Page 43 of The Cowboy's Christmas Baby
Tate didn’t hear much about what Miles might want in what his mother was saying, but she understood Helen’s desire to have her family together for Christmas. If Tate could have one thing under the tree, she’d ask for that, too.
“Iris is easy to love,” she said, doing her best to steer clear of any landmines.
“She certainly is. Miles was like that as a baby. So cuddly and sweet.” Helen took a sip of her coffee, then got to the point. “I hoped you might be willing to speak to him about flying home to Texas with us for the holidays.”
Sharp disappointment took a bite out of Tate’s heart.
“What he chooses to do is none of my business,” she said. “But he seemed insistent that he wanted to start new traditions here. He was excited about putting up his own tree.” Decorating it with him had been so much fun, too, but she set that bit of wistfulness aside. This wasn’t about her. It was about what Miles really wanted and what was best for him and Iris.
“Only because he didn’t know how to tell us about Iris. Which is no longer a problem. And why I thought you might be the real reason.”
He’d made up his mind to stay here before they’d gotten involved. But he’d spoken so warmly of Christmas in Texas. Why shouldn’t he and Iris go home and enjoy it with family? Her relationship with her own parents was strained enough that she didn’t want to come between him and his. “It’s not because of me.”
“Then you won’t mind me telling him how unreasonable he’s being and that you’re fine with him coming to Texas with us?” Helen pressed.
“Not at all,” Tate said, because of course she was fine with it. Why wouldn’t she be?
*
Tate took adrive to the ranch after lunch. The frozen surface of the Tongue River sparkled through the naked cottonwood trees. She counted five bald eagles hunched in their branches.
A bag with Iris’s Christmas gift in it sat on the passenger seat. The gift wasn’t expensive, but she’d put a lot of thought into it, and it was as much for Miles as his daughter, although only she would know that. They hadn’t discussed exchanging gifts and she didn’t want it to be weird.
She parked near the barns and was halfway to the arena where Miles had said he’d be working when Ryan O’Connell emerged from one of the outbuildings and fell into step.
“Got a minute?” he said.
This must be Tate’s day for attracting undesirable conversations.
She had reservations about Ryan. She wasn’t afraid of him. She’d grown up around Ford and Ford was a tough act to beat. It was more that she held him in awe. Her tongue tripped over itself when he was around, and her hands and feet never seemed to know where they should be. He reminded her of a cowboy Bruce Wayne—slick and smooth on the outside, but with an alter ego vigilante inside. Laws didn’t apply to men like him. He didn’t generate panic attacks, but neither did he settle her nerves. Not the way Miles did.
“Sure,” she said, because she couldn’t say no to him any more than she’d been able to brush off Miles’s mother—which illustrated how unfair her reputation for being difficult to get along with really was.
“Miles speaks highly of you,” Ryan began, in a tone of voice that usually led to some sort ofbut. She had a gut-churning flashback to the day she’d been fired.Thank you, Santa.Did she work for Miles or the Endeavour? Did the ranch have a policy about employee fraternization? How had Ryan found out?
“I can explain.”
“Really?” He looked taken aback. “Please do.”
For the love of Pete, Tate. Do you even listen to what people say before you speak up?Miles speaks highly of you.How are you supposed to explainthat?
“He’s happy to have found someone to look after Iris so close to Christmas, when everyone is busy. And I live nearby, which is a bonus.” That was the best she could come up with. And yes, she was aware of how lame it sounded.
If Ryan agreed, she couldn’t tell. He stuck to business. “How do you like babysitting?”
“I love it,” Tate said, speaking with more confidence because she could be honest. “Iris is a sweetheart. Miles is easy to please.” She replayed her words in her head. Her face grew hot enough to melt the Tongue River from Grand all the way to Wyoming. “I mean, Miles is easy to work for.”
“Do you like working at the ranch, too?”
“I do,” she said warily. Where was this conversation headed? Was she about to be fired?
Now that the rodeo was over, maybe he expected her to look after Iris at Miles’s house in Grand and not at the ranch.
“Elizabeth suggested you might be interested in a more permanent position,” Ryan said. “We’d talked about opening a daycare for employees on the ranch, and with a baby of our own on the way, the timing is right. We’ll have to explore childcare licensing, but Posey McGregor runs a licensed facility in town and she’s an excellent resource. We’d pay for any training you require, of course.”
A permanent position on the Endeavour Ranch as a daycare provider… Giddiness left Tate light-headed. That sounded a lot more appealing than a seasonal gig as an elf. It sounded like a career. Ford would be pleased—she could pay rent.
But what if things didn’t work out between her and Miles? Could she stand it if he began seeing other women? Could they at least remain friends?
