License to Love: Holiday Box Set (Contemporary Romance)

by Kristen James

  “Friends, Missy.” And anything else you want from me. He hoped she sensed that thought because speaking it wouldn’t be right.

  He couldn’t fight for a woman who asked him for his friendship. She clearly needed that, someone to depend on. He could be a good friend, it had always been the more that caused problems.

  * * * *

  After she looked out her window the next morning and saw Brent working with the horses, Missy stayed indoors for the day. Somehow she had to keep busy and not think about their kisses.

  The cabin had no TV, so she tried to finish the cleaning. It’d been a mess when she moved in and she had slowly been moving things around and settling in. She’d added some touches of her own here and there, and autumn decorations, though she’d been hesitant to replace Ben’s things with her own.

  Coming here turned her life around. She’d spent three years thinking about the firm, her accounts, building her reputation. She’d fought and won battles. Now she questioned what she’d been fighting for. Whatever she sought before, wasn’t there.

  But what would happen if this didn’t work out? She felt like she was gambling every time she flirted with Brent. They could be business partners if they wanted, but she wasn’t sure they could be lovers and make it work. If that kind of relationship didn’t work, how would she stay here? She was loving it more and more with each passing day; she hated to think about leaving.

  She stood by the window that faced down the road, toward Brent’s house even though she couldn’t see it from here.

  After glancing around the cabin, she went outside for a walk. It was eleven, and she saw Dale and Ivan working on the fence Brent was adding to section off the pasture.

  She needed to talk to them more, without Brent around, and get to know them. What better way to befriend two men than with food? She headed inside to fix something. Twenty minutes later, she brought them hot drinks and sandwiches and hung around to hear their rodeo stories.

  Halfway through Dale’s recounting of the time he broke four ribs, she heard Brent’s giant truck hauling down the gravel road. She knew she wouldn’t get out of there in time without being rude, and that would undo her efforts with the men.

  He pulled the truck up by his house and headed their way. Why should she avoid him? She’d never felt so safe with anyone else.

  She watched him walk, watched his long jean-clad legs. He was dependable about those jeans. Every day she got to drool over him in them.

  Teasing aside, he was patient. He gave great massages. Cooked her a wonderful dinner. And every time, he walked her home without making a move. Until that kiss.

  She met his gaze, wondering if he could tell what she was thinking about.

  “So this is what I miss when I head into town for a day?”

  “You should take off more often.” Ivan grinned over his sandwich.

  Brent gave her a look.

  “I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. You weren’t here handing out chores.” She tried for the light tone that their teasing had carried before, but when her gaze met his, she could tell he wouldn’t see her as an annoying city girl ever again.

  Dale and Ivan both seemed to miss his lack of response and jumped knee-deep into conversation about getting the fence finished before the rain came back.

  “Thanks for lunch, Missy,” Dale said as the two men headed back to work.

  “Seems they like you.”

  “I try.” She picked up the tray and mugs.

  “Listen, you don’t need me telling you what to do. If you want to join them, go ahead. Or go for a ride. Feed the horses. You haven’t gone into town that much, and it’s beautiful this time of year with the festive decorations coming out.”

  “Are you tired of bossing me around?” She gave him a grin, but he saw through it.

  “You don’t need bossing around.” He tipped his hat and turned to leave.

  Just like that? She watched him go, sinking inside. Why wasn’t she happy that he listened to her? First time she’d ever gotten a man to do what she wanted, and it didn’t want to make her dance around. Darn him!

  She took the dishes back to the house before she headed down to the stables. If she’d learned anything, it was how to muck out a stall, so she took on the dirty job with a vengeance.

  Did he think she wanted space? Yeah, she’d asked to be friends, but that meant she still wanted to spend time around him.

  She needed him.

  Where did that come from? She didn’t need anyone.

  * * * *

  Look at that. Her hair flying and dancing with the horse’s gait, Missy rode Speckle with an ease that usually came with years of riding. The smile, too, went with a deep love of horses and joy of riding.

  Maybe she hadn’t grown up in the lifestyle, but it suited her. And he’d never seen anyone look as good as she did on a horse. Relaxed, in rhythm and graceful.

  She’d been all over the property lately, and he hoped it was to look for him. He stepped away from the corner of the stables and raised a hand. She turned Speckle and trotted up, a cautious smile on her face.

  “Brent.” She wore that burgundy sweater that made him want to touch her. While its color put a rose tone to her skin, it clung to her in all the right places.

  “Howdy, stranger.” Brent almost grinned when he thought of what his friends would say about him using reverse psychology.

  Missy didn’t want him to push her or ask about her past, so he wouldn’t. His quiet, steady way would win her over. Not that his emotions about her felt quiet in any way. Working with her day after day made them louder and louder, harder to control.

  “Taking her in?” he asked, shoving his hands into his coat pockets to keep them warm.

  “Yeah. What are you up to?” She swung down and led Speckle into the stable yard.

  “Just hanging around,” he said, keeping it vague, and managed to keep the grin off his face as he walked in with her. She didn’t need to know how glad he was to see her again.

