Page 49 of Cameron

Things were different without the men of their family here and they would make the best of it.

Glancing at her watch, she saw it was time to get ready. Six was only thirty minutes away.

Suddenly the rumble of loud machinery shook the barn. What was that?

They all hurried to the door. One of the highway department’s snow plows had just pulled into their drive, leaving a cleared driveway in his wake.

Was the driver in need of shelter? What was going on?

Then she saw him and her heart leaped into her throat.

Cameron.

He helped another man out of the cab and then he grabbed a suitcase and spoke to the driver.

“Thank you so much for your help. I would never have gotten here without you,” he told the man and shook his hand.

The plow pulled on through the drive and then back out onto the road.

That left Cameron and the stranger standing there staring at her like he’d never let her out of his sight again.

“Sam,” he said.

“You’re here,” she replied, stunned that he had made it. The airports had been closed as were the roads, and yet the man had hired a plow driver to get him out to the ranch.

He grinned. “Mother Nature didn’t make this easy for me,” he said. “Can we talk in private?”

Her mother stood over to the side a big smile on her face. As Sam walked past her, she whispered, “It’s going to be a great Christmas.”

Sam didn’t respond but took Cameron’s elbow and led him into the house and Edward’s office.

She didn’t want to sit behind the desk and closed the door, secluding them. She was about to ask him who the other guy was, but Cameron spoke first.

“I owe you an apology,” she said. “I should never have left without saying good-bye. I’ve been trying to call you, but the phone has been out.”

He put a finger to her lips and then he leaned down and kissed her softly.

“No more apologies. Maybe we both have not done what we needed to do, but hopefully I can fix that today.”

He reached into his bag and pulled out papers.

“Sam, I love you with all my heart and I know this is your inheritance and that this land means so much to you. I know that Edward really has put this ranch into one of the worst financial binds I’ve ever seen.”

He said he loved her and then he moved on. She wanted him to go back to that part. She didn’t want to talk business. She wanted to talk about them and how to get over this.

“I was wrong to listen to your brother. I’m sorry and I want to make it up to you.”

How did she respond?

He took her hand and led her to a small couch in the overlarge office.

“This ranch is to you what the Burnett Ranch is to my family. I can’t imagine losing my family home. So I’m prepared to loan you all the money you need to save the Mistletoe Ranch.”

She gasped. “And it would still be my family’s?”

“Yes,” he said. “You can pay me back as little or as much as you want. I’d like to be here to help you, not as a business partner, but as your husband.”

Speechless, she watched as he moved down on one knee. He pulled out a ring box and opened it.

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