Badger hadn’t been interrupted while making out with a woman in a long, long time, not since Atlanta’s finest had caught him with his pants down in the back seat of Eileen Stanley’s BMW.

He had his pants on this time, but when he’d come out of the tack room, he hadn’t been exactly presentable.

Sure enough, it had been Cody who’d arrived to feed the horses. His startled reaction at seeing Badger had changed to speculation and then he’d started laughing. “Hey, sorry.”

“No problem.” Badger couldn’t help laughing, too. It was a funny situation. “The horses need to be fed.”

“True, but you and Hayley must be a little frustrated with this setup.”

“You could say that.”

“I mean, with her staying at the parsonage and you sleeping here, I wondered what you planned to do about the issue.”

“Clearly we haven’t solved it or we wouldn’t be makin’ out in the tack room.”

“I had a similar problem with Faith. She was at her dad’s house and I was here.”

“What’d you do about it?”

“Well, it was June, for one thing.”

“Oh. You could sneak off in the bushes.”

“That was her plan but I wasn’t crazy about it. I set up a bed inside my camper shell.”

“Wasn’t that kind of obvious?”

“Not really. I was planning for my upcoming road trip, so it looked like preparations for my journey. But mostly it was so Faith and I could get horizontal in comfort. The ground is not optimal.”

“And now it’s really out of the question.”

“Yeah.” Cody laughed. “I’d hate to think what would happen if you tried it in the snow.”

“Shrinkage would happen, that’s what.”

Cody grinned. “Yep. Not the way to impress your lady.”

“Hauling her into the tack room isn’t exactly smooth, either. Is there a hotel around here? Or a B and B?”

“There is. Let me—oh, hey, there.” He turned as Hayley came out, her cheeks flushed. “I’m trying to remember if we’ve ever officially met.”

“I don’t think so. These aren’t the circumstances I would have chosen for our first meeting, either.”

“Don’t give it another thought.” He stuck out his hand. “Cody McGavin at your service, ma’am.”

“Hayley Bennett.” She shook his hand.

Winston chose that moment to let out a piercing whinny.

Cody laughed. “There’s the dinner bell! You two want to help feed? I could use a hand. Faith’s up at the house cooking with Mom. We’ll eat well tonight.”

“I’m sure. And I’d love to help feed.”

“Me, too,” Hayley said.

“Then let’s fetch us some gloves.” Cody walked into the tack room. Later, as they were delivering hay flakes loaded into a wheelbarrow, he had a moment when Hayley wasn’t within earshot. “That place that might work?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll get you the info tonight.”

“Great. Thanks.”

* * *

The massive dinner table piled with food and the joking that went on during the meal reminded Badger of nights in the mess hall, only with more women. He’d served with female pilots, even dated a couple, but they weren’t in the majority.

Tonight they outnumbered the guys by two. Neither Kendra nor Aunt Jo had a sweetheart. Cowboy had told him the stories—Aunt Jo had divorced her cheating husband years ago. Kendra’s Air Force pilot husband had died young, ironically not in the service but at home from an aneurism. Clearly both women were strong enough to make it on their own.

But the others gathered around the table seemed able to take care of themselves, too. Not a shrinking violet in the bunch. Hayley, who sat on his left, fit right in.

He’d been impressed with Faith earlier, but this was his first introduction to Mandy and Zane. Mandy was a powerhouse who ran her own fashion business with one hand and helped Zane’s Raptor Rise operation with the other.

Zane recounted the latest rescue of a male bald eagle who had become tangled in the string from a Mylar balloon. “Fortunately we discovered him before he’d hurt himself. He’ll be fine.” He turned to Badger. “How soon can you come over for a tour of the facility?”

“How’s tomorrow afternoon?”

“Great.” Zane looked at Hayley. “You’re welcome to come, too.”

“I’d love to, but I promised to bake Christmas cookies with my mom. It’s a yearly tradition.”

“Wouldn’t want to mess with that.” Badger said. “What if I go tomorrow and then we can go over together after Christmas?”

“Perfect.”

“You’ll be blown away by the tour.” Bryce’s girlfriend Nicole had bright red hair and the enthusiastic attitude to go with it. “That place is amazing.”

“I’ll bet. I’ve been wantin’ to see it ever since I saw some pictures y’all sent over. And there was a video of a golden eagle release, too.”

“I took that.” Aunt Jo looked proud of herself. “I’ll never forget the experience.”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t, either.” Badger glanced at Zane. “Any releases scheduled in the next few days?”

“Sorry. Not for another month or so.”

“Stick around and you can see one,” Ryker said.

Olivia, Trevor’s girlfriend and the McGavin family accountant, spoke up. “Don’t forget I want to go on the January release.”

