Chapter Two
Red scarf. Red scarf. Case searched the passengers milling into the luggage collection area of the airport. All of them were in various states of stressed-out. He hoped he wasn’t picking up an uptight—
He caught sight of a red scarf. The woman walked behind a taller man, and Case couldn’t see much of her. Just an arm, swinging lightly at her side and the end of that red scarf lying against the shoulder of her tan coat.
Dodging to the side, Case moved nearer to get her attention before she missed him. He was jittery—why? He wasn’t one to get a case of nerves, especially over meeting someone new.
Maybe because Charlotte had drilled the details into him so many times, he had no hope of not screwing this up.
Annabelle hasn’t been to Texas since her college days. She’ll be nervous, so take good care of her.
She will be hungry after her flight, so make sure you feed her. There’s that place on the way home and they have the best pie.
Annabelle might be tired. She’s a third-grade teacher, you know. These Dalton kids are crazy with thoughts of Santa Claus, so I can’t imagine twenty-five of them in a classroom.
He’d told her the family was well on their way to finding out if they didn’t quit reproducing, and she’d smacked him lightly and shot Hank a sideways glance.
Finally, the reminder that replayed most in Case’s head—Annabelle’s had a couple bad Christmases in a row. We want to give her the best, most relaxing holiday we can, and that starts with you, Case.
No pressure.
The tall man moved aside, giving Case a clear shot of the woman with the red scarf. His gaze flashed to her face, her complexion peaches and cream. Warm brown hair tumbled over an arching brow. She wore glasses, just like a schoolteacher should.
She was looking down at her phone, giving him a chance to study her without her knowledge. Small, upturned nose, pointed chin. A full set of lips twisted in thought.
When she glanced up, she met his stare.
His heart gave an odd stutter he couldn’t exactly call a flip-flop. That only happened when he was about to take a hoof to the shin or some other painful blow from cattle. But the weird sensation made him stare all the harder at Annabelle.
She drifted to a stop a few feet from him. The flow of traffic backed up behind her, and people split off to go around. Case caught her by the elbow and steered her out of the path of people. Her bones felt delicate, light, impossibly small under his big, fumbling fingers.
Releasing her, he opted for a smile rather than the creepy leer he must be giving her.
“Howdy. You must be Annabelle.”
“You’re Case. I recognize you from your photo.”
Surprised, he blinked. Charlotte must have snapped some random photo of him and sent it to her friend. He didn’t know what to think of that.
He glanced down at the bag in her grip and held out a hand to take it. She seemed reluctant to pass it to him, but in the end, she did. Their fingers brushed on the handle, and again he got a strange zap.
Now he was being plain stupid. Nervous over a woman. Case wasn’t an awkward young pup without experience. He was twenty-five years old with a trail of broken hearts behind him. And Annabelle was a cute little schoolteacher from the Midwest. Hardly intimidating.
Using a forefinger, she pushed her glasses up her nose. The plastic frames gave her a vintage look that made him smile.
“C’mon. The luggage carousel’s this way.” He tipped his head in the direction.
“Oh, I only have the carryon.”
“A woman who travels light? I’m impressed.”
She laughed, a low sound far huskier than he’d expected from her. The sound curled like smoke through him.
“Did you expect a bag for every day I’m staying in Paradise Valley? I don’t need much.” Her lips bowed upward, but it was her eyes that really did the smiling. This woman might be feeling dreary about the holidays, but she wasn’t an unhappy person, an old spinster school marm.
Her eyes were a deeper shade of brown than her hair, warm and glowing with a mischief that probably held her students’ attention.
Why in the name of Roy Rogers was he thinking this stuff? He shook himself and waved toward the exit.
“My truck’s in one of the temporary parking lots. If you’re ready…?”
She nodded.
As he led her toward the doors, he noted how she had to walk fast to keep up and he slowed his pace. Shooting her a look, he said, “Sorry, I tend to dislike crowds. I don’t always walk this fast.”
“With those long legs, it’s no wonder I can’t keep up.” She looked down at her own denim-covered legs, much shorter than his. But perfectly curvy.
