Christmas with the Rancher

Not that she had any intention of acting on those burning feelings.

She knew exactly what she wanted: the corner office at Ewing Inc., which was all but hers. She only needed to complete this million-dollar sale and the CEO position would be hers. Bella was the best man for the job. The board of directors knew it. Her contemporaries knew it. And the retiring CEO knew it. All she had to do now was convince that pesky country heart of hers, a task she’d somewhat accomplished...at least eighty percent of the way. The other twenty percent dripped nostalgia and never wanted to leave Idaho.

She’d come to the conclusion that the less time she spent in Briggs, the better for everyone concerned, especially since it was a week before Christmas, a holiday she’d grown to dislike more than potatoes, and she absolutely loathed potatoes.

Catching an earlier flight into Idaho Falls had been her idea and a good one despite her shrink’s caution against it. That way, she could get the papers signed early in the day and drive out of town that evening before her dad had a chance to invite her to a Christmas gala of some kind, which she knew the town would have plenty.

Renting the four-by-four had been another sound decision, considering the weather. If there was one thing Bella understood after living in Chicago for the past fifteen years, it was how to deal with winter. When she’d looked up the predicted weather conditions in Briggs, she knew instantly that anything less would never give her the traction she needed for the frozen roads. Bella prided herself on always being prepared no matter what the situation.

Pulling her rig up to the curb, she immediately spotted her dad standing on the shoveled sidewalk in front of the hideously decorated inn. She couldn’t believe he still put up that old Santa and reindeer across the roof. She sighed. It would have to come down and be sold or disposed of before TransGlobal Corporation took ownership. If her father couldn’t manage it, well, she’d have to hire someone from town.

A cowboy stood next to giant N-O-E-L letters that she vaguely recognized from her childhood, with a young boy standing next to him, and another older cowboy who looked familiar standing up on the wraparound porch.

Taking a deep, calming breath and slowly letting it out she turned off the ignition, and slid out of the truck, grabbing her briefcase on the passenger seat. Her bag could stay in the truck. She most certainly wouldn’t be spending the night.

“You’re a mighty fine sight for these sore eyes,” her father said as she quickly walked toward him, careful not to slip on the snow in her new designer boots. She’d hate it if she did something stupid in such an awkward situation.

“Hi, Dad,” she said as she reached out and gave him a quick hug. He still looked ruggedly handsome in his fraying jeans, gray parka and black cowboy boots. He still had that familiar scent of musky spices that she’d always loved on him.

She pulled away almost as soon as her face touched his rough cheek, resisting the urge to linger in his embrace. She’d been video-conferencing him from time to time in the past few years, but she’d only seen him in person four times since she and her mom had left Briggs. Each time it had gotten more and more difficult for her to say goodbye.

“Honey, you remember Dodge Granger,” her dad told her once they parted. She immediately recognized him and memories of him, his ranch, his barn and his sons all came rushing back.

She quickly pushed them aside.

He went to hug her, but, afraid his bear hug would instantly rekindle their friendship she stuck out her leather-clad hand instead. His big, ungloved hand encircled hers and she instantly felt the warmth of his good nature. She missed men like Dodge, genuinely kind and always willing to help. She was certain hugging the man would melt her resolve, like icicles in sunshine.

“Nice to see you again, Mr. Granger,” she told him taking a step back, hoping some distance would help.

“No need to be gettin’ so formal, Bella,” he said. “Dodge is just fine.”

His gruff voice surrounded her memories like a warm blanket. She’d always liked being around Dodge. He’d taught her how to rope before she could ride a horse.

“Dodge it is.”

“I’m sure you remember his son Colt,” her dad said.

Colt tipped his hat, and held out a hand. He wore a friendly grin that she was sure could charm a girl right into his bed. He looked nothing like the tall, skinny boy she remembered, a boy who needed to grow into his big ears. He had that sexy cowboy look going on that worked on most women her age. Fortunately, not on her. She’d learned to prefer a man in a tailored suit rather than a man in jeans and cowboy boots.

