A Rancher's Christmas (Saddlers Prairie) (8 page)

Zach slid out of the booth and beat them to it. The scent of fresh-baked pizza all but drowned out her scent, but he swore he caught a whiff of her perfume.

“Thanks,” she said with a quick smile.

“No problem. You and your girlfriends have a good time tonight.”

“We will. You, too.”

Curly didn’t say a word until the door closed behind her and Zach returned to the booth. With a wink, he leaned toward Zach. “She’s interested in you.”

Zach shook his head. “She goes for the corporate-executive type.”

“A woman’s eyes don’t lie, man. Every time she glanced your way, they lit up.”

So that he wouldn’t have to reply, Zach bit off a huge chunk of pizza.

“I saw how you watched her when she wasn’t looking,” Curly went on. “Why are you even talking about going to Sparky’s tonight when what you want just walked out the door?”

Zach glanced out the large front window. He could see Gina piling the pizza boxes in the passenger seat of Lucky’s truck, her thick coat hiding her hips. All the same, he was aroused. He tore his gaze away and cleared his throat. “Maybe I don’t want to be interested in her.”

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t.”

“She’s not my type.”

“Come on, man. She’s beautiful and a lot hotter than the brunette at the other table. By the way, as soon as she saw the way you looked at Gina, she left.”

Curly’s plate was empty. “You finished?” Zach asked. When his friend nodded, he said, “Me, too. I changed my mind about that beer. I’m ready to call it a night.”

“It’s only seven-thirty, man. Let’s grab a pitcher at Sparky’s like we talked about.”

Zach didn’t feel like it anymore. “When we get back, you go on without me.”

“Suit yourself. But it’s gonna be one lame Saturday night for you.”

Chapter Eight

Feeling like a giant bundle of exposed nerves, Gina set the pizzas on the passenger seat of the truck. She could feel Zach looking at her—or was she imagining things? On the way to the driver’s side of the car, she glanced furtively through the front window of the Pizza Palace. He was frowning at Curly, almost as deeply as he’d frowned at her when she’d walked through the door.

He’d been less than pleased to see her tonight, and apparently he was still unhappy. Gina hadn’t exactly been thrilled to see him, either. She pulled out of the parking lot and turned onto the highway. She hadn’t expected to see him for several days and hadn’t been prepared for the powerful effect his mere presence had on her.

The heat and naked need on his face had stirred her own desire. It was a good thing he hadn’t unleashed his smile. Because if he had, she’d probably still be sitting in that booth, wanting him.

Which was startling in itself. No man had ever made her feel like that, turning her on with just a look.

Out of all the available men in the world, why did she have to want Zach Horton?

Refusing to think about him anymore tonight, Gina turned on the radio. The toe-tapping music from the bluegrass country station reminded her of Uncle Lucky, and she suffered a wistful pang. He’d loved bluegrass. At the same time, the delicious smells of freshly baked pizza filled the truck, making her mouth water. Better to salivate over food than Zach.

In what seemed like no time, she was rolling up the long gravel driveway of Hope Ranch. Although she’d never been there before, even when it had been known as Covey Ranch, she was aware that Hope Ranch was far more successful than the Lucky A.

That was obvious by the big house alone. Light blazed from every window on the main floor and across the wraparound porch, making for an impressive sight.

A good half dozen cars were parked in a large turnaround near the house. Gina parked the truck there. Cradling the pizza boxes, she climbed the steps and crossed the porch. She rang the doorbell with her elbow.

Autumn opened the door with a smile. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, relieving Gina of the pizzas. “Thanks for picking these up.”

Gina stepped into a wide entry. She shrugged out of her coat and hung it in the coat closet. In the adjoining great room seven women sat before a roaring fire. Three were friends she’d lost touch with after high school and the other three had been at the funeral. She didn’t know the slightly older woman.

She needed this night, catching up with old friends and getting better acquainted with new ones. She needed to relax and push Zach, Uncle Lucky’s death and her work worries from her mind.

The women smiled and called out greetings, and immediately Gina felt at home.

“Cocktails and appetizers are on the side table,” Autumn said. “Help yourself. I’ll stick these pizzas in the oven to stay warm. I’ll be right back.”

By the time Gina poured herself a glass of wine and found a seat on the massive sectional sofa that faced the fireplace, Autumn had returned.

She reintroduced everyone. “You remember Sarah Hollyer, Meg Dawson, her sister-in-law, Jenny, and Stacy Engle. They were all at your house the other night and at the funeral. Next to Stacy is Joan Tyee, who you haven’t met. She’s a close friend of mine.” Autumn grinned. “When I took the housekeeping job here, I was an awful cook. Joan saved me by teaching me how to make a few things. If she hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have been here long enough for Cody to fall in love with me.”