“I’ve got you down.” Zane looked over at Badger, his gaze steady. “Want to reserve a spot? They’re going fast.”

“Hey, boys.” Kendra tapped her fork against her glass. “No hard sell, especially at the table. We all hope he’ll choose to live here. Let’s leave it at that.”

Cody grinned at Ryker. “Yeah, stop badgering the poor guy.”

Everybody groaned, but Kendra’s edict held. The subject was dropped.

April had made sure to sit on his right, and he’d enjoyed getting to know her. She was a little thing, and friendly as all get out. Clearly her cheerful personality softened Ryker’s drill sergeant tendencies. Seated on April’s other side, Ryker relaxed in his chair and sipped a beer while watching her with an adoring gaze.

“What was Ryker like in the Air Force?” she asked as the meal wound down. “You’re the only one here who can tell us.”

“You want the truth?”

“That’s why I’m asking.”

“He was a pain in the ass.”

Her brown eyes sparkled with mischief. “Funny, he says the same about you.”

Badger looked at Ryker over the top of April’s head. “You do?”

Ryker shrugged. “I call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

“Okay, tell me this.” April tucked her napkin next to her plate. “Who’s the better pilot?”

“I am,” they said together.

She laughed. “Probably could have predicted that. Okay, one more question, Badger. Did he ever talk about me?”

Ryker put down his beer. “Answer that and you’re a dead man.”

Badger grinned at him. “Only when he was drunk.”

Ryker’s eyes narrowed.

“And what did he talk about?”

“Sorry, ma’am.” He held Ryker’s gaze. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Well done, Badger.” Kendra pushed back her chair and stood. “It looks like we’ve avoided bloodshed. Who’s ready for dessert?”

“Hot damn.” Zane got up, too. “We finally get to eat the Yule log you’ve been raving about.”

“We’re eating a Yule log?” Badger was confused. “Isn’t that what you burn?”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Ryker said. “I could swear I saw a birch log in the fireplace, like always.”

“And another one in the fridge,” Cody said.

“Actually I got two.” Kendra started gathering plates and everyone else stood to do the same. “I wanted plenty to go around.”

As they all carried dishes and food into the kitchen, Badger turned to Hayley. “Does your family burn a Yule log for the twenty-first?”

“No fireplace.”

“Oh, right. What about this other one that’s for dessert?”

“I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds cool.”

“And tastes even better.” Kendra pulled two large bakery boxes out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter. When she lifted the lids, everyone gathered around to admire what looked like two branched logs frosted with chocolate and decorated with molded sugar poinsettias and tiny mushrooms.

Badger whistled under his breath. “Those are a work of art.”

“They are.” Hayley was wedged in next to him. “Seems a shame to cut into them.”

Crowded in with Ryker’s family and Hayley pressed against his side, Badger had trouble separating fantasy from reality. If he had to choose right now, he’d choose the fantasy of being madly in love with Hayley.

“Oh, you’ll want to cut into them,” Mandy said. “It’s delicious, a thin layer of chocolate cake rolled up with mocha chocolate mousse inside. And buttercream frosting textured to look like bark. I ate one of the samples Abigail was passing out last week. Take a picture if you want to save it for posterity.”

“I’ll take a picture to show my folks.” Hayley jostled Badger as she pulled out her phone. “I’m going to suggest this for next year.”

He could have moved a little to give her more room, but he liked being mashed together so he held his position.

“Okay, you’ve all seen it,” Kendra said. “Who wants to help serve? Not you, Trevor. You’re in charge of the fireplace.”

Several people offered to help, including Hayley, who said she’d waitressed her way through college.

Kendra smiled at her. “Then we’d be grateful to have you. Jo and I never waitressed a day in our lives.”

“I’ll help, too,” Badger said. “I’ve never been a waiter, but if I can juggle empty plates I can probably manage full ones.”

“Juggling practice!” Ryker snapped his fingers. “We should practice after we finish dessert. I stashed a box of red and green thrift-store plates in my old bedroom. Mom, if you don’t need me, I’ll go get ‘em for later.”

“Looks like we have plenty of hands on deck, son. Go ahead.”

“I’ll help serve,” Cody said. “But I need a quick minute with Badger.” He motioned him back into the dining room and took out his phone. “Get your phone, buddy.”

Badger took his out of his pocket.

“Here you go.” Cody showed Badger his screen. “The Nesting Place B and B. I’m texting you the number.”

“Excellent. Thanks, Cody.” He couldn’t duck out now, but he’d find a moment during the evening. The way things were going with Hayley, he needed to find a place where they could deal with their lust or one of them was liable to go up in flames before this vacation was over.