“Hope the drive over wasn’t too bad,” he said, while standing next to a young boy.

“It was fine, thanks.”

He patted the boy’s head, mussing up his hair, and the child tried to move away from his touch. Colt grabbed him and the boy squealed with delight.

“This ornery little man is my son Joey.”

Joey sucked in his laughter and held out his hand for her. She’d never met a child with real manners. This was a first. She took his small hand in hers. His grip was firm and confidant, better than some executives she’d met.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Biondi,” Joey said while looking into her eyes.

“You, too,” she answered, giving him a quick smile.

Small talk had never been her forte.

She had hoped no one but a few guests would be at the inn. Why the Granger men were there stumped her. She had specifically asked her dad to make sure Travis Granger was nowhere near the inn. So why he thought it was okay for the other Grangers to show up was beyond her imagination.

No way did she want to run into Travis.

Ever.

Under no circumstances.

If her dad hadn’t agreed to keep him away, she wouldn’t have come. No way could she deal with seeing him again...all grown up...wearing butt-hugging jeans and a cowboy hat.

Nope, she could do very nicely without that meeting.

And just as she thought it, there was a loud clatter coming from up above her.

“Look out!” a male voice yelled.

She stared up as a black cowboy hat came tumbling off the roof followed by a man holding on to a thick white rope. He caught himself on the trellis that crept up the front of the building. Then in what seemed like slow motion, he lost his hold and with more hooting he slid off the trellis and reached for a low-hanging branch of the barren maple tree. He only briefly caught it then slid off that and swung toward the front porch. He put out his hands and grabbed hold of the gutter that ran around the roof of the front porch, finally stopping his momentum.

He hung there, strapped in his red harness, momentarily facing the front door.

No one moved or spoke as he slowly swung himself around to face Bella.

“Woo-hoo! That was one hell of an entrance!” he howled.

Despite the stubbly facial hair, something Bella did not usually like on a man, she knew absolutely she was gawking at a grown-up Travis Granger, and from his entrance, grown-up status had obviously completely eluded him.

She lifted an eyebrow, smirked and said, “I’m not impressed.”

Although, if truth be told, the little girl in her would have loved to be swinging on the harness with him, but she abruptly quashed that childish notion.

She walked away from him and calmly seized her father’s arm, trying her best not to show her anger in front of Travis as she guided her turncoat dad toward the lobby of the inn.

“We need to talk,” she told her dad as they padded around the dangling Travis, who smiled over at her looking every bit as sexy as she had imagined he would be. His hair color hadn’t changed much from a sandy shade of light brown, only the golden sun streaks were gone and he wore it cropped fairly short now. Despite his having worn a hat, she could tell there was a lot of style going on with all that thick hair.

She’d forgotten how gray his eyes were, the color of slate, but she hadn’t forgotten how his lips had once felt on hers, all warm and sexy. No other boy could kiss like Travis Granger. If he’d improved at all on that thirteen-year-old kiss, which looking at him now he most certainly had to, she definitely needed to get out of Briggs before the ink dried on the documents she wanted her father to sign.

Being around Travis again only deepened the wound in her heart. She’d cried enough tears over him when she first left Briggs. She sure as heck wasn’t going to go through that again no matter how perfectly his jeans hugged his butt or how hot he looked dangling in a harness.

* * *

TRAVIS LET OUT another loud whoop once Colt and Dodge rescued him. Bella had disappeared into the inn with her dad and Joey, who had followed close behind.

“That woman is a different kind of fine,” Travis cooed, every cell in his body excited about seeing Bella again.

Bella Biondi had grown into a siren of an Italian beauty with thick black hair, smokin’ hot eyes and an attitude that made him want to know exactly what she kept hidden under all that bluster.

“Maybe so, but that fine lady doesn’t seem to want any part of you,” Colt told him as he helped brush off the snow that Travis was covered in.

“There’s where you’re wrong, brother. She’s begging me to break through that hard shell of hers,” Travis said as he retrieved his hat and dusted off the snow.

