by Arlene James
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Christmas with the Cowboy
by Tina Radcliffe
Chapter One
“Woo-hoo! Go get ’em, cowboy!”
Emma Maxwell Norman pushed a stroller with her two-year-old twin daughters closer to the Big Heart Ranch main corral, where hoots and hollers of excitement filled the air.
“Excuse me,” she murmured while nudging her way past wall-to-wall people.
Western hats shaded faces against the glare of an early November Oklahoma sun, as the staff and kids of the children’s ranch crowded next to each other atop rungs of the rail wood fencing. Eager children had even settled on the shoulders of adults to view the action in the main ranch arena.
Roars of laughter went up at intervals and heads turned left, then right, following the activity.
“Hey there, Miss Emma,” Dutch Stevens said. The weathered cowboy tipped his hat and stroked his graying handlebar mustache. “Folks, let Miss Emma in.”
The group of male and female wranglers stepped aside.
Inside the stroller, Emma’s twins, Rachel and Elizabeth, barely stirred from their naps as another excited cheer went up. The toddlers had grown accustomed to life on the Timber, Oklahoma, children’s ranch and thankfully could sleep through most of the noise inherent to a ranch that was home to sixty children.
At the far end of the corral, Emma’s big brother, Travis, drove a small ATV in figure eights while pulling a dummy steer and kicking up a cloud of red dirt and sand. A rider straddling a chestnut gelding flew across the corral in an attempt to rope the steer.
There was no surprise at seeing her brother putting on a show, but who was the rider?
“What day is this?” Emma asked Dutch.
“Sunday, ma’am.”
“That’s what I thought.” She frowned. “I didn’t see an event on the schedule for today.”
“Naw, this wasn’t planned. Your brother and his friend are having some fun.”
“They certainly drew a crowd.”
“I’ll say. That big feller on the horse is mighty good. Knows how to rope and he’s faster than small-town gossip. He ought to go professional.”
Applause went up as the horse and rider moved to the right and his lasso caught the bright green mechanical animal below both horns.
Then he smoothly dismounted, pulled off his navy blue ball cap and took a bow, displaying short neatly trimmed brown hair. There was something hauntingly familiar about the cowboy in the denim jacket and Wranglers.
When he turned to face the south side of the corral, Emma’s head jerked back. For a moment, all she could do was stare.
Zach Norman was back.
A shiver ran through her, and she grabbed the weathered wooden rail for support.
Her brother-in-law. The last she heard, Zach was headquartered with his navy SEAL team in Coronado, California. Except for a brief visit after the twins were born, she hadn’t really spent any time with Zach since the death of her husband, Zach’s half brother, Steve, a little over three years ago.
“Miss Emma, you all right?” Dutch asked. “You’re looking mighty pale.”
Emma blinked and put a smile on her face. “Yes. I’m fine.”
As she turned back to the corral, her gaze met Zach’s. She knew the instant he saw her. His grin faded and the sparkle in his eyes was replaced by a shuttered expression.
Maybe it was the fact that they had different mothers, but Zach was nothing like his younger brother.
Both Steve and Zach were tall, with hair the color of toffee, though that was where any similarity between the brothers ended. Steve had clear blue guileless eyes. Zach’s eyes were silvery gray. When he simmered with emotion, they became the color of the sky before a storm.
While Steve had literally been the boy next door, easygoing and laid-back, Zach could only be described as complicated.
Big, capable and brooding, he could steal your breath with one sweeping gaze. Although she’d known Zach since the day she and her siblings were plucked from foster care, there were times when she felt like she didn’t know him at all.
When his gaze moved in her direction, it seemed he could see her soul. No one else could do that. Even now, as their eyes connected, she felt unable to look away. Emma swallowed and willed her pulse to slow down.
As he started across the corral, she noted a limp. Had he injured himself with his wild riding antics today?
Before she realized it, Zach stood in front of her.
“Emma,” he breathed.
At five foot four, Emma had to look up over a foot to meet his gaze. When she reached out for an embrace, Zach stood stiffly, arms at his sides.
“Welcome back,” she murmured, pained at the rebuff.
“Good to see you,” he said. “You’re looking well.”
“Thank you.” She focused on his denim-clad legs. “You’re limping.”
“My knee. No big deal.” He shrugged it off.
She frowned. It certainly didn’t appear to be “no big deal.”
“You let Travis talk you into the saddle when you have a bum knee?”
“That was my idea. Once I get up there, I’m fine. Riding isn’t a problem.” Zach’s mouth formed a musing half smile. “You know, I don’t think I’ve been in the saddle since...” He paused and met her gaze.
Emma instinctively knew what he was thinking. The two of them used to ride together when Zach stayed at his father’s ranch. Steve had no interest in horses, but she and Zach shared the same passion for riding. Things were simpler in those days.
