Winter's Embrace (13 page)

“The
rodeo, how exciting.”

He shrugged his right
shoulder. “You’re a star as long as you can ride but the minute you’re hurt,
the money and women go away. In my case, it was my girlfriend who came to the
hospital, took one look at my leg and said, ‘It’s been a great ride, good luck
to you’.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Henry stood up and put his
Stetson on. “I better get back to work.”

“Thank you so much for your
help, Henry, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

A red hue washed over his
face. “No problem, thanks for the coffee.” He walked to the door, grabbed the
handle, hesitated and then turned around. “Maybe we can watch a movie together
sometime.”

His invitation surprised her
and she briefly hesitated. “I’d like that.”

Henry nodded and went out the
door, but before he pulled it shut he poked his head back in. “Tomorrow night?”

“Sounds
good.”
The door shut and she stood there staring at it. When
was the last time she’d been on a date?

She rushed to the front window
and watched him walk to the barn. What a nice guy. Did he know how good looking
he was? He certainly didn’t act as though he knew. In fact, he seemed earnest
and down to earth and she identified with his story of woe.

Inviting him over here to
watch a movie might be a good idea, there was no sense spending his money at a
theater when he had a dream of building a ranch. It would be fun to do
something different for a change. Sitting in her house alone each night was
lonely.

* * * *

The next morning, as soon as
Stone left the main house, Henry stopped by. He only intended to stay a minute
to confirm the night’s plans, but somehow he got roped into playing dolls with
Rachael as Snoopy lay across his boots.

“Are you sure you have time to
play? The cattle won’t feed themselves you know.” She couldn’t stop grinning.

“It’s not the first time I’ve
played dolls with this sweet angel. Heck, it’s better me than Crabby.”

“Oh you think so?”

“Know so. I don’t scratch
unmentionable places in front of her like Crabby does.”

“No, he doesn’t. I haven’t
once seen him scratch himself.”

Henry laughed. “He’s been on
extra good behavior when he’s around you,
Winter
. Wait
until you really get to know him, then you’ll realize I’m the better man.
Right, Miss Rachael?”

Rachael looked from one adult
to the other. “Crabby has a rash or somethin’ he’s a big
itcher
.”

Winter and Henry locked gazes,
smiling at each other until she finally glanced away.

“I haven’t had a chance to
check what movies are playing.” His eyes were so blue she was afraid she’d get
lost in them.

“I thought we could watch a
movie at my place. I don’t want you to spend your money on me instead of the
ranch you dream of.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Wow,
you are a sweet woman. I’ll swing by your house later tonight but I do still
plan to take you out sometime.” His appreciation made her feel special. “Miss
Rachael, it’s been a pleasure visiting with you and Faith, thank you for a
lovely time.”

Rachael glowed as she gave
Henry a hug.

He stood upright, caught
Winter’s
gaze again, and held it. “I’ll see you tonight.”

A nod was all she could
manage. He had a peacefulness about him that attracted her. And it was certainly
past time for her to consider other men.

Rachael tugged on her shirt.
“I like movies with princesses, dragons, penguins and flying carpets.”

“All
in the same movie?”

“Of
course, Mommy.”

With a warm heart, she hugged
Rachael. “I’d like a movie like that, too.”

* * * *

The table was set for dinner.
Winter stirred her spaghetti sauce one more time, waiting for Stone to come
home. Her mood had been elevated all day in anticipation of seeing Henry.

The door opened, letting in a
gust of frigid air. “Whew, it’s a cold one.” Stone shivered as he took off his
coat and hung it on the coat rack near the front door. He squatted down and
caught Rachael just as she launched herself at him.

She giggled. “Your nose is
cold, Daddy.”

“I bet it
is,
pumpkin. Did you have a good day?” He carried her to her chair at the kitchen
table and put her in it.

Rachael nodded. “Faith and
me
played with Henry.”

Stone laughed. “How’d you rope
him into playing?”

“I just asked him is
all.
He likes movies, too. We’re going to watch one tonight
that has a princess and a witch and dinosaurs in it.” She smiled until her
dimples appeared.

Stone’s eyebrows rose as he
glanced at
Winter
.
“We?”

Winter turned away and began
to plate dinner. She hadn’t given Stone’s reaction much thought and that was a
major mistake. She didn’t want Henry to lose his job over this. “Henry and I
are going to watch TV together tonight. It’s not a big deal.”

She wasn’t a good liar and
when she turned to put dinner on the table, Stone glowered at her.
“Really, no big deal.”
She gave him a smile but he wasn’t
fooled.

“The fact that you keep
insisting it’s no big deal, leads me to believe that it is a big deal.” His
voice was low, as though he was trying to contain his annoyance.

Dinner was all set, so she sat
down and put her napkin on her lap, struggling with what to say. “He helped me
move and we got to talking…”

“I don’t pay him to talk.” He
reminded her of a snake ready to strike.

There was no way she was going
to get Henry fired. “I’ll cancel.”

“No, I know it’s no big deal.
Don’t cancel on my account. Go find yourself and figure out what you want.” He
shot her his best fake smile.

Living in separate houses was
supposed to ease the tension between them and now it was worse than ever. This
time it was her fault and she’d put too much at risk. If she went, there would
be no future for her and Stone, she could lose Rachael, and Henry could lose
his job out of spite. She’d been playing with fire but she didn’t like Stone acting
as if he owned her.

