A Cowboy's Christmas Promise (2 page)

“So she came back lame last night?” In a roomy stall at Whisper Creek Ranch, Daniel kept one hand on Sky Dancer's withers while he skated his other down her front leg.

His friend Cole paced the stall, muttering. “We let a Chicago gal take her out alone yesterday. She denies anything happened, but that leg says otherwise.”

Daniel shook his head. Whisper Creek might finally be turning its first profit, but week after week, inexperienced riders arrived in Montana thinking they were going to be bona fide cowboys and cowgirls by the time they left. Cole and his brother Decker had their hands full keeping their horses safe from the city yokels.

“Poor girl.” Daniel kept one eye on the horse and one on the twins, who were at the other end of the stable, checking out the goats. Sky Dancer flinched as Daniel got to a tender spot, but he kept his voice low and his hands steady as he checked her out. “So how's business this week? Looks like you're full up, even with the wedding next weekend.”

“We've been booked all summer, thanks to that damn website Ma put up. I just wish they were here as much for the horses as they are to score a cowboy fling.”

Daniel laughed. Cole, Decker, and their mother were joint owners of Whisper Creek Ranch, but everyone knew Ma held the proverbial reins. “What'd you
think
was going to happen when she put those sunset-cowboy shots up on the site?”

“In my defense, we didn't even see her take those pictures. And I
never
thought we'd end up listed as one of the top ten girls' getaway places in Montana.”

“Cole, those pics practically have a
Come to Montana—Do a cowboy
caption.”

Cole socked him in the arm. “Enough.” He rubbed Sky Dancer's nose. “So what do you think?”

Daniel straightened up and palmed a carrot nub into the horse's mouth. “I think this gal gets a vacation for a few days, but she should be fine. Light exercise, no riders, and I'll check her at the end of the week. Sound good?”

“That's what I figured, but I wanted your eyes on her.”

Cole led the way out of the stall, then called to Bryn and Gracie. “Hey, girls. Want to see something?” He beckoned toward a stall at the other end of the barn, and the girls leaped up to follow him.

When they got to the last stall, Cole lifted them both up to peer over the top, and they both squealed their little-girl shrieks.

Daniel came up behind them and watched as Bryn and Gracie took in the foal that had been born just days ago. Bryn's mouth was a perfect O, and her eyes were shining. “Is it a boy? Or a girl?”

“A girl.”

Gracie nodded. “Good. What's her name?”

“We haven't decided yet. Do you two have any ideas?”

Bryn wrinkled her nose in concentration. “How about Ariel?”

“Or Jasmine?” Gracie added.

“Rapunzel? She has pretty hair!”

Cole raised his eyebrows at Daniel, only half-suppressing a smile. “Movie week again?”

Daniel shook his head as the names flew out of his girls' mouths, evidence that they'd spent way too much time in front of the television yet again this week. They were kids' shows, but still. Guilt clawed at him every time he turned that damn TV on so he could finish his paperwork at night or answer a call from a concerned client.

As if he'd conjured it, his phone started ringing. He cringed, though Cole laughed when he heard it. “Your mother-in-law had better never find out you assigned her that
dun-dun-dun-DUN
ringtone.”

Gracie picked the phone up from the shelf before Daniel could grab it and send the call to voice mail. “Hi, Nana! Guess what? We're at the barn, and there's a baby horse! We're going to name it Jasmine!”

“Rapunzel!” Bryn muscled in.

Daniel heard Evelyn's shrill voice, but couldn't make out the words. She was about two years shy of admitting she needed hearing aids, so in the meantime, she just made like a megaphone and accused everyone else of speaking too quietly.

“Yup! Daddy's here. Do you want to talk to him?”

Daniel grimaced as he took the phone and headed away from Bryn and Gracie. With the girls, Evelyn was syrupy sweet. But for him, speaking with Evelyn was like chipping at an igloo three miles thick. She'd thawed a bit for the six years he'd been married to her daughter, but after Katie had died and he'd decided to move Gracie and Bryn back to his Montana hometown, the ice walls had thickened considerably.

Nevertheless, she was the girls' grandmother, and he was determined to keep her in their lives, for Katie's sake. He and the girls flew back to Denver once a month, and Evelyn had an open invitation at his house, though she rarely used it.

