A Cowboy Under The Mistletoe

Chapter Ten

Hank knew something was going on with Ally when he returned home the following evening. He just wasn’t sure what had her suddenly ignoring his calls.

He shrugged out of his leather aviator jacket and walked through the downstairs. It was clear she had been as busy and productive in their two days apart as he had. Custom slate-gray canvas slipcovers now gave the sturdy but ugly furniture a classy new look. A new area rug, colorful throw pillows and lap blankets had been strategically added.

There was still no real feeling of Christmas in the ranch house, since the tree and mantel remained undecorated. Hank was determined that, too, would change.

Thinking Ally might be with Duchess, he walked into the kitchen. All the puppies were cuddled up together in the warmer, sleeping contentedly. Duchess was lying next to it. She lifted her head and wagged her tail when Hank approached. He petted her silky head and scratched her behind the ears. “Looks like all is okay here with you and the kids,” he murmured. Was Ally okay, though?

Hank gave the sleepy Duchess a final pat and headed on up the stairs.

Ally was standing in her bedroom in front of the mirror, blow-drying her honey-blond hair. Her slender form was covered by a satin robe with a tie sash. Her feet were encased in fuzzy slippers. Beneath the knee-length hem, her legs were bare.

Hank’s pulse picked up a notch.

Was this all for him?

He hoped so.

He strode into the bedroom. Ignoring her indifferent reception, he asked, “Did you get my message?”

Ally curved the ends of her hair around a brush, held it against her chin and moved the dryer back and forth. “All six of them,” she answered, sounding distracted.

Okay, so maybe he’d been a little eager to talk with her. But it had been thirty-six hours since they had seen one another. He had missed her. Had she missed him?

Aware that Ally hadn’t exactly invited him in, Hank folded his arms and lounged against the chest of drawers. He was beginning to feel a little defensive, which seemed unwarranted, given all he had been doing behind the scenes on their behalf. “Why didn’t you call me back?” he asked quietly.

Ally brushed her hair into place and spritzed it with hair spray. She steadfastly averted her gaze. “The message that you were coming home by six this evening didn’t exactly warrant a reply.”

Annoyed that he’d fallen so hard and fast for a woman who seemed easily able to do without him, Hank lifted a brow and said nothing in response.

Still doing her best to ignore him-although he was pretty sure she could see him out of her peripheral vision-Ally grabbed a dress out of her closet. Chin high, she headed for the bathroom across the hall. Over her shoulder, she added, “And I was busy.”

Irked by her swift, inexplicable change of attitude toward him, Hank waited for her to come back out.

She looked as incredibly sexy as he expected in a cranberry-red dress. The V-neck exposed the lovely slope of her throat and the hint of décolletage; the fabric clung closely to her breasts, waist and hips before flaring out slightly. Ally rummaged in a drawer and pulled out a package of panty hose. “As were you, I take it.”

He had been, with extraordinarily good results.

Not that she wanted to hear about it. At least not yet…

Ally disappeared into the bathroom again. When she emerged, she wore a pair of black stilettos that made her legs look spectacular.

Which made him wonder what else she had on under that sexy dress. And how hard would it be to get her to take it off for him.

Ally applied lipstick in front of the mirror. Then mascara, eyeshadow and perfume.

She was so beautiful. And clearly, so determined to make him jealous.

Despite his pique, he couldn’t stop watching her, couldn’t draw his gaze from the loveliness of her features.

When she opened a velvet case and removed a gold pendant necklace, he finally gave in to curiosity. “I presume you’re going out this evening?” he drawled.

“Yes.” Ally fastened the clasp around her neck and let the teardrop pendant fall between her breasts. She returned to the box for matching earrings and put those on, too. “My dinner companion should be here shortly.”

“Dinner companion,” Hank repeated.

Finished, she gave her hair a final pat and turned to him. Her green eyes held a glacial frost. “Was there something you wanted?”

Yes, Hank thought. You. But aware how that would likely go over, he decided to cut to the chase, and asked instead, “Just for the record. Are you angry with me?”

“Why would I be angry with you?” Ally replied sweetly.

I have no idea. Wanting peace between them, Hank guessed, “For leaving you alone with Duchess and the puppies?” And not getting you extra help with them despite the fact you insisted you did not need it?

