Christmas on the Ranch--A Clean Romance

by Julianna Morris

  “I can see how glamorous that must have made it sound,” Gideon said in a dry tone.

  She laughed and shook her head. “Not glamorous. But it had an impact on people and how they saw war. Photographers such as Alexander Gardner and Timothy O’Sullivan were right there, seeing battles and the aftermath, and through their eyes and skill, the world saw it, too.”

  “Too bad their pictures didn’t put an end to all war, everywhere.”

  Alaina’s face sobered. “True. But I’m still fascinated by the concept of capturing an instant in time and preserving it forever. I love our wild spaces, and with people spreading to every corner of the globe, photographs may be all we have left of them someday.”

  Gideon shuddered. “That’s a horrible thought.”

  “Oh? I thought ranchers wanted to tame the wilderness.”

  “My great-grandfather saw nature that way, but I try to coexist.”

  “In that case, there may be hope for you yet.”

  She sauntered away, leaving him to consider what her cryptic half smile might have meant.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ALAINA STOPPED TO adjust the straps on her backpack, then continued up the slope of a hill.

  The sun was bright and warm and the scent of ponderosa pines rose, filling her senses. An eagle cried and she tipped her head back to watch it soar across the sky. A hawk followed and they rose in unison on a current of air before the eagle beat its more powerful wings and drew away.

  It was so beautiful that her breath caught.

  This part of the world had always spoken to her, ever since her family had visited Yellowstone on a family vacation. For months she’d dreamed about the beauty of the geysers in the park, the power and mystery of the bears she’d seen, and when she couldn’t sleep, she’d replayed in her mind the grunting sound that buffalo made while grazing. The memory of those low rumbles had been more soothing than a lullaby.

  After another hour she stopped and checked her GPS unit to see how much progress she’d made. While she couldn’t hike quickly with a full pack, she wasn’t doing badly. The important part was to stay alert to her surroundings and be prepared. A great picture could be missed simply because she wasn’t ready to take it.

  Something at the corner of Alaina’s eye made her instinctively reach for her camera, but a better look revealed it was a horse and rider in the distance. She had to expect to see range riders on her outings. She continued climbing, keeping watch for any movement in the landscape.

  The sound of hoof beats gradually sank into her consciousness. As they became louder, Alaina frowned. She looked around again, and this time she could tell the rider was Gideon Carmichael.

  Though they’d had a relatively pleasant conversation the previous week in Bannister, she’d seen little of him since.

  She pinned a pleasant expression on her face as he rode closer, Danger trotting alongside. “Fancy meeting you out here.”

  He didn’t say anything for a long minute. “Good afternoon. I didn’t realize you were going for a hike today.”

  Alaina blinked. “I’ve gone hiking almost every day since I moved in.”

  Gideon dismounted and came closer, leading his horse. “Yes, but from the look of your pack, you expect to be gone overnight.”

  “For more than one night,” she said. What was he leading up to? Her activities were none of his business.

  “About that, I’ve been thinking it would be helpful if you told us when you plan to be away. Mostly for extended absences, of course. Also which direction you’re going.”

  Alaina cocked her head. “Our agreement doesn’t require me to check in and out with you.”

  “Except it’s reasonable to let someone know where you’ll be and how long you expect to be gone.”

  She settled her feet more firmly on the rocky slope. “When you returned the agreement to my sister-in-law, you included a terse letter emphasizing that you couldn’t allow your ranching operations to be impacted by my presence. I presumed that included things like notifying you about my movements as if I were a child who needed supervision. And you wrote that letter, despite the agreement stating the very same thing.”

  Gideon’s face darkened. “Why do you turn everything I say into something negative?”

  “Maybe it’s your delivery.” She swung her backpack off her shoulders and put it on the ground before reaching down to pet Danger. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to have this many conversations with you.”

  His jaw tightened visibly. “I admit to a lack of diplomacy since you arrived, but I had no intention of creating a situation that puts you in jeopardy.”

  Alaina shrugged. She knew there were risks to wilderness hiking and camping, and those risks increased when someone was alone, but she didn’t want to wake up in forty years and wonder where her life had gone while she was doing something else. If she’d learned anything from Mason’s death, it was that you couldn’t put things off for a future that might not exist.

  “Let’s cancel the agreement,” Gideon urged. “I’ll return every penny of the money you gave me. In a certified check. There must be other better places for you to work. I’ll ask around. I know guys who work for the forest service. They may have an unused fire lookout cabin available.”

  She shook her head. “Not a chance. A deal is a deal and you can’t back out of it. But I’ll leave a note on my door if that makes you happy. Doing more could be interpreted as interfering with your ranch operations. Think about it... How annoying to have someone continually telling you what her plans are. And what if I change them? I’d have to call and tell you what I’m doing and where I’ll be, all over again. That would almost be like having a wife, which isn’t a good idea since I’ve heard how you feel about the wedded state.”

  If looks could kill, she’d be dead on the spot.

