by Liz Isaacson
The call ended, and Laney had no other choice but to do what he said, as much as that irked her. She’d spent three years doing what Mike had suggested, and that hadn’t ended well for her.
He’d never once said he didn’t want to live on the ranch. He’d known from day one that she’d inherit Echo Ridge one day, that she wanted to spend her life working the land and raising cattle. He’d claimed to be on the same page as her.
He’d only lasted nine months on the ranch before he’d left.
She pushed the thoughts away and stepped over to the passenger door. “Come on out, Bay. Graham’s going to come pick us up.” She stood at the mouth of the garage with one hand clutching her bag and the other placed protectively on Bailey’s shoulder, the snow swirling, swirling, swirling down.
Chapter 4
Graham fought the steering wheel, praying out loud that he could make it the mile to Laney’s house to get her and Bailey.
“Please,” he said again. “Come on. They can’t stay there. Help us out a little. No.” He jerked the wheel to the right as the Hummer started to slide, and it corrected. He stomped on the accelerator and added, “Please, Lord. She needs help,” while the wheels spun.
They finally caught and he shot forward, his fingers so tight around the wheel they ached. And he’d only gone about two hundred yards. Or so he thought. He wasn’t really sure. After all, he was the man who’d wandered onto someone else’s property and didn’t even know it. And in this storm, the landscape had no identifying features whatsoever.
He caught sight of a flashing red light, and he hit the brakes. The vehicle stopped easier than it had started, and he slowly pulled down what he hoped was the driveway. The red brake lights guided him until he could make out the blackness of the garage among the wall of gray, and with it, a small figure standing on the edge of the snow.
He parked and jumped out. “Hey,” he called. The brake lights went off and Laney climbed from the truck. “Smart about the lights.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d be able to find me,” she said, bending to pick up her back. “I hope you have room for us and two dogs.” Her eyes held truckloads of worry, and Graham wanted to erase it for her.
“Of course,” he said. “Let’s get them in.” He held up one hand. “I’ll do it. You wait.” He approached Bailey first. “You ready, small pint?”
She smiled up at him. “Ready.”
“I’m going to pick you up. Hold onto me, okay?” He swept the child into his arms and hurried through the snow to the passenger side of the vehicle. He put her inside and slammed the door before retracing his steps. “Dogs next.” He grabbed one and repeated the high-step through the snow to the Hummer.
Once both dogs were in, he stood in the garage with Laney and clapped his cold hand together. “You want me to carry you?”
She snorted. “I can step in your footprints.” She gripped her bag tighter like she might swing it at him if he even touched her. He thought of that single moment outside her cabin, almost a year ago, when he’d held her hand. She wore the same wariness in her expression now as she had then, and Graham gestured for her to go first.
“After you.”
She danced through his footprints and got in the Hummer, adjusting her bag on her lap before pulling the door closed. He turned to close the garage door, and when he entered her house, it had already grown colder though her power surely hadn’t gone out too long ago.
He wanted to stay in this space that belonged to Laney, but he forced himself to turn toward the front door and leave, locking it behind him. Then he dashed back to the driver’s seat and said, “Let’s pray we can get back to the lodge.”
He made his prayers silent, but Bailey in the backseat started saying, “Lord, help us get back to the lodge,” in the sweetest, high-pitched voice Graham had ever heard. In a normal situation, he might’ve exchanged a glance with Laney, but he didn’t trust himself not to drive them right off the road.
“Amen,” he whispered, his fingers tightening around the wheel as he backed out of the driveway and aimed the truck toward the hill leading up to the lodge. How had he never noticed that this hill was like climbing Mount Everest?
Probably because he always called Laney to his place and very rarely went to hers. Fine, he’d never been down to her ranch, besides that one trespassing incident almost a year ago. But he was very aware of her sitting next to him in the Hummer, the scent of her skin and her fear heavy in the air between them.
