Would you like for us to be? Engaged, that is?
Where had that come from? It was true that their relationship had developed rapidly and had grown even deeper since she’d talked to him about Andy and the bitterness she’d carried around for so long. The fact that he’d understood so completely, that he’d been so gentle and consoling, had filled her heart with an ease she’d never expected to feel again.
He was teasing, Noelle. You don’t need to start dreaming and wondering whether Evan has marriage on his mind. And even if he did, it would never work. He lives in a mansion with a family who adores him. He isn’t going to give that up for a tiny home surrounded with little more than sagebrush and a few crossbred cows.
Trying not to dwell on that somber thought, Noelle turned her attention to the women sitting around the table. Sassy was heavy with child, and Olivia’s pregnancy was beginning to show. Along with those two, Lilly and Rafe had just made the surprise announcement a few minutes ago that they were expecting a second child. Babies were blooming in the Calhoun family, and Noelle couldn’t help but look at the women with a bit of envy.
Even though she’d come from a dysfunctional family and she’d learned nothing about mothering from Maxine Barnes, Noelle had always longed to have children of her own. Because she’d seen all the mistakes her parents had made with her and Andy, she’d believed she could be a good and loving parent. After her divorce, she hadn’t allowed herself to think much about babies or the fact that she might miss out on being a mother altogether. But seeing the Calhoun women pregnant was a stark reminder that the chance to have a baby of her own was steadily slipping away.
“If I thought a woman like Noelle would rescue me, I’d go out and deliberately fall off Gunsmoke.”
Finn’s remark broke into Noelle’s thoughts, and she looked down the table to Evan’s redheaded brother. So far this evening, she could see that Finn was the jokester of the bunch, and his wide smile was infectious.
“You’d never be so lucky,” Orin, the brothers’ father, spoke up with a teasing grin. “The buzzards would probably find you first.”
Next to her, Evan looked at her and smiled. “If Noelle hadn’t shown up when she had, the buzzards would have been after me. Or a coyote looking for an easy meal.”
At the end of the table, Bart Calhoun, the patriarch of the family, peered at her with a pair of hooded blue eyes. Evan had told her that his grandfather was eighty-four and had suffered a stroke two years ago. But to look at him, she would’ve never guessed his age, much less that he’d ever had a serious medical problem. He was a robust, authoritative figure of a man.
“We all thank you, Noelle, for taking care of Evan,” he said. “You’re a brave lady. Nine out of ten women would’ve galloped off and let someone else deal with getting him back to safety.”
Noelle was about to tell Bart that he was giving her too much credit when Evan spoke up in a joking voice, “If I remember right, she told me she’d do as much for an injured dog. So she made me feel rather special.”
“Oh, Evan, that’s awful,” Noelle scolded him. “Your family is going to think I’m a mean person.”
Everyone laughed at that, and beneath the table, Evan reached over and squeezed her knee. She slanted him a look, and the glint in his eyes did more than warm her. It made her feel like a part of him and part of his family.
“Far from it, Noelle.” Jett joined in the conversation. “We all happen to think that Evan has finally met his match.”
Noelle didn’t know what to say to that, but Sassy saved her from the awkward silence by grabbing her husband’s arm and giving it an affectionate shake.
“Jett! You’re embarrassing Noelle! You don’t need to be pestering her with that kind of talk!”
“Okay,” he relented and looked over at his pretty wife. “We’ll talk about Bella’s house plans. She’s going to move out on us. Two kids in the house is going to be too much for her.”
The dark-haired woman, who’d been introduced to Noelle as Jett’s sister, let out a good-natured groan. “You are being a rascal tonight, Jett. It has nothing to do with the babies. I just feel like it’s time for me to have a house of my own and give you and Sassy some privacy. And I’ve picked out the most beautiful place here on the ranch to build it.”
“The only problem with it is that she’s going to be a hoop and a holler from Noah’s line shack, and he doesn’t like neighbors.”
