A Cadence Creek Christmas (Cadence Creek Cowboys) (7 page)

“Well, it’s true.”

Taylor went to pull away but her mom held tight to her hand. “Mind if I give you a little extra food for thought?”

Surprised, Taylor paused. “Sure.”

Susan looked into Taylor’s eyes and smiled. “None of it would have meant a thing without your dad and you kids. I know sometimes it looked like I played the dutiful wife...”

“You worked hard.”

“Yes, I did, and I enjoyed it. Still, I would have missed out on so much if I hadn’t had you kids. I could have gone on and done anything I wanted, you know? And I don’t regret my decision for a second. Work is work, but family is forever.”

“Didn’t it ever bother you that Dad, well, took you for granted?”

Susan laughed. “Is that what you think? Oh, heavens. He wanted you kids, too. Honey, you get so wound up and defensive about this division of labor expectation, but it goes both ways. We did what worked for us. Being home with you three was my choice to make.”

“Is this leading to a speech about settling down?”

Susan smiled and patted her hand. “I know better than that.”

Taylor let out a breath. “Phew.” But after a moment she looked at her mother again. “Mom, maybe I will settle down. When I find the right guy.”

“That’s a good answer,” her mother replied. “Now, let’s get going. I want to spend a little more time with my new granddaughter tonight.”

Taylor got her coat from the coat check, snagged her purse and checked in with the staff one last time. Her mother was making sure they had all of Nell’s stuff—including her car seat—while her dad went to warm up the car. She was just pulling on her gloves when Rhys came up behind her.

“You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?”

She held on to her purse strap. “It’s been a long day and I’m catching a ride with my folks.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

She frowned. “What do you care? You’ve amused yourself with me a bit for the last few days but the wedding’s over, we’re not paired up anymore and we can both go about our business.”

Rhys stared at her quizzically. “Really?”

“Is there some reason why we shouldn’t?”

He looked like he wanted to say something, but held back. She wondered why. And then got a bit annoyed that she kept wondering about Rhys’s state of mind at all. She blew air out her nose in an exasperated huff. “What do you care anyway? You seemed to enjoy having Amy Wilson plastered all over you.”

“Jealous?”

She snorted. “Hardly.”

He stepped forward until there was barely an inch between them. “Amy Wilson is the last woman on earth I want to be with!”

Silence rang around them, and then, almost as one, they realized someone had heard the entire outburst. Amy stood not ten feet away, her creamy skin stained crimson in embarrassment as humiliated tears shone in her eyes.

“Amy...” Taylor tried, taking a hesitant step toward the woman.

But Amy lifted a hand to halt Taylor’s progress, and without saying a word she spun on her heel and disappeared into the women’s powder room.

Rhys sighed heavily, let out a breathy expletive.

“Good night, Rhys.”

“Taylor, I’m...”

But she didn’t listen to the end. She turned and walked, quickly, toward the exit. She could see the headlights of her dad’s rental car as it waited by the front door, saw him helping her mom in the passenger side. She went outside and was met by a frigid wall of arctic air. As she climbed into the backseat, she made a promise to herself.

Tomorrow she was going to stock up on groceries, wine and DVDs. Then she was going to go to Callum’s house and as God as her witness, she wasn’t going to venture out into the icy cold for the entire week. She was going to be a hermit. No work. No worrying about freezing her tail off.

And especially no men!

CHAPTER SEVEN

T
AYLOR
ROLLED
OVER
and squinted at the sunshine coming through the bedroom window. Why hadn’t she thought to close the blinds last night? Her first full day of vacation and she’d looked forward to sleeping in. She checked her watch. It was only eight-fifteen!

She burrowed into the warm blankets and closed her eyes. Maybe if she breathed deeply and relaxed, she could fall back asleep. But after just a few minutes she knew she might as well get up. She was awake for good now. Besides, just because she was up didn’t mean she had to actually “do” anything. She could lounge around in her fuzzy pajamas, drink coffee, read one of the paperbacks she’d brought along.