His heart pounded at triple-time, one a normal heartbeat. One with anxiety over getting up the hill, and one because he’d been thinking about Laney as more than his best friend for a few weeks now and he had no idea how to handle those feelings.
Or if he even had feelings. Maybe Bonnie had just poisoned his mind, and now all he could do when it came to Laney was think about taking her to dinner.
The tires slipped, and Graham pressed the four-wheel-drive button. They caught again, propelling them up the hill. With the accelerator pressed all the way to the floor, he managed to shoot the vehicle and all its occupants toward the lodge.
Having tracks to guide him helped, but it still felt like he was trying to push an entire mountain’s worth of snow with just two tires.
The lights in the lodge glinted in the darkness, and he thought that no matter what, they could walk there now. Relief spread through him slowly—not enough to get him to ease up on his grip or the gas. He finally did, though, so he wouldn’t drive them right off the edge of the hill.
Coming from town, the entrance to his place was straight. Coming from Laney’s, he had to make a right turn and go down a long driveway and past a small parking lot. The turn proved to be the hardest, and the back wheels fishtailed a little.
He pumped the gas and jerked the wheel, and the expensive vehicle righted itself. Thirty seconds later, he pulled to a stop underneath the rooftop that went over the circle drive. The wind had blown in some snow, but it wasn’t three feet worth. The wipers continued at double-time, and as he peeled his stiff fingers from the steering wheel, his heart calmed slightly. “We made it.”
He’d been shoveling the front steps all day, so he didn’t have to carry anyone, and a few seconds later, they burst into the warm and cozy lodge. Bree had done a fantastic job of making the lodge look like someone lived there and cared about each room, each piece of tile, each decoration.
“Wow.”
Graham glanced at Bailey and found her soaking in the foyer, where a wreath ten feet across had been hung from the banister on the second floor. Nativities dotted the shelves and counter tops, and pine boughs and poinsettias laced their way through the spiral stair railing as it went up.
“This is beautiful,” Laney agreed, her eyes also darting around and drinking everything in.
“We’re doing a tree lighting in a few days,” he said. “I think I told you about it.” He stepped forward, trying to ignore the things he hadn’t picked out but would have to take credit for. He wasn’t sure why the idea bothered him so much. “You never said if you’d come or not.” He flashed Laney a tight smile and indicated the stairs. “I’ll help you get settled upstairs. Annie’s up there too, and there’s plenty of space, bathrooms, all of that.”
He went first, because Laney and Bailey didn’t move. His action must’ve prompted theirs, because he heard Laney murmur something to her daughter and then their footsteps followed his.
He hated giving tours of the lodge, but he’d been gearing himself up to do exactly that. In three more days, his entire family would be here, and he’d have to play the perfect host with the perfect party. He didn’t mind that part—heck, he was actually good at hosting parties. But he was not good at concealing his emotions or pretending like he cared about wreaths, ornaments, or Christmas trees.
He wasn’t a Scrooge. He just had more on his plate than bells, gingerbread men, and sleigh rides.
“So she’s in here.” He pointed to the door at the top of the stairs. “But there are five ot
her bedrooms up here.” Graham paused. A bedroom was a bedroom. “You can take your pick.”
“Can I choose, Mom?” Bailey’s face had some color in it now, and she danced ahead of her mom.
Laney chuckled and said, “Yeah, go pick one.” The little girl ran off, and Graham caught the adoration in her mother’s eyes. She switched her gaze to his, and the feeling faded. She looked at him with…appreciation? Hesitancy? Longing?
Graham wasn’t sure. Her blue heelers came up the steps and sat by her, and she absently stroked one of their heads. “Thank you, Graham,” she said. “For letting us stay here. I’m sure we’ll be out of your hair in the morning.”
He was sure she wouldn’t be—and he didn’t mind. In fact, he hoped she’d have to stay so he could maybe get to feel what it would be like to have her fingers rake through his hair….
