Holidays on the Ranch (Burnt Boot, Texas #1)(4)

“I don’t imagine she weighs as much as this bag,” Finn said. “What’d you pack in here, Martin? Rocks?”

The boy picked up one of the smaller zippered bags and managed to hoist it up on his shoulder like Finn, but it came close to bowing his legs. “No, sir, but Callie put books in that one. This one is heavy, too.”

“I bet it is, son. Just keep a tight hold on it and follow me. I’ll show you where to unload it,” Finn said.

The cold wind whipped around and came at them from the north, cooling Callie’s scarlet cheeks considerably. “That wind feels like it’s comin’ off snow or ice. Martin and I can share a room. Couldn’t afford a two-bedroom place. Mostly I just slept on the sofa and let him have the bedroom anyway.”

The dog shot into the house before the door shut behind her and flopped down on the rug in front of the cold fireplace, put a paw over his nose, and promptly went to sleep.

“No need for that. This is a big house. This wing has three bedrooms and a huge bathroom. Y’all can have your choice of rooms, but I bet Martin is going to like this one.” He slid the bags off his shoulders at the doorway of one of the bedrooms.

“Which one is yours?” Callie dropped a bulging suitcase in the hallway.

He turned her shoulders toward the living room and pointed. “There’s another wing off the living room. I chose a bedroom in that area because it has a fireplace. It shares a flue with the one in the living room. Actually, Shotgun chose it when we first got here. We had a fireplace in my bedroom at the ranch in Comfort and he recognized it as a place to warm his bones after working all day out in the cold,” Finn answered.

The deep Southern drawl in his voice still affected her the same way it had back when she first met him. She didn’t know the story, but Lala was a complete idiot not to be living on the ranch with him.

Martin let go of the bag on his shoulder, and it fell to the hardwood floor with a loud thump. “Are you serious? Is this really my room? I’m afraid to shut my eyes because it might not be here when I open them again.”

Callie peeked around Finn’s shoulder to see Martin jump over all three bags and spin around in the bedroom, trying to see everything at once. “If I don’t get nothin’ else for Christmas, this will be the best one I ever had in my whole life. Can I invite friends over? There’s two bunk beds, so I can have three friends, right?”

Callie heard him talking but her mind was on Finn’s hand on her shoulder. She felt safe for the first time since the murder, but it went much deeper than that. Finn had always sent a wave of heat through her body. She’d just managed it better in Afghanistan.

“Callie!” Martin said loudly.

“Sorry, kiddo, I was gathering wool,” she said.

“I asked if I can unpack my bag right now.”

“Yes, you may,” Callie said.

Finn leaned over and whispered, sending shivers up her spine. “I figured he’d like this room. We need to talk.”

“He’s begged for bunk beds since he was big enough to know what they were,” she said softly.

Martin kicked off his shoes, climbed up to a top bunk, and sat cross-legged. “It’s my dream room. Can I read them books? I bet there’s some good stories in them. Can Shotgun come in here with me and sleep on one of the beds? Can I have friends spend the night?”

Before he could ask another million questions, Callie laid a hand on his shoulder. “Give Finn time to think and give yourself time to breathe. Yes, I’m sure you can read the books if you are careful with them. We’ll talk about the dog and friends later on, but right now you get settled in while Finn and I have an adult conversation. Okay?”

Martin smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”

Finn led the way into the living room and sat down on the sofa, patting the cushion beside him and motioning for her. “Callie, I mean it, I’m really glad to see you. Not just to have a hand or a cook. I missed you. I tried to get in touch, but the phone number you gave me was disconnected.”

“I tried to call you for a whole month after I got things straightened out with Martin. I figured you were married to Lala by then, but I wanted to know you’d made it home safe,” she said. “How did you wind up here? And how long have you been here? The neat freak Finn I knew wouldn’t still have unpacked boxes after even a week.”

He reached over and ran the back of his hand down her cheek, sending another round of flutters to her heart. “I’ve been here two days, Callie. I know that’s you sitting there, but I keep thinking you’ll vanish if I don’t keep touching you. We’ve got two years of catching up to do. Am I right in thinking there is no boyfriend, since you came here?”

“You are very right.” She held his hand to her cheek a few seconds longer before letting go. “Now tell me how you ended up in this little place.”

“The lady who owned this property, Verdie, sold it to me, lock, stock, and barrel. She wanted out of town before any more cold weather set in. I’m not sure what I bought in the house. I’ve spent two days in the barn and on the property counting cows,” he said.

“But it’s miles from Austin.”

“Comfort. I lived in Comfort, Texas, not too far from Austin. I looked for a place there, but nothing fit. Crazy to think of a ranch fitting like a pair of cowboy boots, but this place did. When Verdie said she wanted to sell it as it stood, it seemed like a dream come true. And now you are here for a few weeks and it seems like old times, sitting here, almost like we were back in the tents after a mission.”