Jed’s three granddaughters.
Tina had grown up on the ranch and become the bookkeeper for the hotel. Jane was a well-respected photojournalist, originally based in New York. And Andi...
Andi was the reason he’d left Cowboy Creek.
* * *
“IF I HAVE to look at one more fabric swatch today, I may scream.”
At her cousin’s pronouncement, Andi Price forced a laugh.
The hotel and its dude ranch activities had always been a big draw for the guests, but their grandfather had recently decided to reopen the banquet hall with a focus on catering wedding receptions.
So far, the one wedding they had scheduled a few months earlier had been canceled, and the business was getting off to a slow start.
“What have you got to scream about?” she said to Jane, only half teasing. “I’m the one dealing with the bride-to-be.”
“Otherwise known as Bridezilla. Sorry, cuz.”
“Don’t be.” She sighed. “It’s the truth. I should have known better than to agree to cater a wedding for the friend of a woman I barely know.”
“Yeah. Especially one who wants everything wrapped up in a bow—within a month.”
“I thought I was helping Grandpa and you and Tina.”
“You are. In Grandpa’s words, he’s tickled we’ve got another wedding booked.”
“I know.” And she couldn’t let him down.
The wedding receptions had always been their late grandmother’s passion. They all knew Jed was determined to see that part of the business flourish again. As Jane had once said, it only made sense to capitalize on a hotel called the Hitching Post.
“Good thing Tina’s around to help,” Andi said. “But what would we both do without you?” Jane’s career as a photojournalist gave her a good eye for envisioning just about anything. “You know you’re the one with the talent for color and line.”
“You’re not doing badly with those yourself. And the designs you’ve come up with for the banquet hall are pure genius.”
“Thanks. I’ve attended a lot of receptions and formal dinners since I got married.” Thoughts of all the events she had attended once she’d become part of the affluent Price family now blended with other memories she tried not to dwell on. “Knowledge of fancy napkin folds comes with the territory,” she attempted to say lightly.
“You’re doing a lot more than arranging napkins.” Jane tossed a sample book onto the pile with all the others. “But, though I hate to say this, there’s an area where you’re not doing such a great job.”
“Really?” She frowned and looked at everything they had spread out on the tabletop. “What’s that?”
“I wish I knew.” Jane shook her head. “You’ve changed since you were here at the end of the summer. There’s something bothering you. Don’t ask me what, because I have no idea, but I think you ought to let me in on it. We didn’t spend all those vacations and holidays together here for nothing, you know.”
While their grandfather and cousin had always lived in Cowboy Creek, Jane and Andi had met up at the family ranch only on school breaks. Neither of them had ever stayed at Garland Ranch longer than a summer vacation—until now. Jane had returned only a few months ago to live here permanently.
Andi had come back to help get the new venture off the ground with this Christmas wedding—and for other reasons she tried to shove aside with her bittersweet memories. “Nothing’s wrong. I just...felt the kids and I needed a change of scenery. When Grandpa asked me to handle this wedding while you and Tina focused on the business end of things, it seemed like the perfect time for a visit.”
Jane’s gray eyes narrowed. “Sorry, but I’m not buying that. It might be hard to handle the heat in Fountain Hills, Arizona, but the scenery there is even better than it is here.”
“I don’t live in Fountain Hills anymore,” she said quietly.
“Oh. When you’d told me the other day you and the kids had moved to an apartment, you didn’t mention it was in another town.” Jane touched her wrist. “Andi, if there’s anything I can do, any way I can give you a hand with something, just say the word. I’ve got some savings built up. I know Grandpa and my dad would help you out in a heartbeat. You know that, too. And wouldn’t your mother-in-law be willing to pitch in?”
“It’s not money.”
Truthfully, it was money that worried her—not enough money and not enough life insurance to pay the mortgage. Grant had insisted they could afford the too-big house in their upscale area not far from his mother. With his salary included, they had gotten by. Without it, she had been forced to sell the home where both her children had lived since they’d been born. But she couldn’t tell her mother-in-law Grant hadn’t provided for his family.
