Barbara Daille - The Lawman's Christmas Proposal

Up ahead, Jed and his granddaughter Tina came around the side of one of the cabins. Jed hailed them with a wave.

They met halfway, in the shade of a few pines that would protect the cabins from the sun of a long New Mexico summer.

“How’s everything?” Andi asked Jed.

“Looking just fine.”

“The contractors only finished up the remaining cabins this past week,” Tina explained.

Mitch nodded. “My mom said you’ve all done a lot of renovations inside the hotel, too.”

“We sure have,” Jed said. “You’ll have to get Andi to take you on the grand tour.”

He sensed more than saw her stiffen beside him.

“Of course,” she said too politely. “But right now I’ve got to get back and take care of business.”

“Right,” Tina said. “We need to get our order ready for the wedding favors. I’ll go back with you.”

Again, he felt rather than saw Andi’s reaction—relief as she instantly turned away. He went to follow her, then paused, recalling why they had come out this way to begin with. “I got word you wanted me to stop by again,” he said to Jed.

The older man nodded. “Yeah. Let’s sit. You girls go on ahead. Your old grandpa can’t keep up.”

“Oh, you—” Andi cut herself off, but Mitch had picked up on her tone. She’d held back a teasing response—because of him ?

“Okay, Abuelo,” Tina said. “See you both later.”

As the women left, Jed gestured to a wooden bench on the porch of the nearest cabin.

He nodded. Though he hadn’t been on his feet for that long, he felt grateful for the chance to sit again.

No matter what Andi had begun to say about Jed’s ability to get around, he had to admit, at the moment, the older man’s healthy stride would put his to shame. It wasn’t pain that drove him to the bench but the stiffness that locked up his knee from time to time. Sitting was the worst danged thing he could do for it, but he’d rather have the opportunity to get limbered up again before he had to cross the yard with Jed. With luck, he would manage a few stretches stealthily enough to keep his former boss from noticing.

He gave thanks Andi had left. Her denial hadn’t carried much weight, not when her eyes had filled with pity, something he refused to accept from anyone and especially not from her.

After they took their seats on the bench, he watched the women cross the yard, Tina’s dark, waist-length braid contrasting sharply with Andi’s flowing blond waves. No doubt in his mind which sight he preferred. The thought of running his hands through Andi’s hair made more than just his bad knee suddenly ache from stiffness. Made him realize how hot he’d gotten over the girl who’d left him behind.

More than anything, his reactions made him see staying close to her might be more of a challenge than he had anticipated.

“Nice view, isn’t it?”

Startled, he turned to stare at Jed. He’d forgotten he had company on this bench.

Jed waved his hand. “A pleasant view of the ranch for any honeymooners who stay out here instead of in the hotel.”

“Yeah...it’s nice scenery.” Especially over near the hotel, where the women were climbing the porch steps. “So, you wanted to see me again.”

“I do.” Jed ran his hand over his pure white hair.

An unmistakable tell. Mom had been right. Something was up with Jed. And the familiar gesture told Mitch his former boss was about to clue him in. “What’s up?”

“Your mama says your time is pretty much your own, and I could use your help.”

“Anything I can do, you know I will.”

Jed smiled. “I figured that. Well, you know we tend to get busy here around the holidays.”

“I remember.” The dude ranch had always been popular with folks wanting a break from colder climates.

“Now we’ve got Christmas and a wedding to prepare for, both coming up in less than a month. My girls are doing most of the work on their own, and they could use an extra pair of hands.”

Mitch nodded slowly.

“Normally, I’d get a couple of the boys in here to give them some assistance. But we’re shorthanded, and Pete’s up to his eyeballs in work as it is. If you could manage to spend some time around here, you’d be doing us all a favor.”

Mitch nodded again. Compared to some of Jed’s plans, this one sounded harmless. And he had meant it when he said he would do anything to help Jed.

To tell the truth, he would be doing himself a few favors, too.

He could avoid his family’s hushed voices and averted gazes.

He could bypass some trips to the sheriff’s department in town. No matter how often his dad encouraged him to drop in, he knew how all those visits would make him look. He’d seem no better than an old retired cop who took his vacations anywhere from Maine to Alaska but spent those days hanging out with the local law.

Most of all...best of all...he would have a reason to hang around the ranch. A chance to be near Andi and to find out what was up with her.

If she wouldn’t tell her family what was worrying her, she’d have to tell someone. She needed an outlet , as his department-assigned shrink would say. Considering her decision to walk away from him, getting her alone had presented a problem. Jed had just handed him the solution.

With all those perks attached to the request, how could he turn the man down?

He couldn’t appear too eager, though. “Sure,” he said casually. “I’ll be happy to lend a hand. For whatever time I’m in town.”

* * *

“WHAT DO YOU think of this design?” Andi turned the pattern book on Tina’s desk to show her cousins the photo she was indicating.

With the waitress on duty ready to set the tables for dinner, they’d had to move all their samples from the dining room into Tina’s small office off the lobby. It didn’t matter to her where they worked, as long as she kept busy enough to keep her mind off Mitch...and that kiss that had made her lose control.

Her face burning, she glanced quickly at her cousins. Luckily, Jane and Tina had both switched their attention to the pattern book.

Jane looked at the fabric swatch in the photo. “I like the other one better.”

“I like this one. Then Tina gets to choose.”

“Oh, no, I don’t,” their cousin said. “You two are the experts.”

“We need a tiebreaker.”

“And if Tina doesn’t want to be on the spot,” Jane said, “she shouldn’t be. Shay’s in the kitchen. Don’t you think we should get her in on this? She’s got a good eye, too.”

“Great idea,” Tina said.

Shay, who was a frequent visitor to the Hitching Post, was dropping off an order of ice cream. Though Paz made the desserts for the hotel dining room, they had contracted SugarPie’s to provide the wedding cakes and pastries for the receptions. But when it came to ice cream, they relied on the Big Dipper, the shop not far from SugarPie’s in the heart of Cowboy Creek’s small business district.

As Tina left the office to track down the other woman, Andi caught Jane looking at her with a thoughtful expression.

“I see Mitch is back again,” Jane said. “And he appeared just when you happened to be at the corral.”

She snapped her head up. “That was a coincidence.”

“On your part or his?”

“What does that mean?”

“It seems way too coincidental he showed up at the same time you were standing there waiting.”

“I wasn’t waiting . I was checking on Trey.” She caught Jane’s grin and realized her cousin was teasing. She also knew she had overreacted. Forcing a smile, she added, “So...you suspect Eddie and Laurie of synchronizing the clocks on their cell phones?”

“No, actually, that hadn’t occurred to me.” Jane’s tone turned serious again. “Maybe fate stepped in, leading Mitch here at just the right time.”