Snowbound in Starlight Bend: A Riding Hard Novella Read online

  Haley glared at him, her fingers clamped to the card. “We’ll give my assistant some ideas, she’ll find appropriate things, and we’ll narrow down the list. I do it all the time. My dad always loves what we come up with.”

  “Good for your dad. I bet he’s used to gifts from high-end department stores. This is an eleven-year-old boy who picks fruit after school to help his mom make ends meet.”

  “All the more reason to find him a great present. Something his family would never be able to give him.”

  Maddox clenched his teeth. She got his blood up, that was certain. “I said, I’ll take care of it.”

  Her scowl remained, a challenge in her eyes. She wasn’t going to give in easily.

  Maddox was surprised at himself. He didn’t usually argue with women. He took them out, bought them dinner, cuddled up with them, and then the two of them went their separate ways. Women didn’t want a long-term relationship with a man who was up to his knees in horseshit most of the time, and Maddox wasn’t ready to settle down. Or so he told himself.

  Haley had both irritated Maddox and made him laugh from the moment they’d met. He’d scared the shit out of her when he’d peered through her snowy car window, which had been funny. Now she was busy pissing him off.

  He did not need a rich daddy’s girl coming into his small town and telling the backwoods cowboy what to do, and neither did a desperate kid like Danny.

  On the other hand—could Maddox justify not letting her help find Danny something truly special because his pride was hurt?

  He growled, let go of the card, and said, “Fine. We’ll try it your way. I appreciate it.” Every word was hard.

  Haley folded her arms, which pushed up her breasts in her clingy sweater. “That is the crabbiest concession I’ve ever heard. But I’ll take it.” She sighed and dropped the card to the table. “Not that I’ll be able to contact my PA. How do you live without your phones working?”

  “Because we know everyone around,” Maddox said. “We just go to their houses if we want to talk to them.”

  “And our phones usually work,” Aunt Jane put in. “The snowstorm has knocked out some lines, I guess. Ease off, Maddox. She’s stranded and upset. But don’t worry, dear.” Aunt Jane patted her arm. “I’m making us a nice big supper to take our minds off our troubles.”

  “Thank you,” Haley said, her voice softening. “I truly appreciate all your help.” She switched her glare back to Maddox. “That’s how you show gratitude.”

  “Don’t push it, sweetheart,” Maddox said. Movement caught his attention out the back window. “I see Buddy on his way. You make yourself at home, and I’ll go tell Buddy he’s just been promoted to my PA.”

  Haley rolled her eyes, but she turned to Aunt Jane, sweet as sugar. “Is there anything I can do to help you, Ms. Howard?”

  “You come on in the kitchen with me,” Aunt Jane said. “Let the men be cold. And call me Aunt Jane, dear. The whole town does.”

  Buddy asked Maddox about Haley, curious after fetching her bags and handing them off to Aunt Jane through the kitchen door.

  As the two of them fed and bedded down the horses for the night, Maddox told him about finding Haley and bringing her home. In the morning, more of the crew would be there to take care of the half dozen horses Maddox was currently training and get them some exercise, snow or no snow. Horses didn’t know it was the holidays.

  “She’s a poor little rich girl from Seattle,” Maddox finished. “Happy to get the hell out of here as soon as she can.”

  Buddy grinned at him as they shut the last stall, which happened to be Sammy’s. The bay horse leaned his white blaze nose over the partition as though wanting to be part of the conversation. “I take it she’s good looking?” Buddy asked.

  Buddy was five years younger than Maddox, but heavy drinking that started in his teens plus a few years in prison made him look older, his skin leathery from Montana sun and weather. He was sober now and straight, but his hard living had taken its toll.

  “Sure, she’s cute,” Maddox said with a shrug. Haley got under his hide but he had to admit she was attractive. “Why’d you ask that?”

  “Because she wouldn’t piss you off so much if she wasn’t. You’d be nicer to her if you didn’t think she was good looking.”

  Buddy’s eyes twinkled, which only made Maddox more irritated. “What the hell is that supposed mean?”

  Buddy shrugged and patted Sammy’s nose. “Means it’s been a long time since you had a woman.”

