Christmas with the Cowboy

by Tina Radcliffe

  “Your house is always tidy.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t yesterday.”

  Sarah cocked her head and glanced at the living room. “This is how I found it when I came over last evening.”

  Emma caught a flash of light from the corner of her eye. She turned to look at the Christmas tree and gasped.

  The beautiful Virginia pine stood regally in the corner with an angel crown on the top. Tiny holiday lights decorated the branches. They’d been strung from inside the branches to the outside, exactly the way she preferred. The lights were plugged in and now twinkled holiday cheer. A glittery tinsel garland had been evenly wrapped around the branches of the tree, as well. Why, even the ornaments were hung correctly, positioned to hide the bare spots between the branches. “The tree. It’s decorated.” She sighed. “It’s so Christmassy.”

  Sarah nodded. “Yes. Mr. Norman and the girls were doing that when I arrived last evening.” She pulled her phone from her pocket. “I took a few pictures for you.”

  “Oh, my!” Emotion slammed into Emma at the sight of the navy SEAL helping the toddlers put ornaments on the tree. “I don’t even have words. Can you send them to my cell?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Thank you, Sarah.” Emma shook her head. “So basically it looks like Zach Norman is perfect. Would that be about right?”

  Sarah giggled. “Yes, and he’s very handsome, too, isn’t he?”

  Emma grinned. “Yes. I’m with you on that.” She tried to run a hand through her hair, but the tangles swallowed her fingers. “Ugh.”

  “There’s chicken soup in the fridge,” Sarah said. “Homemade.”

  “If you try to tell me that Zach made homemade chicken soup, I’m going to know this is a hallucination.”

  “No, AJ, I mean, Mrs. Maxwell brought it over. It has chicken and egg noodles. Really yummy. The girls had some for lunch.”

  “You know what? I’m going to give Mr. Norman a call. If I can verify this is not a hallucination, I’ll be back for soup.”

  Sarah laughed. “Okay. I’ll start warming up the pot.”

  Emma started down the hall then stopped and turned back. “Thank you again, Sarah.”

  “You’re very welcome.” She hesitated. “Mr. Norman is very, um, fond of you.”

  “Zach? Do you think so?”

  Sarah gave a shy nod.

  “It’s my chocolate muffins. They bring grown men to their knees.”

  “I don’t think that’s it.”

  “Rachel and Elizabeth. He loves the twins.”

  “Miss Emma, he loves the twins, but he was fretting about you.”

  Zach? Fretting? It was going to take a minute or two to digest that information.

  Emma hurried down the hall and did a double take when she saw herself in the hall mirror. Her hair had dried wet and was now bent, and folded and stuck out at odd angles. She looked like the nightmare before Christmas.

  Grabbing a hairbrush and a clip from a bureau, Emma grabbed her cell phone. She checked the time. Uh-oh. By now, Zach had no doubt already met with Beau Randall.

  Zach, who’d taken an instant dislike to the rich rancher, had gone to the meeting for her. That was taking one for the team.

  She had really wanted to introduce Zach to RangePro slowly. Instead, she’d put him on a bull and sent him into the arena. Poor Zach. If the man wasn’t planning his exit strategy already, he soon would be. And it was her fault.

  * * *

  Zach pulled into the admin parking lot of Big Heart Ranch. He cut the engine and cracked the window, hoping the blast of frigid air would douse his fiery anger before he called to check on Emma.

  Beau Randall was all hat and no cattle. The man had zero barn cred. Randall wasn’t a rancher, and he didn’t know a thing about ranching. He had never even seen a heifer up close and had no plans to. Since day one, the beautiful Pawhuska ranch had been outsourced to a team of high-paid wranglers.

  The rich investor sat on horses that someone else tacked up while he concentrated on his next moneymaking scheme.

  Today Randall decided that his next venture was taking over RangePro. Six weeks ago, Zach would have been overjoyed at the prospect. Now he understood what the company meant to Emma. Randall didn’t have a clue, nor would he care that his plan would break her heart.

  The whole situation didn’t bode well for him, either. Emma would conclude he and Randall were in cahoots. Sure, she would. And why not?

  She sends a guy who doesn’t like her husband’s company into a meeting with a rattlesnake and he comes out without signing the deal and with a cash buyout offer on the table from said snake.

  It sounded shady to him, too, and he’d been there. There had to be a workable solution. He’d told Emma there was weeks ago, but now he was under the gun to fix this mess before Emma found out.

  His phone rang, and he grimaced when the screen display showed it was Emma. If he didn’t answer, she’d turn up at Big Heart before he could put the parking brake on.

  Zach hit Accept Call. “Emma, why aren’t you resting?”

  “I’ve been sleeping since yesterday.”

  “That’s a start.”

  “A start?” she sputtered. “I’ve got crease marks on my face. If I sleep any more, they’ll be permanent.”

  Zach laughed. “You might be exaggerating.”

  “Not much.” She paused. “How’s everything going with RangePro?”

  There was an underlying excitement in Emma’s voice. She was expecting big things from today’s meeting and he wasn’t going to be the one to let her down when she was so vulnerable.

