hint of grumble. “Sure.”

  Then he looked her straight on, and she felt heat graze her cheeks. Shouldn’t they both be a little bit embarrassed about the scene with her in his arms?

  He didn’t blush. “I know Ma would like to have you out to the ranch. Let O’Neal get your car back to Rachel’s, and I’ll drive you home later on.”

  Biting her lip, she considered her options. Both had merit. Making a new friend in Tony, hanging out with the delectable Bragg. However, she’d long ago declared Bragg off limits and pinched herself with the reminder. Besides, there was Matty. With Bragg’s trust of Mrs. Hale, she knew Matty was in good hands, but a baby without his mommy or nanny for long hours would upset the little guy needlessly.

  “Thanks, Bragg. Another time, I promise. I should get back to Matty.” It killed her to say the words, to let Bragg know she’d rather be with Tony, but it was better all around. Bragg would surely understand the Matty part. Besides, she’d already explained the weirdness of having his sister as her employer, plus all the other baggage. Add to that a kiss and twice, crashing into his arms like a train wreck. Yeah, he deserved better.

  Suddenly a brilliant idea flashed in her mind. Tony had asked her to a nice steak dinner, but it didn’t have to be. Matty probably would last another half hour with Mrs. Hale. A casual late lunch would be better all around.

  Tony, breathing steamy air, leaned on the shovel and surveyed his handiwork, then raised an expectant gaze to her.

  “Tony, I can’t leave Matty for much longer. How about we make that date right now, a late lunch at the Butterbean Cafe? Rachel says their Dutch oven chilies rellenos are to die for.”

  He shrugged, with a glance at Bragg. “Sure. Why not? We’ll do the steakhouse another time.”

  Or not. “We’ll see,” she said, as sweetly as she could. But Bragg deserved far more than a quick random goodbye. Standing on her tippiest toes, she kissed his cheek, warm piney scent skittering delicious shivers down her spine. Her lips burned at the heat of his skin. “Thanks for everything, Bragg. For being that shoulder. For making Matty a happy little nephew. And for, well, for the advice.”

  “You gonna take it?” Half lidded eyes beneath the Stetson brim took her breath away.

  Gaining control, she smiled at him with a quick backward nod at Tony. “If you go first.”

  Bragg shrugged.

  She waved at him before settling behind the wheel of her car. The engine turned over nicely, and she promptly pulled the car out of its overnight burrow.

  Tony hadn’t gone all macho, insisting he drive. Somehow, he didn’t seem like the arrogant man who’d doped teenagers and been a womanizer and gone into gambling. Maybe the years had taught him something.

  On the slow, careful ride back to town, Tony regaled her with stories of his years on the high school faculty. He probably didn’t know Bragg had already told her his version.

  “I can’t believe those twins changed places for their SATs.” She laughed as her car maneuvered quite nicely through the white alpine labyrinth. “You ought to write a book.”

  “I reckon every teacher feels the same.”

  Tiffany had some tales about her own adventures in family law. Selfish parents who couldn’t make their marriage work and took it out on the children left behind. Evil lies gone public simply to discredit the other; and one time, a felony abduction with the grandmother driving the getaway car. Well, that was then. This was now.

  Rises studded with snow-dappled pine, and gullies softened by the white stuff peeked out from ranchland where cattle had resumed their normal lives. A rancher drove a slow truck unwinding round bales of hay. The quietude inside her car edged into awkwardness.

  “Why’d you leave?” Tiffany asked to fill the silence.

  Tony shrugged after an uncomfortable glance. “Got married. We wanted a change.”

  Ah. She nodded.

  “Aw, Tiffany, you’ll hear about me sooner or later. Might as well give you my version.” His tongue clicked. “None of what you may hear from others will be kindly. Bragg for one, and well, my ex just married his brother, Pike.”

  “Yeah. I was at the wedding.”

  “Truth is, Bragg got mixed up with steroids and has been trying to cast the blame on me. I was his coach, but I never made anybody do anything. On top of it, Daisy, my ex, dumped Kenn Martin to get together with me. I didn’t twist her arm, or anything. She came willingly. But they all still hold grudges.”

  “So the…steroid business isn’t true?” Interesting.

  “Oh, it’s true all right. Bragg taking them, I mean. But not by my hand.”

  Tiffany made a deep hmmmmmmm. Bragg was man enough to make amends, to cast suspicion on his own reputation just to come clean. And to put blame where it belonged—on him and his coach. In her heart she knew him too upright to lie.

  There was a lot more to ask, but it wasn’t her business. Except the obvious. “What brought you back here?” She braved a quick glance.