“I’m thinking that there shell of hers is thicker than twelve-gauge steel, son,” Dodge said. “You’re gonna need a blowtorch to get through it. And in the end, you might be the one gettin’ burned.”

“I’ve never been afraid of a little heat,” Travis joked. “It keeps things moving along at a fast pace.”

Dodge opened the front door to the inn and the three men walked inside, with Travis honed in on Bella who had removed her coat and knit hat. She looked even more dazzling in a red sweater and tight jeans that showed off every curve of her lean body.

“Everyone, please stop decorating!” Bella announced to Helen, Colt’s wife, and their four kids who were busy trimming the monster blue spruce centered in the front bank of windows. Colt’s toddler must have gotten scared because she dropped the glass ornament she’d been holding. It shattered on the floor and she began to cry.

Her mom whisked her up and comforted her, but there was no calming the tearful child.

Helen threw Bella an angry look and immediately took the children into the empty back dining room. Most of the guests left for the day right after breakfast, so the inn was always deserted in the afternoons.

“That might have been a little harsh, honey,” Nick said, but Bella didn’t flinch.

“I’m sorry, but we have a flight out of here this evening. Decorating is a waste of everyone’s time. Of course, you already knew that, Dad, so I don’t get all of this.”

She opened her black briefcase, pulled out a stack of papers, and carefully placed them on a coffee table in front of the tufted brown leather sofa.

“He wanted everything to be perfect for you,” Travis said. “We’ve been working round the clock to make the inn look like it did when you were a kid.”

“Excuse me,” Colt said and followed after his wife and children into the back dining room. Dodge retreated out the front door.

“Thanks, but that, too, was a total waste of everyone’s time. There will be no Christmas celebrations at the inn this year.” She said it as though she had the final word on the issue instead of Nick.

Travis immediately turned to Nick who placed an elbow on the black walnut mantel at the far end of the room. A fire roared in the hearth behind him, warming the festive room. Nick didn’t flinch, smile or react. He merely stared at his daughter, stone-faced.

Travis decided to take another approach, rubbed his now itchy chin and spread a friendly smile across his face. “I don’t know what you might have planned, but that’s not exactly an option. Your dad and half the town have been gearing up for this Christmas for the last six months. The inn is booked to eighty percent capacity, and every event that takes place in this town for the next week all begin and end right here. It’s going to be the best Christmas Dream Weaver Inn has ever known.”

She folded her arms across her chest, and stuck out a hip. “Apparently my dad hasn’t told anyone that he’s sold the inn. I’ve brought the paperwork he needs to sign to make it official, but that’s only a formality.”

Travis felt as if he’d been sucker-punched in the gut. “That can’t be true. There’s some misunderstanding. Your dad wouldn’t sell his inn and not tell me. I’ve been repairing it—” That stopped him cold and he turned to face Nick. “You didn’t have me put in all that time, all that work so you could sell it, did you? What’s she talking about, Nick? You sold the inn? It can’t be true. You love this place. The town loves this place.”

“It’s complicated,” Nick said and plopped down on the sofa, running a hand through his graying brown hair.

Travis stood his ground. He had a lot invested in this Christmas and most of the planned events were his doing. He was not about to walk away and let hard-shelled Bella Biondi swipe everything away with her paperwork and city boots, no matter how fine she happened to look. He had a sinking feeling even a blowtorch wasn’t quite strong enough to get through to her. A flamethrower might be the weapon of choice.

Travis walked right up to Bella, stared into those gorgeous smoky eyes of hers, turned on the charm as thick as molasses and said, “Define complicated.”

Chapter Two

“This is none of your business, Travis,” Bella said, looking straight into his eyes, as if she could see right through him. As if he was made out of cellophane.

“None of my business? I just spent the better half of two months repairing this place. Not to mention the effort my entire family made to decorate the inn for this holiday, and my sister-in-law Maggie launched a huge ad campaign to drum up business. The place is booked solid for the next two months and you think it’s none of my business? I think I have a right to know what’s going on and if this ‘sale’ you two are talking about is true.”

