A Cowgirl's Christmas (16 page)

“That’s why the place smells so good.” She looked past him to the living area, where stacks of banker boxes flanked the stone fireplace.

“Sorry. It’s kind of a mess in here. I’ve been working on computerizing the accounts.”

“How’s it going?” She followed him inside, through to the kitchen where he’d already opened a bottle of wine and set out two goblets.

“Surprisingly well. Hawksley was completely disorganized when it came to keeping records but he had great business sense. The Circle C is a remarkably profitable operation.” No sooner had he said that than he grimaced. “Probably not the most diplomatic thing for me to be pointing out under the circumstances.”

He handed her a glass of wine and she wandered to the glass door that led to the outside deck. A rosy band of color was setting off the mountain peaks to the west. Above that, the sky was a beautiful deep blue, like a glacier-fed lake in the summer time.

“You’re not telling me anything I didn’t already know.” And it wasn’t the money she cared about, anyway. Even if the Circle C had been a break-even operation she still would have been happy to spend the rest of her life working there.

She turned back to the kitchen. Court was chopping cucumber, adding the chunks to the salad bowl by the sink. She leaned against the counter and watched. “What was your life like in St. Paul?”

“Good enough. I liked working at the accounting firm with my dad. If I’d stayed, I would have eventually been invited to be a partner and I was okay with that, if not terribly excited.”

She couldn’t imagine two jobs more different than rancher and accountant. Yet she could see him fitting into both. Certainly as a rancher it helped to have a head for numbers. “Did you leave more than a job behind when you came out to Montana?”

“You mean a woman?”

She nodded.

“Nothing serious. I’ve been accused of having commitment issues.”

She’d heard the same thing from a few guys about herself. “And do you?”

“I don’t think so. I want marriage and kids. Do you?”

“Haven’t thought about it much.” That was a half-lie. At twenty-six she wasn’t ready to have a baby, she knew that for sure. But she would like to find a guy, eventually.

“Well, I have. Almost got engaged once. In the end I couldn’t do it. My dad always said I would know when it was right. And since I didn’t, I guess it wasn’t.”

She wondered what the woman had been like, the one he’d almost asked to marry him.

“That’s it for the salad,” he said. “Any objections to bottled dressing?”

“Hell no.”

“Want to pick something from the fridge?”

She went to open the door and was impressed to see an orderly and clean interior, with left overs stacked tidily in see-through plastic containers. She selected a balsamic vinaigrette. “So are you a neat freak about everything?”

“The label may have been suggested a time or two. But I would argue, ultimately, no.”

He pulled the roasted potatoes from the oven, as well as a foil-wrapped package containing the tofu-turkey breast, sliced and lathered with mushroom gravy.

“That smells really, really delicious.”

“Good. Let’s eat.”

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C
ourt loved that Callan ate with gusto, not seeming to care if something was high-fat or too sweet. They both enjoyed large slices of pumpkin pie after their main course, and several truffles, and coffee spiced with brandy, as well.

“Where do you put the food?” he asked her when they were sprawled on either side of the sofa, enjoying the last of their coffee, empty dessert plates stacked on the side table.

“I honestly don’t know. I can’t remember the last time I ate so much.”

She had lost weight since Hawksley died, so the big meal was probably needed. Court admired her compact body, the slender hips, the small, high breasts. She had the tight, slender muscles of a gymnast or a ballet dancer. Lithe, but also strong.

“I hear you haven’t been going out much on the weekends anymore. I went into Grey’s the other night and a few people asked about you.”

“Was Dillon one of them?”

“No. Why?”

“He’s the main reason I haven’t been going there. I don’t want to run into him, not after the way I broke the news about us being half-siblings.”

“You’re going to have to talk about it sooner or later.”

“Yeah. I pick later.” She took a drink of coffee. “So, is Grey’s growing on you? It didn’t seem like your sort of place last time I saw you there.”

“I’d like it better if they played jazz.”

She hooted. “You are in the wrong state for that, McAllister.”

He smiled. “I suppose that’s true.” He noticed she was almost finished her coffee. Not wanting her to leave, he suggested watching a movie and when she agreed, found one about to start on TV, The Family Stone. Though it was an oldie, he’d never seen it before and was taken aback by the powerful and sad ending. “Did you see that coming?” he asked, after getting up for a tissue to blow his nose.

“I’ve seen it before.” She sighed. “It’s life, right. You want things to stay the same, but they never do.”

He thought about his mother. The way she’d been last year, before the stroke. The way she was now. “That’s for sure.”

“I should get going. I promised Sage I’d open her chocolate shop early, for Black Friday. She’s knocking down the price on her Thanksgiving gift boxes and solid chocolate pumpkins by fifty percent. The place is going to be a zoo.”

He couldn’t believe they’d managed to have a completely civil, pleasant evening together. It made him wonder what would have happened if they’d met under other circumstances. Maybe she might have liked him, if she hadn’t had her mind so set on hating him.

