The flight was on time and was quite forgettable, but four hours later, as they touched down in Denver, those butterflies were back in her stomach. Juliet took control, navigating the two of them through the huge airport and collecting their luggage.
Juliet looked at her watch. “Nolan and Olivia’s plane arrives in about half an hour, and Harriet should be here already.” Juliet pulled out her phone and sent off a text. A reply buzzed back immediately. “Harry’s plane landed, she’s heading down from the gate now.”
“How are we all getting to the ranch? Is it far?”
“About an hour and forty minutes, and someone is picking us up.”
Cady’s stomach did a little flip. “M-miles?”
“Caleb, I think.” Juliet was distracted looking down the concourse for her sister. “There she is! Harriet!” Juliet jumped up and down as an attractive blonde ran towards her, dragging a rolling bag and swinging a large second bag stuffed with gaily wrapped presents over her shoulder.
They’d only just gotten the introductions over and done with when there was a loud whoop and a big guy with an extreme buzz-cut came racing toward them dragging an Hispanic woman behind him.
Juliet and Harriet ran to meet him and, amidst a round of excited squeals and hugs, Cady found herself wishing she came from a larger family.
“The plane landed early!” The guy said breathlessly, as he hugged his sisters.
Juliet extracted herself and tugged Cady towards the others. “Nolan, Olivia, meet Cady. She needed cheering up, so she’s joining us for a famous Carmichael Christmas roundup!”
As the man reached out to shake her hand, Cady wondered where Juliet had been hiding this brother. The guy was seriously built, and a little intimidating. She only hoped that when she finally met Miles, she didn’t feel as shy as she did right now.
“Nice to meet you, Cady.” As soon as Nolan spoke to her, he put her at her ease. He didn’t sound half as fierce as he looked. Nolan turned back to Juliet and Harriet. “Caleb messaged me, he’s outside.”
After another round of introductions, they finally boarded a mini bus that had the ranch name written on the side. Cady felt a little disappointed that Miles wasn’t there to meet them, but as they crammed themselves on board with all the luggage, she could see there wouldn’t have been any space for him.
For the nearly two-hour drive, Cady kept fairly quiet, looking out the window at the snowy scenery and watching the mountains getting closer and closer. Around her, the Carmichael siblings chatted noisily and caught up with each other.
By the time they pulled up outside the charming ranch house, Cady was so nervous, she could hardly stand. She tugged her bag out of the back of the mini bus and tried to compose herself. Her eyes flicked around the yard and she noticed little things from the pictures Miles had sent.
On top of the red barn was the gorgeous weathervane he’d snapped when he was up there fixing its arm. Cady gulped at the height of the structure and felt light-headed. She was not good with heights and couldn’t imagine how Miles could have worked all the way up there. Behind her, under the windows of the ranch house were the planters that had colorful pansies in them a few months ago. Now the winter splash of color could hardly be seen as the flowers were buried in snow.
“Can I take that?” Miles voice was instantly recognizable and she turned to face him.
Cady’s stare started somewhere around the man’s broad shoulders and travelled up to a strong jawline covered in stubble, then it paused for a moment to take in a mouthful of white teeth, which when that grin widened, caused a dimple to appear on his right cheek. Her eyes continued their scrutiny right up to the prettiest gray eyes she ever saw. There were crow’s feet at the edges, that gave him a worn look and a left-over tan that gave testimony to the amount of time he spent outdoors
Oh, my! Miles Carmichael up close and in the flesh, was a sight to be seen! Wearing dark jeans and a plaid shirt, he towered above her. The smile on his rugged face almost made her combust. He was older than she imagined, but then she had never actually asked Juliet when that photograph in her room was taken. Her own common sense should have prevailed because Juliet had to be at least five years younger in the picture. Mmm, but older or not, he was one deliciously sexy man.
“Come inside, you’ll freeze out here.”