  She looked amazing as she fed and brushed the horse. So natural and caring. When she led Speckle back into her stall, the rain suddenly came down hard enough to make a thundering sound through the stable roof.

  “I was thinking about my brother,” she said as she moved on to pet a different horse. He busied himself by bringing hay over.

  “I’ve done some of that lately too.” He kept his tone light, but those weren’t words with a light meaning.

  “Do you miss him?” she asked, then answered herself. “Of course you do. I’m sorry if it’s hard having me here, instead of him.”

  He stopped to look at her. “Listen, the circumstances aren’t great, but I’m glad you’re here.”

  “You are?” She turned this time, and her eyes had that same lost look he’d seen the first time they spoke. “I wish I'd gotten my priorities straight and come for a visit sooner. He invited me. I guess you don’t know that since he didn’t even tell you about me.” She turned back to her work.

  “Missy, he didn’t tell me about the rest of his life. That’s how men are. He didn’t know much about me before we became friends. Even when Kathryn left, he didn’t ask me to explain.”

  “Kathryn?”

  Shoot, he’d just blown the mood, and now he had to explain. “She’s the reason I have that house. She was a part of this when it started, but she took off after two months. I guess that’s why I thought you’d see life on a ranch and head back to the city.”

  “One woman, all women, huh? I’ve made the same mistake about men.” She flicked a look over at him, and he decided to take that as an apology for her turning him out the other day. He’d heard enough to know her old boss had taken advantage of her.

  “So are you heading anywhere for Thanksgiving?”

  She looked surprised at the change in subject, but didn’t call him on it.

  “I don’t do much for any holiday. Maybe watch football.”

  Was he supposed to laugh at that? He’d never heard of a
woman who didn’t celebrate the holidays. Without any reason to, he had been picturing the holidays with all of them there. Maybe he’d been daydreaming about Christmas magic too much. “I wasn’t sure if you have family in the area.”

  “I don’t have family anywhere, not anymore.” She moved on to a new horse and began to brush, as if this wasn’t a heavy conversation. But it wasn’t the weather and it did matter.

  “I guess I forgot to tell you.” He started talking while he thought it through. “If you’re here on the ranch, you have to celebrate with us.”

  “That’s a ranch rule?”

  “Yup. Dale and Ivan and me, we all thought maybe we could get the little woman to cook for us.”

  She whipped around and threw hay at him. “So that’s what this is about?”

  “Well, we’ll all pitch in. Isn’t that the true spirit of Thanksgiving? We can cook at my house. Watch the game. Drink some beer. It’ll be fun.”

  A smile brightened her face, warming her eyes as well. It was the first real smile he’d seen on her since before they’d kissed, and that was something he shouldn’t be thinking about. If he wanted her to feel comfortable about joining them, he needed to be a friend.

  “Well . . .” she said, biting her lip. Keeping his gaze off her mouth, he decided he could be a gentleman for a day. Not think about her lips, or brown eyes, or that petite body.

  “Make that a yes, and I’ll buy the turkey and everything to go with it.”

  She smiled. He had her. Or so he thought. Maybe she had him.

  Chapter Six

  At the rumble outside at eight in the morning, Missy went to the window and found Brent turning off his truck and stepping out. Why did the man have to be so breathtaking? So cool and hot at the same time?

  She opened the door to crispy, cold air and a tall handsome man. “That’s an awful big alarm clock.”

  “Weren’t you up?”

  “Yeah, I was.” Barely. She’d just finished breakfast. “What’s up?”

  There had to be a reason he had his truck here. He nudged his hat back and walked up the steps. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll haul off some of this junk.”

  “Oh.” They both knew the junk meant Ben’s things, but she could see in his face that he needed to keep it light if he was going to do this. “That’d be fine. I put everything I don't need in his bedroom.”

  “Mind if I look through it?”

  She wanted to wrap her arms around him as she sensed his pain. “Of course. You don’t have to ask me that.”

  They’d talked about what to do with Ben’s things in passing, but she hadn’t rushed him on it. He checked what there was and they both carried things out to the truck. She came back from one trip and found Brent sitting on the floor to look through a box of pictures. Leaving quietly, she waited in the living room. She suspected he was keeping some things and taking others to donate or throw away. It had to be hard to sort through his friend’s things. She had looked at some of his pictures and different things, trying to get to know Ben better. They could have been good friends, but there had been some hard emotions to work through concerning her father. She would probably have that to work through for a long time, but she didn’t hold anything against Ben. She only wished they had more time.

  Twenty minutes passed before he carried the box out. She didn’t plan to say anything about it, but he stopped beside her.

  “You might want to keep that one.” He handed her a picture.

  It showed her standing beside Ben, both with uncertain smiles on their faces.

  “Thanks . . . this is when we met. We didn’t know what to think of each other.”

  Her emotions seemed in check till she heard her shaky breathing. His arms came around her in that instant and she didn’t debate this time before falling into his arms.

  His breath came out shaky, too. He needed her comfort. She cried for a brother she hardly knew while he mourned a friend. Thank heaven he never pointed that out, not since the first day.