Bella made a face as she forked a piece of food on her plate. “That ranch foreman of yours will just need to get used to having a neighbor, because that little pine grove on the hill is going to be my home.”
For the next few minutes, Bella talked about her dream house. Then the conversation turned to other things. Eventually, the meal ended and everyone migrated to the living room, where a roaring fire was blazing in the fireplace. In front of a wide picture window, a huge fir tree twinkled with hundreds of lights and glittering ornaments. So many gifts had been stacked beneath the branches that the brightly wrapped boxes had spilled onto the floor several feet out from the tree.
Noelle and Evan took a seat close together on the couch. As she looked around the room, she could think only how she’d been in all sorts of fancy houses, attending elaborate parties, but none of them had looked or felt this warm or beautiful to her. She was surrounded by a family who loved each other, who stuck together through good and bad. To be a part of them, even for one brief evening, was a true Christmas gift to her. One that she would always treasure.
* * *
Much later that night, as they walked into Noelle’s house, Evan said, “I hope you enjoyed the party. My family can be a little overbearing at times with all their teasing. But they do it only to people they like. And they liked you, Elle.”
Smiling, she unbuttoned her coat. “And I liked all of them. I had a lovely time, Evan. I feel bad because I didn’t take a present, though. You didn’t tell me they were going to pass gifts around.”
Evan reached to help ease the coat off her shoulders. “I didn’t know they were planning that,” he told her. “Sassy said not to bring a thing. So you shouldn’t feel bad. She and Jett wanted to do that for all of us. They were just simple little presents anyway. I got a penlight. What was your gift? I forgot.”
“It’s in my purse. A day calendar with pictures of horses on each page. I love it.”
He tossed her coat along with his onto a nearby chair, then wasted no time in pulling her into his arms. “And I loved having you there with me,” he whispered as he rested his forehead against hers. “You’ve made everything more special for me this Christmas.”
A breathless laugh passed her lips. “It’s not Christmas yet, Evan. We still have a few days to go.”
Growling with need, he shifted her in his arms until the juncture of her hips was aligned with his. “It feels like Christmas to me. And it’s certainly not too early to start celebrating your birthday, don’t you think?”
With another soft laugh, she brought her lips against his. “I’m in a festive mood, and you’re making me feel very special,” she said in a low, seductive tone. “Maybe we do need to keep the party going.”
Bending, he picked her up and started toward the bedroom. “That’s just the answer I wanted to hear.”
* * *
For the next four days, Evan was swamped with work. The more he and Vincent dug into the evidence they’d gathered on the Watson case, the more both men were leaning toward the homicide being connected to the cattle rustling that had plagued neighboring Douglas County in the past few months. Had Watson known the rustlers and threatened to squeal to the authorities? He’d been a truck driver. Maybe he’d supplied the transportation for moving the cattle and had decided he wanted more money for his part in the thefts? Evan’s captain called their theory little more than supposition. He wanted proof, and Evan was determined to giv
e it to him.
“Well, that didn’t help a damned bit,” Vincent muttered as he punched End on his cell phone. “The Douglas County deputy I just spoke to said they were overloaded with other cases and didn’t know when they would get around to questioning the slaughterhouses in their area.”
From his seat behind the steering wheel, Evan glanced over at his partner. So far today, the two of them had spent hours driving from one side of the county to the other, interviewing anyone and everyone who’d had even a remote connection to the victim. The day was already getting late, and Evan still wanted to show Vincent the cave area located near the gulch where he’d fallen from Lonesome.
“No need to fret over it,” Evan said. “I figure the rustlers hauled the cattle far away from here. Probably even out of state.”
“Why take a chance on going across state lines and getting caught at a highway weigh station?” Vincent tossed the question at him. “That doesn’t make sense. Turning them into steak removes the evidence.”
“That’s true. But you’re thinking smart. Most criminals are dumb. You know that. These thugs might have a buyer somewhere who’s willing to pay top dollar. And the way the cattle market is right now, anything with hooves and horns brings a chunk of money.”