That worked out pretty well for both of them.

He put the phone to his ear. “Hello, Evelyn.”

“Daniel. Looks like no church again this week?”

“Horses trump hymns once again, yes.”

“I don't appreciate your tone.”

“I know. What can I do for you, Ev?”

“Are the girls ready for the wedding? You had no trouble getting the dresses? Shoes?”

“They're ready. It's been flower girl central around here all week.”

“Well, we've decided to come up a bit early to help out, so don't worry about a thing.”

“Early?” His gut sank. “How early?”

“We've changed our flight from Friday to Wednesday.”

“Really, we're fine. You don't need to come up early.”

Please don't come up early.

“Well, you're in the wedding, too. I'm sure you have a lot to do. We'll just be there to help. You'll hardly know we're there.”

Daniel stifled a bitter laugh.
Right
.

He sighed. “Wednesday's…fine.”

Crap.
That was two less days than he needed to get the house into some semblance of order.

“We're anxious to see the girls. It's been quite some time.”

“Sixteen days, Evelyn. We were there two weeks ago.”

“Well, it feels longer now that you're so far away.”

Daniel rolled his eyes as he pictured her doing a dramatic sniff that was completely wasted on him.

Evelyn and Patrick had been destroyed when their only daughter had died, and in the months afterward, Ev had been a constant presence in his home. At first he had welcomed the help, but as the days passed and Daniel had started to see how Evelyn was insinuating herself more and more into their lives, he'd realized it was time for him to draw the line and figure out how to make his new three-person family work.

In the end, making that work had meant moving back to Montana, and though it'd been a year since they'd left, Evelyn was just as bitter as the day she'd stood sobbing beside the U-Haul truck, making Daniel pry the girls away from her. He wished there'd been another way, but he'd needed to be where he could heal, where he could work, where he could make a fresh start and move past the clouds of grief that still crept into the corners of his vision if he wasn't careful.

And that had meant leaving Denver behind.

Evelyn sniffed delicately. Again. “Don't trouble yourself with picking us up at the airport. We'll rent a car and drive up. Oh! And before I hang up, I wanted to let you know we've heard some very good news from Southwick Academy.”

He stopped abruptly. “Southwick Academy? What kind of news?”

“Good, good news. They may have two openings for fall.”

“I thought we were done talking about this.”

“It's an excellent school. An amazing opportunity.”

“I'm sure it is, but I am not sending my girls to boarding school. It's not an option.”

“Katie always dreamed of sending them to her school, Daniel.”

Katie hated that school, Evelyn.

“Not an option. Wasn't six months ago, wasn't three months ago, and isn't now.”

“They wouldn't necessarily have to live on campus. We could work out another arrangement.”

Daniel sighed. “There is no arrangement to work out, Evelyn. They live with me, they have always lived with me, and they will continue to live with me. I'm sure the Academy has a stellar reputation, but I'm not sending Bryn and Gracie to school back in Denver.”

“But we've pulled a lot of strings to get them in, and we received news yesterday about these unexpected slots.”

“I never wanted you to pull any strings.”

Evelyn performed her classic long-suffering sigh. “Southwick doesn't
have
openings. Ever.”

“Well, it looks like they do now. The girls will not be attending Southwick, and they will not be moving back to Denver. I can't believe you went ahead and did this without my knowledge.”

“We just want the best for them. We're just trying to help them get the best education possible.”

Daniel knocked his palm against his forehead. The nerve. He took a deep breath, working to keep his voice level. “I appreciate your concern, and I understand that you want the best for the girls, but it's my job to make these types of decisions, not yours. Home is here in Montana now, Evelyn. Not in Denver. Not anymore.”

She was silent for a few long seconds. “We can discuss this when we get there. We have some other ideas we'd like to run by you. Perhaps I shouldn't have gotten into this over the phone.”

“Perhaps,” he couldn't help but echo, his tone hollow.

“We'll see you on Wednesday. Good-bye, Daniel. Love to the girls.”

As he pocketed his phone, Daniel took a moment to gather himself before he turned around and pasted on a smile for Gracie and Bryn, who were now running his way.

Over his dead body would his little girls go back to Denver to friggin' boarding school.