Just as she couldn’t reveal to anyone what Grant’s real job had been. How did you explain to a man’s family that he worked undercover for the CIA?
But now she could tell Jane the truth. Or part of it. “It’s not money so much as the need to get some space from Grant’s family.”
“Things have gotten that bad between you?”
“No.” Andi’s eyes misted. “They’re great.” They just didn’t know he had told them the same cover story she had told her family, that he worked for a computer company with customers and suppliers all over the world. “Ginnie’s always been a fabulous mother-in-law, and everyone else in his family is wonderful. Except...he’s been gone for over a year, and they all act as if he’s just away on business and will walk in the door again any day now.”
She glanced at Jane again. “I loved Grant, you know that. They know that. But I’ve managed to accept that he’s gone. I’ve had to, for Trey and Missy.” Her children had given her the strength she’d needed to survive her loss, and now she needed to stay strong for them. “Ginnie and the rest of Grant’s family still haven’t come to terms with his death. They need—I need—to let go and move on. I know that sounds awful—”
“Not awful at all. It’s a sad fact of life.”
“It’s beyond sad. But I just can’t keep living in the past. For the kids’ sake, I have to think about what comes next.” Her two-year-old son and infant daughter were too young to really feel the loss of their daddy, especially when Grant’s work assignments often had him out of touch for a month or two at a time. But as they got older, they would realize their loss. It was her responsibility to make sure they never lacked for anything else.
So far, she was doing a poor job.
“Then it’s good you’re here,” Jane said. “You’ve got the break from Grant’s family, and you can plan for the future.”
She nodded. Still, despite how determined she might have sounded to Jane, she worried. Her sales assistant job at a clothing store barely covered the rent on her new apartment. She’d had to take the position. With only a year of college behind her, she had left school to get married. Relocating to Arizona, planning a wedding, buying a house and getting swept up in the Price family’s social whirl had made her put school off for a while.
After she had gotten pregnant, she had tabled the idea of school indefinitely. Then she had gotten pregnant again...and Grant had died.
The end result was, she had no employable skills to speak of. The only bright spot was having a best friend with a night job who had volunteered to watch the kids while she worked during the day.
The sound of raised voices came from the hotel lobby. Andi jumped to change the subject. “That’s Grandpa, and he sounds excited.”
They heard a woman’s laugh.
“And that’s Tina,” Jane said. “I wonder what’s going on.”
They didn’t have to wait long to find out. Their cousin Tina entered the dining room. Smiling, she said, “You’ll never guess who Grandpa’s bringing along here with him.”
She was right, at least as far as Andi was concerned.
When Jed Garland walked into the room accompanied by a tall, broad-shouldered man with a noticeable limp, her heart skipped a few crit
ical beats. The man locked gazes with her, and her heart leaped. Never in a million years would she have forgotten those deep blue eyes or that crooked grin or the thick black hair worn just bad-boy long. Never in a million centuries would she have expected—or wished—to run into Mitch Weston again.
She could only hope that since they had last seen each other, he had forgotten all about her.
Or had learned the value of forgiveness.
Chapter Two
All through the conversation in the dining room, Mitch managed to keep his smile in place. He hadn’t wanted to come in here and see Jed’s granddaughters, but the man had insisted.
No. Truth was, he hadn’t wanted to see Andi again.
Thankfully, his undercover work had prepared him well for slipping into different roles. He’d never had more of a need to hide his true self than he did now. His first glance at blonde, beautiful Andi today had rocked him just the way she had years ago.
Also thankfully, he’d heeded the surgeon’s caution to wear his knee brace. Otherwise, he’d swear his legs would have gone out right from under him.
“How long will you be around?” Jed asked.
