Page 30 of Must Love Mistletoe

“Only loosely. It’s just easier to get a start on that in the springtime when they’re soft. Apparently, my grandmother was a great one for making a thing out of stripping willow in the spring to make lighter work later.”

“Smart woman, your grandmother.”

She took a mug off a wall peg and looked toward him.

“Not for me. I’m heading over to Jim’s. He picked up a bitch and her pup off the side of the road a few weeks back and hasn’t been able to find the owner. He doesn’t want to keep them because they don’t get on with his huskies. I’m in the market for a dog, so I said I’d take a look.”

“You’re getting a dog?” Sam asked, immediately intrigued.

So much so that his earlier reserve had completely disappeared.Yes, it seemed Cal was getting a dog, if this was the result.

“What sort?”

“Some kind of German shepherd-collie cross, Jim says. Jury’s out on the pup. Paws the size of dinner plates. Could be some Great Pyrenees in the mix. Maremma, even. Jim’s gota few contenders for the pup already, so it’s the bitch I’ll be looking at.” He kept it casual as he prepared to make his pitch. “Want to come with me and help me do a temperament test? Because she’s no good to me if she’s no good around kids. That’s if you’ve done all your chores and your mother can spare you.”

Beth had her arms crossed, eyeballing him levelly. Cal smiled, and tried not to look like a man playing chess while barely knowing the rules of the game. “You can come, too.”

“What if I still have chores to do?” she asked dryly.

“Then you can’t come. I don’t make the rules. I just enforce them.”

“Can I go, Mom? Can I?”

“Have you fed the horses?”

“And took their coats off and let ’em out into the yards and picked up the poop.” Sam nodded. “Can I go?”

“What time will you have him back?” This was Beth in full mom mode and it was sexy as all go get.

“Well, that depends. If I take the dog, we might have to call into the Casey ranch on the way back for dog supplies. And lunch.” Thesecondbest way to go about making Sam realize the benefits of maybe one day becoming Cal’s kid was having endless access to Savannah Casey’s love. “You could meet us there for lunch,” he told Beth. “We’re doing Casey Christmas planning, where everyone bids to host something or other.”

She arched a slender eyebrow. “Will there be fisticuffs?”

“Oh, you heard about that? It was only Jett and Seth arguing about who was going to buy the turkey. Cookies were thrown. My mother’s wooden spoon came out and knuckles got rapped. Conflict resolution at its best.” He had the pleasure of seeing Beth’s lips twitch. “It was truly a beautiful moment for the rest of us, given Seth and Jett so rarely fall out. Mason’s been buying Mom new wooden spoons all year. The last one had the Texasstar engraved on it. I’m pretty sure Mason plans to decorate the Christmas tree with them.”

“Brothers,” Sam muttered with all the borrowed wisdom of an only-child.

“Exactly.” Cal stifled a grin. “Does not know when to stop, that one.”

“But he’s still your favorite, right, Cal?” Sam said. “Even if he’s a screw up?”

“Language!” Beth said warningly, but Cal was already nodding.

“Yeah, because I know where he’s coming from.” Probably due to the not so small matter of both Mason and Cal carrying underdog status in a family of super high achievers.

Or maybe it had something to do with that time in their teens where Mason nearly froze to death one night after being kidnapped by Cara’s mom and dropped in the middle of nowhere, so he didn’t turn up at the prom. Cal had driven out to collect him once his brother had gotten a phone signal. Cal had been sworn to silence, and then watched in silence as Mason had ripped his own heart out rather than drive a wedge between Cara and her mom. Mason had never breathed a word about why he’d been a no-show at the prom. That had been downrightnoble.

“Yep. Mason’s my favorite, even when he’s a screw”—he caught Beth’s eye just in time—“top.”

“You’re up to something,” Beth muttered in his direction. “I can tell.”

“Good deeds only,” he protested. “I’m on a rescue mission.” The mission being recalibrating his relationship with Sam and rescuing their future. “Someone’s got to do it.”

“Off you go, then.” She turned her attention to Sam. “I need you back by one at the latest. I have to be at work by three, which means dropping you off at your sleepover at two thirty.”

“You’re working tonight?” Cal asked.

“Split shift until seven. A favor for a colleague.” She smothered a yawn and waved her fingers in their direction. “Shouldn’t you two be on your way?”

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