Mistletoe.
She was waving mistletoe at Mia.
Mia gave a dry laugh, seeing the way the posse’s eyes lit up–it was enough to give her an ulcer.
“This is going to be stationed all over the place,” Esther Mae cooed.
“So get that cowboy under it. He’s been single for a very long time,” Norma Sue added. “Ever since high school and I have always wondered why.” Speculation filled her eyes as they darted from Mia to Ty who’d just started toward them from across the street. He looked every inch the irresistible cowboy.
“Y’all, we’re just friends,” Mia blurted out. “He just hasn’t found the right one.” Why was she fighting this? These women could be her allies if she chose to use them. But, that just seemed wrong to her. She knew her cheeks were probably beaming like a Christmas tree. “He’s just barely turned thirty. There’s no rush—”
“No rush for what?” Ty asked sauntering up at that inopportune moment.
Mia groaned. Her newly forming ulcer started hurting.
“Mia was just telling us you aren’t in any hurry to get married,” Norma said.
Adela chuckled as she carried a poinsettia to the flower pot outside the feed store doors. She looked at Ty. “I don’t think you should rush either. But certainly never swear off marriage. You haven’t done that have you, Ty?”
Ty looked confused and no wonder, the poor man had walked up innocent as a lamb and been drawn into some bizarre conversation about him and marriage. It was hilarious and scary to Mia at the same time.
"No, ma'am, I haven't given swearing off marriage much thought. I figured it would happen when it happened."
Esther Mae let out a gleeful squeal. "Wonderful! I love a man who thinks like that. So you aren't broken-hearted or anything like that? I was afraid some young woman from school had broken your heart and you'd never recovered or something horrible like that."
Mia caught a flicker of something in Ty's eyes...it hit her hard and took her breath away as she suddenly realized that maybe Esther Mae was onto something. Had Ty been in love? But with who?
Ty’s gray eyes shadowed darker and he didn’t say anything at first. Which really meant Esther Mae might be right. Ty had been in love and never gotten over it. And maybe that was why he'd grown so distant from her over the last few years. He'd met someone and then lost her.
And all the while she was out there riding her horse and chasing dreams. Empty dreams she was starting to think.
The thought was so far away from anything she'd ever considered that she was speechless. Time had continued here in Mule Hollow while she’d been gone.
What had she been thinking? That this handsome, amazing man would never fall in love?
She waited for him to deny it and though he looked caught off guard he didn’t deny it either.
If a guy had never been in love he would deny it–right?
Mia needed space. Now. "Well, I'm done here,” she said. “I'm freezing. I think I have to go get some coffee." She was proud that she didn’t stutter or stumble over her words but thankful that if she had of done so, she could blame it on the cold and not the shock.
Her feet felt heavy as she urged them to move. The bad thing was that Ty was standing between her and Sam's.
She was overreacting, but numb with cold. Why wasn’t anyone else as cold as she was? It was like she’d just frozen up on the inside.
Ty looked relieved that she’d changed the subject. "That’s actually why I came over. I wanted to see if you, or any of you ladies, needed a warm beverage."
The expressions of delight on the group’s faces could not be denied. They gaped with glee at the fact that he had asked them if they wanted something to drink...or, it hit her like a brick to the forehead that they could also be excited because she was about to go get coffee and so was Ty.
Matchmaking at its finest.
"On second thought, I believe I'll go home now and really get warm. I—"
"No!" The three ladies exclaimed in unison and Lacy hooted with laughter.
Esther Mae came forward holding her back. “We were supposed to go pick out a Christmas tree but…if you two young folks want to brave the elements instead of making me and my old bones go out there then I’m not going to gripe. And Norma Sue has older bones than mine—”
“My bones are just fine,” Norma Sue barked, shooting her buddy a scowl. “I’ve hoisted more baby calves up onto the backs of horses and brought them home through freezing rain than most cowboys have in their lifetime–thank you very much. Matter of fact, I’ve got a baby calf waiting to be fed this afternoon so y’all getting the tree would be very helpful.”
