Christmas With The Cowboy

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.

“Yeah. Got a bent tail here,” Travis said. “That cow is going to calve soon. We’ll keep an eye on her.”

Zach nodded.

“In a perfect world they’d all deliver in twenty-four hours and we’d be done counting calves before lunch tomorrow,” Travis said.

“Good to have dreams, because my guess is that in the real world they’ll be staggering delivery for the next two weeks and totally messing with your plans.”

“You’re right on.” He turned in the saddle to face Zach. “Do you miss this?”

“When I’m praying to God that I’ll make it out of a mission alive, yeah, I do.”

It was more than that. More than he could ever admit aloud. He missed those summers on his father’s ranch when he could pretend he had a normal family, instead of one where he was a bungee cord between divorced parents.

Zach leaned back in the saddle and inhaled the clean earthy fragrance of red dirt and golden autumn pasture grass. Seemed like he couldn’t get enough. “In truth, I miss quite a lot about ranch life.”

“You’ve got two months until you start the new job. What are you going to do until then?” Travis asked.

“No clue.”

“Are you staying with your father?”

“My father has leased out the Pawhuska ranch. He’s retired and is now circling the globe with my stepmother. Sort of a celebration because her cancer is in remission.”

“I knew they were traveling on and off, but hadn’t heard he’d leased. Any thoughts of taking over?”

“Never. Too many memories.”

“I hear you.” Travis frowned. “So where are you staying?”

“A bed-and-breakfast in Timber.”

“That’s no good. We have plenty of room in the bunkhouse. Why not stay with us until January?”

“Here?” Zach drew back slightly at the generosity of the unexpected gesture. “That’s not a sympathy offer, is it?”

“No way. We’re short staffed right now and having a jack-of-all-trades like yourself on staff to fill in the gaps here and there would help me sleep at night.”

Zach adjusted his ball cap as he considered Travis’s words.

“It’s not nearly as exciting as being a navy SEAL, or staying at the Timber B & B, but we are your family. The plus side would be you get to spend the holidays with your nieces.”

The mention of his nieces was enough to yank him right in. He was overdue for being a real uncle to Rachel and Elizabeth.

“I’m going to take you up on that,” Zach said before he had a chance to change his mind.

“All right.” Travis grinned. “Stop by human resources in the admin building tomorrow morning and fill out the paperwork. They’ll get you squared away with a security badge to get you in and out of the gate.”

“Will do.”

Travis snapped his fingers. “Oh, and before I forget. Monday evening, 6:00 p.m. Big meeting at the Oklahoma Rose in town. In the banquet room.”

“At a restaurant?”

“It’s the staff Christmas party.”

“Trav, I hate to beat a dead horse, but it’s November fifth. You haven’t even had a good frost around these parts.”

“You’re still not getting it. There’s no time in December. This place has nonstop holiday activities from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve.”

“I’m trying to understand,” Zach returned, tucking away the information.

“You will, firsthand, and soon enough.”

The pounding of hooves, announcing a horse and rider approaching in the distance, had both men turning around.

“Uh-oh, Emma found us.” Travis raised his brows. “Or maybe she found you. Wait until she hears that you’re staying.”

“Could we keep his between us right now?” Zach asked. “Emma has her own agenda that I’m doing my best to dodge.”

“RangePro, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“She’s done nothing but talk about turning Steve’s company over to you since you got back.”

A groan slipped from Zach.

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. That said, this is a female-dominated ranch, so you know the odds of anything remaining a secret long are slim to none.”

“Yeah. I figured as much, but if I can get even a short reprieve from her trying to lasso me into her plans for my future, I’ll take it.”

“Have you suggested selling?”

“She’s convinced that if she can tie me to a chair long enough for the RangePro spiel, I’ll change my mind.” He took a deep breath. “I’m telling you, your sister is the only woman I know who’s as stubborn as I am.”

Travis gave a chuckle. “I respect the fact that you admit that.”

“That only means that one of us is going to end up very unhappy.” Zach narrowed his eyes. “I’m committed to that person not being me.”

“I hear you.” He gave a nod toward his sister and called out. “You looking for me, Emma?”

