A Snow Country Christmas (The Carsons of Mustang Creek #4)(20)

“Can we spend it together?”

“Are we talking the entire night?” She looked him squarely in the eyes.

He looked right back. “You just don’t pull punches, do you? I’m talking whatever you want.”

“I hope you can accept I’m not sure.”

“I’m fairly aware there’s a guarded side of you. Kind of like a prickly pear cactus.”

“Those plants have beautiful flowers, so I’ll take that as a compliment.” She shot him her sweetest smile.

“I meant it as one,” he replied. “I know you have reason to be cautious, and that you’re used to being independent.”

“I think learning to rely on yourself is a very valuable lesson. I remember as a child once asking my grandfather if he wasn’t lonely sometimes, all alone in that old secluded place, and he answered that it never even occurred to him. He was happy with himself for company. I think I took to that mentality.”

Mick regarded her intently. “You certainly seem to have done just that.”

Maybe it was the season, because she wasn’t usually that open with her feelings. “I’m not very conformist. I’ve met handsome men I would never give a second glance because they just aren’t my type. I don’t like them shallow, and I don’t like arrogance. I’m not into cocktail parties and getting a manicure, but would rather mow my yard or tackle fixing a leaky faucet. That’s not very feminine, I guess. If you’re looking for someone who will put on a little black dress and stay on your arm at Hollywood parties, you’d better move on.”

He just seemed amused. “If you think for a minute I haven’t already figured that one out, you underestimate me. I hate to disabuse you of the notion that all I do is rub elbows with the elite, but I like quiet evenings in even more.”

“Then how about a fire and a glass of wine?” She really wasn’t sure what she was getting into, but it was going past the ankle-deep level and she might be up to mid-calf. “Maybe some philosophical discussion about life, and I’m sure Jangles will want to give his two cents. He might even think about sitting on your lap.”

Mick lifted his brows in mock alarm. “I think I’ve had enough of animals sitting on me for one day.” Then he added, “Otherwise, it sounds perfect.”





7

HE COULDN’T VERY well tell the truth, so Mick said neutrally, “It’s certainly been an interesting trip so far. How’s New York?”

His mother answered, “Busy, brilliant, definitely full of holiday spirit. There’s nothing like seeing The Nutcracker at Rockefeller Hall. What was so interesting in the wilds of Wyoming?”

Well, he should have known he wouldn’t get off the hook so easily. “A certain woman that, oddly enough, I think you might like.”

He was sitting in his car outside Raine’s house, gazing at her enchanting but unusually decorated tree through the large front window.

“Why would it be odd if I liked her?”

“She’s definitely a small-town girl, an artist, and though I bet she could catch one without any problem, I doubt she owns a set of fish forks to serve the trout. By the way, thanks for the tip on the purse. Her daughter is now my biggest fan.”

“She has a daughter?”

“She does.”

“So she’s divorced.”

“Actually, no.”

There was a judgmental pause. He expected nothing else. Better to get it out in the open now.

“I see.”

“No, you don’t. Raine turned down Slater’s proposal because she thought in the long term that a marriage between them wouldn’t work. They parent together and have remained friends. It seems like a reasonable arrangement and Daisy is a happy, well-adjusted kid.”

“Slater...as in Slater Carson?”

“He’s Daisy’s father, yes.”

“That’s sounds complicated, Michael. Don’t you handle a lot of the backing for his films?”

To his friends he was Mick, but to his mother he would always be Michael. As patiently as possible, he said, “He’s happily married, has another child, and in fact, a third on the way. He cares about Raine as the mother of his daughter but he doesn’t have an issue with my having feelings for her.”

“You sound definite enough,” she said, but it was grudgingly. “I’ll have to trust your judgment.”

Considering he’d been a grown man for over two decades, he could point out that she had no say one way or the other—but then again, he’d always believed that it was a mistake to become involved with someone your family disliked. It added an unwelcome dimension to something that was supposed to enrich your life and make you happy.

It surprised him that the big, sometimes boisterous Carson family was comfortable for him when he’d grown up very differently. It also surprised him that he was so attracted to Raine when she was the antithesis of the women he’d dated before, and it surprised him even more that she seemed to feel the same way about him. He wasn’t a free-spirited artist, or a tried-and-true cowboy.

“She’s—” he sought the right description “—like a warm breeze on a sunny afternoon.”

“Oh no, now you’re getting poetic? It must be love. Darling, have a wonderful evening. Now I need a martini. Merry Christmas.”