Cady realized she was still staring at him, and her hand still clutched her outstretched bag. Quickly, she let him take it and followed him down the path. “This place is even more beautiful than you described.” She looked around her in wonder and her eyes went to the enormous decorated tree in the yard. “That… wow, that is breathtaking.”
He stood beside her, looking at the tree and she became overwhelmed by how close this equally breathtaking man was to her. She couldn’t wrap her head around just how good-looking he was and that she had been talking to him for months not knowing he looked like a movie star. Cady tried to remember the photo in Juliet’s room and wondered why she hadn’t known her friend’s brother was this hot. But the picture was taken at a distance, a group of them with the mountains in the background. The people were too tiny in the picture to see much of the detail.
“Yeah, it is. Come on in, let me introduce you to Sarah. She has hot cocoa waiting for y’all.”
He held out his hand and she took it, her cheeks pinking as she did. For some reason, she was feeling incredibly insecure and shy.
Come on Cady, get a grip. This is Miles, the guy you are never stuck for conversation with.
“Th-that sounds great.” But now it seemed she was tongue-tied because she couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him.
9
Miles
Fountain, Colorado December 23rd
For a while, Miles couldn’t say anything. He’d watched Cady climbing down from the bus from his vantage point at the door. She was tinier than he imagined, smaller than both his sisters by a good four inches. All bundled up in a goose down jacket, hood up, not allowing him a glimpse of her features. The excitement he'd felt all day was knotted in his stomach. He’d thought about swapping with Caleb and driving out to the airport, but he feared the drive back would be awkward with everyone crammed in like sardines. He wanted to meet her properly and have time to get to know her without Harriet glaring daggers at him. He hoped Juliet hadn’t said anything to their sister; he could do without another lecture.
Cady struggled to pull her bag from the back of the mini bus and Miles suddenly remembered his manners. He wasn’t sure what to expect when she looked up at him, but it most definitely hadn’t been the mass of red hair crammed inside her hood, or the adorable smattering of freckles across her nose.
But mostly, he hadn’t expected her to be so young. Shit, you are a fool, Miles Carmichael. As he took the bag from her, he felt Harriet scowl at him and, despite not having done anything wrong, guilt pooled in his stomach. Jesus, Harriet would corner him later, for sure.
Thankfully, with the arrival of everyone in one go, there was not much opportunity for him to be left alone with Cady. Instead, he watched her from across the room, and wondered what the hell he had been thinking. Did he really not learn his lesson with Clarissa? But Cady was no Clarissa.
After she’d removed her layers of outdoor clothing, Miles could see that red hair had a coppery shine that made her curls seem alive as she moved. Falling just shy of her shoulders, it framed her pretty face and highlighted the soft lichen-green of her eyes. Damn, they were so pale, he’d never seen eyes that color before.
“Hey, Miles, why don’t you take Cady to see the foal? She’s been desperate to pet it.” Juliet beamed at Miles, and he sensed she was deliberately giving him an excuse to be alone with Cady.
A sudden anxiousness sent Miles’ heart rate up. What the hell would he say to her? “Sure, you want to see him, Cady?”
The redhead nodded and those curls bobbed, the fiery tones catching the twinkling lights.
Harriet narrowed her eyes at him. “I thought we were going
to decorate the tree?”
“Oh, there is plenty of time for that.” Nolan stretched out on the couch and crossed his ankles. “Give us an hour to get over the flight.”
Miles wasn’t sure if Nolan was fighting in his corner or just content with relaxing, his arm over Olivia’s shoulder, his fingers wrapped in a lock of her hair. Actually, Miles hoped it was the latter. He’d prefer to keep things low-key until he had time to…
Until what? Fuck, what do you want out of this Miles?
He stood and Cady followed him back into the hallway. They pulled on their coats and boots in silence as he contemplated what he thought he was doing here. This could never work. It couldn’t ever be more than a temporary distraction. They lived states apart, and the gap in their ages–which he calculated to be the wrong side of ten years… possibly even immorally the wrong fucking side, because this girl looked like she only just left college! Yeah, this was…
Miles held open the door for her and then shoved his hands in his pocket as they crossed the yard. Cady looked as nervous as he felt. Ah, so she had doubts too.
