Page 11 of Merrily Mine
Ishouldn’t be looking at her like this. Shouldn’t be wondering what it would be like to kiss my best friend’s little sister.
Butfuck.Even without a lick of makeup and wearing leggings and an oversized sweater, she’d been stunning. I’d never noticed how beautiful she was before last night. How alluring her very presence was.
She wasn’t the girl I remembered. At the wedding, I’d been too tied up with Maggie to notice her. Now, I couldn’t hold back.
But what if I wanted you to do something stupid?Goddamn. Her voice had been all breathy, and for a moment I’d almost caved. Gave in to the spark of attraction between us. It was hard to deny. This was why I’d left the damn bar last night. She’d been looking at me with those big green eyes, andI knew what was going to happen next. We’d dance. I’d give in to the fantasy of tasting her lips. We’d go back to my place, spend all night in bed together, and then—what?
She was too sweet. Too young for me. And yet, I’d shown up at her house today to check on her, like I needed to lay eyes on her to know she was okay. That Emily wasn’t upset after the wayI’d brushed her off last night before she could say whatever she had wanted to.
And I had. She was fine.
Emily made it clear she could take care of herself, so why was I still standing on her porch? Why—after I’d finished that cup of hot chocolate that tasted like heaven in a cup, rich, creamy and covered in whipped cream—could I not bring myself to walk back out to my truck?
I had things to do today. The ranch wouldn’t run itself. Midnight Pines Ranch was my family’s legacy—my parents’ pride and joy—and I’d be damned if I let the place fall apart under my leadership. I wanted to bring it fully into the twenty-first century, to finish modernizing our equipment and update the guest cabins that brought in most of our revenue over the year, including during the winter when the tourists came for things like sleigh rides and horseback rides in the snow.
The holidays on the ranch had always been my favorite time of year. I’d enjoyed coming home every winter, getting to see the ranch during Christmas. Even back then, I’d wished I were here more. Now that I’d moved back, I wasn't taking it for granted. I was going to enjoy every bit of my first Christmas back.
I looked up at the sky. There was a laundry list of things I had to do before it started snowing again tonight. I’d heard on the radio that we had a snow advisory for tonight—they were expecting another two to four inches to fall overnight. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough tosignificantlyaffect the area since we were used to heavy snowfalls. There were enough snowplows in the area that the probability of getting snowed in was low. It happened, though, especially when a freak snowstorm hit.
Grumbling, I finally made my feet move, wrenching my truck door open and climbing back inside, turning up the heater as I drove back to my family’s farm. It wasn’t too long before I was driving under the wooden archway that was hand-carved withthe Midnight Pines logo, a horse standing in front of three pine trees with a crescent moon overhead.
Home.It was such a powerful feeling, knowing I was exactly where I was meant to be.
Sure, I missed parts of my life in Washington, but I didn’t miss the job. More than anything, I missed the ease that came with my life there. I missed having someone to fall asleep next to, someone to hold and to be there when life got hard. The biggest change after the divorce was getting used to being alone again.
I’d never imagined having to start over in my mid-thirties, but here I was. Single, alone, and living in the old A-frame timber cabin on our property. Over the summer, I’d worked relentlessly to fix it up, spending every second I wasn’t working on the ranch on refinishing the floors, repainting the walls, and redoing almost every surface in the place. Now, it looked brand new. It was small, but it was mine.Completelymine.
When we’d divorced, Maggie and I had sold our house, splitting the profits from the sale between us equally. Luckily, we didn’t have too many assets and hadn’t had kids, so the entire process wasn’t too painful. Even though it had felt like a scab that kept getting picked at before it could heal over. Sometimes, I felt like I could still feel the scar on my heart. In the last year, I hadn’t even recognized the woman I’d fallen in love with in college. Maybe we were just too young—or maybe we were never meant to last.
I wished her the best, even as I tried not to mourn the time we’d spent together. The years I’d lost and could never get back.
Instead, I looked towards the future. The future of Midnight Pines Ranch, that was.
My future… I ran my hand down my beard, trying to ignore the ache in my heart. Sure, I’d love to meet the right person and get married again. To have the kids I desperately wanted. WhenI closed my eyes, I could picture it: a large farmhouse with a wraparound porch, with little brunette kids running around in overalls and cowboy boots, their hair in pigtails tied with bows. But that didn’t mean it wouldhappen.
And I’d have to be okay with that.
Snowflakes fell as I headed off to the stables.
And for just a moment, I paused, letting myself take it all in: the beauty of the Montana landscape as it became covered in a blanket of soft white. The dark green of the pines, the mountains in the distance, the crisp smell of fresh snow in the air.
No matter what happened, I resolved not to take advantage of this view—not for one moment of the rest of my life.
“Hey there, boy.” I patted the neck of my horse, Whiskey, as I entered his stall. “Thought you might like to go for a ride.” He let out a short whinny, his ears flicking forward.
I grabbed a comb, running it through his coat, letting my mind calm as I focused on grooming him. Every step came naturally to me. I’d been taking care of horses since I was little. Growing up on a horse ranch meant I’d had my own practically since I could walk.
He was a Thoroughbred with a gorgeous coat that had reminded me of the color of whiskey—hence his name.
We’d missed our ride with everything I’d been up to yesterday once I got back from the Sullivans’, including a mound of paperwork that had been waiting for me in the office. With all the proposed updates to our guest cabins on-site, it had taken me longer than expected to go through it all.
Today, I was going to make up for that. There was a fresh coating of snow on the ground—it had continued throughout thenight—but thankfully it had stayed soft, not turning into ice. We could keep operating the rides as long as the weather remained favorable, which our guests definitely preferred.
I’d flicked on the radio before I came into the stall, and I listened as the weather report came over the speaker.“There is a winter storm watch in effect for Gallatin County from midnight tonight to midnight Monday. Expect six to eight inches of snow accompanied by a chance of ice. Roads and bridges will likely become slick and hazardous. Consider delaying all travel. If travel is absolutely necessary, drive with extreme caution…”
“That doesn’t sound good,” I muttered to myself, already thinking about what we’d need to do if the watch turned into awarning.Send the staff who didn’t live on the property home, first. Our guests would be fine in their cabins, and our cook—my mom—lived in the main house. Part of us staying open year-round meant the ranch hands were trained for extreme weather and these sorts of things.
When I finished brushing Whiskey down and had cleaned his hooves, I turned to grab his saddle and pad, finding the ranch’s foreman walking into the barn.