Come to think of it, that sounded pretty darn good. Especially the coffee part. It was going to be awesome having some peace and quiet. No ringing phones, no buzzing email, no wedding plans and especially no Rhys Bullock to get in her way now that the wedding was over.

She was terribly afraid she was going to be bored to tears within forty-eight hours.

She rolled out of bed and shoved her feet into her favorite sheepskin slippers. On the way to the kitchen she pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail, anchoring it with a hair elastic that had been left on her wrist. While the coffee was brewing she turned up the thermostat and chafed her arms. Even the soft fleece of her winter PJs was no protection against the December cold.

She poured her first cup of coffee and, in keeping with the celebratory nature of the week, substituted her usual cream with the festive eggnog she found in the refrigerator.

She was halfway through the cup when she chanced a look out the front window. The mug paused inches away from her lips as she stared at a familiar brown truck. What on earth was Rhys doing here?

As she stared, the man in question came out of the barn. Even with the hat pulled low over his head, she’d recognize that long-legged stride in a heartbeat.

Irritation marred her idyllic morning and before she could think twice she flung open the door and stepped to the threshold. “What on earth are you doing here?”

His head snapped up and even though he was too far away for her to see his eyes, she felt the connection straight to her toes. Stupid girl. She should have stayed inside. Pretended she wasn’t home. Not risen to the bait, except Rhys seemed to get on her last nerve without trying. She swallowed thickly, feeling quite foolish but standing her ground as a matter of pride. He hadn’t actually baited her at all. He hadn’t done
anything
.

Except show up.

“Well?” she persisted.

“I’m doing the chores.” His tone said,
What does it look like I’m doing?

She frowned. Callum had said at the reception that someone had looked after the chores and would continue to do so during his absence. He couldn’t have meant Rhys. Rhys had been occupied with the wedding all day on Saturday. She would have noticed if he’d slipped away.

“Why?”

He came closer, walking across the yard as if he owned the damned place. “Well, I would suppose that would be because Callum hired me to.”

“He did not. He hired someone else.”

Rhys was only twenty feet away now. “He told you that?”

The wrinkle between her eyebrows deepened. Was that exactly what Callum had said? “He said he hired someone to do the chores during the wedding and during his absence, too.”

Rhys stopped at the bottom of the steps to the veranda. “He hired Keith O’Brien on the day of the wedding, because I was in the wedding party.”

Oh, hell.

“Why didn’t he just hire him for the whole time, then?” She gave a huff that went up in a cloud of frosty air.

“Because Keith left yesterday to go to Fort McMurray to spend the holidays with his family.”

“So you’re...”

He shifted his weight to one hip, a move that made him look unbearably cocky. “Here for the week,” he finished for her, his whole stance screaming
deal with it
.

And then he smiled, that slow grin climbing up his cheek that was at once maddening and somehow, at the same time, made her whole body go warm. His gaze slid over her pajamas. “Penguins? Seriously?” he asked.

Her mouth dropped open as she realized she was standing in the doorway still in her nightwear. Jolly skiing penguins danced down the light blue pant legs. The navy fleece top was plain except for one more penguin on the left breast.

She stepped back inside and slammed the door.

It was eerily quiet for the space of five seconds, and then her heart beat with the sound of his boots, heavy on the steps, then two more as he crossed the narrow porch.

He was just on the other side of the door. Less than two feet away. He didn’t even have the manners to knock. It was like he knew she was standing there waiting for him because he said, in a low voice, “Aren’t you going to ask me in for coffee?”

“Humph!” she huffed, taking a step backward and fuming, her hands on her hips. As if. Presumptuous jerk!

“Come on, Taylor. It’s cold out here. A man could use a hot cup of joe. I can smell it, for Pete’s sake.”

“I hear the coffee is good at the Wagon Wheel. Price is right, too.”

Was that a chuckle she heard or had she just imagined it?

Softer now, he answered, “But the company isn’t nearly as good.”