Adela blinked big, blue eyes at Mia and Ty and smiled kindly. “You could leave the truck running as you look and it shouldn’t take too much time.”
Ty hitched a perfect dark brow at Mia. “Do you have time to do this? I don’t mind. Sounds fun.”
Fun. Sure, if you liked to torture yourself. “Sure. I’d love to help out.” She had visions of old movies where the two love interests wander romantically through the trees looking for the perfect tree and they kiss and…oh, the torture of it all. She was beginning to lose her mind. Yup, she was indeed.
Of course her saying yes brought huge grins and smiles of relief and she had a feeling there would be some high-fives as soon as she and Ty drove out of town.
“Great.” Ty’s warm eyes twinkled appealingly and set the butterflies into an uproar inside her chest. “But first, let’s get you that coffee.”
Coffee? What coffee…Mia had forgotten all about the coffee.
Chapter Seven
They chose to go to Ty’s ranch because he knew the perfect spot. An area that had a lot of cedar trees with perfect Christmas tree potential.
As they rode through the pasture Mia chewed on her lower lip and studied the brewing storm clouds. “Those clouds look ominous.”
“I think the snow is going to happen–might even get here just in time for the pageant. I’m just hoping we miss the freeze. If the temperature drops too low and the freeze comes in then everything will get cancelled.”
“For everyone’s sake, I’m dreamin’ of a white Christmas and nothing more,” Mia said. “I loved that old movie.” The thought of snow right now sounded as romantic to her as that old movie had been. Of course at the moment being in the truck with Ty made everything romantic to her.
Her nerves were shot and if she wasn’t careful she could make a fool of herself.
Think thoughts of freezing temperatures and billowing ice storms…
Ty looked over at her and every ounce of the icy blizzard she’d just conjured up melted away in a heat flash. Drats.
“Are you alright?” Ty asked, studying her.
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You look kind of flustered.” He looked back out the window and she looked straight ahead too.
Snow. Talk about snow. She rubbed her temple and tried to sound casual, “If it would stick that would be lovely. Snow that is. Although I was in the Denver area last year and got snowed in and my truck and trailer got stuck on the side of the road. It was not a fun experience. I thought I would freeze and thankfully a couple of really nice guys stopped to help me.”
Ty looked at her sharply, his gaze narrowed. “It scares me, you being on the road like that all alone. That could have been a really dangerous situation.”
“It actually was and I’ll admit that I said a few prayers that God would send the right person to help me.” She didn’t add that she’d been terribly frightened at the time. Dark had been creeping up on her and she hadn’t known what she was going to do. There had been no phone service in that stretch of road and she was smart enough to admit that she could have been in trouble. “The Lord looked out for me and sent two very nice men along to help.”
“Still, it was dangerous.”
She had mixed feelings about his concern. It felt nice to know he was concerned for her but also a little ann
oying…she had been on the road alone for four years. She didn’t need him pointing out to her that this had been a dangerous situation.
“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Ty,” she pointed out. His expression grew tighter and he gave a quick nod then got out of the truck. She did the same. She was a little confused by his behavior as she started following him toward the trees.
The wind had picked up and it howled as it wove between the pines. Ty spun unexpectedly and Mia slammed hard against him. Instantly, his hands were on her arms.
“Whoa, are you alright?”
She nodded. More than a little aware of how close she was to him. That there was a mere breath between them as he gently gripped her arms. “I’m fine.” Her breath came in white puffs in the cold air. And it could have been because she was suddenly warm all over.
His fingers tightened on her arms and he studied her as if…he might be thinking about kissing her. Mia had now gone from wanting something to imagining things that weren’t there.
He swallowed and then blinked hard. “Mia—”
For self-preservation she moved away from him. “W-why were you acting like that back there?” she asked, refocusing on what had happened moments ago.