“Tell him, Dad,” Bella said turning to Nick who sat forward on the sofa as if it were his launching pad and he was about to take off.

“It’s true. I agreed to sell the inn.” His voice squeaked like an old rusty door hinge. Travis had a sinking feeling even Nick didn’t quite believe his own words.

No one spoke while Travis attempted to absorb the full effect of what was now finally sinking in as real.

“Wow. I never saw this train coming. And to think I was excited about your visit.” He slid his hat back on his head then moved it forward again, something he seemed to do whenever he found himself staring down a problem of major proportions. This here certainly constituted one of those moments.

“Can’t imagine why you would be,” she added, sounding as if his feelings didn’t matter.

The statement lay on him like a wet blanket on a cold morning.

He faced Bella. “A lot has changed since the last time I saw you.”

“We grew up.”

“Is that what you think this is?”

“Some of us matured, like fine wine.”

“Never could see all the fuss. I’m more of a beer man, myself.”

She looked him over and he felt a bit naked. “It shows.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You’re twisting my words.”

“You’re twisting my heart.”

“That would mean you still have one.”

“Darlin’, the lack of a heart seems to be your affliction, not mine.”

“There are no emotions in good business. It’s all about the bottom line.”

He stared at her pretty face—those smoky eyes, those full lips—and realized she had not only grown up but she had turned into someone he no longer recognized or wanted to know.

“You’re right,” he said, convinced now there was little hope of trying to understand the situation. “This is none of my business and I’ll be leaving you two to it.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait! Travis, don’t go,” Nick called after him, but Travis no longer wanted to play their game. She’d won this round and he simply had to learn how to cope with the facts. There would be no Christmas at Dream Weaver Inn this year.

Travis headed straight for the front door, opened it and walked outside into the cold, gently closing the door behind him.

* * *

NICK STOOD. A look of anger crossed his face. Bella was prepared for anything he wanted to throw at her. She hadn’t flown all the way out here to be rolled over by her dad and Travis Granger. This was the biggest and most lucrative deal she’d ever put together. There were eight inns across the country involved in this sale, and TransGlobal intended to add five more in the near future. She had the paperwork for the first seven signed by the owners and ready to go. Her father’s signature was all that stood between her and the final sale. It meant everything to her—not only the promotion, but it also affected her credibility in the eyes of high-end clients. Then there was the commission. It was enough to move her into a penthouse on the Golden Mile in Chicago, something she had worked hard to achieve. Something her mom would have been proud of and something her dad obviously did not completely appreciate...yet.

She was sure he’d come around once she had time to show him all this deal would mean both financially and emotionally to both of them.

She’d have to educate him on the finer elements of business, something her dad had never been very good at.

“Now maybe we can get these papers signed.”

She deliberately sat down across from him on one of the well-worn leather club chairs, and straightened out the documents he needed to approve, then she pulled out her Princess Grace De Monaco Mont Blanc pen. It was a pricey present to herself for putting this deal together.

The scent of pine from the blue spruce tree mixed with the aroma of the logs burning in the hearth exploded a memory that stopped her cold.

She couldn’t have been more than four or five years old. It was Christmas morning and she, her mom and dad had walked into their living quarters up on the third floor to open presents. It was the year she’d gotten her first grown-up doll, one all dressed up in a black business suit, high heels and carrying a briefcase. She remembered how disappointed she’d been when she opened the box and how excited her mom seemed to be about the doll. Bella had wanted a grown-up doll dressed like a cowgirl, with tiny cowgirl boots, a cowgirl hat, carrying a lariat. She’d specifically asked Santa for that doll, and had cried for days over not getting it.

That was the Christmas she’d stopped believing in Santa.

“I’m not going to sign anything I haven’t read first.”

Her father used his stern, unwavering voice, but it didn’t scare Bella. When she was a kid, that voice had always struck a chord of fear inside her and she’d instantly relent to his demands.

But she wasn’t a kid anymore.

“Don’t be silly. I have your best interest in mind.”