  Maybe her last comment had been uncalled for, but Alaina was becoming annoyed. Teasing Gideon had been fun in the beginning, but he was still acting as if she didn’t have a shred of common sense. At the very least he was treating her like an overbearing big brother and she had enough of them back home.

  “Truly, you don’t need to worry about me,” she said, relenting. Even if Gideon was being difficult, he seemed honestly concerned for her safety. On top of that, it didn’t appear that he was trying to chase her away from the Double Branch and still keep the money she’d paid him. “I’m texting information on my hikes to my sister-in-law and have regular check-in times so Janet will know if there’s a problem. She also has an application that tracks my satellite phone, so I’m covered.”

  * * *

  GIDEON FELT LIKE an idiot.

  Things had been so quiet the past few days that he’d begun hoping it would remain that way. He and Alaina had even successfully avoided close contact with each other, though he’d spotted her several times within a mile or two of the main house, taking pictures.

  Then this morning his mother had casually mentioned seeing her leave at dawn with a heavily loaded backpack. “She was headed west, but she could have gone anywhere once she was out of sight,” Helene had said, sounding so unconcerned that he’d nearly choked on his toast.

  “She needs to let someone know where she’s going to be,” he’d snapped.

  Libby had rolled her eyes. “Alaina knows what she’s doing. She has loads of backpacking equipment in the cabin, along with snowshoes and a sled for winter travel. You have to give her a chance.”

  Helene had added her agreement, saying Alaina was very levelheaded.

  Then Libby had leaned forward, a wicked twinkle in her eyes. “I’m curious, is there more to your objections than worrying about the ranch’s liability in case something happens to her?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  Gideon had stomped out to the barn without another word, wishing again that he’d never taken Alaina’s money. She was an East Coast
tenderfoot who didn’t belong on the Double Branch. He wasn’t concerned about liability—according to his lawyer, the liability release she’d signed was ironclad. But for some reason, that made the whole thing more worrisome.

  Several possibilities kept occurring to him, the top being that Alaina was either dangerously naive or else she didn’t care if something happened to her. He didn’t like either thought. So after trying to focus on clearing the bushes encroaching on the paddock for a few hours, he’d saddled Brushfire and ridden out to find where she’d gone.

  Still, perhaps Libby had guessed right and there was more to his feelings toward Alaina than simple concern. She was a beautiful, intriguing woman who cared about animals and was radically remaking her life after the loss of her husband. He admired what she was doing, even though it was frustrating to worry about a greenhorn’s safety.

  “Look, Alaina, I’m sorry,” Gideon said. His behavior since her arrival had been inexcusable. “I should have realized you’d made arrangements. It was wrong to assume you weren’t prepared.”

  Surprise flickered in her blue-green eyes. “Okay,” she said cautiously.

  “But I’d like to suggest a compromise.”

  The surprise in her face turned to suspicion. “What sort of compromise?”

  “I know every inch of the Double Branch and the mountains around it. There was only one person who knew these mountains as well as I do, and that was my great-grandfather.”

  “And?”

  “And I want to propose taking you on tours of the ranch and upper backcountry by horseback. I can keep an eye on my herds at the same time. That way I’ll feel more confident you won’t get lost or have another problem. We can take day trips to start, say a week apart, and then go on a few overnight excursions, higher up in the mountains. Don’t worry, I’ll pick a calm horse and saddle it for you. I can also give you riding lessons.”

  “I know how to ride.”

  “Great, then lessons won’t be needed.”

  * * *

  ALAINA’S THOUGHTS RACED.

  She was torn between irritation and recognition that the tours Gideon was suggesting would give her a huge head start in finding the best locations to do her photography. She wasn’t worried about getting lost with a map and GPS tracker, but it wasn’t the same as seeing the countryside with someone who possessed an intimate knowledge of the area.

  She’d considered hiring a professional guide, but had decided she might just see the places where they took everyone else. Another alternative had been consulting with other professional wildlife photographers in the region, but she was wary after such a bad experience with her so-called mentor.

  “What do you think?” Gideon prompted.

  Alaina hesitated another moment before nodding. “All right, but we’ll have to amend the paperwork and decide on a fee for your guide services.”

  Exasperation shot across his face. “I don’t want to be paid. Consider it a peace offering, something to compensate for making assumptions that I shouldn’t have made.”

  “I won’t do it without revised paperwork and for a fee,” she said patiently.

  “You’re already paying me.”

  “For use of the foreman’s cabin, not for your personal services as a guide. Does five thousand sound right?” Alaina had no clue if it was a ridiculously high sum or totally inadequate, but she had to begin somewhere.

  “I’ll be watching my herds at the same time. You’d be paying me to do something I have to do anyway.”

  “I’d also be riding one of your horses.”

  “They need to be ridden to stay in good condition,” he countered. “I have horses for my men to ride, but not the ones in the main barn. So this would benefit my animals.”

  “I’m still paying you.”

  They dickered back and forth until he reluctantly agreed to three thousand dollars. But Alaina refused to start the tours until Janet had revised the paperwork, they’d both signed and he’d cashed the check. She wanted the situation to be clear—Gideon wasn’t doing her a favor. He would be a guide, paid for the service.