Cole caught his eye, brows raised in concern. Must be his fake smile wasn't holding water. Cole pointed toward the main lodge. “Girls, you'll never believe what Ma was baking this morning.”

“What?” They chorused in stereo.

“Chocolate chip cookies!”

Gracie's eyes widened at Cole. “With the super-big chocolate chips?”

“Huge ones! Biggest I've ever seen!”

“Bryn, let's go!” Gracie grabbed her sister and took off for Ma's kitchen.

After the girls had scampered away, Cole turned on the faucet and started filling huge water buckets. When the first one was full, he looked at Daniel.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Think maybe you could dump one of those on Evelyn's head while she's here, though? Maybe she'd melt.”

“What'd she say?” Daniel summarized the conversation, and Cole shook his head. “What the hell, Danny? When is she going to realize that you aren't coming back?”

“You did
not
tell Dixie you're coming out here for a cowboy fling! I don't believe it!” Kyla laughed as she drove toward Whisper Creek later that afternoon, Hayley's luggage piled in the back of Decker's truck. Hayley let her arm float out the window, the wind caressing it as they drove northward from the airport. She was pretty sure her blood pressure had already come down about twenty notches, and they weren't even off the interstate.

“I totally did. After Marty the Moron, I'm seriously hungry for a no-strings, no-expectations fling.”

“Wasn't that what Marty was?”

Ouch.

“So…weddings! Let's talk about your wedding!”

Kyla grinned. “If we must.”

“You can turn down the grin, girl. You're blinding me.”

“Sorry. But really, it's your fault. You and Jess are the ones who dragged me out here last year. I never would have even
met
Decker if we'd gone to a spa like you promised.”

“And for that, you reward us with bridesmaid dresses that we could wear to a
Sound of Music
audition? Remind me never to play matchmaker again.”

Kyla grinned again. “Come on. You'll look adorable in those dirndls. And seriously, we're getting married in a meadow, with the mountains in the background! It fits!”

“You're right. It practically screams for…dirndls.”

“Exactly!”

“I'm still pretty sure you hate us just a little. I'm not big on
adorable
. I'll tell you what, though. You can make it up to me by introducing me to a rugged, hot cowboy. You must have some new ones this year, right?”

“I don't know, Hayls. Last time the three of us were together out here, we managed to get lost, scare up a bear, and almost get hit by lightning. And that was before the barn fire. I think we're solidly in the bad-risk category as far as any of the guys here are concerned.”

“But you've been living here for six months! Haven't you cleared our names by now?”

“I thought I was making progress, but I heard Decker on the phone to his insurance agent yesterday, just being sure all of the ranch coverages were up-to-date.”

“Shut up. Not true.”

Kyla laughed. “I wish I was kidding. As much as he's happy to have you and Jess back out here, I think he's also a little terrified.” She winked and reached over to squeeze Hayley's hand. “I'm so excited that you're here! It's been way too long!”

“You say that now…“

Hayley turned to watch the landscape fly past. To her right, rolling grasslands stretched out for countless miles, green now tinged with late summer yellows and oranges. To her left, the greens melted into the blues and purples of the mountains in the distance. Just like last summer, she was awed by the sheer…
big-ness
of the landscape.

“Good Lord, it's gorgeous out here.”

Kyla smiled. “Did you forget?”

“I think maybe the beauty of it got overshadowed by all that other stuff you just mentioned.”

“Good point.”

“So this year we can just sit back, relax, and have fun, right? No disasters?”

“I'm totally on board with the fun part—but I'm not sure how much sitting back and relaxing there'll be. We've got a full slate of guests, and then there's this little wedding shindig next weekend. My to-do list is about three miles long. I have no idea how you and Jess and I are going to get it all done.”

“Simple. We rip the list in thirds. You take the top, Jess takes the middle, and I take the bottom. And then I sit on the cabin porch and drink lemonade while you guys run around, because obviously, the items on the bottom of the list aren't all that important anyway.”

“Hayley!”

“Kidding! We're on it! Jess and I are ready to go full-on cowgirl for two full weeks. You worry about the wedding, and we'll worry about everything else.” Hayley felt her nose wrinkle. “And please don't ruin this moment by saying something ridiculous like ‘
That's supposed to comfort me?'
”

“If Whisper Creek could afford the empty cabins, we would have blocked the week and enjoyed some peace and quiet, but no dice.” Kyla let her hand flutter out the driver's side window, smiling even though wedding stress had to be taking hold by now. “But don't worry. I'm determined not to go all bridezilla on you guys.”

