Her Mistletoe Cowboy (2 page)

Rhett turned to examine the far-off road. “So is your car close?”

She blanked out the handsome line of his profile. “It’s not my car I need help with but my front door lock.”

Rhett’s gaze snapped back to hers and narrowed. “As in the front door to the main Rose Crown ranch house?”

“Yes, exactly. The lock has frozen over. I don’t have a match or lighter to heat the key to melt the lock ice.”

As one they turned to look at the substantial, two-storey ranch house that stood between them and the distant road. When the ranch was auctioned the original ranch house and five acres of land had been subdivided off. Rhett had bought the rest of the land and the log cabin which had once been the foreman’s home.

Silence engulfed them only broken by the whistle of wind and the soft thud as a clump of snow fell from off the top rail of the nearby wooden fence. Milly burrowed within the warmth of Ivy’s jacket.

Rhett again looked at her. Wariness eclipsed the light in his eyes. “You’re the absentee city owner who bought the place for a holiday house?”

“I am.”

He again looked at the main ranch house and then over to his cabin.

“Okay, then.” He strode away before she could further gauge his expression. “Let’s get you inside before you and Milly freeze.”

Ivy settled a hand on the bump within her jacket to steady the puppy and set off after Rhett. Her numb feet had trouble keeping up and Rhett slowed his long-legged pace.

He shot her a sideways glance. “Winter’s not the best season to holiday here in Montana. You planning to stay until the snow thaws?”

“Maybe.” She examined his face. His earlier easy-going camaraderie had become tempered by an unexpected gravity. He must be worried she’d cause trouble or that her frozen lock would be the beginning of all the help she’d need. “But once my door’s unlocked, I’ll leave you in peace, I’ve come for solitude not socializing.”

“Fair enough. But I am here if you need anything. Neighbors look out for each other around here.”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was so used to battling life on her own, even when engaged to James. A simple act of kindness was as foreign to her as snow was to her chic-city red car that had come into view as they rounded the side of the ranch house.

A fatigue, stemming from more than three days of driving, dragged at her feet. She was so tired of fighting to survive in the impersonal corporate world. So tired of the frenetic pace of downtown Atlanta. So tired of searching for the impossible. She just wanted to sit by a fire, bake her grandmother’s Christmas sugar cookies and rewind to a time when life had been simple. To a time when she’d been happy and whole.

“Been a long day?” Rhett asked, voice low as he slowed his pace even further.

“More like a long six months.”

He nodded, his boots squeaking in the snow as he stepped onto the path that led to the front steps.

She stopped and took a second to collect herself. The rapid white puffs of her breaths let her know her emotions were done with lying low. She focused on slowing her breathing and reinforcing her control.

Everything was going to be okay. Sure she’d acquired an abandoned puppy at a gas station on the way to Marietta, but otherwise her plan to piece her life back together was on track. She was here and would soon be inside the building that loomed before her.

Solid and resolute, the main Rose Crown ranch house was a tangible reminder of the strength of the pioneering spirit. Named after the rose crown wildflowers that grew high in the mountains, the house had changed hands over the years and while it had been neglected, it hadn’t ever crumbled.

She stood taller. Soon light would shine from the lifeless windows and Christmas color would add vibrancy to the stone and timber. And soon she would be ready to put the past months behind her and move forward. So until then she had to continue to keep everything together.

She joined Rhett on the steps and fumbled in her jacket pocket for the house keys. Standing next to him, she became even more conscious of the breadth of his muscled shoulders. When he’d removed his jacket she’d seen how his well-built torso had tapered down to lean hips. His strength was honed from hard work and not from an hour in the gym before a day in the office. Every tough line was earned carving out a life in a rugged and sometimes unforgiving land.

She handed her new neighbor the house keys and then stepped backward to allow him room to examine the frozen lock. Milly popped her head out of the jacket and set about worrying the synthetic fur on Ivy’s jacket. She disengaged the fur from the pup’s needle-sharp teeth and watched as Rhett then strode to her unlocked car. He popped the hood and pressed the key onto the still-warm engine mount.

“Clever,” she said, with a wry smile. The heat from the engine would warm the key and melt the ice in the lock. “I’ll know for next time.”

“Just make sure you’re wearing gloves if you do ever do this because the key will become hot. And, once the door is open, if you put a little petroleum jelly on your key and inside the lock, hopefully there won’t be a next time.” He closed the car hood. “Right, let’s see if this works.”

When the front door swung open, Ivy released her held breath. Her stiff and cold lips curved in a smile.

“You don’t know how glad I am to see the inside of this house.”

Emotion thickened her tone.

A fleeting emotion washed across his features, before he dipped his head to indicate she step through the front door. Still smiling, she walked into the entryway. She briefly closed her eyes.

She was home.

Hands unsteady, she placed Milly on the floorboards. First, she’d warm some food for the pup, then fire up the heating, have a coffee and take a very hot bath.

Rhett followed her inside and as he shut the front door darkness blanketed the foyer. She straightened to flick on the light switch.

Nothing happened.

No. Way.

She flicked the switch on and off as though sheer desperation would force the light to work.

“Sally assured me the electricity would be connected.” Even to her own ears her words emerged high-pitched.

Boots sounded on the hardwood floor before natural light streamed into the foyer as Rhett reopened the front door. She shivered as an icy wind also blew inside. Milly sat on the toe of her right boot and Ivy returned her to the warmth inside her jacket.

“Looks like it’s coffee at my place after all,” Rhett said, voice cheerful. “Ladies and puppies first.” He waved a hand for her to return outside.

“I’ll call Sally right away and get it sorted.”

“I’m afraid you won’t have much luck seeing it’s Sunday.” He closed the front door behind them.

Her stomach plummeted to her frozen toes. “Sunday?” Her days of driving had left her disorientated.

