Page 24 of Snowed in with the Rancher

Tate turned, and for a moment, his gaze met Olivia's. He was grinning broadly, and his eyes sparkled. She couldn't help but smile back, and for a breath, it was as if the two of them were alone, the way it had been on that ship, experiencing a connection that was raw and powerful.

Then Vince clapped Tate on the shoulder, and he shifted to face the older man, breaking the tension. Olivia was left feeling as though she'd had the wind knocked right out of her.

“Well, looks like we can pack up and go to the party,” Marjory said to the girls.

Olivia shook her head out of the clouds. “Party?”

“The lodge staff were the ones who called in the deer. They said after we were done here, we ought to bring the rescue team on up there. They're having a barbecue to celebrate the end of the storm.”

“What's a barbecue?” Jackie asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Do you like chicken?” Marjory asked as she bent down to match Jackie's height.

“Yes!” Jackie shouted.

“Well, a barbecue is a way to cook food so that you get the best chicken you'll ever have, and—” her voice dropped to a conspiratorial half-whisper, “—I've heard there are brownies for dessert.”

Both girls turned to look at Olivia, their eyes wide and begging. “Please, Mommy?” Jackie asked. “I know we just had hot chocolate, but please—brownies, too?”

Olivia laughed and rolled her eyes. “I suppose. And since all our things are at the lodge, we can finally take a shower and change our clothes.”

As they all helped pack up the rescue equipment and prepared to ride on to the lodge, Olivia realized her time confined with Tate was coming to an end. Once the roads were cleared, they'd have to navigate more than just Marjory and Vince. They'd be faced with the realities of their situation. For starters, they'd need to tell the girls that Tate was their father before someone else said something in front of them. They'd need to decide what role Tate was going to play in their lives.

And she'd need to figure out exactly what feelings she still had for this man who'd changed her life forever in one brief moment aboard a cruise ship five long years ago. Was she still attracted to him? Yes, most definitely. And from the chemistry that continued to spark between them, she was pretty sure it was mutual. But the stakes were higher now. There was more on the line than just her own heart. Could she take a chance on Tate? And was he willing to take a chance on her?

* * *

Tate didn't know how it had happened, but somehow he'd been dragged to the Greenwood Lodge for a barbecue. He'd rolled his eyes when he heard that they'd cleared a spot in the snow and fired up the old smoker. He'd been prepared to say no when the girls had come running up, all bubbly and adorable, chattering on about the chicken and the brownies and a bunch of other things he didn't quite understand. They'd simply assumed he was part of the package. He understood why Olivia would want to go back to the lodge, after all—her belongings were there, and he felt pretty certain she was ready for a change of clothes. But none of that required his participation.

Yet, here he was, standing in the middle of the lodge's lobby, which looked like something out of a Christmas movie, watching as all the guests and staff and Vince and Marjory drank spiced cider and chatted before they opened the big ballroom up for a buffet and barbecue.

“Tate!” Marjory called from her spot by the drink table. “Get over here and meet these nice people. I want you to tell them about that little deer.”

Tate groaned inwardly as he obeyed, striding over to meet Bonita and Clyde from Denver who were thrilled to hear he'd rescued a cute deer. They'd just begun talking about their son who attended Montana State University when Tate heard his name from the staircase. He looked over to see the girls, both dressed in clean jeans and Christmas sweaters, their hair in high pigtails as they hung over the banister waving to him. His heart caught, actually seemed to skip a whole beat as he suddenly had the feeling of looking in a mirror. Something about the way they were smiling, the curve of their cheeks in that exact moment, was so familiar, so much like him, that it felt as if a giant tether had suddenly extended and clipped him to them.

“I'm sorry,” he murmured to Marjory and the others, “I need to do something…” He walked away almost as if he were in a trance, and by the time he reached the bottom of the staircase, both girls were there to meet him, big grins, rosy cheeks, and identical expressions that looked so much like him, it stole his breath away.

“Hi,” he said, still a captive of the strange hold that had grabbed him.

“When's the barbecue?” Melissa asked, reaching for his hand. He held hers in response, and something inside him simply…locked into place.

“I think it'll start soon,” he said. “Where's your mom?” He glanced to the empty stairwell behind them.

“She told us to come get you, and she'd be here in a few minutes,” Jackie answered.

“Okay. Would you like some cider?” he asked, grabbing Jackie's hand on his other side.

“Yes, please,” they chimed together.

He walked them to the drinks table and scooped up two cups of warm cider, then searched for a place to sit down. When he'd finally found a big armchair and ottoman nestled in front of the largest Christmas village display he'd ever seen, he escorted them to it, sat them together in the armchair with their ciders, and took the ottoman for himself.

They chattered about the deer, and the snowman, and the new sweaters that they'd been happy to get back to at the lodge, and Tate listened, nodding at the right moments as he watched them both, enjoying the cadence of their voices and the ways they gestured as they spoke.

Jackie was so much like Olivia, he couldn't help smiling. She was sunny and silly, and wide open with her thoughts and expressions. Everything was right there to see and hear and understand. But Melissa…He guessed people would say she was like him, and that did something to his chest, made it ache in a strange way he'd never experienced.

Melissa was quiet, and she wore a look of concentration on her face much of the time. She could be bubbly with her sister for a moment or two, but then that seriousness would descend again. Was that what he looked like to other people, he wondered? Was he so serious all the time? Did he have that same little line between his brows? Without even thinking, he moved his finger to touch the space at the top of his nose. Sure enough, he felt the indent there. The result of a lifetime of quiet thought and endless observation.

And suddenly he wanted to grab Melissa by the shoulders and tell her it was all going to be okay. Explain that she didn't have to be so worried, or so quiet, or so serious, because now that they'd found him, he would never let anything worry her again. No matter what, she'd have him. Always. And he wasn't going to let her lose her childhood to fears and worries and grief. No—Tate vowed in that moment that he would do whatever it took to ensure his girls had the sunniest, safest, best childhoods any kids could ever have.

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