Ally shot down that theory with a decisive shake of her head. “I adored being with them.”

So… “It’s me you’d rather not spend time with,” Hank concluded.

“Bingo.”

Another silence fell between them, and then the doorbell rang.

“That’s for me!” Ally grabbed an evening bag and a black velvet jacket and headed for the stairs.

Hank ambled after her.

He was not happy when he saw her “date” for the evening.

Judging by the determined look on her face as she sailed out the door, Ally knew that.

“EVERYTHING OKAY?” Graham Penderson asked Ally as they took their seats in the Lone Star Dance Hall.

I wish you had chosen another place to dine, she thought. But it was no surprise-Greta McCabe’s restaurant, with its lively atmosphere and superb food-was the place to spend a social evening in Laramie. And it was clear that Graham Penderson-and by extension, Corporate Farms-were now going all out to woo her, just as Hank had predicted they would.

“Everything’s fine,” she answered. I just wish I’d had time to quiz Hank about his trip with Lulu. It would have been interesting to hear what he had to say.

Not that she wanted or needed to know, since she and Hank were history.

Still…

“We’ve had a chance to review the initial property assessment on Mesquite Ridge and think we might have come up a little short in our first offer,” Graham said.

No surprise there, either.

Ally turned her full attention on her dinner partner, adopting her most hard-edged business demeanor. “I’m not going to be pushed into responding to any offer from Corporate Farms.”

“We realize that was a mistake.”

“Any future offer that comes with a timeline will be immediately rejected.”

“Understood,” Graham assured her.

Ally folded her hands in front of her. “That said, I’d like to talk with you about what figure might be acceptable…”

The CFS agent pulled an envelope from his pocket, and handed it to her. Inside, typed on their letterhead, was an astounding figure. One that would leave her set for a good while, job or no job…

Throughout the rest of the meal, Graham spoke with her about the benefits of a sale to Corporate Farms, and the various ways they could accommodate her to make the transition easier. Despite herself, Ally was impressed.

She knew what the impact on the community would be, should the company get a toehold in the area with the acquisition of Mesquite Ridge. And while the sentimental, compassionate side of her would not even consider such an offer, the businesswoman in her knew she would be a fool not to.

What happened to the other ranches in the area was not her responsibility. Her own future and financial security was.

And yet…

“Naturally,” Graham concluded with finesse, “although we want you to have as much time as you need, we are going to want to follow up on this…”

“And I,” an oh-so-familiar male voice said, “ would like to speak with you about your dessert options for this evening.”

Ally’s heart skipped a beat. She turned and saw the familiar red shirt, blue jeans and black Lone Star Dance Hall apron on a very fine male form. Already knowing which handsome face she was going to see, she lifted her gaze and looked up into Hank McCabe’s midnight-blue eyes.

Hank ran through the options with the finesse of a guy who had grown up waiting tables in his mama’s restaurant. “We’ve got a fine cranberry-cherry pie, as well as a chocolate peppermint torte that is out of this world. And of course, the traditional banana pudding, pecan pie and peach cobbler. You can have ice cream with all of those. Coffee, too.”

“What are you doing here?” Ally snapped. And why did he have to look so superb? She couldn’t help but note he had gone to the trouble of showering and shaving before coming in. He’d even applied the brisk, wintry aftershave she liked so much.

Hank ignored the glare he was getting from the agent, and pointed to the black change apron tied over his jeans, and the Lone Star Dance Hall badge that bore his name. His smile widened. “I’m helping out. My mom’s shorthanded tonight.”

Helping out, my foot! Ally lifted a brow in wordless dissension. It looked as if they had plenty of waitstaff, as usual. “Um-hmm,” she said.

“Good to see you have a job to fall back on, McCabe,” Graham Penderson said. “You’re going to need it, since the ranch where you house your cattle is about to be sold out from under you.”

Hank locked eyes with Penderson, all tough ex-marine and veteran cowboy.

Talk about a Renaissance man, Ally thought.

Hank smiled. “I wouldn’t count on it if I were you.”

Penderson ran a smug hand across his jaw. “I would.”

Wincing, Ally squirmed in her seat.