“Yes. Dutch is bringing a breech to the barn and he needs your help.” She pulled her horse up next to them and adjusted the black Stetson at the back of her head.

“Can you two monitor the rest of the herd?” Travis asked.

“I’m good.” Zach nodded.

“Then I guess I am, too,” Emma said as Travis headed back to the barn. The grim set of her lips and the expression on her face offered an uneasy détente. She’d work with him for the good of the ranch.

“Where are the twins?” Zach asked as his gaze skimmed over her. Despite the tension between them Emma was relaxed in the saddle. She wore a long-sleeve black T-shirt with the ranch logo on the front pocket. With a gloved hand, she pushed a single plaited braid of long dark hair off her shoulder. He stared, mesmerized for a moment, before returning to his senses and quickly averting his eyes.

“I’ve hired a sitter for a couple of hours every afternoon so I can help out, since Lucy can’t ride,” Emma said.

“Everything okay with your sister?”

“Apparently, you haven’t seen Lucy yet. My big sister is having a baby.”

“Whoa. Is everyone getting married and having babies around here?”

Emma laughed. “There does seem to be an epidemic, now that you mention it.”

“Her first child?”

“Her first pregnancy. She and her husband, Jack, adopted triplets last year.”

Zach opened his mouth and then closed it again. “I have no words.”

“Most people simply say aw when they see seven-year-old triplets.” She gave him a long look. “You’re helping Travis out?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s hardly a vacation.”

“In my world it is.”

Emma shook her head and led her brown Appaloosa with white spots toward the outside of the pasturing herd. Zach followed, riding the flank.

“How long’s this one been in labor?” she asked, pointing to a heifer reclining near the fence.

“Not long.”

Silence stretched between them as they circled the pasture.

“Who’s your App?” he asked with a nod to the Appaloosa.

“This is Rodeo.” Emma patted the animal’s neck as she continued to ride at a slow pace, eyes never leaving the herd.

“Rodeo? Does that mean you’re still barrel racing?” Zach asked.

“No. I was never really much of a barrel racer.”

“I thought you were.”

Emma’s face pinked at his words and she shook her head. “AJ is our resident barrel racing expert, though I try to get in some practice when I can. Sometimes I bring the twins to watch. I want to get them comfortable around horses right away.”

“Good idea.”

She pulled up on the Appaloosa’s reins. “We have one dropping over there.”

“Where?”

“There.” She moved right and Zach followed. “The head is pushing through.”

They held back at a distance, waiting and watching.

“Come on, little momma, you can do this,” Emma murmured. “You were born to do this.”

“There she goes,” Zach said. The calf slid to the grass minutes later.

“That calf isn’t breathing,” Emma cried.

Zach’s pulse kicked into overdrive at the alarm in Emma’s voice. He made a clumsy dismount, forgetting for a moment that his knee had no plans to cooperate. Zach caught Zeus’s saddle, barely escaping a face plant.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked as she, too, dismounted.

“I’m fine. Worry about the calf, not me.”

Steps ahead of him, she slipped to the ground next to the calf. Pulling her shirttail free from her Wranglers, Emma swiped the animal’s face, and then tickled the nostrils with straw.

The calf sneezed, spreading a shower of fluid all over her.

“Oh, yuck.” She grimaced, wiping her face with her sleeve. “Thanks a lot, little guy.”

Zach laughed. “Nice job. He’s breathing all right.”

Emma stood and backed away from the heifer as the mother sounded a grunt of protest and took over cleaning her calf.

“Whoa. Momma wants you out of there, Emma.”

“Yes. I’m going.” Emma moved and kept moving until she could grab Rodeo’s reins and hoist herself back onto the horse.

Zach carefully swung his leg over Zeus’s saddle, his gaze already taking in the rest of the herd.

“How could you leave all this?” Emma pulled out a bandanna and wiped her face again. Despite her disheveled appearance, there was a wide grin on her face.

“I know you don’t understand, but it wasn’t easy. Toughest decision of my life.”

Their gazes connected and Zach swallowed hard.

“Then why did you?” she asked softly. “We’d been friends since I was seven years old, and suddenly you left without a backward glance.”