“Well, it sure would be a help if we could find Billy Stivers. But he seems to have gone AWOL. And the poor old aunt we just talked to for a second time—she’s clueless.”
Evan pushed out a heavy breath. “Yeah, unfortunately, in her mind Billy is just a nice boy who’s had some tough breaks.”
As the truck rounded another bald hill, the land opened up to a wider vista. Off to the left, Noelle’s little house and barn came into view. Before he’d met her, Evan would’ve driven by the modest homestead and never given it a second glance. Now whenever he saw it, he was filled with an incredible sense of homecoming. Because Noelle was there.
“So who lives over there? Have you talked to those people?” Vincent asked.
Since Vincent had been busy the day Evan worked the crime scene where Watson’s body was discovered, his partner wasn’t yet familiar with the area.
“You could say so. That’s where Noelle lives,” Evan said.
Vincent’s jaw dropped as he stared at Evan. “There? That’s where the woman lives who’s turned you into a dreamy-eyed sap? I don’t believe it!”
Trying not to let Vincent’s remark offend him, he eased his foot off the accelerator and searched the barnyard for a chance view of Noelle. By now he’d learned her daily schedule. She’d probably already headed out to the pasture with a load of feed and hay for the cattle.
Since the day they’d argued about him hiring someone to build fence for her, he’d managed to drive out early enough to help her with the feeding for a couple of evenings. He’d wanted to make a point of showing her that he was sincere about helping her. As a result, he’d been surprised at how much he’d enjoyed the chores. He wished he had the time to help her more.
“Why?” Evan asked curtly. “Noelle is very proud and devoted to her ranch.”
Vincent spluttered. “Why? You live on the Silver Horn. Do I need to say more?”
A spurt of anger tightened Evan’s jaw. Just as quickly, it was gone. Vincent’s sarcastic reaction made him wonder if that was how Noelle actually viewed him. As someone too lofty ever to have truly serious intentions toward her.
Even if you were serious, neither one of us is the marrying kind.
For the past few days, since Sassy’s Christmas party, Noelle’s words had lingered in his thoughts and pushed him to examine the feelings steadily growing inside him. He wanted Noelle in his life for more than just a few weeks or months. He wanted her with him for a lifetime. If that meant marriage, then he was going to show her both of them were the marrying kind. And then what? he wondered. He’d be a fool to think she might be willing to make her home on the Silver Horn. She wasn’t about money or luxury. Still, if he could somehow convince her that he loved her and wanted to give her all the things she didn’t have now—things that would make her life easier, even safer—then she might view the situation differently.
“Look, Vince, Noelle has already given away more money than you’ll probably ever see in your lifetime. That isn’t important to her. And it isn’t important to me. Maybe it’s hard for you to understand. I’ll admit that at first, it was hard even for me to fathom. But if you ever come to know her, you’ll get it.”
“Does that mean you’d be willing to move away from your family and the Horn and make your life here on this isolated, run-down ranch? That would be giving up a hell of a lot, Evan.”
Could he do that and still be happy? His father and grandfather expected him to stay on the Horn, even if, or when, he took a wife. They’d be highly disappointed if he moved away.
He let out a heavy breath. “I don’t know, Vince. It wouldn’t bother me to move into a house that’s hardly bigger than the Calhoun family room—”
“You could always build her a new house,” Vincent suggested.
Evan let out a short laugh. “She won’t even let me hire someone to build fence, much less a new house. Besides, Noelle’s little house isn’t an issue. It’s disappointing my family that concerns me. And in the end, I want to make Noelle’s life better. Us living on the Horn would do that and keep my family happy, too.”
“But if she’s not into money and luxury like you say, she might not go for that idea,” Vincent pointed out.
Evan grimaced. “Yeah. That’s what worries me. This ranch is her life. And I’m not yet sure where I fit in.”