“If you do, we'll just send you out on a scavenger hunt…with a bad map.”

Kyla laughed. “I did manage to save you your favorite cabin. You have a fireplace
and
a claw-foot tub.”

“Heaven. I love you. Now all I need is a hot cowboy to cuddle with in front of that fireplace.”

“Or in that tub?” Kyla raised her eyebrows, grinning.

“I'd settle for the fireplace at this point, even though it's August.”

“You could always come for Christmas.”

“You've mentioned that—a couple hundred times.”

Kyla got a dreamy look in her eye. “There's just nothing like Whisper Creek at Christmas.”

“I think one trip per year to cowboy heaven is probably dangerous enough.”

Kyla signaled for the Carefree exit and headed down the ramp. “You never know. Whisper Creek does strange things to people. Did I ever tell you about those Native American stories I was reading this winter?”

“Uh-oh. Is the water under some ancient curse or something? You don't believe that stuff, do you?”

“It's not cursed. And no, I don't. But a lot of the old folklore mentions the creek, like they thought there was something magical and mythic about it.”

“Cursed.”

“Stop it.” Kyla laughed. “Maybe they used it as a love potion. I'm going to mix some in your lemonade, just to see what happens.”

“As long as you send a hot cowboy over to help me drink it, I'm fine with that.”

Suddenly Hayley spotted a group of men on horseback in the far distance. “Ooh! Look! Real ones!” She craned her neck as they passed, drooling just a little bit over the way their bodies hugged the horses.

It was definitely good to be back in Montana.

“Not that you're obsessed with cowboys.”

“Hey. You bring me out to Big Sky country, where maybe the
only
things that outnumber the horses are the cowboys, and you expect me not to be obsessed? I would have to give up my real-girl card if I wasn't. I even brought my best cowgirl hat!”

“You own more than one?”

“That's not the point. Best hat! And boots, even! I just need a cowboy to complete the package.”

Kyla shrugged playfully. “There
are
other sorts of men out here, you know.”

“I know. But I've already thought about it. Rodeo guys spend too much time injured, and I'm not the nurse sort. White water rafting guides are gone too much, and plus there's the hot-women problem there.”

She clasped her chest dramatically and made her voice high and squeaky. “Oh, no! The water's so…white! Can I hold on to you while you masterfully paddle us through these rapids? And then maybe you can snuggle me later while I recover from the fright?”

Kyla giggled. “You
have
thought this through.”

“Yup. I dismissed fly fishermen, too. I just can't figure out what's intriguing about standing in a river drowning flies all day.”

Kyla looked over at her, befuddled. “They don't use real flies, you know.”

“Really? Why do they call it that, then?”

“Oh, Hayls.” Kyla laughed. “I've missed you.”

“Ditto. So—about the cowboys. I prefer the tall, dark, and hot variety. Got any of those at Whisper Creek this summer?”

“Yes, but I'm not sending you down that road. I've got a perfectly good guy in mind for you, and he's not a rodeo guy, a rafting guide,
or
a fisherman.”

“Early-retirement major league baseball player? I could be convinced, if he still has his uniform.”

Kyla laughed. “He's a vet.”

Suddenly she pulled to a stop in the middle of the road and pointed out the front window. “Wouldn't see
this
back in Boston, would you?”

Hayley looked forward, and about a quarter of a mile down the road, a momma bear and two cubs were standing on the yellow line, gazing toward the truck. Her blood pressure cranked back up.

“Holy cannoli. They're…
big
.”

“Yup. We'll just wait here for a minute until they decide where they're going.”

Hayley felt for the door lock. “They're coming this way.”

“It's okay. They aren't even close.” Kyla glanced over, amused. “Did you just lock the door?”

“Yeah, 'cause that'll definitely keep them out, right?” She stared at them, not daring to move, lest they somehow take her actions as an invitation to charge. “So…just out of curiosity, how fast can bears run, anyway?”

“You don't want to know.”

Merda. Shit.

“Should we call Roscoe? Is he still roaming the roads pretending he's on the force?”