Instinctively, he knew the man meant how long would he be in Cowboy Creek, a topic he didn’t want to get into. He forced a grin and pretended to misunderstand. “Surely you’re not inviting me for supper without clearing it with Paz first.”
“Of course you’ll join us.”
He shook his head. “You think you have to worry about Paz skinning your hide? If I didn’t show up at home tonight, my mom would have me stuffed and mounted. It’s the first time the whole family’s sitting down together for a meal since I’ve gotten back.” He shrugged. “Well, it’ll be the whole family if my dad manages to make it home.”
“He’s a good one for sticking to duties,” Jed said.
“And,” Tina put in, “the day he retires, Cowboy Creek will lose a good sheriff.”
“Which probably won’t be any time soon.” Mitch laughed, happy he’d detoured around the conversational land mine. “Like my grandpa, he always said he would never take off the badge.” And like his dad, he wouldn’t be keen on retiring, either. He didn’t like even being away from the job this long. “Well, I need to head back to town.”
“Don’t forget that box you said your mama sent along,” Jed reminded him.
“Yeah, her garden tomatoes. I’ll get them out of the truck now.” He moved slowly, giving his healing knee a chance to loosen up, rather than let them all see him hobbling from the room like an old man.
“I can go out with you,” Tina volunteered.
“Hold on,” Jed said. “I need to talk to you and Jane for a bit.” He turned to Andi. “Why don’t you go along with Mitch and retrieve that box for Paz? She’s eager to see what she can use from it for supper.”
Andi nodded. As they left the room, he caught her profile from the corner of his eye. When he and Jed had walked into the dining room, before she’d had time to raise her defenses, he’d seen the sparkle in her blue eyes and the smile on those full pink lips he’d always remembered.
Now, with her gaze frozen and her mouth pressed into a flat, determined line, she looked as if he were marching her to face a firing squad.
She didn’t have that far wrong. He planned to fire a few shots at her. Verbal ones. Questions he’d spent years asking himself.
And he didn’t intend to let her go free until he got the answers.
* * *
“ALL RIGHT, ABUELO, let’s hear it.”
Jed frowned. The sound of Mitch’s and Andi’s footsteps had barely faded from the dining room.
His youngest granddaughter, Tina, sat back in her chair and stared him down. “What’s so important I couldn’t take a few minutes to give Mitch a hand?”
“I wanted to go over some of those estimates for the last of the cabins again.”
Jane laughed. “You’re in trouble if you want me here for anything involving numbers. Didn’t you always say I’m the artistic one in the family?”
Tina shook her head. “It’s not that, Jane. Grandpa’s up to his tricks again. I know the signs. So should you.” The smile that tugged at her lips gave the lie to her stern expression. “Isn’t that right, Abuelo?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I pulled a few tricks on you both. But I don’t hear either of you complaining.”
“We aren’t,” Jane said. “In fact, you know we’re glad you’re two for two in the matchmaking stakes.”
He beamed at her.
“We’re very glad,” Tina agreed. “Andi’s a different story. We all want to see her happy again. But trying to match her up with someone she barely knows may not be the best idea. At least, not right now.”
“Huh-uh, cuz,” Jane said, “as Grandpa would say, you haven’t come close to hitting the mark there. You didn’t hang out much with us when Andi and I used to visit. But one summer, I spent plenty of time at the barn because that’s where she chose to go. And trust me, it wasn’t all due to her love of riding horses.”
“Really?” Tina’s gaze flew from Jane to him and back again.
Barely able to believe this unexpected good fortune, he grinned. Maybe this wouldn’t be his toughest match, after all. “You’re saying Andi had a hankering for Mitch?”
“I am,” Jane confirmed. “A major crush.”
“Really,” Tina said, thoughtfully this time. “And you think...”
“Yes, I think. Big-time.”
“I think, too.” But he wasn’t yet ready to share the rest of his thoughts on the matter. “And I do more than just let an idea sit in my head. I plan.”