  His cheeks colored.

  Th
eir glances collided, and he turned to look out the window.

  “I always liked it around here. Grew up outside Rustic Canyon. Found out about that job.”

  A part-time job. That did arouse curiosity from someone who knew the difficulties of supporting oneself during a tough economy. “I heard it’s part-time.”

  “Yeah. But I can get by. I’ve got some money saved. I was in Reno, in the gaming industry, and I did pretty well.”

  Of course. Gaming. Gambling. Another high-quality activity. Turning her head slightly to the left, she rolled her eyes. To go from the honorable profession of teaching seemed ironic in some way.

  “Well, I hope things go well with you, then.” She did mean it. Somehow, he was brave to show his face in the land of so much animosity, with a broken marriage and the ex-wife nearby, now part of an influential family.

  For a while, all she heard was tires grabbing at layers of snow. Since she didn’t yet know the names of the surrounding ranches or their owners, she took great effort in the silence to memorize the brands hanging from gateposts as she drove by. Maybe the silence bugged him, too, or maybe he foresaw them as having some kind of relationship ahead, for he plunged on.

  “Growing up, we had some property outside the canyon. Dad ran a few cattle, raised some decent cutting horses. But he lost it all due to a gambling debt, and Ma took off. I was twelve, I guess. Child services sent me to her brother outside the Springs.”

  That tidbit disquieted her. Maybe gambling was a genetic addiction, but abandonment and child services were worse. She braked at a rare stop sign and tossed him some sympathy. What a wretched road for a kid. And mercy, she’d been abandoned as a grownup. Bragg’s wholesome, upright family flashed through her mind. “I’m so sorry.” She meant it with her whole heart.

  He grinned at her, and it was a pretty overwhelming one. Drop-dead handsome, wounded, lonely. A powerful combination for one who normally liked to fix things. Although she wasn’t always very good at it. For a second, the sorry state of her own life smacked her gut, and she gunned the accelerator, tires sliding as she fought to right the car.

  “Well, Uncle Win was good to me. Kept me on a straight path. Got my college degree.”

  “Sounds like a good man. You see him often?”

  “He got sick and passed on. But he did manage to see me get my diploma.” Affection clung to Tony’s words, as did a twinge of grief.

  Stretched over the road, an arch of elk antlers wearing a crown of snow and a giant pine wreath added another Christmas card moment as she drove under it and under it into town. She parked in front of the café. Not even a night of nine inches of blowing snow could keep Mountain Cove from coming to life. “Come on. Let’s get some lunch. My treat.”

  As he protested, she persisted. It was a little thing to make up for all he’d lost.

  6

  Back at the ranch, Bragg finished his afternoon chores, bummed about Tiffany. He had romantic feelings for her, no doubt, but more than that, he worried about her. She had it all wrong, didn’t she? She’d begged her family for forgiveness and gotten none, but maybe she should start by forgiving them.

  Ah, what did he know? He wasn’t much of an example himself. There was, and always would be, Tony. All he could do to ease his conscience was recall Ma, all indignant whenever Doc Berkeland told her to lose ten pounds when he needed to shed fifteen himself. Doc was weak, but had to hand out good advice.

  Seemed Bragg was the same.

  The painful memory of Tiffany driving off with Tony, without him, still tweaked. But heading home to the house party of stranded kindergarteners and three chaperones had helped him keep his mind off her. A little bit, at least. Ma had needed his help gussying up the place, washing the last dish, and sending the last load of munchkins back to town once the plow came through.

  Finally off her feet, Ma was napping, and Rachel was safely on her way home. All in all, everything was pretty all right in Bragg’s little corner of the world. And of course, that kiss had been something.

  An afternoon of thirty-nine degrees had melted some of the white stuff, enough for Bragg to release his tension on a ride. Like his brothers, nothing calmed him down like being on horseback. A quick recreational gallop on Winchester down the main road was just the thing.

  Scott had already checked the cattle on the range via ATV. Cold wind dashed across Bragg’s face, his neck bundled in a muffler that brought to mind the fuzzy pink thing Tiffany had wrapped around hers. Wow, how did she manage to sneak up on him? His heart hammered. And he could still feel Matty against his chest bundled in that sling. He’d never really thought about a baby in his life, but all in all, it had been pretty cool.

  And kids at Christmas? What could be better than that?

  Surrounding Hearts Crossing, the snow-dashed hills, rolling ranchland, and white mountains put him in holiday mood. But thoughts of Tiffany doused him somewhat. Here she was with no place to go, on the outs with her family, and believing deep down there was no hope. Well, Christmas was hope. Getting her out to Hearts Crossing and the noisy bunch he was related to just might help. Although, he grumbled as his mustang steadily clomped through a rocky icy patch, she sure hadn’t seemed eager to come all the way home with him this afternoon.

