Page 19 of The Cowboy's Christmas
Personally, he looked forward to the holidays every year. His mom may not have been much of a homebody, but she adored Christmas and had passed the love on to Quinn. It was the one time of the year when he felt like they had roots. Wherever they were, she put up decorations—once in a motel room when they were between rentals—and if she had the facilities, she baked. And somehow, she always managed to get him a big present that she shouldn’t have been able to afford but did.
The dogs tore by with Pepper running shoulder to shoulder with Joey. They abruptly changed course, spraying Savannah’s jeans with snow, then disappeared around the corner of the barn. Quinn took advantage of the moment to change subjects. “What’s involved in bringing the cattle down?”
Savannah’s shoulders relaxed, telling Quinn that cow talk was good, Christmas talk was not.
“Not much, really. I could do it alone, but there would be no keeping Deke in the house if I did, because things can happen.”
“You know, I heard that a little while ago.”
“Really?”
“He’s right,” Quinn said.
“I know.” She glanced at the tractor, which was running a bit smoother now, then back at him. “It’s fine for him to go alone, but not me.”
“He’s protective,” Quinn said matter-of-factly.
“So am I, for all the good it does me. I told him not to go to town in the storm yesterday, but he insisted, and now here we are.”
Quinn knew more about the matter than Savannah was telling him. Deke had told the story behind his ill-fated trip to town after asking if they could pick up a tractor part before leaving Marietta. Quinn had to admit to being on Deke’s side on this one. The snowline was still high after this storm, well above the highway; however, the next storm might be a different critter.
Savannah pulled her wild rag up closer to her chin, then said, “The cattle are about three miles away and we push them across land belonging to the Andersons. The snow will be deep in places on the mountain, but the good news is that these ladies know the drill. They’ll likely be waiting at the gate, eager to be fed, and they know the way home.”
“What about the stragglers?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m thinking of leaving the gate open and letting them come home as they will. I have a good relationship with the Andersons and until they need to close the gates, well…”
“I can ride the country,” he said.
Her chin lifted. “As can I.”
“What I’m saying,” he explained patiently, “is that I have time to burn, and I don’t mind doing it on horseback.”
“In the cold.”
“I come from Eastern Oregon,” he reminded her. Cold was no stranger.
She gave him a look. “Maybe I’m working from a budgetary standpoint.”
It took him a moment to catch on. “You’re not paying me.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “I think I am.”
He shook his head.
“Then you can go back to town and enjoy the day in your fancy hotel room.”
She wasn’t comfortable giving orders, but ultimatums were okay? Fine. He could play that game.
“You can try to keep your uncle from doing chores tomorrow.”
She let out a breath. “You came out of this worse than we did financially, and it was Deke’s fault.”
“Look,” he said as patiently as possible. “I’m not taking your money.”
“Your truck—”
“Is old and will get as much work as it needs to drive back to Oregon. A headlight. A radiator. Deke and I talked and we’re not turning it in on insurance. We’re splitting the cost of the repairs.” He had a feeling it was more than the radiator and headlight, but until he knew better, he’d go with their handshake agreement.