“And you scheme,” Tina said.
“Yes,” Jane said, “and you force people into situations where they can’t avoid each other.”
“Darn straight, I do. Why wouldn’t I? If I didn’t, we’d all still be waiting for the two of you to get together with Cole and Pete.”
Jane laughed. “So now you’re determined to have a try at Andi and Mitch?”
“Darn straight,” he repeated.
“Well, you won’t get any argument from me, Grandpa. I go along with that.”
They both turned to look at Tina.
Quiet, levelheaded, by-the-books accountant Tina looked back at them, meeting their gazes with a frown. “You really think we ought to be pushing Andi into something like this?”
“Not pushing,” he said. “Assisting. If there’s still interest there, why shouldn’t we add a spark to it?”
“Like Grandpa did with you,” Jane said softly.
His granddaughters exchanged a glance.
Finally, Tina smiled. “Well, I can’t argue with that. All right. You can count me in, too.”
“That’s my girls,” he said.
* * *
MITCH AND ANDI left the hotel through the lobby and went down the porch steps, and still, as she walked along beside him, Andi said nothing.
Apprehension showed in the tiny lines around her eyes. Why wouldn’t she feel uneasy? She knew as well as he did they had unfinished business to discuss.
He remembered another day they had spent together when she hadn’t said a word. When they strolled down to the creek hand in hand, accompanied only by the sounds of crickets chirping. When his heart had thumped so hard he worried she could hear that, too.
Now his heart revved only in anger. Jaw clamped tight, he strode toward the parking area behind the hotel as quickly and steadily as his leg would allow.
“Been a long time,” he said as mildly as he could. A half-dozen years had passed since he’d last seen Andi. “I hear a lot has happened in your life.”
She nodded. “I’m a mom now, with two children, a boy and a girl.”
Her voice sounded strained, yet he couldn’t mistake the pride in it. He didn’t want to acknowledge even to himself how her statement made his anger rise.
When they were teens, he hadn’t thought too far into the future. He had simply known he would be settled down in Cowboy
Creek and wearing a gold sheriff’s badge. He had also somehow known he would one day be the father of her kids.
Wrong, yet again.
He noticed she hadn’t mentioned her husband. In letters, his mom filled him in on all the happenings in Cowboy Creek. No one knew about his relationship with Andi, but as he had worked with Jed, Nancy put special emphasis on everything concerning Garland Ranch. She had told him about Andi’s becoming a widow, losing her husband when he was killed in a car accident while traveling for his job.
“I was sorry to hear what happened,” he said.
“Thanks.”
She crossed her arms as if the sun had gone behind a cloud and left her chilled. Or as if she needed a comforting hug. He swallowed hard, feeling a small part of his anger slip away. Somehow, he managed to keep from wrapping his arms around her.
He could see the effect the loss had on her. While she was still as beautiful as ever, her face now looked stretched taut. Grief left her with nothing to soften her cheekbones or to fill the hollows beneath them.
Her eyes held a deep sadness. Tiny lines creased the skin in the outside corners. Those lines made him want to touch her. To stroke away her tension.
Instead, he reached into the truck for the box Nancy had sent along with him for the Hitching Post. The action gave him something else to do with his hands. It gave him time to pull himself together. Maybe, if he tried hard enough, that beat of time would let him swallow his remaining anger. For now.
He balanced the box on the truck’s hood and turned back to her. “I’m glad Jed sent you out here. It keeps me from having to track you down.”
He could see her nerves take hold in the way she brushed her hair away from her temple. The movement distracted him, again making him want to reach out to her. Unfortunately, the urge wasn’t strong enough to derail his thoughts for long.
He had all the sympathy in the world for her...but that still couldn’t give him answers. “What happened that summer, Andi? You were here one day and gone the next, and that was it. No note, no letter, nothing.”
The Lawman's Christmas Proposal Page 2
