by Vivi Holt
“Nothing we can’t handle,” replied Chris with a grin.
As much as he hated to admit it, doing work around the ranch brought him a sense of satisfaction that he didn’t feel doing anything else.
He headed out through the mudroom with Todd. His coat fit him snugly, and he tugged a scarf around his neck as he walked, his boots crunching with each step in the thick snow.
“Looks like you had a pretty big dumping of snow recently,” he remarked.
Todd grunted. “A couple of feet, I’d say. Some of it has melted in the pastures, but it’s sticking around the house and forest line.”
“How’re the cattle coping?”
“They’re doin’ okay. Peter Taylor, the head cowhand, is spending the day with them today. We built some windbreaks and laid down some hay in a few locations for them to rest on. And we’re taking out bales of hay and filling the feed and water troughs regularly as well.”
“I’ll be happy to take my turn.”
“Thanks, Chris. I may take you up on that. I’d like Peter to get a break, so he can spend time with his family.”
“Absolutely. You just let me know. I’ll pitch in with whatever is needed.”
A barn rose dark and still in front of them. It sat on a rise overlooking an unending field below. Footsteps sounded in the snow behind them. Chris spun on his heel and found himself face-to-face with Kate. She smiled shyly.
“Is it okay if I come too?”
“Sure,” responded Todd.
Chris frowned. He’d been about to say something else entirely. He didn’t need her following him around. Her only job was to stay in the house and satisfy his mother that she was the girlfriend she’d always wanted for him. Not to mention the nerves that erupted in his gut when she was around. She only had to look his way and his pulse accelerated. It was the last thing he needed right now. How could he keep up the ruse between them with his head spinning?
He inhaled slowly. Why didn’t he want her to come along? Why did it affect him so much to have her close? It made no difference to him, really. Did it? The truth was she made him uncomfortable. Like she was shaking up something hidden deep down inside of him. Something he’d have to face and deal with if she stuck around, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for that.
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. Her lips were warm against his cold skin. He quirked an eyebrow.
“What was that for?” he whispered in as fierce a voice as he could manage.
“We’re dating. It’s not going to be very convincing if we don’t at least pretend to like each other. Right?”
He grunted and turned to follow Todd into the barn. She stalked along beside him, and he could almost feel the animosity coming off her in waves. He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, but it was important to make himself clear. He hadn’t held or kissed a woman in three long years, and even her lips against his cheek had sent a bolt of electricity through his body that had awakened feelings in him he needed to stay sleeping.
His lips pressed together as he helped Todd load bales of hay onto the bale spears on the front of a large, red tractor with chipped paint. Then, he opened the tractor door, ready to hike himself up into the cabin. He paused, cursed beneath his breath, and faced Kate with a scowl.
“Are you coming or not?”
She shrugged. “I won’t if you don’t want me to.”
He sighed. “It’s fine with me either way.”
He held out a hand, and she took it with her own gloved one. Then he pulled her up onto the step and leaned back so she could squeeze past him into the cabin. She smelled of lavender, and his pulse quickened as she brushed by him.
Todd started the engine, and they soon chugged out of the barn and down the hill toward the nearest pasture. The tractor rocked from side to side as it maneuvered over grass tussocks and rocks, leaving long tire marks imprinted in the soft snow.
Chris glanced at Kate seated beside him. Her right hand clenched tight to the side of the tractor. The glass window beside her had already begun to fog from the heat of their breath. A strand of blonde hair hung across her cheek, and he resisted the urge to push it behind her ear.
She was very beautiful. In a completely different way to how Mia had been. Where Mia had been dark, with shining hair, deep brown eyes, full lips, and a curvaceous figure, Kate was tall and willowy, with pale blonde hair, light brown eyes, and a peaches-and-cream complexion with a smattering of pale freckles over her nose and across her cheeks.
He only noticed the freckles now because she was seated so close to him her shoulder was pressed up against his. He crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to ignore the pounding of his heart. It was nothing. A normal reaction to being so close to a beautiful woman after so long on his own. Or was it? He was around women all the time at work. Ran meetings full of them. Plenty of those women were beautiful, intelligent, available…so what was it about this particular one that made him sweat?
They distributed bales of hay to every pasture. Longhorns wandered their way, tossing their heads and lowing to each other. Some even clashed horns over who would get to eat the fresh hay first. Chris watched it all with a smile and a warm heart.
He was surprised to see Kate jumping in to help. She didn’t seem to mind the mud and muck that was flung onto her jeans when she filled the water troughs or the heavy lifting. But when she grabbed a pitchfork to stand alongside him and clean manure from the hay beds, he was more impressed than he cared to admit.
Finished and puffing slightly, she set her pitchfork, tines down, on the ground and leaned against it.
“You’ve done this before,” he said.
She shook her head. “Nope. I love animals though. I grew up in Atlanta, so our only pet was a dog. But I’ve always wanted to spend more time with horses. It wasn’t something I had the opportunity to do though. Until now, that is.”
