Tina Radcliffe - Christmas With The Cowboy

In an instant, he tensed. Then he glanced around. “Really, Emma? You want to do this here? Now?”

“We’re only talking.”

He rubbed the dark shadow of a beard on his jaw. “Talking, huh? Feels more like an interrogation.”

“Don’t exaggerate.” She began to turn away, taking the stroller with her, when Zach’s hand caught her arm.

“Emma, RangePro is Steve’s company. Not mine.”

She eased from his touch. “Legally, you’re a partner. Fifty-fifty.”

Zach met her gaze. “I haven’t cashed a single check you’ve sent me. What part of ‘buy me out’ don’t you get?”

“Did you look at any of the paperwork I mailed you?”

“I’ve been all over the globe the last few years. I don’t have the time or desire to shuffle through paperwork about a company I don’t want anything to do with.”

She took a deep breath. “The terms of the will state we own together or we sell together.”

“Great. We sell. I’m sure the money will come in handy for you and your girls.”

“It’s not about the money. I am not selling what Steve worked so hard to build.”

“RangePro was Steve’s dream, and Steve is gone,” he returned, his voice sober.

Emma bit her lip as she glanced down at her daughters, but she said nothing.

“Come on, Em. I’m not interested in RangePro and you’ve got to be way too busy with the ranch and the twins to run a livestock software company.”

“If you’d give me a chance to show you—”

“Emma, it’s a desk job. No way am I riding the range behind a laptop.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

“Not interested.” Zach raised both hands. “And not staying long enough to care.”

His eyes became steely and the set of his chin obstinate. The discussion was over. For now.

Frustrated, Emma turned away.

Three years after his brother’s death and Zach was back. Though the thought of him being around permanently unsettled her, Emma would do whatever it took to save the legacy of her children’s father. She knew what it was like to have your parents’ memory swept away as though they never existed. No, she refused to be the one to auction off Steve’s life work to the highest bidder, as though it meant nothing.

* * *

Zach tugged his leather gloves into place and adjusted the reins on the chestnut gelding. He had completely underestimated Emma. And her effect on him.

She was as beautiful as ever with dark tumbling hair that framed an oval face. If only he’d remembered not to look into her chocolate-brown eyes.

The moment he did, it was all over. He was lost. A teenager again, following her around like an overgrown Labrador retriever. The moment he realized that she had eyes only for Steve he’d respected her decision. Yet, that never stopped him from pining from afar like a sap. It wasn’t coincidence that he joined the navy soon after Steve and Emma called to announce their engagement.

Although it was a secret he kept hidden, the truth was that he had wasted too much of his life in love with Emma. He refused to allow this trip to dredge up feelings he had purposely tossed overboard years ago.

Her entreaty from this morning echoed in his head, making him feel like a jerk all over again.

He was here and Steve was gone. How was it his brother managed to shadow his life, even after death?

And why couldn’t she let it go? RangePro . Like he needed another guilt trip. The irony burned and had dogged him every single day since the car accident that claimed his half brother’s life.

The whys were doubling up on him.

Why was he still alive? Why had he made it out of Afghanistan and why hadn’t his best friend?

God hadn’t been forthcoming in the answer department of late.

Zach looked up at the jingle of tack and met Travis’s smiling face as his friend approached on a black mustang.

“How do you like Zeus?” Travis asked.

“A little headstrong. So we’re well matched.”

Travis laughed. “Our equine manager, Tripp Walker, is pretty intuitive. He paired you up with a horse that suits your disposition.”

“Quiet guy, that Tripp.”

“To say the least.”

“If you’re the boss around here, why are you working on a Sunday?” Zach asked.

“I could give you a dozen reasons.” He began to tick off on his fingers. “Getting married and going on a honeymoon put me behind on everything, for one. Then there’s fall calving season. Oh, and preparation for the Holiday Roundup. That’s gearing up here real quick, too.” Travis shook his head. “I start my days behind.”

“Holiday Roundup?” Zach asked.

“Christmas, pal. Huge around here.”

“Today is the fifth of November. Thanksgiving is two and a half weeks away and Christmas is a long way off.”

“Not when you’re planning Christmas for every child who has made their home at Big Heart Ranch. These are abused, neglected and abandoned children. Many don’t know what a real Christmas is. And I don’t mean gift giving. The true meaning of the season.”

“Who does the regular ranch chores while you’re busy making all these Christmas memories?” He knew his voice sounded cynical, but his interest in Christmas was right up there with his interest in RangePro.

Travis nodded. “Nothing changes. We add the Holiday Roundup to our regular workload. Emma spearheads the entire project.”

“Emma? Aren’t her hands full enough?”

“Both of my sisters are without boundaries when it comes to the kids and Christmas.”

Christmas. Zach squirmed. The holidays were nothing but a brutal reminder of the emptiness in his life. It had been that way since he was a kid. Pulled away from his father and half brother by a spiteful mother so he could spend Christmas all by himself. Yeah, one thing he didn’t need was another reminder of the past.

“So, how many head do you have?” Zach asked, changing the subject.

“Up to one hundred now.” Travis released a sigh. “And then there’s the bison.”

“You have bison? No kidding?”

“Definitely not kidding.” Travis raised a hand and grimaced. “It’s a long story. AJ is crazy about those shaggy beasts, and sometimes you do things you told yourself you’d never do all in the name of love.”

Zach stared at him. “Did you ever think back when we rode on my father’s ranch that one day you’d be telling me you were doing anything in the name of love?”

“I didn’t know half as much as I thought I did in those days.”

“How exactly did the cowboy who swore off love fall in love?” Zach asked.

“Not a clue. I sure wasn’t looking.” Travis offered a goofy grin.

Zach contemplated his friend’s words for a moment and hesitantly asked the question pulling at him. “How’d you know?”

“Know what?”

“That she was the one?”

“The real question is how did I not know.” He looked across the pasture to where AJ rode her horse checking cattle. As if sensing she was the topic of their conversation, his wife turned their way and raised a hand in greeting. In that moment, love shone in Travis’s eyes pure and true.

Zach ached for what his friend had found. What would it be like to have his love returned unconditionally? To find a partner to face life with? He couldn’t even imagine.

“You’ve got it real bad,” Zach murmured.

“Terminal, I hope.”

Zach chuckled.

“Quit your laughing. You might be next, so you better be careful.”

He gave a slow nod. “At all times.”

When Travis nudged his horse forward to inspect a group of heifers, Zach followed. Several had reclined in the pale brown grass and barely glanced up. “These mommas are ready for the whole pregnancy gig to be over,” he observed.