When they reached the doors, he held one open for her to pass first. A waft of her perfume reached him, just a little spice, a little sweetness. Almost like a cookie.
Thank heavens for the Texas winters and their cooler temperatures. He didn’t need any more reason to be thinking warm thoughts. Apparently, he’d spent far too long on the ranch and without a girlfriend.
Outside, she paused on the sidewalk and looked around. She drew in a deep breath. “Wow, I didn’t realize how much I missed the smell of Texas.”
He nodded, understanding what she meant. The few times he’d left the state, he’d come home and inhaled deeply too. Not that the airport smelled like anything but gas fumes and the nearby trash receptacle.
“You went to University of Texas at Austin?” He’d have to thank Charlotte for giving him enough particulars to hold a conversation with Annabelle. Especially when what he wanted to talk about was how pretty she looked in that red scarf.
She nodded. “I see my friend has been updating you.”
He ducked his head with a smile. “That’s right. She talks about you a lot.”
Annabelle groaned, that throatiness in her voice like a vibration along his senses. “Should I be worried?”
“Unless it’s about a pajama party in the dorm when you were wearing the maroon and white of the rival team, then no.”
She groaned louder. “Oh, that made my fellow University of Texas-ers foam at the mouth. I was dating someone from the rival university at the time. Leave it to Charlotte to make that a topic of conversation.”
He chuckled. “You’ll find on the ranch that we like our football seasons, but we’re mostly too busy to bother with more than talking about the scores over dinner.” He sent her a long, appraising look. “You sure you’re ready to jump into the chaos of the Dalton family at Christmas?”
Now she looked worried, nibbling her lip. The action shouldn’t send a tingle through his stomach, yet it did. Undeniably.
She pushed up her glasses again. “Do I have a choice now? I’m already here.”
He laughed. “I can put you back on a plane?”
She squared her shoulders. “Nah, I’m good. I come from a big family too.”
Catching the remorse in her tone, he weighed his words.
She spoke up. “If you think I’m escaping one for another, you’re wrong. My family doesn’t do much in the way of holidays now that my grandmother’s gone. It’s sad really—she was the glue that held us all together.”
“Well, we’re glad to have you.” They reached the truck, and he opened the door for her before putting her luggage carefully into the back. It was heavy enough it shouldn’t fly out on the highway, but to be sure, he pushed his heavy toolbox against it.
When he settled behind the wheel, he fixed his attention on Annabelle. She sat primly in the passenger’s seat, knees together and hands in her lap.
“You hungry? There’s a good place up the road to stop and grab a bite.”
It was the nearly dinner hour, and by the time they got home, it would be well past supper. Aunt Maggie always kept a good supply of leftovers in the fridge for the hungry Daltons to grab when they came in from outside, but Case hoped Annabelle would want to stop and eat. He didn’t relish the thought of heating up leftovers in the microwave for her.
Besides, Charlotte would kick his ass.
“I’m not very hungry yet, but if you’d like to…” She offered a tight smile.
She was as nervous as he was. Somehow, that made him feel better. He put the truck into reverse and backed out of the space. She offered to pay his parking fee, but he waved off her money and finally headed onto the open road.
* * * * *
Case Dalton’s eyes were as blue as she remembered the Texas skies to be. On first sight, her knees had gone a little wobbly, which was silly. He was just a man, flesh and blood like any other.
Except he was huge with a calm, strong presence that inspired images of lying on their backs, staring up at the clouds passing by, the fresh scents of grass surrounding them.
Her first impression was that Case Dalton was a man who got a lot of female attention. On their way out of the airport, he received a lot of glances and appraising looks. In those fitted Wranglers that hugged his backside and thighs like hemp on rope, it was no wonder. But the man seemed oblivious.
“So what do ya say about the diner? They have the best pie this side of the Mississsippi.”
She laughed. “Then how can I refuse? That sounds nice, thank you.”
He slanted a smile at her that only a country boy was capable of giving. Crooked, sweet, full of naughtiness. She’d seen similar looks on the faces of the boys in her class as the holiday break drew near. With Case Dalton, she wasn’t sure what mischief he’d get to. In a big family, anything was possible.