He was tempted to ask if she had changed her mind about his offer.

But he didn’t want to wreck the moment.

“I’ll walk you home.”

“No. I’ll be fine.”

There were good reasons to argue with her, mountain lions being the top of his list. But he could tell by the set of her jaw that it would be no use. For that same reason he didn’t try to kiss her again, either.

Even though he wanted to.

Very much.

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A
s Callan had predicted, Black Friday at Copper Mountain Chocolates was insane. Fortunately Sage had arranged for both of her employees, Rose Linn and Dakota Eastman, to be on hand when they opened. A rush of customers were waiting, and more kept coming.

“It seems like
everyone
in Marietta is buying chocolate today,” Callan said to Rose as she tied copper-colored ribbon around one of the packages.

“Well, it’s not often Sage has a sale. She doesn’t need to offer a discount to move merchandise. Today and after Christmas are her only exceptions.”

Around one in the afternoon, Dawson and Savannah dropped Sage off at the back door, having left Mattie’s place at the crack of dawn so Sage could get to work. Sage quickly tied back her hair, donned an apron and joined them in the front. She sent Rose and Dakota out for a lunch break, and promised Callan she could take one, too, once the others returned.

“No problem. I’ve been snacking on chocolate.” Callan grinned. “Anyway, I didn’t expect you to show up for another couple of hours.”

“We were on the road before six. I felt guilty about not being here for the busiest shopping day of the year.”

“Excuse me, Miss.” A woman in her fifties tapped Callan on the arm. “Do you have any more of the milk chocolate pumpkins?”

“Are we out again?” Callan eyed the shelves, surprised to see they were almost empty. “Hang on, I’ll get some more.” Seconds later she returned from the back room with a fresh supply. Almost before she could stack them on the shelves, they were whisked from her hands by customers, including the lady who had originally asked for them.

Once Rose and Dakota returned from lunch, Callan took a break to grab a sandwich and coffee from Java Cafe. By three o’clock business settled down enough that Callan and Sage were able to chat privately for a few minutes in the kitchen while they packaged more fruit and nut bark for display.

“So how was Thanksgiving? Did you spill the beans about being pregnant?”

“I did.” Sage smiled and her skin flushed. “I had planned to make a big announcement at Christmas, but in the end I just couldn’t keep the secret. Besides, I had to give a reason for why I wasn’t feeling well in the morning and wasn’t drinking wine with dinner.”

“Oh, I bet Mattie was excited.”

“Everyone was. Dani, especially. She really regrets keeping her own pregnancy secret, now.”

Callan knew that Sage had really been hurt by that. But Callan sympathized with Dani. She, too, had trouble sharing things that worried or frightened her. And Dani had been under a lot of pressure with that pregnancy.

“By the way,” Sage said, “Mattie and Dani have both read Mom’s diaries. They said reading her entries helped them understand why she stayed with Dad, but also why she loved Bill Sheenan. I’m going to read them next. Unless you’d like to, first?”

“No, you go ahead.” Callan wasn’t sure she was ready to handle more emotional baggage from the past. “Were you impressed with the Double D Ranch?” she asked, changing the subject to something less controversial.

“Oh, it’s beautiful! You should see the equestrian barn—totally state of the art.”

“Even nicer than the one at Bishop Stables?” Callan would never forget the first time she had seen that one, shortly after Mattie and Wes were married. The wrought iron stalls had struck her as especially beautiful, but Hawksley had denounced them as much too “fancy.”

“I wondered if it was possible. But yes, it is.”

“Is Mattie getting back into breeding Tennessee Walkers?”

“I think she’d like to. But since Wes sold all the horses out on her, she has to start again from scratch.”

“I still can’t believe he did that. I never was a fan of Wes, but the way he acted when he wanted out of his marriage with Mattie—it was really low.”

“Agreed. I’m so glad she had a great guy like Nat to offer support.”

“Yes. I just hope he stays healthy and strong for as long as possible.”

“Mattie wants to take each day as it comes. I think that’s the only approach that makes sense. None of us know what the future will bring.”

Callan nodded. The past few months had certainly taught her how quickly life could change. Sometimes, like with Mattie and Nat, for the better. And sometimes, as in her case, for the worse.

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T
hroughout December Callan stayed busy helping Sage at Copper Mountain Chocolates. In her spare time, she continued to pack up personal effects from the ranch house, as well as scouring the internet for properties available in the Marietta area. She found a few with potential. One was a simple log home sitting on fifty acres suitable for grazing and riding. She could possibly start a horse boarding and training business on a place like that.

Or get into horse breeding, like Mattie.

But...she wasn’t a horse person, she was a rancher. And there was a big difference between the two.

On the second Sunday before Christmas, Sage, Dawson and Savannah came over after breakfast to ready the ranch house for Christmas. Callan wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Part of her wanted to just get on Montana Sapphire and disappear for the day.