Given the high-stakes volatility of the situation, she wouldn’t have been surprised to see Hank forget his manners and pull Penderson out of his chair by the knot of his necktie.

But as it happened, his expression did not change-if you discounted the slight darkening of his irises. He merely stepped an inch closer. Flashed a dangerous crocodile smile. “Still waiting on that dessert order. Penderson.”

Ally swallowed. She could see this situation fast getting out of hand.

She stuffed the papers the agent had given her into her handbag and shut the clasp, then held up her hands. “Actually, I don’t think I want any dessert,” she told them both.

“I do,” Graham said. “And I want McCabe here to bring it to us, since he’s so eager to help.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ally saw Hank’s mother step out of the kitchen. Greta sized up the situation, hands on her hips. Sighed.

“Why, it’d be my pleasure,” Hank drawled. “But…” He turned with a flourish and signaled the DJ running the sound system.

The man nodded and promptly started a song by Lady Antebellum entitled “One Day You Will.”

“Well, what do you know, Ally.” Hank slid his order pad and pen back in his apron pocket. He reached down and took her hand in his, and in one smooth motion, drew back her chair and pulled her to her feet. He winked at her. “They’re playing your song. Sorry, Penderson.”

The next thing Ally knew they were on the dance floor. Hank’s left hand splayed warmly across her spine, and his right hand clasped her fingers as he two-stepped them around the floor to the strains of the romantic ballad.

Ally tried but could not stop the thrill rushing through her. “Cute, McCabe.”

He grinned, all confident male. “Like the lyrics?”

Despite her decision to remain unaffected by his chicanery, his sense of humor was contagious. “Especially the part about if I left town and never came back,” Ally retorted drolly.

He leaned close enough to whisper in her ear. “Like the song says, you’d be missed.” His warm, minty breath caressed her cheek. “But if you just hang in there…and wait awhile…”

“The sun will shine again and,” Ally paraphrased, “I’ll find love and peace and the real me.”

The laugh lines around his eyes crinkled. “Exactly.”

If only he knew how much she wanted to believe that. As it was, the powerful lyrics combined with the soul-stirring music were drawing her in, every bit as much as the wonderfully comforting and enticing sensation of being in his arms again. Deciding she needed to reestablish some emotional boundaries, Ally lifted her chin.

Now that he had picked her tune… “What’s your song?”

“Coming right up.” Hank again signaled the DJ. One tune segued into another.

Ally listened a moment to the lively beat, then looked down the bridge of her nose at him. “‘You Take My Troubles Away’?” Seriously!

He two-stepped her around the dance floor. “Appropriate, don’t you think?” His lips brushed her temple.

Another thrill swept through Ally. “If this is supposed to be a message for me…” she warned.

“It is.” Hank’s voice was low and hoarse. All the pent-up affection she ever could have wished for in his gaze.

Ally had spent her high school years wishing something this out-of-control exciting and romantic would happen to her. But that didn’t mean it was a good idea for Hank McCabe to go all possessive on her in the middle of a business dinner at his mother’s restaurant! Particularly after what he’d done in Dallas the day before. She blushed and attempted without much success to resurrect the protective barrier around her heart. “Everyone is looking at us.”

Hank’s arm tightened around her waist. Their thighs brushed as they moved to the beat. “That’s no surprise. You look incredibly beautiful tonight. But then…” his voice dropped another inviting notch “…you know that.”

She felt beautiful-in Hank’s arms. Ally struggled not to give in to the overwhelming emotions rising up within her. “And for the record, what on earth possessed you to pick out his-and-her songs for us?”

He shrugged and brought their clasped hands even closer to his heart. “I wanted the excuse to dance with you tonight.”

That sure had done the trick. She was here in his arms, feeling like there was no place she’d rather be.

Ally cast a look over Hank’s broad shoulder. “Penderson is livid.”

“He’ll get over it. It won’t stop Corporate Farms from making good on their latest offer, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“How do you know there’s been another offer?”

“Because Corporate Farms sees what I see in terms of the rich potential of the ranch. They don’t want Mesquite Ridge to get away.”

“So that’s why you’re doing all this.” Ally did her best to keep the sadness from her voice.