He made a turn onto a junction and she watched the road signs spread out until only countryside sprawled before them.
“Now don’t tell the little ones where we’re eating, okay? They clamor for this pie, especially the peach, and if they hear I took you there, they’ll carry me away in my sleep and I’ll wake up next to the cows.” Case grinned.
With a laugh, she said, “You make them sound so strong.”
“You have no idea what ranch kids can do, especially in numbers like these.”
“They sound like so much fun. How many are there total?”
He shook his head. “Never could count them. They don’t hold still long enough.”
Teaching had its moments of despair, but for the most part, she loved it and found herself smiling through her days. But with Case, her cheeks were beginning to ache from smiling. Whether it was from the excitement of seeing her old friend again or the new experience, she’d definitely made the right decision in coming to Texas for Christmas.
“Before I left, the mommas had a heck of a time getting the kids clean and loaded into the vehicles.”
She arched a brow. “The mommas?”
His big hand rested in his lap as he steered with the other. The long fingers wrapped loosely around the vinyl-covered wheel and his knuckles sprouted a faint dusting of black hair. He was dark-haired, blue-eyed and more cowboy than she’d ever seen in her life. If Hank was anything like Case, no wonder Charlotte had fallen for him. Unfortunately, Annabelle had missed their wedding.
He swung his gaze to her, dark blue eyes fringed with thick lashes that she only achieved with two coats of mascara. “That’s what I call all the Dalton women—the mommas.”
“And the guys are the daddies?”
“No, my cousins.” He chuckled. “The kids are crazed for Santa this year, and they’re convinced they’re going to see snowflakes in Texas, but…” He gave a mournful shake of his head.
“Maybe I can sit them all down and we’ll cut out paper snowflakes and hang around the house.”
“Oh, they’d love that, especially the older ones. You must have loads of tricks to keep excited kids in line around this time of year.”
She nodded. “I’ve learned a few things over the past few years. Now you’re the Daltons’ cousin on their father’s side?”
“Yup. Oh crap, missed my turn. Hold on.” He whipped the truck in a wide arc, doing a U-turn in the middle of the quiet road. When they got straightened out, she let out a bark of laughter.
He looked to her, stare riveting her to the seat. Full lips quirked at one corner. “Scare ya, did I?”
“Just surprised me. If you do that on icy roads, you end up in the ditch, or worse.”
He arched a brow at her. “Wanna go again?”
“I don’t—”
“Hold on.”
He yanked the wheel to the side and the world revolved past the windshield and her vision. She gripped the edge of the seat and giggled until her stomach hurt.
He drew the truck to a halt and stared at her. She swiped at the corners of her eyes and returned his smile. “Do you always drive like a maniac?”
“Darlin’, you ain’t seen nothin’ till I take you back-roadin’,” he drawled, sending shivers up and down her spine.
The idea of going “back-roadin’” with Case was as far from stringing popcorn and singing Christmas carols as she could get, but she had to admit it sounded way more fun.
He was looking at her, eyes warm. “You up for it?”
She nodded. “As long as we don’t do that after we eat pie.”
* * * * *
The temps in Texas might be a lot lower, but that didn’t mean Case didn’t sweat. His shirt clung to his skin and rivulets of perspiration snaked out from under his hat.
He didn’t exactly have pigpen duty—not the way he saw it. But he was still in the pen, reinforcing support beams and fixing up the place for the sows to cuddle down for the winter.
Tucking the hammer into the belt slung around his hips, he glanced up at a flash of movement. Hank Jr. bolted by as fast as his long, little boy legs could go, two cousins hot on his tail.
“Junior, you keep away from the paddock. I don’t want you out riding in this mud. Your horse is liable to slip and break a leg.” Charlotte’s call went unnoticed, though Hank Jr. wouldn’t disobey. The child was as conscientious about the livestock as his daddy and uncles were. He’d never put a horse at risk.
Charlotte came into view—along with Annabelle.
Case’s chest tightened at the sight of the brunette. After they got back to the ranch, he’d settled her in the spare room in the main ranch house. He carried her luggage inside and placed it at the foot of the bed and told her his room was just down the hall if she needed anything.
