Christmas at Blue Moon Ranch (12 page)

A
FTER LUNCH
,
THE HANDS
gathered near their parked trucks
to smoke before saddling up. “Nate takes a thirty-minute nap every afternoon,”
Daniel told Willa. “If that’s what keeps him so fit at almost seventy, I’m
going to start scheduling one into my day.”

She stretched
her arms out wide, full of good food and, for once, completely relaxed. “I can
understand the appeal. I wouldn’t mind lying down for a few minutes myself
right now.”

When she turned
her head to smile at Daniel, she didn’t find him smiling in response. The
intensity, the
hunger,
in his face made her suddenly aware of how her
T-shirt stretched thinly across her breasts, how the V-neck showed a little
cleavage. She sat on a hay bale with her feet planted on the floor and her
knees wide apart, which now seemed like an invitation…an invitation, Willa
realized suddenly, she desperately wanted to give.

In the next
moment, Daniel was on his feet, moving to dump his paper plate and drink can in
the trash. “It’s time to get started,” he said over his shoulder. “You’re
welcome to stay and watch…or help, if you want. I’m sure we could use extra
hands.”

After that, he
was all business as he reviewed with the cowboys which pasture they would be
driving the first herd to. Willa knew the land better than anyone there, even
Nate—knew the gullies and ridges they would cross, the places where a cow might
wander or stumble or spook. Listening to Daniel, she realized that he had
studied the landscape and taken all those obstacles into account. Since he
couldn’t rely on the kind of familiarity her years working this land had
created, he’d assessed the terrain with his own military expertise and had
arrived at pretty much the same conclusions. Willa could only be impressed.

Mounted on her
horse and moving toward the herd with the rest of the crew, Willa found herself
riding beside Daniel. “You and Calypso seem to be getting along. Is he working
all right for you?”

Daniel glanced
in her direction but didn’t meet her eyes. “He’s a great horse. I’d have eaten
dirt quite a few times by now if he weren’t so careful. You did a terrific job
training him.”

“Thanks.”
Perversely, because he didn’t want to look at her, she wanted to make him do
just that. “That’s a nice saddle you put on him. Where’d you get it?”

In the shadow of
his hat brim, his cheeks reddened. “I…uh…won it. At a rodeo, when I was
sixteen.”

“You were riding
rodeos when you were a teenager?”

He nodded. “When
I was a little kid, about six years old, we visited my uncle—my mother’s
brother—on his ranch in Wyoming. He was this cool guy with a big booming laugh
who smoked and drank and enjoyed every minute of his life on the range. We went
a couple more times, as a family, and then I went out during the summers, when
my mom would let me fly by myself. Once, on a dare from the other hands, I
signed up for the saddle bronc event at the local rodeo. And I won, thanks to
beginner’s luck.” He laughed. “I tried several more times and got thrown almost
before we’d cleared the gate.”

She wanted to
ask more, but they’d come up beside the chute, where the cowboys were getting
ready to release the cattle. The time for talking had passed.

With a warning
shout, one of the men released the catch on the gate and let it swing wide. Moments
later, a cow or two recognized the chance for escape and meandered into the
wider field, followed by their herd mates. Soon enough, a long line of cattle
stretched across the ground, and men on horseback moved into place, directing
the flow with the angle and motion of their horses. They didn’t have far to go,
about two miles across country. As she eased Monty toward a cow that had veered
away from the herd, Willa relaxed in her saddle. This was going to go just
fine.

And then Trouble
came streaking toward the herd, barking at the top of his canine lungs.

The smoothly
moving line broke into clumps of startled cows, each clump moving in a
different direction. Cowboys and horses reacted quickly, but there weren’t
enough of them to manage the breakdown. Longhorns were hard to spook, but as
Trouble raced along, the cattle turned away from the barking dog, maybe seeking
refuge in the pen behind them, maybe moving by blind instinct. A few of the
lead cows picked up speed, starting to run. More and more of the herd joined
them. In the next instant, they had a full-fledged longhorn stampede on their
hands.

