Home For Christmas (A Copper Mountain Christmas) (6 page)

"Um, Nate." Her lips parted, her cheeks redder than before. "My hands aren't cold anymore. I'm ready for the gloves."

Crap. He let go of her as if he were holding a scalding branding iron barehanded. How long had he been holding her hands?

Nate held open the gloves, trying to convince himself what he'd been doing was nothing but basic first aid to ward off hypothermia and frostbite.

Rachel stuck her hands inside. She adjusted her jacket sleeves while he put on his gloves. "These are better. I'm glad you stopped by."

Then he remembered his reason for being here. Nate had completely forgotten about Operation: Hansel and Gretel once he'd touched Rachel. Not first aid, foreplay. He shook the thought from his head. Time to focus. "I'm here because I want to talk to you about gingerbread."

She released a slow breath, the condensation hung on the air. The only thing missing was the word
SIGH!
floating inside a dialog bubble. "Do we have to now? I want to build another snowman."

"I can multitask."

"Then let's get started." She dropped to her knees and made a ball of snow. "I want to make a bigger one this time."

Her jacket inched up enough, giving him a nice view of her butt. He could stand here and stare all day except he was supposed to be building a snowman and talking with her. "Okay, but your jeans are getting wet."

Not that he'd mind warming up her calves, knees, thighs…

"I always bring spare clothes." She rolled the ball in the snow, making it bigger. "Cooking mishaps, snowman making. You never know what a day will hold."

That was for certain. He'd better stop slacking off and make the middle section.

"So you wanted to talk about gingerbread?" she prompted.

"Any orders come in last night?"

"One, but getting the word out about a new business can be challenging. It takes time."

Nate didn't know if she was trying to convince him or herself. "Christmas is less than three weeks away. This is the prime time for gingerbread. What do you think about selling your houses and cookies at a tree farm this weekend?"

Rachel froze. She looked up. "Christmas tree farm?"

Nate nodded.

Emotions flashed across her face. Surprise, excitement, caution, wariness. She pressed her lips together. "I don't need your help."

Replacing the
need
with
want
would be closer to the truth. Too bad. He would help her whether she liked it or not. "Just passing along an opportunity."

"Opportunity?"

The disbelief in her voice made Nate feel like a scam artist trying to con senior citizens out of their social security checks. He didn't like the feeling one bit. He was helping Rachel, not hurting her. "An opportunity to sell your gingerbread during one of the tree farm's busiest weekends."

She sat on her heels, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why are you going to so much trouble to help me?"

Nate felt like he was talking Ty into the dude ranch proposition all over again. Nate knew Rachel was wary of his business interest. He assumed she had good reasons to be so suspicious. He would have to be careful.

"Couple of reasons." Nate rolled his ball of snow. "You bake great gingerbread. Your houses are creative and well done. You could make a killing this Christmas with the right marketing approach."

"The second reason?"

"Ty."

The lines above her nose returned. "What does my brother have to do with this?"

"If not for your brother, the Bar V5, what my father always called our Vaughn family legacy, might belong to someone else. I've tried to repay Ty with both money and land, but…"

"He won't accept anything."

Nate nodded.

"So you want to do something nice for Ty by helping me."

"Yes." Not only beautiful, but also sharp and quick. Nate liked the idea of her sticking around town, too. "Except you keep saying no."

She went back to working on her snowman. "I'm not saying no to be difficult."

"Then say yes."

"It's not that easy."

"Three letters aren't difficult so say."

"It's just…" Her shoulders sagged then she straightened. "Something happened recently in Arizona. Something that makes it hard for me to, um…"

He was tempted to back off—she was private, he respected that—but secrets wouldn't regain a business or keep Ty here. "Hard for you to…"

"Believe what people tell me."

This must be what Ty had mentioned. "What happened?"

She focused on the snowman, but her eyes looked miles, if not states, away. Most likely back in Arizona.

He wanted her to share everything, but at her pace. "If you'd rather not…"

"I want you to know this isn't personal."

He worked on the snowman, ignored the urge to move closer, to lend her a comforting hand.

She moistened her lips, took one deep breath, then another. "Two people I considered good friends, people I admired and worked hard for, offered to help me start my own shop a few months ago. We became business partners. Set our Grand Opening for Black Friday."

"That was a week and a half ago."

She nodded. "They fooled me. They didn't want to be partners. They wanted the business for themselves, including the space I'd found, and ended up stealing everything I'd been planning for years."

Nate had a feeling there was more to the story. One day she might feel comfortable enough to share that with him. "Did you speak with an attorney?"

"Yes, but we'd never signed a contract. Everything was verbal. Their word against mine. Even if I had a way of proving what they'd done, they are so wealthy. I couldn't afford the legal fees to take them to court."

"I'm sorry."

Nate was. He understood Ty's concerns better.

"You can see why I'm wary if anyone offers their help, right?"

"You've got to realize some offers are sincere." He noticed her slight shrug. "Mine is."

Her gaze jerked up to meet his. "Because of Ty."