“I was raised in the saddle,” he said, rubbing his hand across the stubble he hadn’t shaved away that morning.
“This would’ve been an amazing place to spend your childhood. You’re incredibly blessed.”
He smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. How often had he taken that for granted? Taken his family for granted? He’d always assumed they’d still be here, after he went off and conquered the world, but losing Mia had put all of that into perspective. Still, he’d been mired in such a fog of grief he hadn’t been able to think about home or family.
“It’s true, I’m very blessed.”
“So, can I ask you a personal question?” she asked.
He arched an eyebrow. Where was this going? He hadn’t really intended on sharing anything personal with Kate. Their relationship was a transaction, nothing more.
“Sure,” he said slowly.
“You have this amazing family, and you’ve obviously had a wonderful childhood. You’re a successful businessman with a thriving company. Why would you hire someone to pretend to be your girlfriend for the holidays? I mean, I get that you don’t want to be set up … but still …”
A lump formed in his throat, and he struggled a moment to speak around it. “Uh…I lost my wife.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. She died three years ago. I haven’t really dated since.”
He glanced at her, dreading the look of pity in her eyes. The look everyone gave him when they heard about Mia. But it wasn’t there. Instead, he saw compassion, and it tugged at his heart.
“That must’ve been a hard time for you.”
“It still is.”
He drew a deep breath and strode toward the tractor, leaving her behind to stare after him. He could feel her gaze boring into his retreating back. Still, there was no point talking about it, not with Kate or anyone else. It’d happened. There wasn’t anything that could be done about it, and he’d never feel whole again. If she was trying to form a connection with him, he’d save her the trouble. He wasn’t capable of connecting with anyone, and she’d be
better off knowing that sooner rather than later.
Chapter 7
Kate stared at her reflection in the mirror. She took a cotton ball and wiped the last traces of makeup from her face. It’d been a long day, and she was glad to be headed to bed. The warm covers and comfortable mattress beckoned, and after a restless night the previous evening, she was looking forward to sinking into a deep sleep.
Dinner sat heavy in her stomach. The chicken and dumplings had been the most delicious and hearty thing she’d eaten in a long time. She’d always wanted to learn how to cook, but her own mother hadn’t been much for domesticity. Perhaps she’d ask Diana for the recipe.
Chris had been quiet ever since their discussion in the field with her leaning on a pitchfork. The moment between them was poignant. She finally felt like he was lowering his walls long enough to let her in, even just a little bit. But as soon as he’d shared about his wife, he’d walked away, and the walls had rebounded back into place and stayed there the entire evening.
She’d tried to draw him out a few times with conversation starters that’d worked on every single person she’d ever used them on. But they hadn’t worked with him. He’d stayed firmly, and politely, out of reach. And she was exhausted by the effort.
If his family had doubts about her relationship with Chris, she wouldn’t blame them. Though she’d tried to sit close and be affectionate with him, he’d made no effort to respond to her overtures. Diana had asked a lot of questions, but she’d done her best to be evasive in her answers and stick to the truth wherever possible. Still, a mom like Diana had to know that something was up. Or maybe she just wanted everything to be perfect and so believed that it was.
Kate sighed, tossing the cotton ball into the trash can and then padding across the plush floor rug toward the bed, the robe she’d borrowed from the closet in her room swishing about her pajama-clad legs. Even if Chris never wanted to speak to her again, it’d all been worth it just to get a chance to stay in the ranch house and meet his family.
Her heart yearned to have people who loved and cared about her the way his family did for him. So much so that it physically ached. She had to find an opportunity to get away from the ranch and back to Billings so she could call on her birth mother. Perhaps Diana would let her borrow one of the ranch’s trucks for the trip, though she wasn’t entirely confident in her ability to manage the icy roads.
With one hand, she tugged back the covers. Then she kicked off her slippers and let her toes dig down into the rug beneath her. She yawned widely just as there was a loud rap on the bedroom door.
Her eyes widened. Had she forgotten something downstairs?
She hurried to answer the door and found Chris staring at her beneath lowered brows. His eyes flashed.
“Hi,” she said, her voice soft. She pulled her robe tighter to cover her thin pajama top. She hadn’t been expecting company.
He strode past her into the room then shut the door behind him and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Her lips parted slightly, and her mind raced. What was he talking about? There were so many things he could be referring to, but if she just started yammering on about all the things she’d kept from him, she could get herself into more trouble than was strictly necessary.
“Is your name Gail Galloway?”
She shook her head, eyes wide. “No. Who’s that?”
His eyes narrowed. “She’s the woman the agency sent to my house as my date. The woman that found the house empty, because we’d already left.”
Her heart fell. “How did you…?”
“Emily from Email-Order Dates sent me a message, which I’ve only just seen. Apparently, my PA thought it was junk mail at first and deleted it. It wasn’t until Emily sent another message that I realized what’d happened.”
“Ah.”
“‘Ah’? That’s all you have to say for yourself? How about this—who are you? Why did you get in a car with me and then fly to Montana? Why were you at my house in the first place? I have innumerable questions, so I suggest you start talking. Fast.”