  Maddox fell silent. He could snap at Buddy that it was none of his business, but Maddox had been interfering in Buddy’s business since they were kids. Trying to keep him straight and clean. Telling him to come and work for him when no one wanted to hire an ex-con. Buddy could get away with saying things to Maddox other people couldn’t.

  “Yeah, well,” Maddox said after a time. “I doubt anything’s going to happen there. She’ll be out of here when the roads are cleared, back to her penthouse.” He shook his head. “I’m more worried about what I’m going to get Danny.”

  He’d told Buddy about that too. Buddy nodded. “That’s rough. I knew Danny’s dad. He could be a total son of a bitch. Kid’s probably better off without him.”

  “I know.” Maddox adjusted his hat, bracing himself to leave the warmth of the barn for the blast of cold between here and the house. “But I remember being Danny’s age and wishing like hell my parents would come back. I wanted a miracle. I know what he’s going through.”

  “So what are you gonna do?” Buddy asked.

  Maddox patted Sammy’s neck, saying good night. “Probably take Haley’s offer to help me buy him a good gift. It won’t compensate, but I gotta get him something.”

  Buddy’s grin returned. “Then I guess you’d better be nice to the rich girl.”

  “Yeah.” Maddox pulled his coat tighter and headed with Buddy for the door. “I feel bad for her, getting stuck out here, but for some reason I can’t help sparring with her. She knows how to push my buttons.”

  Buddy let out a bark of laughter. “I bet she does. Let her push whatever she wants.”

  Maddox shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. Thanks for bringing her bags, though.”

  “She sure has a lot of them. But women, you know?”

  Maddox agreed, though Aunt Jane could go on a two-week vacation with one overnight bag. “Aunt Jane’s fixing supper. Want to stay?”

  They exited the barn, bending their heads to the wind. “Nah,” Buddy said. “But thanks. Mary and Will are expecting me back.” His voice warmed as he spoke the names of his wife and three-year-old son. Buddy’s reform had come not so much from Maddox helping him out, as it had from the birth of little Will. Buddy had been a changed man from the night he’d held his son for the first time.

  “Got it,” Maddox said. “Give them my love.”

  “Will do.” Buddy adjusted his hat and moved off down the hill toward his house. The path he’d beaten on the way up was already filling with snow.

  Maddox watched Buddy hunker into the wind and march determinedly home before he turned and made his way to his own back porch.

  Laughter sounded inside as he reached for the kitchen door. He saw through the glass the warm glow of the room, Aunt Jane glancing from the stove to Haley. Haley had a towel pinned to her waist as an apron and was chopping vegetables on a board. She joined with Aunt Jane in laughing about whatever was the joke.

  Her face was half turned to Maddox, her eyes lit, her smile wide. She looked relaxed, her hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail, one hand on her hip, the knife in the other hand resting on the board.

  Yep, Maddox said to himself, warmth stirring inside him. There’s no denying that Haley McKee is one good-looking woman.

  Too bad that tomorrow she’d be gone, a memory.

  In that case, his treacherous mind went. Better not waste any time …

  Snow fell and light faded as Haley joined Aunt Jane and Maddox for supper at the dining room
table. Maddox settled his aunt in her seat like an old-fashioned gentleman, then to Haley’s amazement, came around to her side of the table and pulled out the chair for her.

  Haley sat, bewildered, then Maddox pushed the chair in. Only then did he take his seat across from her.

  Both Aunt Jane and Maddox bowed their heads while Maddox rumbled a prayer over the food. He thanked God Haley hadn’t fared worse in her accident and that they were all safe to partake of the food Aunt Jane had cooked.

  And she’d cooked a lot. There was a piece of steak waiting on each of their plates, a casserole heaped with roasted potatoes, another of roasted vegetables, a large salad, a bowl of peas with bits of ham in it, fresh baked rolls, and plenty of butter, salt, and pepper.

  Haley hadn’t sat down at a table with this much food in a long time. Aunt Jane insisted Haley serve herself first, as their guest. Haley scooped out a few vegetables and a forkful of salad under Maddox’s sharp gaze.

  “You have to eat more than that,” he said. He waited for Aunt Jane to dish out her own food then piled his plate high, his steak disappearing under a mound of green, white, and red. “Here, have some potatoes.”