She shouldn’t be persuaded or softening toward him at all. He was used to getting his own way and she wouldn’t oblige.

Then he said the words she never thought he’d ever utter. “I’m sorry about the other night.”

Damn him.

She opened the door. “Come in then, before you let all the heat out. It’s like an igloo in here.”

He stepped inside, all six-feet-plus of him, even taller with his Stetson on. She wasn’t used to seeing him this way—he looked like the real deal with his boots and hat and heavy jacket.

“You smell like the barn.”

“My grandfather would say that’s the smell of money.”

“Money?”

He grinned. “Yeah. Anyway, sorry. Occupational hazard. Me smelling like the animals, that is. Though usually I smell like horses. They smell better than cows.”

She didn’t actually mind. While she wasn’t interested in getting her own boots dirty, she did remember days on her uncle’s farm. The smell was familiar and not too unpleasant.

“Just take off your boots if you’re coming in for coffee.”

While he toed off his boots she went into the kitchen to get a fresh cup. “What do you take in it?” she called out.

“Just cream, if you’ve got it,” he answered, stepping inside the sunny kitchen.

She handed him the cup and then took a plastic container from a cupboard. “Are you hungry? Avery left a mountain of food, way more than I can eat in a week. This one is chocolate banana bread.”

“I couldn’t turn that down.”

She cut several slices and put them on a plate. “Come on and sit down then.”

Before Rhys sat down, he removed his hat and put it carefully on a nearby stool. She stared at him as he sat, pulled his chair in and reached for his coffee cup.

“What?” he asked, pausing with the cup halfway to his lips.

She shrugged. “You can be very annoying. But you have very good manners.”

He laughed. “Blame my mom, I guess. So, enjoying your vacation?”

“Well, I’ve only officially been on holiday for a few hours. Yesterday I slept in, then spent last night hanging with my family. My mom and dad booked a place in Radium for the week and are coming back on the twenty-third for Christmas with Callum and the family. And Jack flew back to Montana this morning for a meeting of some sort. Lord only knows what deal he’s cooking up this time. Anyway, I’ll probably enjoy my vacation for a few days. And then I’ll start going stir-crazy.”

Rhys reached for a slice of cake. “You strike me as one of those ambitious, type A personality people.”

“You mean I’m driven? Yeah, I guess.” She sighed. “I might as well ’fess up. I like being my own boss. Sometimes it’s stressful because it’s all on me, you know? But I don’t like being told what to do.”

He began coughing, crumbs catching in his throat. When he looked up at her again his eyes had watered and he was laughing. “Sorry. Stating the obvious shouldn’t have been that funny.”

“Hey, I know how you feel about it. You think I’m crazy. Most guys are intimidated by it.”

“Most guys have a hard time with a woman who is smarter than they are.”

She nibbled on her cake. “Careful, Rhys. That almost sounded like a compliment.”

He laughed.

“So why aren’t you?”

“What?” He tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Why aren’t you intimidated?”

He smiled again and the dark depths of his eyes warmed. “Oh. That’s easy. I said that most guys have a problem with women who are smarter than they are...”

“And you’re not most guys?”

“I never said you were smarter than me.”

Without thinking, she kicked him under the table. Her toe hurt but he barely even flinched. “You are an infernal tease!”

“And you love it. Because you like a challenge.”

How did he possibly know her so well? It was vastly unsettling.

She picked at her cake another moment or two before putting it down and facing him squarely. “What do you get out of this, Rhys? You and me. We’re doing this dance and I’m not sure I see the point of it.”

“You mean because we’re so different and all?”

She lifted one shoulder. “That’s only part of it. We both know that on Boxing Day I’m headed back to my life, so why bother?”