"And you." Nate meant that. Sure, he wanted Ty to stay, but Rachel was a smart woman with a world of talent. Nate liked having her at the ranch.

Not that he was going to start anything or beg, but yesterday's lunch had been the best off-season meal in years, comparable to summer meals that took a kitchen staff to prepare.

Another shrug.

This was going to be a harder sell than he'd imagined. "You were screwed. It's easy to see why you're reluctant. But hear me out about the tree farm."

"I'm listening."

"This morning I spoke with Carson Scott. We grew up together. He owns a Christmas tree farm. This weekend is his biggest of the year. Big crowds. Well, big for Marietta. They'll be offering sleigh rides to customers. Sage Carrigan, who owns Copper Mountain Chocolates, will sell hot cocoa. I told Carson about your gingerbread. He said you could set up a stand. Sell cookies and your houses."

"You talked to him about me?"

Nate couldn't tell from her tone if she was interested or angry. "Your product seemed a good
fit."

"A perfect fit, except…" Those adorable worry lines above her nose returned telling him her brain was trying to figure things out. "I'll need tables, a pop-up tent, lots more supplies to make gingerbread."

Smart women with a workable plan had always been a turn-on. "Sounds like a yes."

"If I can figure out the logistics. Where to get all the stuff I need. How much to bake."

"No worries," he said. "We use tables and tents in the summer. Tell Ty what you need and he can pull them out of storage."

"Only if you let me rent them."

Nate wanted to list the reasons she didn't need to pay, but realized she wouldn't use the tables for free. Fine. He could play this her way. "Sure, if you pay me in baked goods."

"Deal." She bit her lip, making him wonder what she tasted like. Sweet or a little spicy? "I'll need to borrow Ty's truck. Baking supplies will be cheaper in a bigger town."

"Bozeman has a Costco. I have a membership."

"Nate—"

"I have things to buy there myself." So what if he'd shopped there two days ago? He could find something to buy in the warehouse, whether he needed it or not. This was for Ty, even if the idea of spending the afternoon with Rachel appealed to Nate on a gut level. "Make a list of what you'll need. I'll drive you after lunch."

That wariness returned to her gaze. "Don't you have work to do?"

"I have five guys who can cover for me. The winter is our slow season. The priorities are keeping the driveway plowed, the paths shoveled, the animals fed and watered, and the utilities working. We fill the time with maintenance and upgrade projects."

"Okay, then." She stood, wiped the snow off her legs. "I'd better get busy."

"What about your snowman?"

"Later. I have work to do if I'll be away this afternoon."

Nate laughed. Same work ethic as Ty, only Rachel was better looking and smelled nicer. "You're so much like your brother."

"That's the best compliment you could give me." Her bright-as-Christmas-tree-lights smile made Nate feel warm and fuzzy. "Even if he can be a pain in the butt."

Ty had tried Nate's patience a time or two, but agreeing with her didn't seem wise. His loyalty was to his best friend and partner. Even if the woman in front of him heated him up better than a cup of coffee.

"Thank you for talking to your friend," she added. "This could be the break I needed."

"I have another idea if you're interested in hearing it."

She opened her mouth then closed it. "How about on the drive?"

"You've got yourself a deal."

And though she didn't realize it, she had herself a business partner, too. A silent one.

"You were quiet during lunch."

"It's hard to talk over all you cowboys." Rachel put the last plate into the dishwasher then faced her brother. "You boys have two volumes, loud and louder."

"True, but you were talkative yesterday." Ty's eyes darkened to a stormy green. "What's going on?"

She wiped her hands on a dishtowel, glanced out the window at the snow-covered meadow and sparkling river in the distance. "It really is beautiful here."

"Now I know something's wrong. Tell me what's going on, kiddo."

"Nothing."

"Don't say nothing when there's something."

Ty knew her too well. Of course he did. He was all she had. He'd been there when she'd started her period. When she'd nearly failed Pre-calculus. When she'd been dumped three days before the homecoming dance. When she'd gone against his judgment and kept dating one of his cowboy co-workers only to find out the jerk was cheating on her.

But Ty hadn't been there with the others, especially the Darbys.

Would he have seen through their lies and fake smiles? She toyed with the towel, twisting the fabric.

"Tell me."

"It's Nate." Rachel didn't know where to begin, but she knew what to leave out—that she thought her brother's boss was a tasty piece of eye candy and she'd gone from freezing to feverish in seconds when Nate rubbed her hands. "He talked to Carson Scott about my selling gingerbread at his tree farm this weekend."

"I know Carson. Nice guy."

"Nate said you could get tables and a pop-up tent out of storage for me."

"Sure, but—" Ty scratched his head "—this sounds like a great opportunity. How come you're not bouncing around with a big smile on your face?"

She ran her teeth over her lower lip. "Nate's driving me to Bozeman this afternoon so I can
buy baking supplies."

"Still not getting why you look like a barn cat who missed out on the last mouse instead of one with an overflowing food bowl."

Not missed out, had the mouse stolen right from her mouth. "Nate's going out of his way to help me."

"He's that kind of guy."