Home For a Cowboy Christmas(14)
“I see,” he replied with a nod.
“I’d been making that list since before college. During that moment before death, I realized that I hadn’t marked one thing off that list. That’s not how I wanted to live my life.”
“You have a second chance now.”
She smiled softly before looking back at the mountain. “Once the trial is over.”
“There’s no need to wait that long.”
Emmy shot him a dubious look. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“We’ve got weeks before Dalton comes to take you to the trial. I’m sure you recall some of what’s on that list. Tell me. Let’s see if we can do a few things.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Her gaze softened. “I’ve never met a man like you, Dwight Reynolds.”
“You just needed to get out of the city.”
She laughed again. Dwight loved the sound. All he wanted to do was keep making her laugh.
Chapter 7
Snow fell in thick sheets when Emmy looked out her bedroom window the next morning. She showered and dressed in a new pair of panties and bra. She chose her jeans, another long-sleeved shirt, and a plaid flannel. Once her socks and boots were on, she went downstairs. This time, she woke early enough that Dwight was still in the kitchen.
“Morning,” he said with a bright smile and surprise in his blue eyes.
She grinned. “Morning. That’s a lot of snow.”
“Yes, it is. I’ll spend most of the day in my office, catching up on paperwork.”
“Anything I can do? And before you answer, remember how I said I like to stay busy.”
He chuckled before drinking his coffee. “There is some filing that needs to be done.”
“I’m sure there is a lot more, but we’ll start with filing.”
“There are blueberry muffins,” he said with a nod to the plate next to the stove.
Emmy’s eyes widened. “You bake, too?”
“I can, but I prefer not to. I bought those yesterday when I went into town.”
She laughed and made her way to the muffins. “I was about to say that you must not be real if you baked those.”
“Is it so odd for men to bake?”
“Not at all. But you’re different.”
His dark brows drew together. “Why is that?”
“You’re a rancher, a warrior, a cook, and a bodyguard for me. That’s a lot more than most people have in their entire lives. It seemed too unfair to add baker to that list, as well.”
Emmy was rather surprised at how chatty she was that morning. Whatever the reason, she enjoyed it. She grabbed a still-warm muffin and took it, along with a mug of coffee, to the table to eat. The instant she sat, Sam was there, begging for any scraps that might find their way to him.
“Do you have family back in Denver?” Dwight asked.
Emmy shook her head. “I was an only child. My father passed of a heart attack when I was sixteen. I lost my mom a few years ago when a drunk driver crashed into her car.”
“I’m so sorry. No extended family? Aunts? Uncles?”
“Two aunts on my father’s side, but they never really wanted to have anything to do with us. My mom was also an only child. The good thing about not having any family is that I don’t have to worry about the people going after them, as well.”
Dwight nodded as he leaned back against the counter. “True.”
“What about your family?”
“My parents retired and handed me this place,” he said with a wry smile. “They had plans to tour the world. On their second week of this extravagant vacation, the tour bus they were on went off the side of a mountain in Peru. There were no survivors.”
Emmy set down the uneaten portion of her muffin. “That’s horrible. I’m sorry for both you and your sister.”
“We had to travel to Peru to claim their bodies and bring them home. It was an ordeal in itself. Our government had to get involved. It was long and messy. But we brought them home where they wanted to be.”
“You have Victoria.”
He wrinkled his nose and jokingly said, “Don’t remind me.”
“I always wanted a sibling.”
“I’ve heard that from everyone who is an only child. And I’m sure you’ve heard those with siblings say they would’ve rather not had any.”
Emmy nodded. “Exactly. We always want what we don’t have, I suppose.”
“That’s how it goes.”
“This ranch has been in your family for generations. Are you going to keep that going?”
“You mean, am I going to marry and have kids?” he asked with a smile.
Emmy shrugged half-heartedly. “Yes.”
“I’m not against it.”
“Is my being here going to cause problems for you? I mean, that is, if you’re seeing someone,” she hastened to add.
He turned and rinsed the empty mug before placing it in the dishwasher. “My last serious relationship ended about four years ago. She liked me, but she didn’t like the ranch.”
“Didn’t she realize that you and the ranch are a package?”