Then with a low ache in his groin and a really tight pair of Wranglers, he’d turned away from the bed and the pretty little vision standing next to it chewing her lip. Soon the family had come home from the big school performance, high on Christmas cookies and punch, and they’d swept up Annabelle into their frenzy.
He tugged his hat lower so it wasn’t so obvious he was staring at her. In skinny jeans with high rubber boots skimming her shins and a thick dark green sweater, she could be any other country girl.
Except she stunned the hell out of him. Took his breath away.
Those thick brown locks waved across her shoulders, and damn if she didn’t have that red plaid scarf looped around her neck. She looked like a living Christmas present, decked in red and green.
And he wanted to unknot that bow and lean in and taste the tender skin on her throat, kissing a path up to her delicate jaw and finally finding her plump lips.
All through dinner at the restaurant, he’d stolen looks at her. Observed how pretty she was, her habit of pushing up her glasses even when they didn’t appear to be falling down. Her laugh warmed him, and if he wasn’t careful, putting more smiles on her face would become a habit of his own.
Don’t even get him started on how she savored her pie, licking each sweet bite off her fork.
His gut clenched as she spotted him. She threw him a wave, and he waved back, mind spinning over his reaction to her. She was pretty in a fresh-faced way, and over dinner he’d noted a grouping of freckles on the bridge of her nose. She was smart and had a good sense of adventure, he’d learned from his abrupt U-turns on the road.
But good-looking girls with adventurous streaks had never affected him this way.
He lifted a hand in response, and she smiled. Charlotte said something that made her laugh, the sound carrying to him.
The pair came toward the pigpen, both picking their way through the muck. “Seems you still got stuck with pig duty, Case,” Charlotte said as she neared.
He grunted. “Yeah, my cousins think it’s funny to leave the young guy with the crappiest job. At least tomorrow it’ll be Hank up to his ankles in pig shit while I’m getting spit-shined for church.” He let his gaze slide to Annabelle, resting on her the briefest of seconds before darting his glance away.
Why was he acting like this?
Because she was like looking at the sun—you couldn’t for too long.
“Enjoying your tour of the ranch?” he asked her.
She pushed up her glasses. “Yes, it’s beautiful. I wanted to come out earlier, but I was so stuffed from breakfast, Charlotte would have been rolling me.” A question was in the quirk of her brow.
He answered the silent communication. “I got up early and did some chores before breakfast.”
“Case never misses a chance to eat. Don’t let him fool you. But lately around here, he’s kind of a hero,” Charlotte said.
Annabelle gave her a quizzical look before staring back at Case.
“There was an early morning ruckus with a coyote.”
Annabelle’s eyebrows shot up.
“Case ran out with the shotgun and took care of it before we lost any more chickens. It’s been an ongoing problem this past fall.”
Case studied Annabelle’s pretty face. “I didn’t wake you then?”
She shook her head, brown locks caressing her shoulders. What he wouldn’t do to slip his hands under the mass and draw her lips to his.
He jerked and smacked his head off the beam he’d just set to reinforce the roof. Stars blasted behind his eyes and his skull rang like a gong.
“Oh no!” Annabelle rushed forward, and a warm hand snaked around his head. His hat had fallen off, and her hand on his hair sent his mind reeling in a way that had nothing to do with concussion.
Annabelle brought her hand away and looked at her fingers. “Not bleeding. Are you okay?”
He rubbed the spot lightly and gave a crooked smile. “Takes a lot more than that to damage this skull.”
Both women laughed.
Feeling like a huge dolt, he reached for his hat and settled it on his head. “Well, I’d best get back to work if I ever want to get lunch.” He grinned at Annabelle.
“I’ll see you then,” she said with a smile.
Continuing their tour, she and Charlotte moved off in the direction of the barn. Case watched them go, his attention fixed on the way Annabelle carried herself, her steps light and sure even when her boots were sinking into the mud.
He pulled off his hat and rubbed at the spot he’d just struck. It wasn’t pain he felt—just the echo of Annabelle’s touch.