Taylor lifted her gaze to meet his. Something curled through her insides, hot and exciting. This simmering attraction they had going on made no sense. They were as different as water and air. But it was there just the same. This chemistry. Rhys Bullock was exciting. A small-town farmworker who hadn’t the least bit of initiative and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

And yet, maybe the attraction stemmed from his confidence, a self-assurance that he knew who he was and was exactly where he wanted to be. While she didn’t quite understand his choices, she had to admit she was the tiniest bit jealous that he’d gained that understanding while she was still trying to figure it all out. He didn’t need accolades. Rhys Bullock had the confidence to know exactly who he was. He was comfortable in his own skin the way she’d never been.

“Why you?” He leaned forward a little. “Beyond the obvious fact that you’re crazy hot and my temperature goes up a few degrees when you enter the room?”

She suppressed the urge to fan herself. “Rhys,” she cautioned.

“You asked. And for what it’s worth, I’m not looking for ties and commitments.”

“Funny, because you’re a pretty grounded guy. I’d kind of expect someone like you to be settled down with two-point-five kids and a dog, you know?”

Something flickered across his face. Pain? Anger? It disappeared as fast as it had arrived. “Start dating in a town this size and suddenly the town gets very, very small. Especially when things go wrong.”

“Ah, like that old saying about...doing something where you eat.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. Exactly like that. Look, you’re a novelty, Taylor. An adventure. A safe one, because in a week’s time you’re going to be gone.”

“So I’m a fling?”

His gaze sharpened. “A couple of kisses hardly constitutes a fling.” He took a calm sip of his coffee. “You’re an anomaly. You intrigue me. You know how to keep me on my toes.”

“I’m glad I’m so amusing.”

“Don’t act like your feelings are hurt. We both know that the last thing you want is to be ordinary.”

“Yeah, well, not everyone appreciates the alternative.”

“That’s because you highlight every single one of their flaws. You’re not always right, but you’re committed.” He put his hand over hers. “That kind of commitment can take a toll. I can see you need the break.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m perfectly fine.” She looked away, unexpectedly touched by his insight. How could he see what everyone else did not? The whole wedding she’d felt like she was losing her edge. Normally she’d be fired up and excited about the New Year’s job, but instead she was dreading it. What on earth was wrong with her?

He squeezed her fingers. “Oh, Taylor, do you think I don’t recognize burnout when I see it?”

She pulled her hand out of his grasp and sat back. “I’m not even thirty years old. I’m too young for burnout. Besides, what would you know about the pressures of running a business, with your ‘put in your shift and go home’ attitude?”

Silence rang in the kitchen for a few seconds. “Okay then.” He pushed out the chair, stood and reached for his hat. “I should get going. I have some work out at Diamondback before coming back tonight to do the evening chores. Thanks for the coffee and cake.”

She felt silly for going off on him like that—especially when he was right. At the same time, she didn’t need to have it pointed out so bluntly. And the way he’d spoken so softly and squeezed her fingers? Argh! The sympathy had made her both angry and inexplicably tearful.

“Rhys, I...”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said evenly, going to the door and pulling on his boots. “I’ll see you later.”

He was gone before she had a chance to do anything. To take back the snippy words. She’d judged him, when she knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of such judgment.

She turned her back to the door and leaned against it, staring at the Christmas tree, fully decorated, standing in the corner. She couldn’t even muster up a good dose of Christmas cheer.

Maybe Rhys was right. Maybe she was a little burned out. But she couldn’t just take off and leave things. She had clients and commitments. She had employees who were counting on her for their livelihoods.

One week. Somehow she needed to recharge during this one week. With a heavy sigh, she went to the kitchen, retrieved her coffee and headed back to the bedroom. Coffee and a book in bed was as good a start as she could come up with right now.

* * *

Rhys was glad of the physical labor to keep him going. He’d been up early to head to Callum’s for chores, then to Diamondback, and now back at Callum’s for the evening milking. Plus he hadn’t been sleeping well. He’d had Taylor on his mind. Something had happened between them as they’d danced at the wedding. Then there was this morning in the kitchen. Lord, how he loved bantering with her. She was quick and sharp and it was like a mating dance, teasing then pulling away. Except that when it got a little too honest she ran scared and the game was over.