He looked away, his attention landing on the double stroller.
“Whoa! They’ve grown. Those last pictures you sent don’t do them justice.” Zach half crouched down next to his nieces, his hand bracing his extended left knee. “Who is who?”
“Elizabeth has a tiny birthmark on her right arm and Rachel doesn’t. Other than that, they’re identical.”
“They look exactly like you,” he murmured. Awe laced his deep voice.
“Yes,” she said. The girls had her dark hair and brown eyes. “Except for their noses.” As if on cue, Elizabeth wriggled her snub nose in sleep. “That’s the Norman nose.”
Zach nodded and offered a genuine smile. “So sweet.”
“Sweet in slumber, yes.” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “And when awake, they’re an Oklahoma twister doubled.”
“Like me and Steve when I stayed with my dad in the summer.” Another almost smile touched his lips as he stood slowly, favoring his left leg.
“When did you arrive?” she asked when he faced her again.
“Just got in this morning. Travis invited me for the wedding.”
“The wedding was two weeks ago.” Emma’s glance went to where her older brother stood with his arm looped around his bride and assistant foreman, AJ Rowe Maxwell.
He shrugged. “I got hung up in red tape.”
“Red tape?”
“That’s right. Though, I suppose some might say that I’m trying to live up to my reputation as an absentee relative,” he murmured.
Emma would not respond to the dig. It was a reminder of their harsh exchange of words via email regarding his lack of involvement in his nieces’ lives.
“So you’re here to visit?” she asked instead.
“You sure ask a lot of questions.”
“Can you blame me? I’ve been trying to get you to the ranch for three years.”
He shrugged and offered an annoyed sigh. “I made it.”
“When are you due back?”
“I thought you were glad to see me.” His eyes narrowed a fraction. “Now it sounds like you’re trying to get rid of Uncle Zach.”
“That wasn’t what I meant.” Emma’s skin warmed under his scrutiny. Zach always managed to knock her off-kilter. She collected her thoughts. “I’m shocked, that’s all. In truth, you were the last person I expected to see in that corral.”
“Glad I could keep you on your toes.” He offered a thoughtful nod with no hint of a smile to be found. “And for the record,” he said, “the United States Navy and I have officially parted ways.”
Confused and stunned at his admission, Emma stood staring for a few seconds. “Your knee. Is that why you quit?”
“Separation, not quitting. It was time” was his flat response.
Time for what?
Aloud she simply said, “Okay.” Though, in truth, it wasn’t okay at all.
While Zach’s face remained expressionless, Emma’s gut said that something wasn’t right, and it involved his obvious injury. After all, this was the guy who ate, drank and slept navy for twelve years.
“What are you going to do next?”
“I’m tossing around a few options,” he returned.
Her eyes widened as she latched on to his response. “You have RangePro. That’s an option.”
In an instant, he tensed. Then he glanced around. “Really, Emma? You want to do this here? Now?”
“We’re only talking.”
He rubbed the dark shadow of a beard on his jaw. “Talking, huh? Feels more like an interrogation.”
“Don’t exaggerate.” She began to turn away, taking the stroller with her, when Zach’s hand caught her arm.
“Emma, RangePro is Steve’s company. Not mine.”
She eased from his touch. “Legally, you’re a partner. Fifty-fifty.”
Zach met her gaze. “I haven’t cashed a single check you’ve sent me. What part of ‘buy me out’ don’t you get?”
“Did you look at any of the paperwork I mailed you?”
“I’ve been all over the globe the last few years. I don’t have the time or desire to shuffle through paperwork about a company I don’t want anything to do with.”
She took a deep breath. “The terms of the will state we own together or we sell together.”
“Great. We sell. I’m sure the money will come in handy for you and your girls.”
“It’s not about the money. I am not selling what Steve worked so hard to build.”
“RangePro was Steve’s dream, and Steve is gone,” he returned, his voice sober.
Emma bit her lip as she glanced down at her daughters, but she said nothing.
“Come on, Em. I’m not interested in RangePro and you’ve got to be way too busy with the ranch and the twins to run a livestock software company.”
“If you’d give me a chance to show you—”
“Emma, it’s a desk job. No way am I riding the range behind a laptop.”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
“Not interested.” Zach raised both hands. “And not staying long enough to care.”
His eyes became steely and the set of his chin obstinate. The discussion was over. For now.
Frustrated, Emma turned away.
Three years after his brother’s death and Zach was back. Though the thought of him being around permanently unsettled her, Emma would do whatever it took to save the legacy of her children’s father. She knew what it was like to have your parents’ memory swept away as though they never existed. No, she refused to be the one to auction off Steve’s life work to the highest bidder, as though it meant nothing.