  “At least have her email the agreement. It would speed things up if I can print it out here,” he argued. “We could also do an electronic signature.”

  “That isn’t how she does things,” Alaina said firmly, not wanting to explain her sister-in-law used a custom paper with a unique watermark to limit the possibility of alterations or forgeries. Since there were same-day courier services in Manhattan, where most of Janet’s clients lived and worked, it usually wasn’t an issue. Janet also remained leery of electronic signatures and was watching to see how they fared in court over a period of time.

  “I would never have guessed you were so stubborn,” Gideon said finally. “At least not on the first day you visited the Double Branch. You’ve been proving it to me ever since.”

  She sighed. “It’s just that I spent my childhood being treated like a fragile china doll that needed protection, so now I get overly defensive about my independence. But it isn’t your problem and I’m not trying to make it your problem.”

  “Why were you treated like that?”

  “Trust me, it’s a boring story.”

  “That’s okay, until haying starts, I’ll be spending most of my time watching cattle graze, repairing fences and digging out invasive plants when I find them. Compared to that, anything would be interesting.”

  Alaina doubted it. The tasks he’d listed included staying alert to the presence of predators and riding in the most beautiful country in the world. If ranchers found the activity overly boring, they wouldn’t do it for long. Libby had even said range riding was the favored assignment for the cowhands, and that she respected her brother for not giving all the duller maintenance tasks to his employees. Instead he did many of them himself, bending over backward to be a decent boss.

  The unconscious admiration in her voice had told Alaina a good deal about their relationship. Libby might get annoyed with her brother, but she loved and thought well of him at the same time.

  “Alaina?” Gideon prompted. “Is the china doll story a deep dark secret?”

  “Hardly. My mother fell down a flight of stairs when she was pregnant with me. I was born early and spent six weeks in a preemie unit. From then on, the whole family saw me as delicate. That may have been true when I was a baby, but I grew into a healthy child who was always trying to get into trouble. It never occurred to them that I might not have tried so hard if they hadn’t put so many restrictions on my activities.”

  “That I can believe. I also believe you found ways around those restrictions.”

  “More times than you can imagine. I was a wild child, but my parents never knew it. Instead, I appeared to be the dutiful preacher’s daughter, doing whatever was expected.”

  Alaina’s pulse jumped at the smile she saw in Gideon’s eyes. She was suddenly very aware of him as a man.

  “So, who else knew you were an undercover wild child?” he asked.

  “My best friend and a few other kids. We never got caught, which means that most everyone back home thinks I still have my halo and angel wings. That’s how preacher’s kids are seen a lot of the time, either super angelic or out of control.”

  Gideon turned his head to one side and gazed at her as if looking for something. Then the corners of his eyes crinkled with humor. “I can almost see where the halo used to be attached. But seriously, it must have been tough growing up that way.”

  Alaina hadn’t anticipated he would understand, though just because they disagreed on various issues, it didn’t mean he was insensitive.

  “A little. Don’t get me wrong, I had a good childhood. But it might be easier on my parents if they’d seen the real me when I was younger because my choices now wouldn’t seem so out of character to them.”

  “Parents worry no matter what, and then at some p
oint we start worrying more about them. The cycle of life, I suppose. Though sometimes that cycle stinks.”

  Alaina saw pain in his eyes and knew he must be thinking about his stepfather. She wished she could say something to help, but hearts healed at their own pace.

  The sorrow in Gideon’s face vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “How about your brothers?” he asked. “Were they angels or hellions?”

  “A little of both. After college they found jobs near Port Coopersmith, so my parents started to expect that all of their kids would live close by. Then I married Mason and it upended their image of the future.”

  “When your husband died, they must have hoped—” He stopped. “Sorry, that’s too personal.”

  “It’s all right. My family did think I’d move back after the accident. They even told me I could have my old room at the house. And that no one would mind if I wanted to start teaching my old Sunday preschool class again.”

  “Ouch.”

  She shrugged. “They meant well. They’ll figure it out sooner or later, though I might have to get really frank with them first. What I want is a middle ground between the wandering life I had with Mason and being the dutiful child who returns home and does what everyone expects.” She grinned. “Of course, it might be different if Connecticut were next door to Yellowstone.”

  “Of course.” Gideon smiled back and rubbed Brushfire’s nose. “Are you sure you won’t start the tours with me before the paperwork gets done? You’ll lose valuable time.”

  Alaina picked up her pack and eased it onto her shoulders. “I won’t be losing time. I’ll call Janet tonight and tell her we need a revised agreement. In the meantime, I’m continuing my hike. I’ll be back in a few days.”

  “I thought you might wait for overnight trips until after I’ve shown you around.”

  Aha.

  That was why he was so eager to be her tour guide; he’d hoped to delay the times she was out alone. But while Alaina felt trepidation about camping by herself, it wasn’t going to stop her. She had to get used to being on her own in the mountains or other wilderness areas if she wanted to pursue wildlife photography. If she backed off from her plans today, it would take longer to summon the nerve again.