  Those thoughts dropped from her mind when she smelled his freshness from a shower, the soapy smell of his skin. His well-toned body felt strong against her. Minutes slipped by and she didn’t care, not with her eyes closed and their hearts beating against each other.

  “Well, I should get going. I’ll be back, though.”

  * * * *

  Three hours later, Brent backed his truck up to Missy’s steps to unload the bed he’d bought. Missy still hadn’t gone into Ben’s room, so he wanted to get her a new bed. Maybe that would help. Finding it hadn’t taken three hours, but he’d needed some time to think about what he’d found in Ben’s things.

  He turned off the truck’s engine and looked down at the papers in the seat beside him.

  A will. His messy, unorganized friend had started a will. Since it was hand written, and not notarized, it might not stand up legally, but it had been Ben’s wishes just the same. Now what would he do with it?

  If Missy read it, she might leave.

  The front door of the house creaked and he stuffed the papers in his glove compartment. Hitching an arm out the window, he watched her walk down the steps. “I brought you something.”

  She looked in the back of the truck for a minute, thinking he guessed, before turning to him.

  “You didn’t have to do this.” She pulled on her red coat. He stepped out and met her at the back of the truck.

  “I wanted to.” The wind caught her hair and whipped it in her face. He watched the silky strands feather on the breeze, then pushed aside his fascination with her hair to answer, “It’s overdue. I shouldn’t have left you with all of Ben’s things.”

  He knew Ben had been her brother, but since she hadn’t known him all that well, this was his responsibility.

  “I’ll pay you back.”

  “No need.” He gave a sad smile while looking into her eyes. After a quiet minute, he lowered the tailgate and they carried the mattress inside together.

  They worked well together, whether caring for the horses or moving furniture.

  Just imagine what they could do... together... in the bedroom.

  He stood back, looking at the bed, all ready with the mattresses on it. They were alone in her bedroom, and his mind wouldn’t behave.

  “Brent?” Missy asked, her voice soft and shy. Biting his tongue, he hoped she hadn’t caught the look in his face as he imagined them naked together on the new mattress.

  Turning, she looked unsure of herself with a little smile tugging at her lips. He lost the power to think as he looked at her, those lips and big brown eyes full of questions.

  “I haven’t been horseback riding on the beach yet,” she said.

  “No?” he asked, wanting to stare at her all day, but he noticed her smile fade. Oh, yeah, time to answer the question. “Sure, we can go. Is now okay?”

  She flashed him a relieved smile. “We could pack a lunch,” she suggested.

  Hiding his own smile, he said, “I’ll fix it.”

  When he teased her, her unease seemed to melt and she nudged his arm. They left her bedroom, grabbed their coats, and headed for his house.

  This being friendly worked out pretty well, except for when his imagination put together different scenarios of how he could get her clothes off.

  She wandered around while he fixed sandwiches. When he didn’t hear her, he stepped to the hallway and saw her looking at the fireplace - his favorite place in the house.

  He liked to sit there with a beer, watch the flames, or read a magazine. Though, with Missy with him, he’d have different things to do.

  Almost laughing at himself, he turned to finish making their lunch. They needed to hurry so they could have some daylight to enjoy the beach.

  “Ready?” he called as he retrieved their coats from the closest. He grabbed a ski cap he kept on the closet shelf and pulled it on her head when she came over.

  “You might want that. The wind can give you an ache in your ears and jaw.”

 
“Thanks,” she said, fingering the wooly material. It came down to her brows, framing her face. She didn't seem to know how beautiful she looked. Or she didn’t until she saw the look on his face. He could tell she noticed when her cheeks turned pink.

  He gave her hair a gentle tug and opened the door. For one second, he wondered if she could possibly stay here for good, but he ignored the thought, choosing to enjoy the day. They headed to the pasture where the horses were grazing.

  “I can tell why we separate the stallion from the mares, but why do you keep the geldings apart?” she asked as they reached the fence.

  “They can still try to pull rank. The stallion will fight the geldings, too.” He paused to open the gate. Several horses came toward them, including Jeffrey and Speckle. “I like to play it safe since we take on boarder horses. The last thing our reputation needs is a wounded boarder.”

  They led their horses to the stables to saddle them. When her gaze met his, he felt an immediate physical reaction, right where she could see it if she looked down. She sure could turn him on, but he didn’t let her know. No, he wanted her to trust him.

  Since it’d reached late afternoon already, he picked up the pace along the trail. “How does it feel?” he asked.

  “Fine. Speckle shows me what to do.”

  That was what he wanted to hear. “We keep a slow pace when we take tourists out, but I don’t want to be too late today. Wouldn’t do for Speckle to stumble in the dark and pitch you on your head. Just joking!”

  Mist came in from the river. It added more moisture to the air, making it feel thick and heavy. A soft silence enveloped the forest except for the noise they made.

  As they neared the top of the hill, he slowed so they could see the ocean. Today the mist blocked most of their view.

  Brent glanced at Missy as they guided the horses down the beach trail. She sat comfortably in the saddle, although focused on the trail.

  “Nice work,” he told her. “You’ve got it.”