  “Was this all a plot to get me to handle RangePro?” Zach asked. “You think I’m a half-baked cowboy with a bum knee, so you’re trying to get me behind a desk like everyone else, right?”

  “A diabolical plot it is, if I staged my own illness,” Emma returned. “For the record, you could never be a half-baked anything, Zach Norman, and I won’t let you disparage yourself.”

  “Hmm. You sound better,” he noted.

  “I feel better, thank you. And thanks for decorating the tree and everything else you did.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “Pretty good work for a Scrooge.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “So, um, you had your appointment with Randall. How did it go? Were you able to lock him in?”

  “Not exactly. Mr. Randall was disappointed that you were unable to be there and very annoyed when he found out that I’m the other half of RangePro.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “He didn’t sign, Emma.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Emma? You still there?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m really sorry.”

  “Well, you tried, right? And you didn’t call him out for being a city slicker or insult him for being from Texas, did you?”

  “I was on my best behavior.”

  “So he didn’t sign. That makes me as disappointed as Beau Randall. I had hoped that if he did, we might get more clients from his tax bracket and maybe the company could expand. Steve would have liked that.”

  Silence stretched before she finally said, “Did he mention why?”

  “He has some other ideas he’s pursuing.”

  “Really?” Her voice perked up. “Anything I might be interested in?”

  “You and I can sit down and have a long talk about Randall once you’re well and back in the office.”

  “Okay, but what about the video conference with my reps and tech? You need my computer passwords. Hang on, let me open my laptop.”

  “Whoa. Whoa. Emma, I canceled. It can wait.”

  There was a long pause.

  “You’re frowning, aren’t you?”

  “
Possibly.”

  “Did you try the soup?”

  “Everyone is pushing soup,” she muttered. “I’ll try the soup when I’m done wallowing in self-pity.”

  “I’m sorry, Emma.”

  “What? No. It’s not your fault. I knew all along that Randall was a long shot.”

  Zach put a hand on the steering wheel. “Was there anything else?” he asked.

  “No. I suppose not. I have a field appointment tomorrow. A little mom-and-pop sheep ranch outside of town. I need to be back in the office soon.”

  “I’ll ask Iris to reschedule,” Zach said.

  “No. I feel so much better. I’m sure this was simply a twenty-four-hour bug.”

  “Let’s compromise. I’ll help you with anything you want that has to do with RangePro this week if you stay home until Wednesday.”

  “One more day?” she returned.

  “Yes.”

  She groaned.

  “Did I mention that this is a onetime offer that expires—” he checked his watch “—in five minutes?”

  “I’ll take it, though I don’t understand why you’d offer. You hate RangePro.”

  “I don’t hate my brother’s company. I’m proud of him for what he accomplished. But RangePro isn’t my future.”

  “Because it was Steve’s company, or because you have other plans?”

  “Both. RangePro is Steve’s business and Steve’s dream.” He paused. “Emma, I’m not Steve. Are you okay with that?”

  “I don’t want you to be Steve. I like you just the way you are,” she said softly.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Zach?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I mean it. I’m not trying to make you into Steve. I’m sorry if it seemed that way.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. Now we have a deal and you’re going to go eat soup and rest.”

  “How’s the Holiday Roundup going?”

  “Terrific. According to your sister, tree sales have doubled. She ordered another half truckload and it will be delivered today.”

  “She’s working from home, right?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “And everything else?”

  “Dutch is playing Santa Claus for the kids at the Pawhuska Orphanage tonight.”

  “Oh, I’m going to miss that.”

  “I’ll have someone take pictures for you.”

  “What else is going on?” she asked.

  “The entire cast and crew of the live nativity are playing to a full house every night. They only lost the sheep twice.”

  “They lost the sheep?”

  “An oversight.”

  “Twice?” Emma laughed. “I’m afraid to ask what else.”

  “The bell ringers and carolers have not frozen and the Timber Independence gave your gingerbread a three-star rating.”

  “Really?”

  “I might be exaggerating. I learned from the best.”

  Emma laughed. “I’m missing Christmas out there in the world.”

  “It will still be here on Wednesday.”

  Her only response was a dramatic sigh.

  “I’ll stop by on Tuesday night,” Zach said.

  “You will?” It was a small, hopeful plea.

  “Yes, and I’ll bring dinner, too.”

  “That would be wonderful, Zach.”

  “Now go rest. And give the girls a kiss for me.”

  “Yes. I’ll do that, and thank you, Zach. For all your help.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Zach set down the phone and rubbed a hand over his face. He hated that he hadn’t given her the full story on Randall. The omission burned his gut and tore at his heart.

  But how was he going to tell Emma that not only was Beau Randall not interested in becoming her number one client, but the man wanted to buy her out and shut down RangePro to launch his own livestock management software enterprise?

  He knew Emma and he knew that she was convinced she could have turned Randall around if she had been the one at the meeting instead of him. This time her considerable charm would not be enough to finesse the situation.

  The entire thing was a no-win disaster waiting to happen. If she found out, she’d be upset he didn’t tell her, and if he told her she’d shoot the messenger.