Looking puzzled he didn’t say anything for a moment. “I got overprotective for a minute.”
“Ty, I’ve been away for a long time and suddenly I come home and you’re feeling protective.” She was being rude and she knew it. But…well, picking a fight was self-preservation! “I know you’re independent and strong and can take care of yourself. But I do get worried about you sometimes. That’s what friends do.”
He worried about her. As a friend, she reminded herself. She needed that reminder so her imagination wouldn’t get carried away. Really, she was a grown woman for goodness sakes.
“Right,” she said easily. “I’m fine. Always have been.” She swallowed hard as her gaze rested on his lips.
“You’re freezing. Your cheeks are ruby red.” He touched her cheek and she had to fight not to lean into that touch like a kitten getting scratched behind the ears.
She moved out away from his touch. “We better get this tree cut down.”
“Right. Come on, let’s get this tree and get you out of this weather.” He turned back and led the way toward the trees again.
Disappointment dug a hole in her heart but she fought it off. She was tougher than this.
Suddenly, three deer ran from the trees in front of them making their graceful dash toward a stand of trees in the distance. Mia gasped and watched them race down the slope, their short white tails bobbing with each step.
It gave her a moment to focus on something else. “They’re beautiful. And so are these trees,” she forced her voice to sound normal.
“Why don’t we get you a tree while we’re here also?”
“I don’t know…” Mia really wasn’t sure she was in the mood for a tree.
“Come on, Mia. You need a tree. I know with your uncle leaving like he did that you might feel abandoned for Christmas. But you need a tree. And if it helps at least a little, well, I’m here and I’m going to make certain you are not alone for the holidays.”
How had he done that? Read her inner thoughts so well? She hadn’t wanted to admit completely that her uncle’s leaving had doused her Christmas spirit. But it was undeniable and Ty had seen it.
He smiled temptingly and she couldn’t help smiling back. “It’s true. Is it that obvious that I was struggling?”
“Not so much. Maybe I’m just able to read you.”
That made her smile widen and her heart turn over. If he only knew. “Maybe so.”
“So how about that tree?”
“A small one would be great. With my knee I don’t really feel like decorating a big one.”
“I’ll help you decorate. And since you are going to be alone for Christmas I’m hoping you’ll join me and my partners at the big house for Christmas dinner. We’d love to have you join us. You can meet everyone.”
Mia wished he’d said he wanted her to join him but he’d said us.
Us.
Oh how that word could mean so much more. Us as in him and her would be wonderful but it was us as in the group and clearly did not mean what her heart was wishing for… What was she doing?
Trying to get her heart broken? And now that Uncle Huey had left her, Mia was facing another problem…deep in her heart of hearts she wasn’t sure she could take one more person in her life leaving her alone. It would be much easier on her to just leave. Wouldn’t it?
Ty studied Mia. Something was going on behind those pretty but hesitant eyes of hers. Maybe she wasn’t sure she wanted to be around him for Christmas. Something was certainly wrong. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s completely up to you.”
She shivered in the cold, but finally her pretty lips lifted into a smile. “No, sorry. Christmas with all of your friends sounds like a lot of fun. I’d love to join y’all. Thank you for asking.” She wasn’t fooling him, something was still wrong. “My pleasure. Everyone is looking forward to meeting you. You met Dalton earlier and Maddie too, but her husband Cliff will be there along with his twin, Rafe and his wife Sadie. And Chase and his fiancé Amber will be there too. It’ll be a good sized group.” He could tell she was freezing so he started moving again. It was either that or wrap her up in his arms and kiss her till she was warm. He had kissing on his mind and he knew it. “Let’s find that tree and get you out of this cold.”
She didn’t argue.
They spent the next thirty minutes wandering through the cold in search of the perfect tree.
“Oh, it’s snowing!” Mia exclaimed as huge snowflakes suddenly began to drift gently down on them. She laughed and looked up into the falling snowflakes.
Ty knew he’d never seen anything so beautiful. His heart hammered like a thousand horses watching her.
