Cowboys Under The Mistletoe: Five Christmas Christian Romance Novellas

by Kristen Ethridge

  Even though Mallory’s back was to Nolan, she could feel his glare on her. What was he expecting her to say? And why was she so worried about what he thought of her? He was just some dumb cowboy, albeit a hot cowboy, who thought her less appealing than fruitcake.

  “Not at all,” she said, giving her aunt a smile. “In fact, I’d love to help in any way I can.”

  Nolan made a noise. Mallory spun to face him. “What?”

  “You can cook?”

  In theory, yes. In reality, over the past few years, it had been easier to just get takeout. But she had vague memories of being in the kitchen with her mother, and the smell of… vanilla? The backs of her eyes started to sting, and Mallory forced herself to remain calm. Quadratic equations. Two x squared plus five x plus three equals zero. Yes. She would be fine.

  “Of course she can cook,” Ernie said. “We used to bake cookies together when she was little.”

  She didn’t remember, but she still nodded. “I’ve been so busy with work that it’s been ages since I’ve had the opportunity. It will be a welcome change to spend time in the kitchen.”

  Though Nolan looked doubtful, Ernie smiled and put her arm around Mallory. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that. I was so afraid that you’d be bored, twiddling your thumbs while I worked.”

  “Absolutely not. I’m never bored,” she said, finally feeling confident. It was true. When she was a child, she’d fallen in love with math, and her mother would often give her problems to solve for the fun of it. Those days were long gone, but she still enjoyed the challenge of playing with numbers. “But I did bring a Sudoku book just in case.”

  “That’s right,” Ernie said, beaming. “You’ve always been a math whiz. I’ll bet that really helped you be successful in your job. You won’t have trouble finding another, will you?”

  Mallory thought about Ernie’s question. The past few weeks, she’d wandered around aimlessly, unsure of what to do. She’d done at least five or six puzzle books, but they hadn’t given her the satisfaction that they usually did. She’d enjoyed her job, but over the past few months, the programming had gotten too easy. She hadn’t needed much math. Her work had mostly been automated, and she’d been going through the motions. Which in some way, had been very comforting to her. But now, as much as she still didn’t want to face anything emotional, she’d appreciate a mental challenge.

  “There are always jobs, but as I said earlier, I have enough money to last me quite some time. I’d like to do something that gives me satisfaction, but I’m not sure what that is.”

  She couldn’t help turning and looking at Nolan. He probably thought her answer was stupid. But having to constantly pretend in front of him was more exhausting than she’d thought it would be. Most of the time, it was easy. She could be whatever people needed her to be. But she didn’t know what that was for him, so she didn’t know which mask to put on.

  “I’m glad you have the freedom to do so,” he said. “Not everyone does.”

  “Do you?”

  For a moment, the room stilled, as if she’d asked an inappropriate question. Mallory didn’t like this place, this ranch, where it was hard to understand what she was supposed to say and how she was supposed to act.

  “I do.” Nolan looked thoughtful for a moment, then he turned his gaze to Ernie and Donna. “Being around the animals saved my life in so many ways. Most people don’t understand, but I feel happiest when I’m doing the simple things needed to care for them.”

  Was it possible they actually had something in common?

  “I do understand,” Mallory said. “That’s how I feel about math. I didn’t realize it until now, but in my last job, although I have no complaints, the level of challenge in numbers that excites me was missing. When I look for another job, that will definitely be an important criteria. So thank you. I’m glad we had this talk. I now have much clearer direction.”

  Nolan’s expression told her that she’d been wrong in thinking they’d so easily find common ground. “You like math?”

  Right. One more thing that made Mallory a weirdo. “I love it. Most of the time, math is the only thing that makes sense to me.”

  Maybe that’s why emotions were so difficult for her. She didn’t understand them because they didn’t follow any logical path. Math did.

  The two older women chuckled.

  “You’ll have to forgive him,” Ernie said. “He barely passed it in school, so it’s hard for him to understand how anyone could actually like it.”

  Donna nodded. “So true. Meredith just called me again today, ranting about some of the reports he turned in.”

  Nolan groaned. “I was hoping she would wait until after the holidays to get around to them.”

  “Not Meredith. You know how she likes to have everything in order.” Donna turned and smiled at Mallory. “Meredith is my daughter, and the family accountant. You probably don’t remember her from the time you visited as a child, but you two have a lot in common, with your love for math and all that. As I recall, you girls were thick as thieves that summer. She gets here tomorrow.”

  Donna’s mention of her summer visit didn’t ring any bells. As far as she knew, she’d never been here before. But it didn’t hurt to humor her. Most of the time, when someone said Mallory had a lot in common with someone, she and the other person ended up just staring at each other with nothing to say once introductions had been made. Still, it felt good to be included, even if it seemed to make Nolan’s frustration with her worse.

  “That’s all we need. Two of them on my back. If Farmact wasn’t such a hard program, it would be a whole lot easier to do those reports.”

  Mallory’s ears perked up. “Farmact? That was one of the products I helped develop for Greenmount. We specifically designed it to be user-friendly. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. If you like, I’d be happy to sit down with you sometime and see how we can make it easier.”