“No. I’m doing this because I want you to know I’m sorry for leaving you alone for two days. And I don’t want you to do anything stupid to get back at me, just because you’re mad at me.”

So he sensed she was onto him! Figuring she’d use the opportunity to get the answers to all the questions she had, but hadn’t asked, Ally inquired sweetly, “Why would I be mad?”

Hank paused, revealing nothing, then said finally, “You tell me.”

FOR A SECOND, Hank thought Ally wouldn’t answer. Then something shifted in her expression. A little of the fight left her slender body. “I don’t want to have this discussion here,” she said quietly.

Neither did he, if it was half as intimate as it appeared it was going to be. “Then let’s go home.” Or at least where he wished their home could be. In another week, he was well aware, that might not be the case for either of them.

Another silence fell, as the song they were dancing to came to an end.

They stood there, not moving, still holding on to each other.

“And let me drive you,” Hank murmured.

Ally glanced over at Penderson.

The agent looked even more incensed. And Hank knew, whether Ally realized it or not, the stakes for the ranch had just been raised. Corporate Farms would be more determined than ever to steal the property out from under him. Which was too bad, because they weren’t going to get it; his new plan guaranteed that.

“All right,” Ally said eventually. “Just let me say good-night to Mr. Penderson.”

Hank returned his apron and badge while Ally walked across the dance hall.

Hank’s mother pulled him aside before he could duck out. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked.

“Don’t I always?” he quipped. He refused to entertain the notion of failure.

Greta blocked his way. “I don’t blame you for going after Ally Garrett. She is a lovely young woman. But she deserves better than the shenanigans you pulled just now.”

Hank thought that was a little like the pot calling the kettle black. His own father had called for a duel, in the street in front of the dance hall, while working to win his mother’s heart. The outlandish maneuver infuriated-and captivated-his mom to this day.

Where women were concerned, there was one thing Hank knew. You had to go public with your feelings if you wanted a real chance with them. He figured he had done that tonight.

He gave his mother a perfunctory smile. “I know Ally deserves only the best, Mom.”

Greta lifted an elegant silver-blond brow. “Do you?”

Hank was tired of family interference, no matter how well meant. “My situation with Ally is complicated.” Too complicated, he added silently, for a regular courtship at a regular pace.

Greta patted his arm with maternal affection. “Life is always complicated, Hank. That’s what makes it so interesting.” She paused to make sure she had his full attention. “It doesn’t mean that Ally deserves any less than your best. Especially given all she’s been through the last couple of years.”

And was still going through, Hank thought, watching her converse quietly with Penderson.

Was his mother right? Was he making a mistake by going all Texan on Ally? All Hank knew for sure was that Ally looked tense and unhappy now-and that she had appeared to be doing okay before she knew he was on the scene…

“Everything all right?” Hank’s mother asked Ally kindly, as she joined them in the employees-only alcove between the dining room and kitchen.

Ally stepped aside to let a server prepare a tray of drinks, and flashed a too-bright smile. “I told Mr. Penderson to feel free to stay and have dessert and coffee without me, since our meeting this evening is concluded and I’ve got another ride back to the ranch. Thus far, he’s refusing…”

Greta lifted a hand. “I understand, dear. I’ll talk to him and see what I can do. In the meantime, I want you to know I’ve asked Hank to escort you to our open house out at the ranch, on the evening of the twenty-third.”

Ally’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “I-”

Way to go, Mom, Hank thought, even more resentfully. It wasn’t enough she was advising him-without his consent-on his love life. Now she was arranging it for him, too.

Across the dining hall, Penderson lifted a hand as if to signal a waiter.

Greta patted Ally reassuringly on the arm. “I’ll take care of that.” She glided off.

Hank looked at Ally. She appeared as shocked and peeved as he felt. Which in turn prompted him to say matter-of-factly, “It looks like we have a date.” One arranged by his mother, no less!

ALLY KNEW THE MATCHMAKING could not stand. So the moment they started the drive back to Mesquite Ridge, she looked at Hank and blurted, “I know your mother feels sorry for me because it’s Christmas and I have no family of my own.”

“That’s not it,” Hank interrupted, with the arrogance of a man who always thought he knew better-at least where his own family was concerned.