“Yep. But I live on my own so have plenty of room for you to stay. You can call Sally tomorrow and get everything sorted then.”

She bit the inside of her cheek and stared at him. Despite his reassuring words she couldn’t shake the impression he shared her disquiet at the main house having no power. His shoulders were a little too rigid.

“I don’t want to put you out. But you’re right, Sally won’t be working on a Sunday.”

“You won’t be putting me out. The weather’s closing in so I need to come inside anyway.”

As his fathomless gaze met hers, there was no sign of the light-hearted cowboy she’d first met.

She shivered again, but this time not from the bitter cold. A tiny part of her, a part that shouldn’t be feeling glad that he lived alone, also shouldn’t be feeling hurt the last thing he appeared to want was her company.

‡

S
he was only
staying for one night.

It didn’t matter how much Rhett repeated the thought on the walk from the main ranch house to his log cabin, the tension constricting his ribs refused to ease. His self-preservation had already earmarked Ivy’s pretty face and strong spirit as a distraction. A distraction he simply couldn’t have. He had to remain focused on the end game. He had a new ranch to establish and a deathbed promise to honor.

It also didn’t seem to matter how casual he kept their banter as they collected Ivy’s bag from her car, the closer they walked to his house the more the spark in her eyes dimmed. She was running on empty. He needed to get her and Milly inside, get them warm and fed and ignore the voice that said to load them into his pickup and head to his family ranch where Peta and Kendall would take over.

After all, it was only one night.

But as he opened the side door to his cabin he couldn’t let go of the feeling he was opening the door into his life.

“Thanks,” Ivy said, her tone quiet as she entered the mudroom. He followed, set her bag on the floorboards and removed his boots. She bent to do the same.

“It’s okay. Leave yours on.” He hung his hat and coat on the hook to his left. “You’ll stay warmer if you take your boots and coat off in front of the fire.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to tramp snow inside.”

He looked at her city footwear and grinned. “You have as much snow on your boots as Milly would have on her paws.”

Canine nails clipped across the floorboards as Rusty, his faithful aged Australian Shepherd, left his dog bed in the far kitchen corner to join them. Milly popped her head out of Ivy’s coat and whined. Ivy placed the pup on the floor. The little Jack Russell launched herself at Rusty and engaged him in a doggy wrestle.

“I’d run now, Rusty, while you can,” Ivy said, laughing. “Once Milly starts playing she doesn’t have an ‘off’ button,”

Rhett concentrated on the two tussling dogs and not on the smiling woman an arm’s distance away. Ivy’s husky, musical laughter reached a place inside him he didn’t even know was lonely. A place he didn’t want to awaken. The path he’d plotted to achieve his goals was a single-track only.

He swung away to collect a small stool and moved it close to a sofa chair near the fire. “Here, take a seat and rest your feet on this to warm them while I rustle up some coffees.”

“I really don’t want to be a bother.” She pushed back the fur-trimmed hood. “I’d rather help than sit.”

“It’s fine, I’ll get the coffees,” he said, already at the kitchen door and in sudden need of air.

Wearing her hood, Ivy had been beautiful. Without it, she was pure distraction. Her fawn-brown hair was thick and glossy and longer than he thought. When not wearing her hooded-jacket it would reach halfway down her back.

He grabbed for the coffeepot. He wasn’t even going to think about her mouth. Even devoid of color, her full lips made a man wonder if they tasted as sweet as they looked.

He reentered the living room, coffees in hand. He had to focus on being neighborly and not on the fact that over near the fire Ivy shrugged off her jacket. Coffee slopped from a mug and burned his left hand as he side-stepped the playing dogs. He’d been too distracted by the perfection that lay beneath Ivy’s coat to notice where he walked.

Taking her and Milly to Bluebell Falls Ranch to be fussed over by his sisters had to be the best option. The alternative was to spend the next twelve hours in close proximity with a woman dressed in fitted jeans, knee-high black boots and some sort of tiny white fluffy cardigan that clung to her curves like a second skin. Small pearl buttons drew his gaze exactly where it shouldn’t go, the top button having worked itself free and giving him a glimpse of the smooth skin at her throat. As she bent to drape the jacket over the arm of the chair, her heavy hair slid over her shoulder. Again he caught the scent of vanilla mixed with something sweet. All Ivy needed was a pair of wings and she’d rival any beautiful Christmas tree angel.

Teeth clenched, he set the steaming coffees on a nearby table. He hadn’t even been around his unexpected houseguest for an hour and he’d become as sidetracked as a hormonal teenage boy.

Ivy sank into the huge chair, its size making her look almost … fragile. She closed her eyes and turned her face toward the fire’s heat. The bruises he’d noticed earlier beneath her eyes were now dark crescents. Again he had the impression the cold wasn’t the only reason for the weariness that seemed to weigh her down. Her saying she’d had a bad six months must have been an understatement.

“Here,” he said softly, as he passed her a coffee.

He wouldn’t be taking her anywhere. She was too exhausted. He might be many things, but he wasn’t a coward. He’d suck up his misgivings about having her stay and look out for her as any good neighbor would. He glanced at her chin that still retained its stubborn tilt even when she relaxed. Well, that was if she’d let him.

Her lashes swept open. The green flecks in her hazel eyes the only color in her wan face.

The corners of her mouth curled. “Perfect timing. Without caffeine I don’t think I could get out of this chair.”

She took a sip of coffee and placed the mug on the small table he positioned beside her. She then leaned forward to remove her boots.

Rhett moved away to scoop up Milly as she chewed Rusty’s tail. He didn’t need to see Ivy’s small and dainty feet. As it was, his dreams would be filled by angels with long, silken hair, curves in all the right places and a waist he could span with his hands.