She laughed. “I’ve seen snow everywhere and driven through snowstorms and yet when it snows here in our corner of the world I get so excited.” She turned with her arms held out and let the flakes settle on her.
“I think it’s the ease factor. When we get snow here in central Texas it's special and not heavy enough to linger and make a mess. It comes softly then leaves softly.”
She stared at him now with a quizzical expression. “Wow, you said that so perfectly, Mr. Horse Whisperer.”
He chuckled. “I’m trying.” The snow dusted her hair and her shoulders now and was coming down thicker by the second. She looked heavenward again and laughed, holding her palms outstretched she turned in a slow motion, being careful of her knee. Ty had to do everything in his power to keep his distance.
She stopped suddenly. “There. That’s it.” She pointed at a large perfect tree sitting on the edge of the hill. Snowflakes dusted the cedar tree emphasizing its shape perfectly.
Mia’s expression was joyful as she pulled her jacket close and looked from the tree to him. “What do you think?”
“Perfect,” he said, his voice gruff. “I’ll get the saw.” He spun and high-tailed it away from her as fast as he could. It was either that or him doing something he might regret; like taking her into his arms and claiming her soft lips with his.
Like exposing his heart when the time wasn’t right.
Too much was at stake for him to mess up now.
Chapter Eight
“What do you mean you haven’t told him?”
Mia bit her lip and fought down the frustration eating away inside of her as she held the phone to her ear and listened to her friend Kara Mosey on the other end of the line. Kara was a barrel racer on the circuit and had been Mia’s friend for years.
“Look, Kara, I can’t tell him. I’m back here and things between us are right back like they used to be…it’s comfortable. Sort of. If I tell him, I might put some really uncomfortable vibes between us and everything could fall apart.”
There was a long, loud, very exasperated sigh that could
be heard clearly on Mia’s end of the phone.
“Come on, Kara, give me some understanding here. You’re all I’ve got.”
“That’s just it, Mia. There’s more to life than just pining away for a guy. There’s an actual relationship and a future. You need more than just me. I’m not good with relationships but then, I’m not the one in love with a guy and afraid to admit it. I’m fine being alone–because I’m not in love with someone. You are, babe, and it’s time to admit it. You deserve to have him. And by the way, comfortable is not really living. You used to have some fire to you.”
Mia rubbed the goal post that had formed in between her eyes. “I’ll tell him. But this is too important to mess up and so it’s got me feeling and acting strange. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You’re in love with a man and you’ve been holding it in too long, girlfriend. Let it free.”
“You’re right. I’m not a mouse. I’m an independent woman who goes after what she wants.” But did she want to risk loving someone and them rejecting her or the possibility that they would eventually leave. Not putting herself at risk was easier.
Safer.
“That’s my girl. You go get that hunk of good looking cowboy.”
Mia gave a half-hearted chuckle. She’d been moping around the house ever since they cut down the Christmas trees two days ago and it wasn’t doing her any favors. She had told Ty that she had to go over the books some more and get everything sorted out. This had given her the excuse not to go check on how he was progressing with Sinbad–besides she knew he was capable of taming that horse without her input. He’d offered to help her decorate the tree but she’d said she could do it. She glanced at the tree in the corner.
It sat exactly where he’d placed it two days ago.
“So, are you going to the pageant that y’all cut the tree down for?”
“Yes, I’m going. The town is supposed to be lit up and the Christmas pageant is a small production with a live nativity scene with live animals–including the most adorable donkey named Samantha. I’ve been around that little donkey and love watching her with the kids. She’s practically human. There’s also supposed to be campfires for everyone to gather around and roast marshmallows while singing Christmas carols with the cowboys. I haven’t been here since they started doing these and it just sounds like the most fun—” she stopped talking when Kara’s chuckling interrupted her.
Ty: Contemporary Western Romance (New Horizon Ranch Mule Hollow Book 4) Page 5