He kept his mouth shut, unwilling to open that particular can of worms here and now.

“I guess there’s no point asking why you’ve stayed away for three years, either,” she continued.

Another heifer released a loud mournful wail and Zach turned his horse around. “Saved by the heifer.”

“You can run...” Emma murmured. “But it seems to me that you and I have a lot to talk about.”

Yeah, she was right. If he was going to be here until January, eventually he and Emma would have to talk.

Zach shook his head as he carefully headed toward the birthing cow.

Why was it that although he never gave a second thought to heading into danger as a navy SEAL, the thought of going toe-to-toe with his brother’s widow in Timber, Oklahoma, terrified him?

Chapter Two

Emma sluiced cold water over her face and arms, rinsing the evidence of a day’s hard work into the industrial sink of the stables. She shivered and reached for paper towels to dry off. A glance down at her once shiny Ariat boots had her cringing. Something she didn’t want to think about now decorated the hand-tooled leather. Rubbing the soles against a boot scraper in the corner, followed by the hard stomp of her feet on the stable floor, she managed to kick off most of the offending debris.

Though exhaustion dogged her, Emma’s spirits remained energized. There was something satisfying about hands-on ranch work. She missed this. The last two and a half years had seen her cloistered in her office juggling the twins between therapy sessions with children and RangePro issues.

She glanced at her watch and then out the nearest window. The shadows of the day were closing in and she still had a riding lesson before she could head home to dinner and her girls.

“Miss Emma, can my brother, Mick, come with us for today’s lesson?”

Emma turned to meet the hopeful gaze of Benjie Brewer, a ten-year-old with bright red curls and a round face. She resisted the urge to correct his grammar. Her sister, Lucy, was a grammar stickler, whose comeback when they were growing up was always I don’t know, can you?

Emma favored example as the better teacher. “Isn’t Mick on the schedule?”

“Yes. With Mr. Travis, but he’s still working with some sickly calves in the barn.”

“I can take Travis’s lesson.”

The familiar deep rumbling voice had Emma whirling around. Her eyes widened at the sight of Zach standing in the doorway. With his shoulders nearly blocking the sun behind him, the man seemed larger and twice as imposing as usual.

His gait was slower and the limp more pronounced as he closed the distance between them. Her gaze went to his face. The tight jaw clearly said that he was in pain.

After four hours in and out of the saddle with calf birthing in the pasture, she was in pain, as well. But she knew her minor aches were nothing compared to Zach’s and yet he continued to soldier through. What drove the man?

“That work for you, Miss Emma?” he asked as he swiped at his brow with the back of his hand.

With a pointed gaze at his knee, she raised a brow in question.

“The knee is fine.”

“If you say so,” she murmured.

“And I do.”

Emma took off her Stetson and pushed damp and tangled strands of hair from her face before sliding the hat to the back of her head. “Mr. Zach, this is Benjie Brewer. His brother is no doubt hiding around the corner.”

“Mick, you can come out now,” Benjie called.

Where Benjie was pale, short and freckled, Mick Brewer was tall and lean with straight dark hair. His coloring and facial features hinted at a Native American heritage.

“Brothers?” Zach repeated.

Zach took the words from her mouth.

“We’re half brothers,” Mick said. “I’m older.”

“By a year is all,” Benjie returned.

Zach’s eyes rounded as he looked between the boys. He hadn’t missed the irony, Emma noted. They were as different as he and Steve were.

“Can you ride, Mick?” Zach asked.

Benjie blew a loud raspberry.

“I asked Mick,” Zach said drily.

Benjie’s eyes popped wide at Zach’s tone and he inched back.

“’Course I can ride.” Mick swelled up his chest and got in his brother’s face. “Better than this little runt can.”

“Naw, that’s not true,” Benjie defended himself. “You’re the one who rides like a scaredy-cat.”

“Do not.”

“Do, too.”

“Stop.”

All heads turned to Zach as the thunderous words echoed throughout the stables. He held up a large gloved hand. “First rule. Less talking. And there is zero tolerance for name-calling.”

“But...” Benjie said.

“Yes, sir, is the appropriate response,” Zach said, his voice low and nearly a growl.