Willa didn’t
realize, until too late, that Daniel and Calypso stood directly in the path of
the thundering herd.

Both man and
horse froze for an instant. Willa held her breath, trying to see through the
dust cloud thrown up by hundreds of pounding hooves, praying that Calypso would
be fast enough, that Daniel could hang on through the chaos. For an instant,
she saw them through the dust—saw Calypso at the near edge of the herd, ready
to jump clear.

But then she saw
Daniel throw up his hands, saw the reins fly free. In the next moment, both
Calypso and Daniel disappeared underneath the roaring river of cattle.

H
E’D BEEN HERE
BEFORE, THIS PLACE
where pain burned like the desert sun, relentless, inescapable. This time, at
least, he could move, thrashing his arms and legs in a weak attempt to find
some shade…

“Daniel. Daniel,
relax.” A cool hand caught one wrist, while another soothed his forehead. “You’re
okay. Just relax.”

He peeked
through a half-lifted eyelid, saw the pale walls of a hospital and groaned. “Not
again.”

“Open your eyes,
Daniel.” The same voice, husky, feminine, appealing.
Willa?
He did as
instructed. “It’s you.”

“Welcome back,
cowboy.” She smiled at him but removed her hands, which made him wish he’d
disobeyed her order. “That was quite a ride you took.”

Daniel thought
back and remembered. “Is Calypso okay? He tripped—I didn’t see what was there—”

“An
appropriately named dog was there.”

“Trouble? How
did he get out? I know I left him locked in the house. Is that dog some kind of
Houdini?”

“He might be,
given how many hooves he managed to dodge in the process of causing a
stampede.” Willa shook her head. “How the three of you survived intact is
something I’ll never understand.”

A sudden stab of
pain through his temple left Daniel wincing. “Intact might be an
overstatement.”

“You’ve been out
for a couple of hours. You probably do have a headache.”

He made an
exploratory move of his arms and legs. “Plus some bruises.”

“But no broken
bones,” a third voice informed him, as a woman wearing green surgical scrubs
strode into the room. “And no damage to that erector set of pins and shafts
holding your right leg together.” She offered Daniel a handshake. “I’m Dr.
Dobbins. Other than the concussion, you’re in good shape. We’ll let you stay
overnight, just to keep an eye on you, then send you home in the morning.”

Before he could
protest, she gave a quick wave and hurried off. Daniel frowned at Willa,
instead. “I don’t need to stay overnight.”

She laughed at
him. “I would have predicted you’d say that. Men never want to follow medical
advice. But I can tell you that I’m not taking you home, and there’s nobody
else here to do it. So unless you’re planning to walk, I’d say your best bet is
to do as you’re told.”

“I’ve taken more
medical orders than any one person ought to put up with,” he grumbled, even
though he knew the cause was lost. “I thought I was finished with hospitals.”

“Occupational
hazard. Most folks who work with cattle and horses have to visit them now and
again.” Leaning back in her chair, she glanced at their bland surroundings. “At
least you got as far as the hospital. Jamie didn’t.”

Daniel sensed
she didn’t want an apology. “How long was he in the National Guard?”

“He joined at
the start of the war. He had a lot to say about patriotism and defending the
country, but I think he was looking for excitement. Contrary to today’s
experience, ranch life gets to be pretty routine after a while.”

“He had to know
the risks, though.”

She shrugged.
“Jamie liked taking risks, with money and with his own safety. Toby’s just like
him—reckless, adventurous, usually forgets to look before he leaps. Robbie and
Susannah are more like me, thank goodness.”

“Cautious,”
Daniel suggested. “Always prepared.”

“I prefer
knowing what to expect.”

“Is that why you
married a man you’d known all your life?”

Willa gasped and
jumped to her feet. “What gives you the right to ask that kind of question?”

“Blame it on the
concussion. Are you going to answer?”

She stalked to
the window and looked out, keeping her back to him. “It’s none of your
business.”

