Page 33 of The Cowboy's Miracle Baby

“Well, you’ve set the bar high.” Luke sighed with contentment.

“Thank you. But we’re so happy that you all could join us tonight. Even though we’re not quite finished.”

The Hardesty siblings seemed to be winking at each other with everyone else in the dark like he was.

Luke shot a questioning look at Gus. “More trees?”

Shay laughed. “No. A surprise for the uninitiated. A good surprise, I hope. And after, we can indulge in some of that yummy hot cocoa you brought us.”

“I’m sensing some outdoor yardwork coming our way,” Luke said, half-joking. “Firewood chopping? I’m in.”

“Nope. Everyone, get your coats on,” Sarah said, laughing. “I’m staying behind with Lolly because it’s a little too chilly for her, but the rest of you head on out to the big barn.”

Gus couldn’t imagine what was in store for them, but whatever it was, Ella was excited about it. She was dressed and had run out in front of the rest of them. It wasn’t until they had walked around the corner of the house that he saw what the Hardestys were up to. Parked in front of the large barn was a hay-filled flatbed wagon with fat tires hooked up to a pair of draft horses whose steamy breath circled their heads as they waited for the riders. One of their ranch workers stood beside the team he’d readied, looking quite pleased with himself.

Ella’s reaction was priceless. She couldn’t stop dancing in circles with little high-pitched squeals of happiness. “A hayride! Daddy, look!”

He laughed, thrilled to see her delight. “Wow!” Luckily there was only a dusting of snow left on the ground, nothing those fat tires couldn’t cut through on the gravel road that wound through the ranch.

Cami bumped his arm playfully. “Bet you didn’t imagine we’d force you into the cold night air as part of our Christmas ritual, did you?”

He turned up the collar of his sheepskin coat, his own breath steamy when he spoke. “Small price to pay for the look on her face,” he teased. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “I can’t think of any little girls who would turn down a chance for a hayride in the dead of Montana winter with these two beauties.” She patted the nose of the lighter of the two workhorses harnessed to the wagon.

Gus smoothed a hand down the nose of one of the horses he’d become acquainted with earlier last summer whose long harnesses were entwined with tiny, battery-operated lights and jingle bells. “They’ll earn their keep tonight for sure. And Ella won’t be forgetting this night any time soon.”

For her part, Cami felt Gus’s grateful smile down to her toes. She was thrilled watching Ella’s face light up at the sight of the wagon and all the Christmas trimmings and was glad they’d come. The feeling that something was happening between them seemed evidenced by the happiness she felt just being around him. Was she just crushing on him? Ugh. Wasn’t she too old for that?

Or was it something more?

“Non-Hardestys up first,” Liam shouted. “We’ve got blankets!”

It had been ages since she’d felt this thrumming attraction to a man she really hardly knew. Her cheeks felt hot as he reached a hand down to help her into the hay wagon after Ella. He tugged her up effortlessly and she scooched in beside him on the other side of his daughter. They huddled under the same blanket as the others got up and settled, and the driver gave the jangly harness a shake, signaling the horses to go.

As a family, they’d done this ride dozens of times, every holiday season. It had been a tradition her mother had insisted upon, and it would become a fixture event of their ranch’s guest experience as well. Because who could resist a winter hayride, really? With theclip-clopof hooves, and the jangle of bells under the starry Montana sky, awash with pinpricks of light and a half-moon, the air smelled sweet and held the breath of the Absarokas. Even in the dark, the mountains in the distance shone like silvery outlines in the moonlight where snow crested their peaks.

The driver had two small LED lanterns attached to the sides of the wagon to light their way, but the night was clear enough to see the road that wound up between their pastures toward the round barn and back again. In deeper snow, they had a smaller sleigh, but the wagon fit more people and felt perfect for tonight.

“I gotta admit,” Gus said quietly leaning toward her, “even as a vet, I’ve never done a hayride in my life.”

“No? You’ve been missing out. I hope this will be the first of many.” More than just polite words, she truly hoped he’d stay in Marietta. Not only because she found herself wanting to get to know him better, but for Ella’s sake as well. She seemed like she was just beginning to blossom here.

But from the expression on his face, she wondered if he meant to stay in Marietta much longer. Dr. Alden, for whom Gus was standing in, had to be nearly recovered from his knee replacement surgery by now. But he must be almost seventy and nearing retirement. Then again, Alden was a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy who subscribed to the idle-hands theory and all that. A widower himself, the doc had been a staple in Marietta forever and might just keep working for another twenty years despite his bad knees.

The wagon rolled along the road and the others on the ride talked quietly amongst themselves and Ella and Luke were busy pointing out constellations in the night sky.

“I guess you’ve finished remodeling that barn,” Gus said quietly to her. “I remember the raw state of it last summer. It must have been quite the job.”

“Truthfully, Will and Liam have slaved over it, but we did bring in some outside contractors for the finish-work. And it was worth all the effort. That’s where Izzy and Will are getting married next week, you know.”

He nodded. “I’m invited, apparently.”

She tried and failed to contain her smile. “And… are you coming?”

“Barring any four-legged medical emergencies, floods, or… super-volcano eruptions.”

She laughed. “Oh, dear. We’re probably safe on at least two counts. You’ll have to save me a dance.”

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