Holly Jolly Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #7)(10)

Sure, it’d be a lot of extra work, but she loved to cook and bake, and she needed the extra money badly. And if she was staying at Sage’s house, she’d save a lot of money on her own utilities. It was a win-win.

“Will it be a problem if I bring my dog?” Holly asked. “She’s a Pomeranian but she won’t bother anyone.”

“It’s not a problem. Achilles will be going with us,” Sage said, referring to her husband’s emotional support dog. “Oh, this is such a load off. Here, give me your email and I’ll give you my contact info and you can ask me questions if you need anything.” She held out her phone.

Leaning in, Holly gave her the information. Between the job at Sage’s place and the Christmas Baking Contest, the holidays were suddenly seeming very exciting. Maybe this was her year after all.



* * *



? ? ?

The next day was Holly’s day off from work, so she took her little beat-up car and drove out to the Price Ranch. She’d grown up in Painted Barrel, so she was familiar with a lot of the roads in the area, but she didn’t visit many of the ranches. No reason to. Even so, she was familiar with them, and a wave of excitement hit her as she drove past the massive gate and headed for Sage and Jason’s house. The Price Ranch was the biggest ranch in the area, with a big main house and a row of cabins for the employees. There was an enormous barn, and in one of the distant pastures, she saw one of the cowboys on horseback, nudging the cattle into a pen as a dog danced around his horse’s legs.

Holly hoped they stayed busy. She didn’t want to hang out with Adam Calhoun. Carson seemed nice enough, but he was so quiet that she knew he wouldn’t be coming in just to chitchat. Adam might show up just to make her crazy or to tell Sage she wasn’t doing a good job.

She wouldn’t give him the chance. She was here to keep house and cook, and she was going to knock both out of the park. He’d be so well-fed in the next month that by the time Sage and Jason got back, he wouldn’t have a chance to complain. She was going to rock this, and then maybe Sage would continue to hire her for cooking on the side. The mayor was busy, and it’d be a perfect solution for her—and one that suited Holly, too.

She couldn’t get too far ahead of herself, though. Scooping Pumpkin up, she smooched the dog’s adorable little head, adjusted Pumpkin’s sweater on her tiny body, and then tucked her suitcase under her arm. Holly found the key under the mat that Sage had promised to leave, and she let herself into the mayor’s house, feeling a bit like an interloper.

The moment she stepped inside, though, she couldn’t help but gawk. This was as far from her cramped little apartment as you could get. Past the rustic foyer filled with family photos, the house opened up into a large main room with massive two-story windows framing an enormous stone fireplace. There was a festive wreath over the mantel, and Christmas-colored throw blankets decorated the two couches facing each other. This looked like something out of an architectural magazine, Holly decided. And she got to live here for the next month? It was unreal.

Sage was too dang nice to give her this opportunity and to trust her with her lovely house for a month.

Holly wandered past the library and what looked like an office, complete with an enormous wood desk and more family photos. Beyond that, she saw the kitchen, and it took her breath away. It was so big that Sage had set up a Christmas tree in one corner, a festive skirt underneath and lights twinkling. There were boxes under the tree, to her surprise, and she peeked at the tags. Two for Carson, two for Adam, and . . . one for her? Holly melted at Sage’s thoughtfulness.

She turned her eyes to the kitchen. Everywhere she looked, there was counter space. Counter space and drawers. It was so unlike her own tiny apartment, with one utensil drawer and a square of counter space crowded by her coffeepot and toaster both. How often had she longed to be able to play around in a big kitchen like she could at work? Except here, she could sprawl out for her baking as much as she wanted. Holly touched the massive butcher-block cutting board on the island, then practically swooned over the enormous gas range.

This was a dream.

Pumpkin barked somewhere in the next room, and it woke Holly from her daze. Right. She couldn’t moon over someone else’s stove. There was so much to do. First, she needed to make a list of what pantry ingredients were here, then plan a menu for the men. She’d have to hustle into town to buy staples, come back, and start cooking. There was a lot she could prep in advance, and some things—like bread—needed extra time for proving. She’d also need to set up in her room where she’d be staying for the next while, and make a list of all the bakes she was going to do for Christmas for everyone and—

Her dog barked again, the sound slightly more urgent.

Right. Okay, first things first, she needed to take Pumpkin for a walk. Then she could get started.





CHAPTER FIVE





It was like the moment they were down a ranch hand, everything went to shit. Jason and his family had left that morning, and Adam and Carson had reassured them that it would all be handled. That everything would be fine. That they could take care of things.

Well, mostly it was Adam speaking and Carson just not saying anything at all. But silence wasn’t disagreement, right?

Adam had felt pretty confident in things. The cattle were healthy and the weather was decent. Even if they were down a man, they’d manage. It was all gonna be just fine.