“My name is really Kate Grant. I didn’t lie about that.” Her heart thundered in her chest, and a cold sweat broke out across her brow. The robe suddenly felt stiflingly hot.
He let out a huff of air. “Well, that’s a start.”
“I’m an artist, just like I told you. Only, I wasn’t at your house to be your date. I was there to deliver a Christmas-Gram. Your friend Steve sent me. I was supposed to sing ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas.’”
His brow furrowed, and his blue eyes narrowed and darkened. “What?”
“Remember the elf costume I was wearing? That was all part of the act.”
He inhaled deeply. “So, why did you come to Montana with me then, if all you were supposed to do was sing for me?”
“First of all, you shouted at me. And whenever anyone shouts at me, all logical thought just dissolves from my head. Then, you said something about ten thousand dollars and Montana…and, well, I figured—I could really use that money, and I’ve got nowhere else to be. So…”
He eyed her with a frown. “You really have nowhere else to go for the holidays?”
“I was going to fly to Chicago to stay with my roommate and her family for Christmas, right after I delivered your Christmas-Gram. But honestly, I was happy not to go—I would’ve just been in the way there. People like to celebrate with family, and I’m not family. They are really lovely, so I know they would’ve welcomed me, but I hate being a third wheel.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t have been.” His face softened, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and rubbed them with his fingertips. “What about your own family?”
Her lips pursed before she answered. “I don’t have any. My parents died years ago, and I never had siblings. I was adopted, so it’s really just me.”
He tipped his head to one side with a frown. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s all old news. I’m used to being on my own. It’s harder at the holidays, but I usually find a way to get through. I mean, look at this—I had no idea I’d be spending Christmas with you and your wonderful family on a ranch in Montana. And yet, here I am.”
He offered her a tight smile. “So, what are we going to do with you then?”
She shrugged. “I could fly back to Atlanta, I suppose. Or…”
“Or what?”
“Or I could stay here and keep pretending to be your girlfriend. I mean, your family doesn’t know. Do they?”
He shook his head slowly from side to side. “No.”
“Okay then, I’ll just keep up the act. I mean, I’m already here, and you can hardly send me packing and bring what’s-her-name here and say, ‘Sorry, I was mistaken. This is actually my girlfriend.’”
“Gail Galloway.”
“Right.”
“No, I can’t do that,” he admitted.
“And as long as the money is still on the table…”
He sighed. “I suppose so. Although I still owe the agency.”
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll take whatever is left over after you pay Email-Order Dates.”
“No.” He chewed the inside of one cheek as he watched her. “I’ll pay you the full ten grand. Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“No more lies.”
Thoughts of her birth mother flitted through her mind. Should she say something? It wasn’t exactly a lie; she just hadn’t told him everything about why she’d chosen to come with him to Montana. Whenever she was nervous about something, she had to keep it to herself until it was over or she couldn’t cope.
She grinned nervously. “Deal.”
Kate climbed into bed, all the wind knocked from her lungs. She’d known it would happen. Had even predicted it would come sooner than it did. He had to find out that she wasn’t who she’d led him to believe she was. It was only a matter of time. Still, the confrontation had left her def
lated.
It meant more to her now—what he thought of her. How he saw her. And it mattered that he knew she had lied, had misled him. For some reason, she cared about his perception of her, and she knew she’d blown it. He wouldn’t trust her now, would never see her as a friend or anything remotely similar. And what if he changed his mind about letting her stay at the ranch and told his family about what she’d done? They’d all look at her differently as well. They certainly wouldn’t continue to welcome her into their home with open arms the way they had.
She wanted to cry.
Her throat ached, and her eyes smarted. Still, she held it in. She wasn’t one to cry over something as simple as the opinions of a few people she’d just met, however much she wanted their approval.
All she could do now was focus on her original plan. It was time to find a way to town, to pay a visit to Tamera Simpson. That was what mattered most. If the Everett family discovered her hoax, they’d want nothing more to do with her. They weren’t her family, weren’t blood. But Tamera was—perhaps she’d accept Kate. Maybe even grow to love her with time.
She reached for her cell phone on the nightstand and dialed Shanice’s number.
“Well, aren’t you the night owl?” answered Shanice with a yawn.
“I can stay up late.”
“Yeah, right. I’ve never seen you awake past nine if there wasn’t a significant amount of caffeine involved.”
Kate pulled a face, though Shanice couldn’t see it. “For your information, I’m sitting in bed right at this very moment, about to drift off into blissful slumber. But I thought I’d call you first to see how you’re doing and let you know that I haven’t been killed, or kidnapped, or anything else like that.”
Shanice huffed out a breath of air. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. I’m doing well. The family are driving me crazy, but what’s new about that. I won’t bore you with the details. What I want to know is what’s going on over there in Montana? Tell me all about this gorgeous hunk who swept you off your feet and all the way across the country without you thinking twice about it. Because the Kate Grant I know would never do something as crazy as that.”