  We. That’s how she’d felt about all of Greenmount’s products. But it wasn’t a we anymore. Though she’d have no more opportunities to pass on notes to the team, at least she could help Nolan. Maybe then, he’d realize she wasn’t so bad.

  *

  It figured that snooty Mallory would be the answer to his accounting woes. And it figured that both Ernie and Donna were now looking at her like she was some kind of savior. A horrible thought, considering when he’d done those reports, he’d literally prayed that God would send someone to help him fix things. Was it too late to take back his request?

  “We wouldn’t want to impose,” Ernie started to say.

  “But if you could get Nolan straightened out, it would mean the world to us,” Donna finished. “He’s the best ranch manager we’ve ever had, except for the fact that his reports are a mess.”

  Way to get thrown under the bus. Donna was supposed to be sticking up for him.

  “I’d be happy to,” Mallory said. “I’d love the challenge.”

  From the way she looked at him, Nolan was pretty sure she’d also love watching him squirm. What had he ever done to her? She was, as he decided when he’d first met her, a total brat. A spoiled, too smart for her own good, brat.

  Ernie’s brow creased. “Are you sure? You don’t have to feel obligated.”

  One of the strange expressions that looked like a cross between a grimace and a smile Nolan found disconcerting about Mallory crossed her face. “Not at all. Don’t you remember, when I was a kid, my mother would give me problems to do for fun.”

  Clearly Mallory was an alien from another planet.

  But her words brought a smile to Ernie’s face. “That’s right. I’d forgotten. All the other kids would be out playing, and you’d be in the kitchen, doing problems in one of the workbooks your mother had bought.”

  “And Meredith was right there with her,” Donna said, smiling. “It will be so fun for her to have you around.”

  Nolan resisted the urge to comment. So far, having her around was anything but fun.


  “Wonderful,” Mallory said. “Before you came in, Ernie was just saying how she needs to start dinner soon. So why don’t we leave you to it, and Nolan can show me to the computer?”

  Was she serious? “Now?” He stared at her. “Don’t you want to get settled in or something?”

  She shook her head. “From what I understand, Ernie doesn’t go home until after the evening meal. It would be silly for someone to have to show me the way, come back, and have to go back again. As I said, I enjoy this sort of thing. It will be a pleasant way for me to spend the rest of the afternoon.”

  This woman was a nut job. No doubt.

  Donna gave him a nudge. “And the sooner you get it done, the better. Just think about how much easier it will be to deal with Meredith if you hand her the corrected report when she gets home.”

  Though the Grant sisters all had their own places in town, they typically came and stayed at the ranch over the holidays. Nolan thought he’d have more time before having to deal with Meredith’s wrath. But from the expression on Donna’s face, now he wasn’t so sure.

  “When is she coming?”

  A wide smile filled her face. “Tomorrow. Franklin has some associates coming over he’d like her to meet.”

  Once again, Nolan didn’t bother hiding his groan. “You’re not doing more matchmaking, are you?”

  She gave him a look of mock offense. “This is a legitimate business meeting. Some investment of some sort. I stay out of such things.”

  Yeah, right. With the insane amount of mistletoe Donna had already strewn about the house, Nolan didn’t believe her, but he knew better than to argue. Who knows, maybe one of the investors meant for Meredith would be a perfect match for Mallory. Maybe a boyfriend would soften her up. Unless she already had one.

  Mallory had turned and was having a conversation with Ernie. Did she have a boyfriend? Would she be spending Christmas with them if she did? Obviously, if there was a guy in the picture, it wasn’t too serious, or else she’d have said something about him by now.

  Wait a second. What was he doing, wondering about her love life? Not only was it none of his business, but he couldn’t care less.

  A few moments later, Mallory brought her attention to him. “Are you ready? We have a couple hours before dinner.”

  How long did waterboarding take before it killed the person?

  “It’s going to take that long?”

  She shrugged. “It depends on how much there is to sort out. But mostly, it depends on how quickly you learn. After all, you’re going to have to be able to do it for yourself when I leave.”

  She made it sound so easy. But Nolan had worked with enough tutors in school to know that he was almost a hopeless cause. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to admit that to her. Not when she looked so confident.

  “Come on. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. I promise, it won’t be that bad.” She reached out and took him by the hand, tugging at him. It was entirely unexpected to feel the tiny ripple her touch sent through him. He wasn’t attracted to her. And yet, he saw kindness in her eyes that he hadn’t noticed before.

  Some of the tutors he’d worked with growing up were so condescending they’d made him feel stupid. But even though it was clear to everyone that she was way smarter than he was, and she’d come to the ranch with airs that made him think she thought she was better than everyone else, in this moment, she wasn’t treating him this way. It made him almost wonder if he’d misjudged her.

  Despite her previous missteps, the interactions he’d seen with her in the kitchen made him think there was more to Mallory than she’d initially let on.

  He showed her to the study, where he often did the paperwork. It was easier to work in the main ranch house, where he could work undisturbed, and the Grants didn’t seem to mind. Sometimes he thought Donna almost preferred it, with her girls gone most of the time. Donna had also been like a mother to him, so if Ernie wasn’t fussing at him, Donna was.

