Home For a Cowboy Christmas(19)

Dwight took a deep breath and straightened as he ran a hand down his face. Then he flipped on the light, blinking against the brightness. His eyes stung, letting him know that he hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep. After splashing his face with some water, Dwight removed the clothes from the previous night and dressed, not feeling up to shaving.

Only when he walked from his room did he realize that Sam wasn’t with him. When he entered the kitchen, he remembered that Emmy had been getting food for him. He inwardly winced. Hopefully, she wasn’t too upset about him falling asleep.

He got out some eggs to scramble. After heating a couple of slices of ham, he combined the egg and ham with some cheese, placed it all on a croissant, and devoured it. Dwight was still hungry, so he fixed another one.

By the time he finished the second one, Sam came down the stairs and sat by his bowl. Dwight scooped some kibble for Sam and then drank a tall glass of orange juice before brewing coffee. He stared out the kitchen window at the world of white before him. The sky was clear, the storm having pushed off sometime during the night. It would be a cold day, but at least they wouldn’t be battling snowfall along with it.

Dwight rinsed his cup after he finished his coffee. He wiped out the pan and left it on the stove to wash later. He started to leave but paused to grab a piece of paper to write Emmy a quick note before putting on his coat and hat and walking from the house to start his day.

The brisk cold met him. He squared his shoulders, walked down the porch to the barn to let the horses out for the day, and began mucking stalls. When he reached the barn doors, he looked over his shoulder to the room Emmy had taken. He wasn’t sure what made him look at the window. Not only were the blinds closed, but Emmy was still asleep.

“Lucky lady,” Dwight murmured as he opened the barn door.



* * *



Emmy yawned as she walked downstairs after getting ready for the day. She was a little sad that Sam wasn’t with her. When he followed her up to bed last night, she hadn’t been able to wipe the smile from her face.

As she reached the kitchen, she listened to the sounds of the house. Without needing to look, she knew that Dwight and Sam were gone. She turned to get some coffee and saw the note on the table.

Sorry I fell asleep last night. I plan to try to get back for lunch but don’t wait for me to eat.



Emmy thought about finding Dwight in his room last night. When he hadn’t come out after his shower, she had warmed him some leftovers from the night before and carried the meal upstairs. That’s when she’d found him asleep, dressed in fresh clothes, his hair still wet. She had lifted his legs one at a time to put them on the bed. She’d thought he might wake, but he simply rolled over. She turned off all the lights and took the plate back to the kitchen to put the food away.

She hated to admit that she had hoped Dwight would be there when she got up so they could continue their work in the office. But there were things he needed to do on the ranch. It was just that she didn’t have anything to do.

“He did tell me to go outside if I wanted,” she said aloud.

The more she looked at the snow, the more she realized that it wasn’t feasible. For one, she didn’t have the right clothes. She wouldn’t be doing anyone any good if she went outside and froze. No, it was better she remained inside.

As she made some peanut butter toast, she realized that there wasn’t anything else in the house for her to clean except the floors. The minute she finished her breakfast, she began looking for a vacuum and a mop. She located them and started cleaning the upstairs first.

Her mind wandered as she worked. She was thankful that Dwight didn’t have a robot vacuum like she did because at least this gave her something to do. She took her time in the master. Not just because of the views. Something about the room calmed her. The entire house did, but the master even more so.

Emmy moved from room to room. With the downstairs vacuumed, she put it on the bottom stair and began cleaning the wooden floors as well as the tile in the master bath. She hummed to herself to fill the silence. Before she knew it, she was back at the stairs. She hauled the mop and vacuum upstairs and repeated the process all over again.

Her room was last. As she finished and moved out into the hallway to finish the last little bit until the stairs, she thought she heard a noise. Emmy paused and listened, leaning to the side in an effort to look downstairs. But she didn’t hear or see anything.

After several tense seconds, she went back to work, but she no longer hummed. Her ears strained to hear anything unusual. She finished the wood floor in the hallway and turned to start the stairs when she saw a woman standing at the bottom of the flight, wearing a big smile. Startled, Emmy screamed and jumped back, slamming her shoulder into the wall before plastering herself against it.

In an instant, she was back in the hotel room with the gun pointed at her head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” the woman said, drawing Emmy’s attention. The woman’s lips twisted ruefully. “I should’ve announced myself.”

Emmy’s heart thudded painfully in her chest as she stared wide-eyed at the intruder.

The woman raised her hands and issued an apologetic smile. “I’m Vic. I mean Victoria. Dwight’s sister.”

Emmy slid down the wall. Could this really be Dwight’s sister? If so, why hadn’t he told Emmy that she was coming? Maybe he hadn’t known. Or perhaps this wasn’t her at all. And yet … she had the same piercing blue eyes as Dwight.