Emma’s eyes rounded at the menacing tone in his voice.

Benjie blinked and swallowed. Then he inched back several paces. “Yes, sir.”

“Mick, do you have a horse?” Zach asked.

“Yes, sir. We’re all assigned horses to ride and groom.”

“Then I’ll trust you both to saddle up and wait outside.” He looked between them. “Quietly.”

“Yes, sir,” both boys repeated, eager to leave.

“Helmets,” Emma called after them.

“Yes, sir,” Mick said.

Emma laughed. “I’m ma’am.”

When she turned back to Zach, he pulled off his ball cap and then slapped it back on. His lips were twitching and his eyes sparkled with a humor she hadn’t seen in years.

“That was impressive,” Emma said as she grabbed her gloves and moved past Zach.

“Maybe I did get something out of the navy after all.” He turned to her. “You going to be using the round pen?” he asked.

“Go ahead. I’ll grab a fresh horse and take Benjie on a short trail ride and wear him out.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me just yet.” She lowered her voice. “You should know that Mick is one of our more difficult kids. He wears an attitude most of the time. When it comes to lessons, well, he’s nervous in the saddle. Then he freezes up, gets defensive and can’t hear a word you’re telling him.”

“And the horse?”

“We put him on Grace. My girls could ride Grace if I let them, but Mick hasn’t mastered proper saddling, much less riding.”

“How long has he been taking lessons?”

“Not long. He and Benjie arrived at the ranch at the end of the summer. City boys, in and out of foster homes.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.”

“No problem.” She gave his leg a fleeting glance as she headed to another stall.

“My knee is fine,” he called.

“Fine is a relative word,” she mumbled to herself.

Stubborn and prideful man. He wouldn’t admit he was in pain and he refused to discuss the injury. Maybe Dutch could make some headway. The old cowboy had a silver tongue and a gift for weaseling information.

An hour later, with Benjie’s lesson completed, Emma instructed the boy to head in to groom his horse before dinner. She led her own mare to the pen fence to observe Zach and Mick.

Mick finished adjusting the stirrups and turned to Zach, who stood several feet away, allowing the horse and rider to bond. “Done,” Mick called.

Zach approached and circled Grace, carefully checking all aspects of the tack job the young rider had completed.

“Nice job, Mick,” Zach said. “You groomed the horse, and the saddle is in place. Looks to me like you really know what you’re doing.”

Mick beamed for a moment then he stole a peek at his wristwatch. A frown darkened his face. “It took us so long.”

“Are we in a rush?”

Mick shrugged his thin shoulders. “I guess not.”

“This is not about clock watching, it is about learning how to do the job correctly. Grace’s life and yours depend on it.”

“Okay.”

“Yes, sir,” Zach corrected.

“Yes, sir.”

“Give Grace a nice soft rub on her nose and talk to her, real quiet.”

“I already did that.”

“Can’t ever give an animal too much loving. You’re building a long-term relationship here.”

Emma smiled at the words. He was so right. Zach might have spent the last twelve years in the navy, but he still remembered his cowboy roots.

Moments later, Zach nodded and gave Mick a thumbs-up. “You’re ready to get on the horse.”

Mick swallowed and his face paled. “But what if she bucks me?”

“Grace is your friend. Give her a chance. You trust her, right?”

He chewed his lip in thought before answering. “Maybe. But what if I fall off while I’m trying to get on?”

Zach raised his hands and stepped closer. “I’m right here. I’ll catch you.” He met Mick’s worried gaze. “You’re just going to sit in the saddle today. That’s all. Nothing to it.”

Mick didn’t appear comforted by the words.

“Do I look like I can catch you?” Zach asked.

“Yes, sir, but I don’t want to look stupid.” Mick frowned yet again, this time with a glance over at Emma.

“I hear you.” Zach pivoted around on his boot and narrowed his eyes. “Would you please excuse us, Miss Emma?”

“Oh, sure. Yes. Of course. Sorry.” Embarrassed, she turned away with the mare and headed inside to untack the horse.

Ten minutes later, the clop, clop of a horse plodding along on the stable floor had her peeking over the stall gate.

Zach offered a nod of acknowledgment as he and Grace walked down to the last stall on the left.