  She immediately went to the computer and booted it up. He opened the file drawer and pulled out the folder with the reports and supporting documents.

  “Your first problem is that you’re running an outdated version of the program,” Mallory said. “Let me run the updates, so we can be sure that everything works properly. While we’re doing that, let me examine that folder.”

  It was almost shameful letting her take a look at the mess. Meredith always made annoyed noises while she looked through it. But that was almost preferable to the absolutely emotionless way Mallory examined the file.

  They sat there for what seemed like hours, but had only been a few minutes, before Nolan couldn’t take it anymore. “I know, it’s bad. I’m doing my best.”

  She looked up at him. “Not everyone is good at math. Nor is everyone good at paperwork. We all have our talents and skills, and it doesn’t mean any of us are any less because we can’t do everything. I almost failed literature in college because I struggled with abstract concepts like symbolism. Things don’t make sense to me if they’re not black-and-white, so finding hidden meanings in books is difficult for me.”

  He knew she was trying to be helpful, but he wasn’t even good at literature. “My grades weren’t good enough to get into college.”

  Closing the folder, she stood. Straightened as though she was trying to match his full height, which was almost ludicrous to think of, considering he was six foot two, and he’d put her in the low fives.

  “But you are the best ranch manager Donna has ever had, are you not?”

  Nolan nodded. “I am.”

  “Do you think I could manage a ranch as well?”

  He stared at her. “Do you know anything about ranches?”

  “Not a thing. I’m not even sure what a ranch does.” She rummaged through the folder. “It looks like you sell cows and things, but I don’t know what half of the stuff means in terms of day-to-day operations. I can plug it into the program easy enough, but are –“

  She held up a piece of paper. “A hundred bales of hay a reasonable amount? Is the price you listed a good price? I don’t know these things, but you do, so you’re just smart in a different way.”

  Franklin Grant had often told people that Nolan was brilliant. He hated it when Franklin did that, but as Mallory stood before him, trying to prove that he was smart, Nolan wondered if he hadn’t been doing him a disservice all these years. He did know things about running a ranch that other ranchers didn’t understand. Things he could do intuitively, others worked for years to perfect.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’ve never thought about it that way. You’re right. I do have a special talent as a rancher. Just as you’re talented with math.”

  The smile she gave him was unlike any of the others he’d seen from her. For the first time, Nolan actually believed her expression was real. He’d told Donna that Mallory was pretty enough, but with that smile, she was absolutely stunning.

  For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Mallory turned back to the computer, punched a few buttons, and smiled again. She looked up at him and patted the seat next to her.

  “Now come sit. Let’s see if we can get this to make sense to you.”

  He was surprised at how easy things seemed once Mallory explained them. They’d only gotten a quarter of the way through the folder when she handed it to him. She looked over his shoulder as he finished the task, giving him encouraging comments along the way.

  As the report printed, she came to stand beside him. “You see? It’s not so hard once you know what to do.”

  He couldn’t help the pride that filled him as he grinned. “Very true. Hopefully it will be this easy next time.”

  “If not, you can always call me, and I’ll be happy to walk you through it. You just needed the confidence to know that you could do it.”

  He had to admit, she wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d thought she was. Now that he’d spent a little time with her, he could tell that she was indeed a lot like Meredith, who t
ook her time warming up to new people. Maybe it was time he gave Mallory a chance.

  “I appreciate that. It means a lot that you were so willing to help and did it with such grace.”

  He couldn’t read the expression on her face, but then she gave him a sort of sly smile. “You see? I’m not as bad as fruitcake.”

  Busted.

  He should have been more careful in his remarks to Donna with Mallory so near. At the time, he’d been more concerned about Ernie’s feelings then some random woman who didn’t seem to care about the person he loved most in the world. But now?

  “I guess I owe you an apology.”

  Mallory grinned at him. “I’ll take mine in the form of some of those cookies you were extorting from Donna. I usually don’t indulge in such treats, but I’m finding, now that I’m here, that I enjoy them very much.”

  She turned on her heel and left the room, leaving Nolan to marvel at how greatly he’d underestimated this woman.

  Chapter Three

  Mallory couldn’t believe how cheeky she’d been to Nolan just then. Usually, she never had a good comeback in situations that warranted it. It wasn’t polite to tell people that you’d overheard them insulting you behind your back. But Nolan wasn’t a polite person. And he’d gotten under her skin in a way no one else had.

  There was definitely something different about this place, making her different. In some ways, she didn’t like the lack of control. But in other ways, it felt good to just let things out. Like letting Nolan know that she’d heard his unkind words about her.

  She reentered the kitchen to find Ernie stirring something at the stove. “It smells wonderful in here.”

  “Cream of broccoli soup. Your mother’s recipe.”

  Her stomach churned. She hadn’t had cream of broccoli soup in at least six years. The one time she tried some, she’d thrown up.

  “That’s very thoughtful of you, but I don’t eat cream of broccoli soup.”

  Ernie looked like Mallory had walked up to the pot and spat in it. “But it’s your favorite.”