“You okay?”
She smiled shyly back at him. “Yeah.”
“The family can be a bit overwhelming when we all get together. Don’t worry, it’ll soon settle down.”
“Do you see your brothers and sisters often?”
“It varies. Obviously, I see Caleb every day, as he lives and works on the ranch with me. Dad wanted the both of us to run the place, and even though it’s my name above the door, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Nolan’s been a bit busy these last couple of years, so I haven’t seen him in a while. Hopefully now that he and Olivia are hitched, they’ll come out more often. Her dad still lives around here, so they can kill two birds with one stone.”
“Oh, were Nolan and Olivia high school sweethearts?”
“Nah, it was more complicated than that, but I’ll let them explain that story to you.” There was silence for a few seconds, and Miles struggled to think of something to say.
“What about your sisters?” Cady broke the awkwardness between them with another direct question.
“Jules always comes for Christmas and she tries to get here for her mom’s birthday in July.” Miles pulled open the heavy barn door and as they stepped inside, he suddenly felt more comfortable. “The foal is in the last stable on the left. Here, you’ll be needing some of these.” He reached into a sack by the door and pulled out a handful of carrots. “Snap them into chunks, and mind you don’t miss any of the horses out as you go down. They’re easily offended.”
Cady took the carrots and broke them up like Miles showed her. And after cramming the pieces into her coat pocket, she removed her gloves and dropped them onto a bale of straw by the door. For a moment, some of that familiarity seemed to creep back, and it felt less awkward now that he was surrounded by the comfort of the barn.
Miles reached up and removed her hat, brushing the static out of the flyaway curls. For a second, he thought Cady caught her breath, and he had a hankering to lean in for a kiss. But common sense prevailed and a Nano-second later, he backed away. They had a week to spend in each other’s company, and it would be awkward if he started something he damn well knew he had no intention of following through on.
Cady’s cheeks flushed, and she scurried over to the door of the first stall. A gray mare with white freckles across her rump sniffed suspiciously at the new visitor.
“Don’t mind her, she’s always standoffish.”
Miles clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and gestured for Cady to hold her hand out. With the carrot balanced on her palm, she studied the mare as it approached her. He probably should have expected the woman to be skittish around horses. From her own account, she grew up in apartments in big cities. Not a lot of chance for her to get familiar with these animals. It wasn’t like he was looking for excuses, but he mentally checked that off as another black mark against the hare-brained idea he’d had of something ever happening between them.
“Oh, God, she’s eating it!” Cady turned to him, her face lit up in genuine pleasure as the horse scraped the carrot from her hand.
“Aye, she might be a grumpy old thing, but she will never pass up a treat.” Miles rubbed the mare’s muzzle and the animal bobbed her head up and down for more.
“So what about Harriet? Do you see her much?”
Miles looked away. Talking about Harriet would mean talking about his ex, and he had hoped to avoid mentioning his ex-wife. He wondered if Juliet had told Cady about Clarissa.
Jesus Christ, you’re such a catch, Miles. This was yet another reason he needed his fucking head examined. Did you even tell Cady you were married? “No. We, um, had a falling out over my ex-wife.”
Cady gave nothing away, but instead turned and looked at the bay in the stall opposite. Should he explain? Yeah, like that would fucking work… my wife was a bitch, she didn’t understand me… that wouldn’t set up red flags, would it? See, Miles? You can be a stupid fuck.
“Whoa, you’re handsome. You want a carrot, too?” Cady made straight for the stallion, her hand outstretched. The bay nodded his head up and down in reply to Cady. “What’s her name?”
“This one’s Popeye, on account of when he was a foal, he got into Sarah’s veggie patch and ate all her spinach.”
“Oops, sorry, big fella. You are just too pretty to be a boy.” Cady held out the carrot for Popeye, and not in the least bit offended, he licked it off her hand.