“Not true.” Joan’s eyes sparkled. “He was in love with you the second you walked into the house.”

“Joan’s husband, Doug, is foreman here at Hope Ranch,” Autumn said. “He’s really great with our foster sons.”

Gina wondered what it was like, being a foreman’s wife. “Do you also work at the ranch?” she asked Joan.

The woman shook her head. “I’m an office manager for an insurance company in town. I also have two little ones at home—and as you can see, baby number three will arrive in a few months.”

Joan bracketed one side of her mouth with her hand, as if about to reveal a secret she didn’t want others to hear. “I’m almost forty-two,” she said with a wry expression. “And this pregnancy came as a complete surprise. Doug and I are thrilled, of course.”

A special glow lit Joan from the inside. Gina almost envied her, which was odd. She was so not ready for motherhood. Maybe after she was promoted to vice president—provided she met her Mr. Right.

Joan went on. “Dr. Mark assures us that everything is normal, for which we’re grateful. But after this one, I’m getting my tubes tied.”

Everyone laughed.

When Meg, who was sitting next to Gina, got up to chat with someone across the room, Sarah Hollyer took her place. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”

Assuming she had some marketing questions, Gina smiled. “Fire away.”

“What do you think of Zach?”

Taken off-guard, Gina struggled for an answer besides,
He’s a great kisser.
For the life of her, she couldn’t come up with anything else. “What do you mean?” she finally said.

“I met him a couple years ago, when I interviewed him and Lucky for an article I was writing about ranching in eastern Montana. Your uncle made me laugh, but Zach really impressed me with his smarts. I think he’s a great guy and really good-looking. Not as handsome as Clay, but a close second.”

“Uncle Lucky had quite a sense of humor,” Gina said. “And you’re right about Zach. He’s a good man.” Maybe Sarah could tell her something about him. “What do you know about his background?”

“Only that he’s from Texas and has been here about three years.”

“I remember when he stopped at the clinic for a tetanus shot a few months ago,” Stacy said. “Every woman in the room was fanning herself. A gorgeous guy like that... It’s a wonder some lucky woman hasn’t snapped him up.”

Gina didn’t like that idea at all. Frowning, she stood. “I need more wine.”

When she returned to her seat, a woman named Dani, who’d been in several of Gina’s high school classes, angled her head toward her. “I hear you live in Chicago and that you’re the assistant vice president at a big marketing company. What’s that like?”

Finally, a subject Gina could sink her teeth into. “The job or Chicago?” she asked.

“Both.”

“My job is pretty demanding, but I love the challenge. Chicago’s great—it’s big and vibrant, and there’s always something to do.”

“Wow,” Dani said. “I’ll bet they have great stores there.”

“Every chain you can think of, plus a lot of great boutiques. It’s a shopper’s paradise. And the restaurants are amazing.”

A lively discussion followed. Gina was enjoying herself. She loved the hustle and bustle of Chicago, but these women made Saddlers Prairie seem pretty darn great. Already she felt closer to them than she ever had to Lise or any of her other colleagues at Andersen, Coats and Mueller.

As for friends outside of work, she didn’t really have any. And whose fault was that? She’d been so busy working that she hadn’t taken the time to cultivate real friendships.

“I’m ready to eat,” Autumn said. “Help me with the pizzas, Gina?”

Gina followed her into a spacious, state-of-the-art kitchen. “Wow,” she said. “This is a far cry from the places we lived when we were kids.”

“I know.” Autumn grinned and pulled on oven mitts. “Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure my life isn’t a dream. And I’m not talking our bank account or this house. I found the love of my life. With Cody, I’d be happy living in a shack.”

Gina wasn’t sure she believed that. “You’ve been poor. You know you’d be worrying about how to pay the bills and feed yourselves.”

“What I mean is, the house and money are just icing on the cake. Let’s put these in the dining room.”

As Gina helped arrange the pizzas on the dining room table, she mulled over Autumn’s words. She’d never considered that love could matter so much more than money, and she certainly hadn’t seen that with her parents. She wondered if they’d enjoyed each other’s company before the bankruptcy.

“Dinner is served in the dining room,” Autumn announced in a fake British accent that had everyone chuckling.

“Yay!” Stacy pushed herself up and rubbed her rounded belly. “You’d think that with this baby squishing my stomach, I’d never feel like eating. But, no, I want to feed my face all the time.”

Fresh laughter broke out.

The lighthearted conversation was exactly what Gina needed. She relaxed as she hadn’t in forever, and for a while she forgot all about Zach and the sad event that had brought her back to Saddlers Prairie.

The pizza was gone and everyone was sipping tea and enjoying brownies still warm from the oven when Autumn sat back and glanced at Gina.

“So are you dating anyone in Chicago?”

The conversation around the table stopped as everyone waited for Gina’s reply. Now, that was being put on the spot, Gina thought.