He blinked, unsure of where such a thought had come from. This was Laney. His best friend here in Wyoming. The woman who’d helped him figure out how to take care of horses, and his water rights, and a million other tiny little things he didn’t know about barns, stables, and animals.
Was he her best friend too?
Surely not. She’d lived here a lot longer than him, and he thought there wasn’t anything the woman couldn’t do.
“Stay as long as you like,” he said, his voice rough around the edges. He cleared his throat. “Celia left a pot roast in the slow cooker last night, so that’s what we’re eatin’ tonight too. Should be ready any time you’re hungry.” He walked toward the stairs before he said something he couldn’t take back.
“Graham—” Laney started, but Bailey squealed and said, “Mom! Come see this tub!” and her attention switched to her daughter.
Didn’t matter. She’d already said thanks, and that was all Graham needed. Honestly, he didn’t even need that. He had the house, the amenities, the electricity, and the money to have dozens of people live with him. He could handle two more, even if Laney did have the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.
Graham paced in his office, feeling like a caged tiger. This snow didn’t do anyone any good, and he wondered if God could somehow get a memo to Mother Nature to stop already.
But the snow kept drifting down as furiously as ever. At this rate, his family would be lucky to be able to fly in, let alone make the hour-long drive to Coral Canyon from the airport.
He couldn’t believe he’d categorized Laney’s eyes as beautiful. He’d always thought so though, even in high school and before that, when they’d become friends as kids. Her kindness shone in those light green depths, and he turned from the window where he’d been watching the snow.
“She’s your neighbor,” he told himself, not for the first time. “She has a daughter.”
Just because Bonnie had suggested her as a possible date didn’t mean she was interested in him. He hadn’t given her much of a reason to be, what with calling her all the time and demanding her help.
He remembered how tired she looked, and he hoped she’d be able to recharge and relax here at the lodge. When he’d first bought the place, that calming atmosphere had been what called to him the most. The lodge spoke of a place to come when a person was weary, and he’d bought it with cash on the spot.
His phone chimed out the reminder he’d set: time for dinner.
The afternoon had gotten away from him, what with all the commotion and rescuing. So he silenced the alarm and left the office in favor of the kitchen, which sat just down the hall on the left. The scent of roasted meat met his nose, and his mouth watered the tiniest bit.
Annie stood at the counter, using a pair of tongs to toss a huge bowl of green salad. “The potatoes are almost done.”
Graham knew how to open an oven, but he could see the timer on the front, and it said five minutes. “Okay.” He glanced around, trying to remember where Celia got the plates from.
Annie, who seemed to be able to sense his thoughts, pointed to the cupboard next to the stove. “Plates in there, if you want to get them down. I’ll get out the silverware.” She set the tongs in the bowl and opened a drawer.
Graham got down four plates, which was four times as many as normal. In fact, even eating on a plate was more than he usually did. Though he’d never tell Celia he ate her food right out of the pot she left it in, that was exactly what he did most nights.
And salad? He eyed the vegetables like they might sprout to life and attack him. They didn’t, and he turned back to the oven when the timer went off. Proud of himself for knowing where the oven mitts were, he retrieved them from the hook on the side of the cupboard and pulled out the baked potatoes. He then opened the fridge and got out sour cream, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, and a container of bacon bits.
Annie arranged everything and looked at him. “So. We’re ready. Should we wait?”
“I didn’t tell them specifically what time dinner was,” he said, glancing up like he could see through the ceiling and into whichever bedroom Laney and Bailey had chosen. “I’ll text her.” He wasn’t sure he trusted himself to be alone with Laney and not say or do something that would put their friendship in jeopardy.
After all, wasn’t that exactly what Erica had told him?
You work too much. It’s your own fault I had to find someone else to be with.
As if her cheating was his fault. And if those words hadn’t been sharp enough, she’d also said We were better off as friends.
He’d texted her a lot for help too, as she was the administrative assistant in his department and he often needed her to do things for him.