Kyla laughed. “Nope. After he pulled me over again this spring, Decker finally confiscated his blue light once and for all.”

Hayley peered through the windshield. “They're getting closer.”

“Yup.”

“But we're in a truck, right? We're big and bad, right? That's why you're so calm about this?” Hayley's heart was beating almost as fast as it had last year when they'd popped over the top of a hill and seen a big ol' grizzly having lunch in a patch of berries. That one had been sitting still. These ones were gaining speed.

“Yesss. We're big and bad.” Kyla's voice was soft, and Hayley noticed her hand moving toward the shifting lever.

“Kyla? Would now be a good time to maybe move a little faster?”

Kyla shifted into reverse. “I'm easing back. Don't want to scare her. Just giving momma here a little space.”

“Momma looks like she'd like
all
the space, please. And can I just say that bear cubs look a lot cuter on zoo cams?”

Kyla steered the truck backward, but the bear kept coming toward them, not looking like she was in any particular hurry, but also not looking like she was about to take a turn east or west anytime soon. “Roll up your window, Hayls.”

“Kyla!” Hayley was embarrassed to hear her voice squeak.

Nice. She'd locked the door but left the window open?

“You promised me a bear-free vacation!”

“No such thing out here, sweets.” Kyla backed up some more, and Hayley saw her eyes scanning both sides of the road. “Okay, hold on.”

Hayley grabbed for the bar above her head, but didn't have time to get hold of it before the truck lurched forward, bounced off the pavement, and chewed up a thousand feet of dusty dirt. Just as they were about to cruise headlong into a stand of firs, Kyla swung back onto the pavement, sending Hayley crashing into her door.

Hayley twisted her body around to look behind them, and grabbed her throat as she saw the momma bear rear up to her full height. “Omigod. Do you see that?”

“Yes. And I'm very glad I'm seeing it from this far away.”

Hayley watched the trio of bears until they were small specks, then finally turned around. “Just another little jaunt to the airport?”

Kyla shrugged. “Sometimes it's bears, sometimes it's a moose. You just never know.”

“You are not the same girl we brought out here last year.”

She laughed. “If I were her, I'd have been lunch long before now.”

“Is it safe to roll my window back down? I think I just scare-sweated through my shirt.”

“It's fine. We probably won't see another one.”

“Because there's a three-a-day limit?” Hayley looked out the back window again.

“No. Because they have huge territories.” She tipped her head. “Unless papa bear is in the area, too.”

Hayley frowned. “I think I just decided I didn't miss you as much anymore.” She blinked hard. “Umm, Kyla?” A beat-up old truck was careening toward them, its driver waving something madly out the window.

Kyla looked into her rearview mirror, then shook her head fondly. “I revise my earlier statement. Sometimes it's a bear, sometimes it's a moose, sometimes it's Roscoe.” She slowed the truck and looked for a spot to pull over.

“What is he waving?”

“Looks like paper.” She laughed. “Today's version of a blue light, maybe.”

“Tell me he doesn't seriously pull people over with a piece of blue construction paper.”

Kyla shrugged, smiling. “Maybe.”

She pulled to a stop, and Roscoe pulled up right behind them.

“He's not, like, armed, is he?” Hayley turned her head. Roscoe had put in forty-plus years on Montana's state police force, but Alzheimer's had forced him to retire long before he would have chosen to leave. “How is he these days?”

“Actually, he's doing pretty well. He has his good days and bad days, like everyone else with this hideous disease, but he seems good lately. His short-term memory is getting worse, but his stories of the old days are still crystal clear.”

“But he still likes to play cops and robbers, apparently.”

Kyla looked sidelong across the truck cab at her. “It's where he's happiest. Can you imagine going from doing that job for forty-three years to sitting in a recliner waiting for your brain to shut down completely?”

“Poor guy.”

Hayley glanced in the rearview mirror. It looked like Roscoe was calling something in on his radio.

“Don't let him hear you say that.”

“So what do we do? Should we get out and say hi?”

“Nope.” Kyla smiled. “Keep your hands in full view and let him be a trooper today, okay?”

“Seriously?”

“Trust me.”

Roscoe finally creaked open the door of his ancient truck and strolled up to Kyla's window, right hand on his belt. Hayley whispered, “You're sure he's not armed?”