“Not since my boyfriend and I broke up over the summer,” she said. “The truth is, I’ve been too busy to even think about meeting guys. Once things slow down at work, I’m sure I’ll start dating again.” She crossed her fingers and, without intending to, held them up for all to see.

Autumn looked sympathetic—the last thing Gina wanted. “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m happy.”

But was she really?

“I used to think I’d never get married,” Sarah said. “I certainly didn’t see myself in Saddlers Prairie. Yet here I am, living on a ranch with the best husband in the world and the mother of year-old twins. I’ve never been happier.”

She sounded a lot like Autumn.

Except for Gina, all the women were married with children, and they nodded and smiled. She felt like the odd girl out. Yet she also felt accepted and liked by everyone. Not for her work accomplishments but for who she was right now. She wasn’t used to that. It felt...different, in a good way.

Not long after dinner, the party wound down. At the door, Autumn hugged her. “It’s been great seeing you. I wish you’d think about coming home again for Christmas.”

Gina had thought she didn’t want to, but now she actually considered the suggestion—for all of five seconds. No, she decided. She needed to stay in Chicago and work.

Next year, for sure.

* * *

G
INA
SPENT
S
UNDAY
cleaning out the basement. She stopped in time to shower and change before heading to dinner at Sophie and Gloria’s. By the time she parked in front of their little house, she was hungry and grouchy. Scooping up a cake—the last of the desserts brought to the house by people paying their respects—and her parents’ bankruptcy folder, she made her way to the front door. Tonight, she wanted answers.

She knocked before opening the door and stepping into the modest living room. Wonderful smells greeted her, and she sniffed appreciatively.

“There’s my favorite niece.” Seated in the recliner, Uncle Redd waved. “Is that a cake?”

“Your only niece,” she corrected, placing her things on a chair and hanging up her coat. “And yes, it’s a cake.”

Her uncle frowned. “You don’t look happy. Rough day?”

“Actually, I accomplished quite a bit.” She had the bulging trash bags to prove it. “But no, I’m not very happy. Follow me into the kitchen and I’ll explain why.”

In the small kitchen, her cousins were working their magic.

“Hello,” Sophie called out, tipping her cheek up for a kiss. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

Gloria nodded. “Grab an apron and dress the salad.”

“Not until we talk.”

“But dinner’s almost ready,” Sophie said.

“It can wait.” Gina gestured at the kitchen table. “Sit.” She jerked her chin at Uncle Redd. “You, too.”

“Oh, dear,” Gloria muttered. “What is it this time?”

“First, you neglect to warn me that instead of Uncle Redd inheriting the Lucky A, I am. I thought the secrets were behind us, but I was wrong.” She slapped the thick folder on the table so that they could all see it. “I can’t believe you all didn’t tell me about my parents’ bankruptcy.”

Uncle Redd scratched the back of his neck. “It was a long time ago, honey. Before you were even born.”

“According to the paperwork, I was a few months old.”

“Same difference. By the time you were big enough to understand, your folks had put it behind them. What would have been the point of opening that old wound?”

“The point is, they’re my parents. Bankruptcy is a huge thing, and I should’ve been told.”

“You know now, and what good has it done?” Gloria shook her head. “You’re all upset.”

“I’m angry, but not because of the bankruptcy. Because of the secrecy around it.”

“Your parents were ashamed—we all were,” Sophie said.

Uncle Redd nodded. “We’ve never been rich, but we always pay our way. It’s a matter of pride. That bankruptcy was the first time anyone in our family faced financial ruin. And in such a public way. Beau and Marie wanted to protect you from the shame.”

In a public way? “You’re saying that people in Saddlers Prairie knew?”

Her uncle nodded. “By law,
The Saddlers Prairie News
is required to print a statement as a notice to creditors. That’s a requirement of anyone declaring bankruptcy. You can imagine the humiliation.”

In a town the size of Saddlers Prairie, Gina definitely could. The truth was, bankruptcy was humiliating, period—even in a bustling city the size of Chicago. She was beyond thankful for her upcoming bonus.

“I never heard even a whisper about it from anyone in town,” she said.

“Why would you? It was no one’s business.”

“But news travels around here like wildfire.”

“Yes, and then it dies down.”

“Tell me how it happened.”

Uncle Red rested his arms on the table. “Beau wasn’t frugal like Lucky and me. He had a reckless streak and liked to spend money.”

“He used to say that if you spend like you’re rich, then you’ll be rich,” Gloria said. “He claimed that was how he got your mama to look at him and her daddy to bring him into the farm-equipment business.”

Gina nodded. “He was dressing for success.” When her family gave her blank looks, she explained. “In the corporate world, looking and acting successful is key to real success. People treat you differently and doors open that would otherwise stay closed.”