Page 16 of Snowed in with the Rancher

Becoming bored as the chopping went on, the girls began making snow angels, alternating with throwing snowballs at one another. Olivia tried to avoid looking too closely at Tate's arm muscles as he swung the ax and chipped away at the spruce. Even as cold as the air was, he'd stripped to a t-shirt while he worked, and Olivia could attest that it was a very good idea indeed. She remembered the feel of those biceps beneath her fingertips as they lay in his bed on the gently rocking ship. She remembered the way he smelled—like citrus and ocean breezes. And she remembered the way he kissed—like he had all the time in the world and was willing to spend it on her.

She sighed as he took one last swing and the tree toppled over into the deep, fluffy snow. She didn't want the man to freeze to death, but it was a real shame to see him put his flannel shirt and parka back on.

On the way back, the girls chattered nonstop about their plans for the tree. They'd agreed to divide it in half, and each would get her own side to decorate the way she wanted. Tate's naturally taciturn nature worked well with the twins. They talked, he listened and offered the occasional murmur, and soon they were all back in the warm cabin.

As the girls settled down to their work, Olivia got out the ingredients to make hot chocolate.

“You know,” Tate said as he walked into the kitchen and rested his nicely formed ass against the counter opposite her, “with all the, uh, news last night, I barely got a chance to tell you how sorry I am about your parents.”

She turned the stove down to simmer and faced him. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“I can't imagine what you went through.” His expression was so warm and gentle, it took her back to sitting on a beach, watching a sunset with him. “I wish I'd been able to come with you. To help.”

“I know. In retrospect, I should have gone and gotten you. And I don't mean because of…” She waved her hand toward the living room where Lobster, his big tongue lolling out of his mouth, was watching the girls decorate. “Later on, after I'd gotten over the shock, I realized that even though we'd never exchanged last names, you would have helped me.” She looked down, swallowing hard. “We had that kind of connection, didn't we?”

He followed her gaze, staring at their hands as if he'd forgotten he was holding hers. When he spoke, his voice was gruff. “We did. After you left, I just couldn't understand how you'd been able to up and leave without a word. It felt like we knew one another so much better than that.”

Her heart raced at his soft smile. He was like a big bear—strong, warm, and a little gruff. It wasn't hard to see why she'd felt the way she did about him on that ship. He was kind of irresistible.

“Mr. Tate!” Jackie yelled from the living room. “We need your help!”

Olivia smiled as he dropped her hand. “I'll bring the hot chocolate,” she told him before he turned away to obediently make his way to the Christmas tree.

A few minutes later, Tate reached up and set the big gold star on top of the tree. Both girls jumped up and down with excitement.

“He's so tall,” Jackie said.

Olivia tried not smile. Yes, he was very tall. There was certainly something about a tall man.

“Now we need the tinsel all over the ceiling,” Melissa ordered.

“The ceiling?” Tate looked at her skeptically.

“Like when it's droopy,” Melissa insisted.

Tate picked up some ropes of tinsel, then looked at the ceiling, obviously unsure.

“I think they mean draped.” Olivia reached over and demonstrated. “But not from the ceiling, you two. How about along the fireplace mantle and over the windows and doors?”

Once that was agreed to, Tate got to work swagging ropes of tinsel all over the place. He was so patient and gentle with the girls, but also really good at reeling them in when necessary. Or distracting them—every parent's favorite trick, and one he seemed to know how to do innately.

The girls had found the perfect spot for Lobster's stocking, and the dog seemed to realize it belonged to him as he sniffed it and lay down directly underneath.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the box. Both girls were whispering and giggling when Olivia went to the kitchen to refill everyone's hot chocolate mugs. As she returned, Tate had put the last tack into a cluster of fake mistletoe that he'd hung over the bottom of the staircase.

“Done?” Olivia asked, handing out mugs to both girls and Tate.

“There's nothing left,” Melissa said sadly as she looked into the empty box.

“Well,” Tate said, surveying the room. “It looks pretty darn Christmassy in here.”

Lobster hopped up and barked to emphasize the point, and both girls bounced and clapped.

Then they began whispering again.

Tate looked at Olivia. “Should I be worried?”

“Definitely,” she answered.

---