* * *
Zach tugged his leather gloves into place and adjusted the reins on the chestnut gelding. He had completely underestimated Emma. And her effect on him.
She was as beautiful as ever with dark tumbling hair that framed an oval face. If only he’d remembered not to look into her chocolate-brown eyes.
The moment he did, it was all over. He was lost. A teenager again, following her around like an overgrown Labrador retriever. The moment he realized that she had eyes only for Steve he’d respected her decision. Yet, that never stopped him from pining from afar like a sap. It wasn’t coincidence that he joined the navy soon after Steve and Emma called to announce their engagement.
Although it was a secret he kept hidden, the truth was that he had wasted too much of his life in love with Emma. He refused to allow this trip to dredge up feelings he had purposely tossed overboard years ago.
Her entreaty from this morning echoed in his head, making him feel like a jerk all over again.
He was here and Steve was gone. How was it his brother managed to shadow his life, even after death?
And why couldn’t she let it go? RangePro. Like he needed another guilt trip. The irony burned and had dogged him every single day since the car accident that claimed his half brother’s life.
The whys were doubling up on him.
Why was he still alive? Why had he made it out of Afghanistan and why hadn’t his best friend?
God hadn’t been forthcoming in the answer department of late.
Zach looked up at the jingle of tack and met Travis’s smiling face as his friend approached on a black mustang.
“How do you like Zeus?” Travis asked.
“A little headstrong. So we’re well matched.”
Travis laughed. “Our equine manager, Tripp Walker, is pretty intuitive. He paired you up with a horse that suits your disposition.”
“Quiet guy, that Tripp.”
“To say the least.”
“If you’re the boss around here, why are you working on a Sunday?” Zach asked.
“I could give you a dozen reasons.” He began to tick off on his fingers. “Getting married and going on a honeymoon put me behind on everything, for one. Then there’s fall calving season. Oh, and preparation for the Holiday Roundup. That’s gearing up here real quick, too.” Travis shook his head. “I start my days behind.”
“Holiday Roundup?” Zach asked.
“Christmas, pal. Huge around here.”
“Today is the fifth of November. Thanksgiving is two and a half weeks away and Christmas is a long way off.”
“Not when you’re planning Christmas for every child who has made their home at Big Heart Ranch. These are abused, neglected and abandoned children. Many don’t know what a real Christmas is. And I don’t mean gift giving. The true meaning of the season.”
“Who does the regular ranch chores while you’re busy making all these Christmas memories?” He knew his voice sounded cynical, but his interest in Christmas was right up there with his interest in RangePro.
Travis nodded. “Nothing changes. We add the Holiday Roundup to our regular workload. Emma spearheads the entire project.”
“Emma? Aren’t her hands full enough?”
“Both of my sisters are without boundaries when it comes to the kids and Christmas.”
Christmas. Zach squirmed. The holidays were nothing but a brutal reminder of the emptiness in his life. It had been that way since he was a kid. Pulled away from his father and half brother by a spiteful mother so he could spend Christmas all by himself.
Yeah, one thing he didn’t need was another reminder of the past.
“So, how many head do you have?” Zach asked, changing the subject.
“Up to one hundred now.” Travis released a sigh. “And then there’s the bison.”
“You have bison? No kidding?”
“Definitely not kidding.” Travis raised a hand and grimaced. “It’s a long story. AJ is crazy about those shaggy beasts, and sometimes you do things you told yourself you’d never do all in the name of love.”
Zach stared at him. “Did you ever think back when we rode on my father’s ranch that one day you’d be telling me you were doing anything in the name of love?”
“I didn’t know half as much as I thought I did in those days.”
“How exactly did the cowboy who swore off love fall in love?” Zach asked.
“Not a clue. I sure wasn’t looking.” Travis offered a goofy grin.
Zach contemplated his friend’s words for a moment and hesitantly asked the question pulling at him. “How’d you know?”
“Know what?”
“That she was the one?”
“The real question is how did I not know.” He looked across the pasture to where AJ rode her horse checking cattle. As if sensing she was the topic of their conversation, his wife turned their way and raised a hand in greeting. In that moment, love shone in Travis’s eyes pure and true.
Zach ached for what his friend had found. What would it be like to have his love returned unconditionally? To find a partner to face life with? He couldn’t even imagine.
“You’ve got it real bad,” Zach murmured.
“Terminal, I hope.”
Zach chuckled.
“Quit your laughing. You might be next, so you better be careful.”
He gave a slow nod. “At all times.”
When Travis nudged his horse forward to inspect a group of heifers, Zach followed. Several had reclined in the pale brown grass and barely glanced up. “These mommas are ready for the whole pregnancy gig to be over,” he observed.
“Yeah. Got a bent tail here,” Travis said. “That cow is going to calve soon. We’ll keep an eye on her.”
Zach nodded.