“That’s your mama talking.”

“She was right. You should have sold the inn years ago. It’s been nothing but a money drain. Because of this deal, you’re getting more than market value. You stand to make a very nice profit.”

She placed her pen down in front of him. The tiny pink topaz stone on the clip caught the light from the fireplace and she thought about what a good purchase that pen had been, that she’d deserved to have something this pretty after all the long hours and hard work she’d put in. At least she’d learned perseverance from him, and for that she would always be grateful.

“That may be true, but it’s my offer to read before I sign.”

Agitation clawed at Bella’s stomach as a clock tick-ticked in the background, a truly annoying sound. “I don’t have time for this, Dad. We need to be on our way out of here in less than two hours.”

“And who’s going to run my inn when I go running off to Orlando?”

“Tampa.”

“Whatever.”

“You should have closed it weeks ago like I asked you to.”

“I couldn’t. I have guests booked who are looking forward to their stay.”

“That’s not your problem.”

Her dad shook his head. “It’s Christmas, Bella. I can’t do that.”

“Surely there’s someone on your staff who can take charge.”

“Wouldn’t be fair to my employees. What you’re asking me to do is impossible. I can leave for one or two nights, but not like this. Not for good. And not a week before Christmas. They all have their own families to attend to. They can’t be doing my job as well as their own.”

She rose and began pacing the wooden floor, each step echoing throughout the lobby. She walked over to the baby grand piano in the corner, then back again. There had to be a solution to this dilemma. She refused to stay in this town one more minute than she had to. Already she could feel her resolve waning, especially after her encounter with Travis. His very presence had tugged on her heart.

The front door opened and a young couple walked in, smiling and nodding their greeting as they headed up the stairway at the back of the lobby, the old wooden stairs creaking as they climbed.

Bella waited to reply to her dad until the guests were far enough away. Then she said, “Pay them time and a half for a couple days.”

“I won’t be solving this by throwing money around. Besides, what’s the hurry? I might be able to get someone to take charge in a couple days at their normal pay once that person prepares for it, but not today. And didn’t you tell me this would be a smooth transition and my guests would never know the difference? Throwing them out only days before Christmas isn’t exactly a ‘smooth transition.’”

She’d been having some emotional trouble with that aspect, as well. TransGlobal had decided to gut each inn in order to give them their own unique look. That would require shutting down Dream Weaver Inn during the renovations, something she wasn’t exactly ready to spring on her dad just yet. She had envisioned never telling him the details of the sale, figuring once he was settled in his fabulous new condo, enjoying the warm weather and the sandy beaches he’d never think about this silly inn again.

She was counting on it.

“Dad, this wouldn’t be a problem if you had cancelled all the reservations and told your guests the truth. TransGlobal is a customer-satisfaction company, meaning the customer always comes first. They pride themselves with five-star service and ambiance.” She hoped her logic and calmer disposition would have the effect she needed.

“Well, then, taking their lead, there’s no rush to boot everyone out of here and make them uncomfortable.” He picked up the paperwork. “I’ll just take these here documents up to my room and start reading. We can meet tonight at Belly Up for a steak and I’ll hand over the signed docs. But first we should apologize to Travis. He put a lot of work into this place. TransGlobal’s getting a nice piece of property.”

She wasn’t liking any of this, especially the part about kowtowing to Travis Granger. She didn’t want to see him again, much less tell him she was sorry for anything.

“If you want to apologize, go right ahead. I still contend this is none of his business. And as far as my staying, that’s out of the question.”

“You can go on ahead and leave if you want to. But you’ll be leaving without me or this deal.”

She watched as he walked to the front door, slid his coat off one of the brass hooks and slipped it on completely ignoring her, and trumping her ultimatum.

She let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine! I’ll change our flight, but it’s only for one more night as long as you can promise me I won’t have to see Travis again.”

“That boy’s been a part of this family since he was a kid and I don’t want him feeling as if that’s changed none. Whether you see him again or not isn’t something I can control. It’s a small town.”