Ally argued back, just as insistently, “It’s exactly why she asked me to go to the open house yesterday. And why, when I hedged instead of just accepting her invitation on the spot, she put additional pressure on me tonight, by asking you to escort me. Because she knew it would be impossible for me to say no to the both of you. I’d be outnumbered and out…whatever.”

Hank exhaled in exasperation. He pulled the truck off the road, into an empty parking lot at the edge of town. He put it in Park, leaving the lights on and the motor running, and turned toward her, draping his arm along the bench seat. “First of all…left to my own devices, I would have asked you to the party myself and provided transportation to and from the event.”

Ally looked out the window. “You don’t have to do that, either. I’m fine on my own.”

Hank slid a hand beneath her chin and guided her face to his. “No doubt. I still want to escort you. It’s a fun party. A lot of people come, and we always have a good time.”

Exactly why I wouldn’t fit in, Ally thought. I’ve never been a party person. And certainly not on a scale with the famously loving and outgoing McCabe clan.

“Furthermore,” Hank continued in a low tone that sent shivers up and down Ally’s spine, “my mom arranging for me to escort you has nothing to do with the sympathy she feels regarding your loss.”

“Then what is it?” Ally asked, her voice tight with apprehension.

“She doesn’t trust me to be able to handle another romance, after the way I screwed up with Jo-anne.”

“What are you talking about?” Ally demanded. “The two of you were engaged! Plus, everyone knows you were madly in love each other.” Just hearing about it had made her envious.

Hank exhaled. “No one knows this, but we were on the verge of breaking up when Jo-anne left to go overseas. You see, I asked her to marry me the week we graduated from college. She said yes. The only problem was, she had already accepted a job at an American hotel abroad. She still wanted to go and work there for a year, then come back and marry me later.”

“And that put a wrench in your plans…” Ally guessed.

He nodded. “Pretty much. But I didn’t want to stand in her way. She’d never really been out of Texas, and this would have allowed her to spread her wings and travel through Europe, on her time off work, for very little money. She wanted me to try and get a job there, too, so I could get the same perks and discounts at other hotels in the chain, as she did. But I wasn’t interested in being a bellboy…which was all they had available.”

“So what did you do?” Ally asked curiously.

“After Jo-anne went overseas, I took a job on a ranch in Colorado and started thinking about what I really wanted to do with my life, which was join the military and become a chopper pilot. And then eventually acquire my own ranch. When I told Jo-anne, she thought it would be great. After all, she was all for adventure and living life out of the ordinary. And we figured we could both request assignments overseas and see the world together that way…”

He swallowed hard. “Things were finally back on track between the two of us. I had almost saved enough money to go and visit her for a couple weeks and then…she got killed in that terrorist bombing.”

Ally understood a lot about grief and guilt. “And you had a hard time forgiving yourself,” she presumed softly.

He nodded. “We wasted a lot of time arguing about things that could have been worked out a whole heck of a lot easier, if the two of us had just figured out what we had to have to be happy and been willing to compromise sooner.”

Ally bit her lip. “There’s one thing I don’t understand. If your parents knew you were already thinking about enlisting, then…”

“I hadn’t told anyone but Jo-anne of my plans, or her reaction. After she was killed, I didn’t want to talk about what might have been, just what I was going to do next.”

That made sense. Ally studied Hank’s tortured expression. “So your mother thinks…”

“The same thing my dad thinks-that I need the family’s help if I’m going to achieve anything-whether it be in ranching or romance. And that’s why Dad is always stopping by the ranch to see if I need his help with anything, and why Mom is trying to help our relationship along.”

“Because your dad wants to know you’re okay, business-wise, and she’s concerned about your personal life, and…for whatever reason…wants to see the two of us together.”

Or, as his sister had said, the family just wanted to see Hank with someone again, settled down with a family of his own to love.

He grimaced. “It would appear so.”

Ally thought about that on the rest of the drive home. It was nice that she had the approval of the McCabe family, or guessed she did-otherwise they wouldn’t be pushing Hank and her toward each other. However, it was not so nice that once again she wanted what she could never seem to get-the sense that she was more important to those closest to her than Mesquite Ridge ever would be.

As they walked into the ranch house, she and Hank stopped in the kitchen to check on Duchess and the pups. All were sound asleep.