Vincent didn’t reply. Instead, he simply looked at Evan as though he was seeing a different man behind the steering wheel. And perhaps his buddy was right, Evan thought as he pressed down on the accelerator to push the truck on past the sight of the ranch yard. Having Noelle in his life was changing him. But was he changing into a better man or just opening himself to another heartache?
A few minutes later, the two men left the truck on the side of the road and walked the few hundred feet to the rock formation Noelle had told him teenagers used as a gathering place. Since the land wasn’t fenced and was considered open range, anyone could drive to the spot, so neither man was surprised to see tire tracks leading through the sagebrush and scrubby juniper bushes. But when they followed the tracks to the back of the naturally formed shelter, they found far more than tire tread marks.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” Vincent voiced the question out loud. “Looks like someone has been busy.”
A cold chill ran down Evan’s spine as he inspected the indentions of cattle hooves and the scrapes along the ground where a portable pen had been erected.
Spotting something yellow among the clumps of dry Indian ricegrass, Evan squatted for a closer look. “We’ve hit pay dirt, buddy. Here’s an ear tag. I doubt it will have any fingerprints on it, but we can hope.”
“At least there’s a chance that we can trace it back to the rightful owner and go from there.”
“I doubt it, but we’ll give it a try.” Vincent was unfamiliar with all the methods ranches used to identify their livestock, so Evan explained, “Most of those ear numbers are for a rancher’s own use to tell one cow from another. Years back, metal ear tags were sometimes used, and they supplied a bit more information. But even those could be cut from the animal’s ear. A registered brand burned into a cow’s hide is the best proof of ownership.”
The two men carefully bagged the evidence, then looked around for more. All in all, they found five more ear tags, two cigarette butts and a small scrap of paper with the partial digits of a phone number.
“Damn. Not enough there to go on,” Vincent said. “But everything put together is like finding a gold mine.”
“Yeah.” Lifting his head from his search of the ground, Evan stared thoughtfully back to the south and Noel
le’s adjoining land. “The gulch where I fell is just over that rise. As the crow flies, we’re not far from Noelle’s house.”
“Two, two and a half miles at the most,” Vincent agreed. “Why? You worried they might strike her place? Steal her horses or cattle?”
“Hell, yes, I’m worried. We don’t know what these creeps might do. One man has already been killed. What would they do to a woman alone?”
“Wait a minute, Evan. We don’t know for certain that Watson’s death is connected to these moonlighters.”
Evan muttered a curse under his breath. “Who are you trying to kid?”
“Okay. I’m trying to reassure you, because I can see you’re extremely troubled by this.”
“This and a lot of things,” Evan muttered.
Vincent took off his cowboy hat and swiped a hand through his dark hair. “Evan, back there when we passed Noelle’s place…I didn’t mean to insult you or her. Hell, I’m not a snob and neither are you.” He slapped his hat back on his head. “And now that you’ve explained what kind of woman she really is, I’m thinking maybe you ought to marry her, Evan. And convince her to leave this place. That would fix all your worries.”
“That’s just it, Vince, I’m not sure she’d give up this place for me or anybody. She’s independent and stubborn. And determined to prove herself.”
“To you?”
Evan let out a heavy breath. “To everyone.”
Chapter Eleven
A day later, on Christmas Eve, Noelle took care of her outside chores, then returned to the house and baked herself an Italian cream cake for her birthday. Usually she didn’t do anything to acknowledge that she’d turned a year older. But Evan had been insisting that she treat herself on her birthday. And eating a slice of decadent dessert would definitely be a treat. Especially if Evan showed up this evening to eat with her, she thought hopefully.
Yesterday afternoon, he’d called to tell her something unexpected had developed with the Watson case and he wouldn’t be able to join her that night. During their brief conversation, he hadn’t mentioned her birthday or whether he would try to see her. And Noelle hadn’t asked. She’d never been the pushy sort, and she realized his demanding job left him with a lot on his mind. For all she knew, he might’ve gotten distracted and forgotten that Christmas Eve was her birthday.
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