After dinner, she cleaned the
kitchen while Stone and Rachael played. She called Henry and canceled and she
was just hanging up the phone when she felt Stone’s presence behind her.

“Firming up your plans?”

She turned and looked at him.
He appeared more hurt than mad this time. “No, I canceled. I wouldn’t want him
to lose his job and I know you two have been friends for a long time. I’m not
going to cause problems between you.”

“That’s it?” He crossed his
arms in front of his chest.

Ripping her gaze from his, she
studied the floor. What more did he want her to say? If he was expecting her to
declare undying love for him, he’d have a very long wait. “That’s it.” She
walked past him into the family room and began to play with Rachael. By the
time she left, her whole body was tense and a headache had started. Stone
didn’t even say goodbye.

* * * *

A sleepless night and a hectic
morning were not a good combination. She was out of sorts by the time Stone
came in for lunch. “I’m not going to the Winter Party.”

“What do you mean you’re not
going?” Stone gave her a hard glare.

“You and Rachael will have a
good time without me. Besides, I don’t know anyone.”

“Winter, the reason you don’t
know anyone is the harsh winter here in Montana. The people of Carlston need to
break loose and get together. It’s a small town, not some big city. You
know,
cabin fever. Everyone will be there and I want you to
meet
Summer
and Autumn. They are great gals.”

Studying his face, she was
left wondering why it meant so much to him. “You won’t even notice I’m not
there.”

Stone sighed. “Is that what
you honestly think?”

Winter turned back to the
oven. Bending over, she opened the door to check on the cookies. Slowly, she
closed it, and turned back around. “I don’t know.”

Stone strode over to her, took
her hand in his, and gave it a slight squeeze. “It’s lonely here at night with
you at the foreman’s cabin.”

She gave him a sad smile and
pulled her hand away. “It was your idea.”

“Then—”

“No, don’t even go there.
Things haven’t gotten any better between us. One minute you’re furious with me
and then the next minute you’re trying to be nice. The only thing we have in
common these days is our love for Rachael. I’d rather not stir up any more
trouble. Besides, you’ve already told half the town I’m your woman. You know
what small towns are like. They probably think we’re shacking up together.

“I don’t listen to gossip and
what type of trouble?”

“Stone, you pressured me into
canceling on Henry. I can’t trust that you won’t make a scene. Now, I have
cookies to bake, and I’m sure you have things to do.”

He frowned. “I told you to go
on your date. I do have a lot to do. Just think about going okay?”

Winter nodded and watched
Stone walk away. When he stopped at the door and turned around, she was
surprised.

“You were watching me, admit
it.”

She slowly shook her head at
him. “Just go.”

Was she allowing her
insecurities to get in her way of happiness? No, that wasn’t it. If she could
just have time to think without Stone bulldozing his way into her every move.
Damn, if he’d only been truthful in the first place…

Maybe getting to know the
townspeople was a good idea. It would be a clean slate, a new beginning, and it
would give them a chance to know her rather than just the rumors about her that
were surely circulating. She took the cookies out of the oven and her heart
sank. What if they didn’t approve of her?

Winter hoped that the snow had
kept most people inside and they couldn’t gather to gossip. She looked at
Snoopy, who was lying on the kitchen floor. “They do have phones and the
internet, though.”

Snoopy lifted his head, gave
her a baleful look, and put his head back down.

“Great, even the dog thinks
I’m crazy.”

It was a long day. Stone
popped in and out too many times to count and each time he grinned at her. Part
of her hated his smiles, and a part of her heart still hoped they were genuine.

Rachael had separation issues
and she practically begged
Winter
to stay the night.
Winter reassured
her the
best that she could,
promising to keep the kitchen light on so Rachael could see it from her room.

Finally, she was ready to go
to her place and lay her weary self down when suddenly, Stone reappeared. “You
need to wear a bell. You constantly startle me with your quietness.”

“It’s a gift.” He had that
cocky look again.

“And you can stop all that
smiling, too.”

Stoned laughed. “I will try
not to sneak up on you, but can’t promise not to smile.”

“You’re doing it again. Don’t
look at me.” She put her hand on his shoulder intending to give him a slight
shove so he’d turn around, but he grabbed her up in his brawny arms and held
her.

His heart beat steadily under
her ear. Was there room in it for her? He rubbed his chin against her hair and
his hands stroked up and down her back. Despite her frustration, despite the
lies, it felt so good to be snuggled up against him. He smelled of coffee and
hay. How many times in the last ten years had she wished for this very thing?
She often thought about just being held against him, his hard chest beneath her
cheek, and his strong arms around her.

For a moment, she caressed his
back, feeling his sinewy muscles. Maybe she’d been wrong about him. Closing her
eyes, she enjoyed the feeling of bliss.

“Come on let’s get you to
bed.”

Winter’s eyes opened, and she
began to push him away. Stone let go too slowly to suit her. Avoiding his gaze,
she walked around him and grabbed her coat and hat before rushing out the door.

The biting wind slapped her face.
She tried to run to the other house, but it was impossible with the weather. As
much as she wanted nothing more than to just be inside her own place, she could
only plod along slowly.

Finally, she threw the door
open and stepped into her new house. She heard a noise and instantly stood
still. Someone was in the house.

A large shadow graced the
wall, giving her chills. Winter was about to turn and run when she saw the
familiar cowboy.