The expression on her face gave Miles the urge to capture the moment. He lifted up his phone while she was distracted and cooing over Popeye. Relaxed, green eyes twinkling in delight, Cady looked beautiful as she rested her head against Popeye’s neck. She caught Miles snapping the picture and she became bashful again.
“I’ll send it to you later, a souvenir of your visit.” He pushed his phone back into his pocket, a little embarrassed at being caught.
“Th-thanks, Miles.” She surprised him by stepping closer. “I’m really glad I got to come and meet you.”
Hardly daring to breathe, he nodded. He was too, even if it had made him come to his senses. Before, when they’d been separated by the miles, he’d let his heart rule, let his imagination run away from him.
“Is there something wrong?” she whispered.
When he lifted his head, her eyes captured his gaze. Miles cleared his throat. Fuck! Despite all the clear warning signs, his fucking imagination was still running wild. Don’t do this Miles, she’s way too young, and you have nothing in common with her. Hell, you don’t even fall for redheads…
“Miles, isn’t this the part when you kiss me?” Her eyes were wide and her chin jutted out like she was trying to be brave. Cady might not be his usual type, but there was no doubting she was as cute as a fucking button. But Miles never fell for cute women, he was a sucker for females that had an edge to them.
He shook his head. “Is that wise?”
“I-I have no clue. All I know is that my knees are quaking and…”
She flushed right to the roots of her hair, and he’d be damned if he didn’t find that adorable too. It hit him that he’d be an ass if he walked away from such an open invitation.
Miles knew it was a knee jerk reaction to a pretty face, but for a second, he was powerless to resist and reached out and pulled her into his arms. Cady didn’t exactly melt into them, but her initial stiffness did relax after their lips met.
As kisses went, this wasn’t brimstone and fire, but it certainly was nice. Cady’s lips were soft, and she tasted sweet like cherries. When he coaxed her with his tongue, her mouth opened for him. But both of them were nervous, and Miles almost laughed at that thought. It had been a long time since he’d been scared about kissing a woman. He tightened his arm around Cady, crushing her to his chest, and even after the kiss had finished, he held her close, nuzzling his nose into her hair.
That voice of conscience still spouted out the same old shit, Where was this going? Do you ha
ve no shame, Miles? You wanna alienate another sister, make another goddamn fool out of yourself?
A loud snorting and pawing from the other stables finally made them draw apart, and he took her hand as they walked to the next stall. Carrot by carrot, Cady made friends with each of the horses, but neither she nor Miles acknowledged the elephant in the room.
The silence grew too awkward. “You ride?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’d love to learn. I think it is every little girl’s dream to ride a pony. I used to tie my skipping rope to my bike handles when I was eight and pretend I was galloping over fields. But I never got the chance to do it for real. Horses and ponies were hard to find in the city.”
“Well, if we get a break in the weather, I can take you out.” Miles hoped there would be, so he could grant her that.
She clapped her hands together. “For real?”
He chuckled at her excitement. “Tell you what, if the weather isn’t good enough to ride, I’ll hitch up the sleigh and…”
“You have a sleigh!”
“It’s a bit gaudy, we use it with the tourists that brave it out here during the winter.”
“Oh, God. I so want to ride in a sleigh!”
“In that case, a winter wonderland sleigh ride will be my Christmas present to you.”
“Seriously? This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”
Miles had a suspicion it might be his best, too, if he just gave this a chance. But then he came to his senses and reminded himself he’d only met this girl four hours ago and if he allowed himself to lose his heart to her, she would be flying back to Virginia in five days. “Let’s go see the foal.”
They came to Miss Molly’s stall and he stood back to watch as Cady leaned over the stable door. She was stretched up on tiptoes so she could see and she squealed in delight when she spotted the foal.
“You wanna pet him?” Miles pulled back the bolt and held the stable door open. “Sit on that stool there, let the foal come to you, and let Miss Molly sniff you out.”
Miles' Christmas Roundup (Holiday Hunks Book 2) Page 7