  Haley held up her hand as he thrust a steaming spoonful at her. “I really shouldn’t have too many carbs.”

  Maddox barked a laugh and Aunt Jane smiled. “I was raised on carbs,” Maddox said. “Hasn’t hurt me. So was Aunt Jane. She’s tough as a nut.”

  True, Maddox didn’t have any fat on him and Aunt Jane had wiry strength. If they ate like this every night, their metabolisms must be superhuman. Aunt Jane looked like she could run a few miles, wrestle a bear, and then waltz home to prepare another gargantuan meal.

  Haley loved potatoes. Her mouth watered at the pile of oven-roasted spuds, glistening with hot oil and dusted with rosemary. “Well, maybe just a little.”

  Maddox dumped the large mound onto her plate then dropped the spoon back into the casserole dish with a clatter.

  Haley sliced a tiny piece from her steak and took a bite. She didn’t eat much beef, and she stopped in surprise when the meat nearly melted in her mouth, tender and smoky, with a bite of salt.

  “This is good, Aunt Jane,” she said, trying not to sound too surprised.

  Aunt Jane looked modest. “Thank you, dear.”

  Haley glanced at the windows, which were black now, the winter day short. Snow slapped against the panes not sheltered by the porch, white grit in the darkness.

  “It doesn’t snow in Seattle,” Haley said wistfully. “Drizzly rain and mist, but no snow.”

  “Well, we get all kinds of it here,” Aunt Jane said. “And sunshine like you wouldn’t believe in the summer. It’s a beautiful place, Starlight Bend. You’ll see.”

  Sounded like they expected her to stay a while. Haley hoped her dad wasn’t getting too worried.

  But it was only seven-thirty, which meant six-thirty in Seattle. Dad was probably still in the office, going over new contracts, talking to the people Haley had gone to Chicago to butter up. He wouldn’t miss Haley until well into the next evening, maybe even the day after—he’d figure Haley would want some time off to rest from her trip.

  The thought that she wouldn’t be missed right away gave Haley a strange, lonely feeling.

  “What do you do here when you’re snowed in?” she asked brightly. “If you can’t go to town until the roads get plowed, how do you get groceries and things?”

  Aunt Jane looked cryptic. “Oh, we manage.”

  Maddox pinned Haley with a blue gaze at the same time he surreptitiously slipped Lance a chunk of steak. “We play checkers and drink sarsaparilla.”

  “No, we do not,” Aunt Jane said sternly. “You can stop that right now, Maddox Campbell.” She turned kind eyes to Haley. “We enjoy ourselves quite well. Snowbound days help us come together as a community. In fact, our guests should be arriving soon.”

  Haley blinked. “Guests?”

  Maddox grinned, the smile lighting up his eyes and filing off his hard edges. “Sure. What we do when we’re snowbound is have a snowed-in party. Should be one hell of a night.”

  Chapter Four

  They came on horseback, snowshoes, and cross-country skis. Those who lived closer, like Buddy and his wife, risked hiking on foot, beating a path through the snow.

  Haley had never seen anything like it. She’d hosted plenty of parties in her big apartment or at her father’s house, but most of those were business-oriented, time to get clients and partners relaxed so they’d view Haley and her father as people and not simply names on a contract. Guests at Haley’s parties dressed up and were on their best behavior. Even her occasional gatherings for close friends involved martinis and catered finger food.

  At least thirty people poured into Maddox’s house, from all walks of life. Cowboys and their ladies in sheepskin coats, men in plaid flannel with caps, everyone in boots and scarves, gloves or mittens. They unwrapped themselves in the large space inside the back door, the racks filling with outerwear of all colors and shapes.

  Some had brought beer; one couple, champagne; others carried in covered plates of cookies and pie, cake and pastries. Aunt Jane welcomed them all, while Haley stood by in astonishment.

  Maddox stepped next to her, a warm bulwark between her and all the strangers. “This is Haley,” he told those staring in frank curiosity. “She got stuck in the snow. Least we could do was have a party.”

  His friends and neighbors cheered. “Hi, Haley!” they yelled. Their wives and girlfriends eyed her pink cashmere sweater and black pants the way women often checked out another woman’s clothes—part assessment of how it looked on her, part envy, part wondering where they could find something similar.