  Right about now he’d like to shoot Beau Randall.

  Zach had an ominous feeling that hovered like dark clouds before a storm. It was a sick feeling that things were about to get a whole lot worse before they got better.

  Chapter Eleven

  “When she opens the door, you can start,” Zach said to the group assembling on Emma’s porch. He tucked a hand into his pocket to be sure the package was still there. Maybe he’d get a chance to give Emma her Christmas present tonight.

  Her words from weeks ago came back to him. Christmas isn’t about receiving, it’s about giving.

  Tonight was all about giving back to Emma.

  He smiled to himself. From putting up Holiday Roundup lights to working with Mick and Benjie to spending time with Emma and his nieces, the list of what he’d received since he arrived went on and on. Emma had given him back the hope that he still had something to contribute.

  Around him, ranch staff in period costume looked like they’d stepped straight out of a stage production of a Charles Dickens Christmas play as they lined up. Of course, as everyone reminded him, Emma had been responsible for the authentic reproduction Victorian dresses and shawls, capes and hats.

  Snow remained on the ground, though the walkway to Emma’s front porch was clear. The December air was crisp and the sky above provided a vivid and endless canvas of coral as the sun began to set. The troupe of performers stood next to a tall conifer, adding to the backdrop for the evening’s live performance.

  Tonight the Big Heart Ranch players offered cheerful nods and grins as they stood ready to serenade Emma with “fa-la-la-la-la” and bell ringing.

  “Are you sure she’s not still sick?” someone asked.

  “She texted me fifteen times today with instructions and reminders,” Zach said. “Our Emma is on the mend and planning to be in the office tomorrow morning.”

  After hours of tossing and turning Monday night, unable to figure out a way to thwart Beau Randall, Zach had finally gotten up, only to discover endless versions of A Christmas Carol playing on the local television channel. Apparently, the movies played repeatedly throughout the season. He practically had the dialogue memorized after the third film.

  That was when the idea to bring Christmas to Emma hit him. He prayed it was as good an idea tonight as it seemed at 3:00 a.m.

  Zach rang the doorbell and stepped to the side of the porch and out of the direct line of sight.

  The front light came on, illuminating the group, and then the door slowly opened, setting the wreath into a slow sway.

  “What’s this?” Emma said. She stood in the doorway in her ugly Christmas sweater, staring with disbelief as the singers burst into a hearty rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Her face lit up as they continued. A moment later Rachel and Elizabeth peeked out from behind their mother’s denim-clad legs, eyes round as they, too, watched, mesmerized.

  Not to be outdone, the Big Heart Ranch bell ringers edged to the front ready to begin as the singers concluded with the final refrain of “...and a happy New Year.”

  “Wait!” Emma called. “It’s freezing. Please, come in the house and we’ll continue where it’s warm.”

  Laughter and good-natured chatter filled the air as they filed into the little house. Zach stood in place, not sure what to do.

  “Zach? Are you coming?” Emma called. She stepped around the porch pillar and met his gaze with a tender smile.

  “Uh, yeah. How’d you know I was here?”

>   “Oh, Zach, I always know when you’re around.”

  Words escaped him when she took his large hand in hers and tugged him inside. At that moment, he would have followed her anywhere. His heart wasn’t on his sleeve—it was right there in her hand.

  An hour later, the singers and bell ringers departed, though not until Emma handed out artfully decorated cutout cookies.

  Zach held Rachel and Elizabeth as Emma waved goodbye to her guests from the front door. There was a sense of rightness as the four of them filled the doorway of the house.

  “Cowd, Momma.” Rachel shivered and tucked herself closer to Zach.

  “Oh, sorry, sweetie.” Emma shut the front door and put the platter of cookies on the coffee table before smiling up at Zach. “That was the nicest thing. I can’t believe you did that.”

  “You said you were missing out on Christmas.”

  “I know, but I didn’t expect... Come on, that was perfect. I couldn’t have planned a better surprise myself.”

  “That’s quite a compliment coming from the queen of Christmas.”

  “And you deserve the accolades.”

  “How did you have Christmas cookies ready to give them?” he asked.

  “I baked today.”

  “Of course, you did.”

  She stood straight. “I’m feeling much better and it’s not Christmas without my cutout cookies.”

  “Didn’t you make them for the Christmas party?”

  “Oh, that was...” She stopped. “Oh, my. That was early November. Over six weeks ago. It doesn’t count.”

  But Zach had been counting. Six and a half weeks. Eleven days before he headed back to California to get his stuff from storage and move on to his new job. Every day the calendar mocked him as though it was well aware that he didn’t want to go anywhere.

  The doorbell rang and Emma’s eyes rounded. “What now?”

  His gaze went to the wall clock. “Pizza. Right on time. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He eased the twins down and opened the door.

  “I’ve got cash right here,” Emma called.

  “No way. I planned this dinner with my favorite girls. Besides, the pizza was paid for when I placed the order,” Zach said. He handed the teenage delivery driver a tip and grabbed the boxes.