Shaking the past from his mind, he texted Laney. Dinner’s ready. Come down now if you want to eat with me and Annie.
She didn’t answer right away, and Graham pocketed his phone as his stomach growled. Shoveling snow and tromping through snow and driving through snow really worked up his appetite.
“Let’s eat,” he said to Annie. “They can eat whenever they come down.”
Chapter 5
Laney glanced at Bailey, who slumbered on the bottom bunk in the bedroom she’d chosen. She’d taken a bath in the big, free-standing, clawfoot tub and then fallen asleep with her silky hair still twisted in the towel on her head.
Laney felt as weary as Bailey, especially after her own hot shower. She’d put on a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt, and had been running a towel through her hair when Graham had texted.
Dinner’s ready. Come down now if you want to eat with me and Annie.
“Come down now,” she repeated, shaking her head. He really was the beast from that children’s fairy tale. If she doesn’t eat with me, she doesn’t eat at all ran through her head, and she set her phone on the dresser so she wouldn’t answer him immediately.
She didn’t want to wake her daughter, but she was hungry. Graham could wait a few minutes to get a reply, and Laney wouldn’t wither away if she didn’t eat for another little bit. She moved to the window and watched the weather outside.
The visibility couldn’t be more than five feet, as she couldn’t see even the tall trees she knew stood in the back yard. Clearwater whined, and Laney automatically bent down to scratch the dog’s head.
“I know,” she said, though she had no idea what she knew. She knew she’d ben fighting feelings for Graham Whittaker since her teen years. Sure, she’d gotten over him pretty fast when he’d left Coral Canyon and gone to college. Then she’d met Mike and fallen madly in love. They’d only been together for four years and had been divorced for three.
No, she hadn’t thought about Graham during her marriage. Or at all in the years since Mike had left. Well, until this past year, with Graham back in her life—sort of—and Mike out of it.
Her ridiculous feelings had been what kept her heading over to his place whenever he texted or called. Her insane hope had ballooned with each interaction, and she hated that she always crashed after their brief encounters.
Sometimes he didn’t even look at her when she came to help him. To be fair, he was shouldering
the huge burden of running the energy company, as well as trying to learn how to manage horses, the lodge, and the land that came with it.
But he was wealthy, and he hadn’t had to do all the work required. If she could afford a housekeeper and a cook, she’d have them too.
Barry barked, startling Laney away from the window. “Shh,” she chastised the dog, casting a quick glance at Bailey, who hadn’t moved or awakened. “What’s wrong?”
A big, black lab poked his head around the corner, clearly the source of the barking from Barry. “Hey, there.” She smiled at the dog, who had white hairs around his mouth and nose. He was clearly old, and nothing of a threat, as he came around the corner slowly, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his eyes drifting halfway shut as if to say Hey, guys. Want to take a nap together?
Laney greeted him and crouched down to stroke his head and scrub behind his ears. “What’s your name, huh?” She caught his tags and twisted them so she could read them. “Bear.” She grinned at the dog. “Seems about right.” She let him move on and sniff her dogs, and the three of them started a chain to get to all the best parts of each other.
She hadn’t pegged Graham as a dog-lover, and she’d never seen the lab around the lodge. Did he keep the animal confined to the house? After all, Laney hadn’t been inside the lodge for years—not since she and Mike had been married here—and she really liked that it looked nothing the same.
No, this Whiskey Mountain Lodge was fit for celebrity weddings and receptions—and not the country bumpkin kind she’d had. No wonder the previous owner had sold. This place was too ritzy for the clientele Coral Canyon normally attracted, and she knew Will had had trouble keeping the place filled.
Although Jackson Hole—an upscale, very touristy, artsy-fartsy hot spot in Wyoming—only sat about a half an hour down the highway, Coral Canyon enjoyed a slower pace of life. One Laney really liked and didn’t want replaced with what Jackson had, especially if the people were going to be coming within a mile of her front door..