Emma took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for interrupting your lesson.”

“No problem. You know how it is. He’s a kid and he’s terrified he’ll humiliate himself in front of a beautiful woman.”

“Beautiful woman?” she murmured.

“Look in the mirror lately?”

“I...” She cleared her throat and concentrated on the smooth velvet coat of the horse. “Well, yes, but usually what I see is the mother of twins.”

“Look again.”

“So how did you do?” she asked, letting the comment sail past her for analysis at a later time.

“Are you going to harass me about my knee again?”

When her hand slipped midstroke and the brush clattered to the ground, the chestnut mare snuffled an objection. “I’m talking about Mick,” she clarified.

Minutes passed without a response.

Emma peeked over the stall, but couldn’t see Zach. “Come on. Aren’t you going to share?”

“I didn’t realize you were waiting for a report,” he called.

“Mick’s been challenging since he arrived and I’ve had a few therapy sessions with him. Naturally, I’m curious.”

“The lesson went well. Mick will be riding in no time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m going to talk to Travis about taking over his lessons.”

“So what did you do?”

“Can’t say I did anything new. Went slow and acknowledged his fear. You’re the therapist, you know the drill.”

“Yes, but what did you do that Travis didn’t?”

“Probably nothing. Maybe I got through to him because I can relate to this kid.”

“Oh?” Emma cleaned off the brush and currycomb in her hand and gave the horse a pat to let him know they were done.

“Yeah. You might say we have a lot in common.”

“Might?” She patted the horse again, checked the water and feed before latching the stall behind her.

“Yeah, might.”

“Because both of you are big brothers with a chip on your shoulder, you mean?”

She thought she heard a chuckle but couldn’t be sure.

“Something like that,” he said.

Emma put the equipment away in the tack room across from Grace’s stall. When she came out, Zach was waiting for her. He’d leaned back against Grace’s stall gate with his weight on his right leg. “So tell me how this works.”

“How what works?” she asked.

“The setup with the kids at the ranch.”

Emma pulled her car keys from her back pocket and paused. “What do you want to know?”

“How the ranch helps the kids. What do you do that’s so special?”

“What we do isn’t special. It’s simple and consistent. We create a new normal for them at Big Heart Ranch. We have two ranches here, the boys’ ranch and the girls’ ranch, separated by a road. The children are placed in a real house with house parents, not a dormitory. It’s not a biological family, but it is a family of the heart. Their forever family from that point on. They have daily devotionals, lessons, homework, chores and all, like any other kid.”

“That’s it?”

“Zach, that’s more than most of these kids have ever had. Every one of them comes from a situation that includes neglect and abuse. Many are orphaned or abandoned.”

Zach took a deep breath at her words.

“When their heads hit the pillow at night, they no longer have the burden of worry or fear on their shoulders. We replace that with unconditional love and God’s healing grace. We promise them that we will never lie to them and that we will always protect them. In return, they follow the ranch rules.” She shrugged. “We free them to be children.” Emma sighed. “Being a kid is highly undervalued these days.”

For a long moment, Zach stared ahead as though unseeing. He was somewhere else, and she wished with all her heart that she understood where.

“Zach,” she murmured. “You okay?”

He turned slightly and met her gaze. “Never better.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you later. I’ve got to get home to the girls.”

“Thanks, Emma.”

“For what?”

“For letting me work with Mick.”

“Sure.” Emma walked slowly to her car, puzzling over the conversation with Zach. She was certain that something remarkable had just happened but what that was eluded her.

Had she spoken to the Lord about Zach lately, or had she relegated him to a forgotten place in her prayers because she was annoyed by his dismissal of RangePro? His dismissal of her. It was time to remember her words about unconditional love and give Zach Norman what he deserved.

* * *

Zach’s assessing gaze took in the Big Heart Ranch bunkhouse that would be his home for the next eight weeks. Though Spartan, the place had everything he needed. Small kitchenette and a little living room, complete with a love seat and recliner facing a television. Grabbing his duffel from the floor, he tossed it and his security badge from human resources onto one of the four empty beds.

Easing down onto the mattress, he closed his eyes a moment.

He was in pain.