They continued on into the living room, where Ally saw the message light blinking red, and a big shopping bag from Neiman Marcus underneath the unadorned tree.

His expression abruptly serious, Hank shrugged out of his coat. “We still haven’t talked about what upset you while I was gone,” he reminded her kindly.

No, Ally thought, they hadn’t. And at this point she wasn’t sure she wanted to. After all, she had no official claim on Hank, or he on her. It didn’t matter that the two of them had kissed a few times and recklessly made love once. They were both single, and she’d made it clear she was selling the ranch to the highest bidder and leaving Laramie on December 24. If Hank wanted to see someone else, especially with Christmas on the horizon, that was his business.

Hanging on to her pride by a thread, she fibbed, “I think I just had a touch of cabin fever. I’m not used to being out here all alone.”

Hank looked at her dress, the way she’d gone all out with her hair and makeup and hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. “Now why don’t I believe that?” Anxious to keep from spilling the truth, Ally looked at the answering machine. “Maybe we better see what that message is about.

“Let’s not.”

Ignoring his frown, Ally stepped forward and pushed the button, anyway.

As she had feared, Lulu’s voice rang out loud and clear. “Hank, where are you? I’m so excited! I want to know when we’re going to get together next! Hopefully, tomorrow. Call me, will you, honey? And do it soon!” Click.

Jealousy reared its ugly head.

Hank lifted a hand in damage control. “I know how that sounds, but it’s not what you think.”

Ally sure as heck hoped not!

Nevertheless, before she could stop them, words came pouring out of her mouth. “Well, now that we’re on the subject, honey, messages like that one might have something to do with my pique.”

Astonishment mingled with irritation on his handsome face. “Lulu and I are just friends.”

“Uh-huh.” Ally folded her arms and pinned him with a withering look. “Such good friends you spent the night in a hotel with her in Dallas last night?” The minute the accusation was out, Ally regretted it. For the sake of her pride, she had never meant to let on that she knew. But now the reckless words were out, there was no taking them back.

Recognition turned Hank’s eyes a deeper blue, and he deliberately closed the distance between them. “First of all, Lulu and I weren’t together, not in the way you’re obviously thinking. And second of all, how did you know that?”

“The machine. She called here, looking for you, last night at dinnertime.” Probably accidentally on purpose, so I’d know, Ally thought resentfully. “Is that why you went out with Penderson this evening?” Hank looked at her as if he wanted nothing more than to make love to her, then and there. “Because you wanted to make me as jealous, as you are obviously feeling?”

“I went out with Penderson because he asked me to go.” Ally spoke as if to a dimwit. “So he could apologize for putting the pressure on me regarding the sale of the ranch.”

“And make another offer,” Hank added tersely.

“And make another offer,” Ally confirmed. “Just as you said he would.”

Hank paused and searched her face. Once again he seemed able to read her mind. “Did you accept it?”

“I’m still hoping something better will come in,” she replied honestly.

“Me, too.” He smiled as if he knew a secret.

Ally recalled what Emily had said about Lulu getting a substantial financial settlement from her divorce. She shifted uneasily. “Back to Lulu…”

Hank gave her a stern look. “I repeat, she is just a friend.”

“Who had a crush on you all through high school.”

The tension in his broad shoulders eased slightly. “We never dated.”

“To Lulu’s lament.”

Hank scrutinized Ally with unremitting interest. “There’s nothing for you to be envious about,” he insisted.

She scoffed. “I’m not envious. Just curious.” As to why he still hadn’t explained what exactly what was going on between him and Lulu…and why they had been together in Dallas the night before. Was Lulu the client Hank had been ferrying about for the last two days? Or had the two of them just happened to be in the Metroplex on business at the same time, and decided to have dinner together? And what were he and Lulu going to see each other about next that had her so excited?

Hank studied Ally, looking impossibly handsome and determined in the soft light. He gestured amicably. “Okay. If that’s the case,” he challenged audaciously, “then prove it.”

Ally pushed away another wave of desire and held her ground with effort. Why did she suddenly feel she had a tiger by the tail? “How?” she asked, just as casually.

Hank held his arms wide. “Come here and kiss me like you mean it.”