“I disagree.” He
waited through a long silence, wondering if she would trust him enough to
explain.

Finally, her
shoulders lifted and sank again. “My sophomore year in high school, I fell
madly in love with the captain of the football team.”

“Jamie?”

The long braid
hanging down her back swayed as she shook her head. “On our first date, he told
me he loved me. After a week, he told me if I loved him, I’d go all the way. So
I did.”

Daniel winced.

“By the next
school day,” she continued, “the whole football team knew what I’d done, and
they made sure to tell everyone else. Teachers looked at me differently,
thinking I was a slut. My mother found out, though somehow my dad never did. Or
didn’t care enough to say anything.”

Finally, she
turned around and gazed at him, her face expressionless. “Jamie had been my
friend since first grade. He knew it was my first time, and he knew how upset I
was when Mr. Football never called again. We hung out together and gradually
fell in love. That’s why I married him.”

“I understand.”
He searched for the right words. “Willa, I’m not the evil Mr. Football.”

“I know. And
there are lots of reasons I should fall into your arms, begging you to be part
of my life.” She stuck up her thumb. “You’re great with my kids. My aunts love
you.” Her index finger came up. “You’ve obviously got a decent amount of
money.” Middle finger. “You’re a sincerely nice man—” ring finger “—and you’re
terrific in bed.” All five slender fingers stretched long.

Daniel grinned.
Willa did not, but she stuck up her other thumb. “I admit I could use your help
and your support.” Dropping her arms, she braced her hands on the footboard of
his bed. “But I simply don’t want to take the risk.”

“There’s no
risk, Willa.” He stretched his arms out wide. “I am what you see.”

Her smile was
rueful as she shook her head. “There’s always a risk. Jamie should have been
the safest choice of all, and look what happened.” She sighed. “These days,
what I want is to take care of my family and the Blue Moon. It’s enough.”

“You deserve
more, Willa. I’d like to give you more.”

“That’s sweet.”
She gave him a small, sad smile. “But as your friend, I’m telling you not to
waste your time.”

A nurse poked
her head through the open doorway. “Visiting hours are ending. You’ll need to
leave.”

Willa
straightened her back. “Right.” Her gaze, when she looked at Daniel, was
distant. “Nate said he would be here tomorrow morning to take you home. I hope
you get some sleep tonight.”

“Willa—” He
stretched out a hand.

But she shook
her head, turned and quickly left the room.

Daniel let his
arm drop to the bed. Exhaustion overpowered him suddenly, and he sank back
against the pillow, letting his eyes close. His first day as a full-fledged
rancher had ended in disaster. What did that say about his chances for
long-term success? He had a feeling the odds against him had gone up
significantly.

If Willa wasn’t
part of the package, though, maybe he didn’t care.

Willa drove home
with the radio tuned to one of the kids’ rock stations and turned up loud,
hoping the unfamiliar music would keep her from thinking about…well, anything,
really. Over dinner, she gave the favorable report on Daniel’s condition to
Lili and Rosa and the children, then escaped as soon as possible, pleading
paperwork to finish.

What greeted her
on her desk, of course, was the October calendar, its first days marked off
with big red
X
’s. She gazed at the blank days still to come, thinking
about her conversation with Daniel at the hospital. Seventy-four days until
December twenty-first. Would she hold out against him that long? Would he take
her at her word and stop trying?

What would she
do if he didn’t leave by Christmas?

Avoiding the
questions she couldn’t answer, Willa turned her attention to paying bills and
figuring accounts. Unfortunately, the picture presented by those accounts and
the remaining balance in her checkbook was a grim one, indeed. Daniel’s payment
had only postponed the crisis. If she couldn’t figure out more ways to
economize, she’d have to cut back on her crew, all of whom needed their jobs. Last
summer’s sales had covered the costs of production, with nothing left over for
expansion or decreasing her debt. She could sell part of the herd—at the wrong
time of year, with prices down. Her profit lay in marketing fat calves, not
pregnant heifers. But if she changed her tax structure…