  How had the lunch date with Tony gone? Dark thoughts blurred with the bright rays of the setting sun. Was she extending it to dinnertime as well? Aaargh, Tony! The name, the man, still galled. He pondered what all he needed to do to get things better, get Tony off his chest, out of his mind.

  At least he hadn’t been right about more snow on the way. Sun all but shouted from a bright blue sky after dispersing morning clouds. Scott would razz him good. Most times they could smell the weather, but other times, nature threw big surprises back at them. It wasn’t unheard of for a warm spring morning to turn to snow by two p.m. Or the occasional January day to pretend it was April.

  As he cantered back to the ranch, the fresh air filling his lungs should’ve calmed him down. He wondered if Tiffany having a date with any man would have riled him as much. Because she had refused him, would any guy’s advances annoy him? Or was it the Tony factor?

  Something deep down told him he’d have been just as irritated had she driven off with any man.

  Joy blasted through him as Rachel’s big black SUV turned off the main road. Even though he’d trusted God that his sister was safe in His hands, last night had been tinged with worry. It sure was good to know she’d made it back safe and sound, and he breathed a prayer of thanksgiving. Mallie and Hooper’s car parked at the house let him know they’d arrived, too. And Kelley, in Sunset Hills, had finally been able to connect by phone.

  Rachel blew a kiss as she turned into the Hearts Crossing drive, and his heart nearly exploded. Not just because he ached to hold Matty again, but also because Tiffany waved to him from the shotgun seat. He warmed all over at sight of her. It wouldn’t take long at all for Hearts Crossing to work its magic on her. Faith and love, that’s what the brand meant. That’s what Ma and Pa had been all about.

  By the time Winchester got him back to the barn, Rachel had parked and had Matty in her arms. Tiffany juggled an armload of her own. Likely not baby gear. Ma took her grandma gig seriously and had her own stash going. As Tiffany waved, he noticed her cheeks had gone pink, but maybe it was just the cold.

  By the time he unsaddled and curried Winchester, and got the gelding comfy in his stall, Kenn and Christy had arrived. Everyone, including Tiffany, crowded around the enormous Christmas tree inside. The fire blazed, and contentment surged through Bragg’s veins. With folks balancing eggnogs or mugs of hot chocolate, he made his way to Tiffany’s side. Ma beamed, and he sensed her matchmaking skills were revving up. Everybody laughed when baby Matty grabbed a tight handful of Chelsea’s flowing red curls.

  “How did lunch go?” Bragg asked it without one trace of snide.

  “Good.” Tiffany smiled, as if to relieve him. “The Butterbean does it right.” Her lips pursed so adorably he
restrained a quick kiss. Too many folks around and she might slap him, anyway.

  He ached to ask more about Tony, and she must have sensed it. “Your mom wanted everybody to come for supper, and she invited me, too. Want to show me around?”

  “Sure. No dinner date, then.” He felt something like relief brush his face.

  “No, but Tony did ask me to church tomorrow.”

  “Church? Tony?” Disappointment clogged him. He’d wanted her to go with him.

  “And brunch.” Tiffany mumbled, then looked into her steaming cup. “He’s trying to find his way. I am, too. And I like Pastor Hale. Can’t hurt.”

  Of course it couldn’t hurt, and she needed to find the true God. And since His truth was true, Tony did, too. Bragg wanted to be the Lord’s beacon and be the one to take her there, to watch her face light up at the sparkly Christmas trees and the snowcapped mountains rising beyond that giant picture window. All of it showed God taking the form of a little human who’d faced lots of clashes living like one of them.

  His heart panged. Of course, anybody finding the Lord was a matter for rejoicing. It was just…hadn’t he sort of asked her first?

  “Anyway, wanna show me Hearts Crossing?” she asked again. Her mouth, bright and enthusiastic, smiled at him like a kid’s.

  He grinned back. He could drown in those eyes.

  “Come on.” In the entryway, they wrapped up warm, Bragg reminding himself this was ‘just friends’ as he dumped his hat on his head. Cold air slapped at them, but they stopped on the big front porch so Tiffany could take it all in. Come summertime, tourists and visitors made good use of the log furniture now wearing leftover clumps of snow.

  “All those hills and mountains are like big shoulders holding you close,” she mumbled, in a poetic schoolteacher way Kenn would have admired. “I can see why you all love it so much.”