  The crowd was welcoming, friendly, interested. But even as she joined conversations and asked questions, Haley knew that if she hadn’t been championed by Maddox and Aunt Jane, she might not have been as readily accepted. These two seemed to be trusted and respected. Pillars of the community, her dad would call them.

  Lance circled the crowd, well known to everyone. He got plenty of attention, plus all the tidbits he could finagle. Haley was a little alarmed about what went into the dog’s mouth, but he seemed a healthy, happy animal.

  Everyone, of course, wanted to know how Haley had become stuck in the snow bank, and she had to explain how her great idea about driving home from Chicago had turned not so great. They were sympathetic, glad she hadn’t been hurt.

  Haley didn’t mention that she’d purchased her car outright for the trip, wiring the money to the dealership from her bank account in Seattle. The salesman, who’d thought he’d have a dismal day because of coming storms, had practically done cartwheels.

  She closed her mouth over telling Maddox’s friends the name of her family business. They might not have heard of it this far off the beaten track, but under her direction, the McKee brand, which had its roots in the lumber boom of the nineteenth century, had expanded a long way. Not that she wasn’t proud of her accomplishments, but she didn’t want to be that accomplishment tonight.

  At the moment, she hungered to just be Haley, the woman who liked dogs and long walks in the Seattle mists, drinking tea with her dad, jogging along the waterfront, and unwinding with her friend Linda in their favorite wine bar.

  Soon she’d go back to her office where things hummed along at a rapid place and she’d forget all about these friendly people, Aunt Jane and her simple but good cooking, Lance the goofy dog, and a handsome cowboy named Maddox.

  The party didn’t break up until after two. Haley, exhausted from her long drive, her accident, the ride on Sammy, plus all the food she’d eaten, drifted off to sleep on the sofa while everyone talked and laughed around her. Lance parked himself in front of the couch as though guarding her.

  Haley was drowsing in a place of warm darkness when she felt herself being lifted. Strong arms closed around her and a hard chest cradled her safely.

  In silence Maddox carried her up the stairs. It was quiet now—th
e guests had gone. Only Maddox’s tread and Lance’s paws scrabbling on the wooden steps broke the silence.

  Maddox carried Haley into a room that smelled of clean linens, and laid her on a bed. When Haley stretched out her arms, her fingers touched the edges of the mattress. She couldn’t find the energy to move more than that.

  Her high-heeled boots loosened then disappeared from her feet. Stockings followed, ankles held by strong hands that caressed warmth into her body.

  Maddox rubbed his thumbs over her feet, then released her. Haley watched him through eyes she couldn’t open more than a slit.

  He dragged in a breath and let it out in the quiet then draped sheets and quilts over her, smoothing them down.

  Haley found herself in a warm cocoon, more comfortable than she’d been in a long, long time. Maddox’s hand drifted to her forehead. As she closed her eyes, she felt heat brush her and the soft press of lips on her hair.

  “Sleep tight, Haley McKee,” he said, his voice a whisper.

  Haley couldn’t summon the strength to answer him. She lay still, her body tingling as he kissed her hair one more time. When he pulled away, the sudden cold was difficult to take.

  “Come on, Lance,” he rumbled.

  Lance made a quiet whine, then Haley heard a thump and grunt as the dog lay down, the tags on his collar clinking.

  “All right then,” Maddox said in exasperation. “Stay there.”

  He walked out, closing the door all but a crack. Haley smiled. He’d made sure that Lance could get out when he wanted to leave. Only someone who understood dogs would do that.

  It was her last thought before sleep consumed her, filling her mind with dreams of a tall cowboy rescuing her from the snow, carrying her away in his arms, and laying her down with kisses of fire.

  Haley jumped awake when her phone gave a three-toned ping.

  She shoved her hair out of her face, blinking in the faint daylight. White-painted furniture covered with chintz fabric and cushions met her gaze, along with a bookcase stuffed with books and knickknacks, a dresser filled with old-fashioned toiletries, and a white-painted table in a niche, perfect for a laptop. Paintings of landscapes and children holding flowers decorated the walls.