Page 66 of The Cowboy's Christmas
“I am, but I’m serious about helping you guys with anything on the ranch if you need it. I have time.”
Ty settled a hand on his shoulder. “Appreciated. I’ll be in touch.”
“Me, too.” He meant it.
*
“The tree looksgood, Vannie.” Deke settled his tumbler of bourbon on the arm of his recliner, holding it loosely in one big hand.
Savannah curled her feet under her on the sofa. She’d opted for spiced apple cider for her holiday drink, although a shot of alcohol might have done wonders for her anxiety. She was concerned about Austin’s baby, and she was concerned about Quinn.
True to his word, he’d helped her face Christmas, going so far as to accompany them to Marietta when he didn’t have to. It was probably a good thing he did, because he was closer to the hospital, closer to his brothers, who probably did need his help.
She was proud of him for being there for them, but that was the kind of man he was. He might not need roots, as she did, but it seemed that freed him up to be there for others when they needed it.
Heaven help the person who tried to convince him that they would be there for him.
That unnerved the man.
“That snowman is upside down,” Deke remarked.
Actually, it was more at a forty-five-degree angle, but the head was down.
“The top hook broke, but Jessa wanted it up, so Quinn threaded a hanger through the scarf for her. He’s a little top-heavy with the hat.” She’d loved decorating the tree with the girls on their shoulders. Loved how Quinn had been such a good sport about helping them with whatever they needed, even if it meant hanging ornaments at strange angles.
Good times.
Something she had not expected this Christmas. She curved her hands around her mug, warming them. A lot of unexpected things had happened this Christmas.
She sipped the cider and studied the three sparkling silver ornaments she’d hung after everyone had gone to bed a few nights ago. They represented an important chapter of her life. One she hadn’t seen ending as it had.
Not all stories had happy endings, but some did. The thing was that one never knew going in what the ending might be.
“Are you and Quinn going to be okay if he stays longer?”
Savannah almost dropped her cup. There was no mistaking her uncle’s meaning and no hiding the color that stained her cheeks.
Her first instinct was to give a noncommittal “sure,” but when she met Deke’s gaze, she only saw concern in his dark eyes.
“We’ll make it through,” she said quietly. And then he’d leave.
“Kind of unexpected,” Deke replied. Again, there was no mistaking his meaning.
“Amen to that.” Savannah’s voice was little more than a whisper.
“Nothing wrong with it,” Deke continued, his gaze now on the tree.
“No.” There wasn’t. Lots of women who lost husbands moved on more quickly than she had, but they may not have had the option of sequestering themselves. Of living alone with an elderly uncle and heavy grief, with nothing but the events of a ranch day to distract her. It hadn’t been healthy in a lot of ways.
Savannah realized that her fingers were cramping because she held the cup so tightly and she set it aside. “I like him a lot.”
Deke nodded.
“I kind of wonder if he might be my widow rebound guy. I have been…alone…for quite a while.”
It was a theory she’d mulled over more than once as her feelings for Quinn had intensified. Was her attraction to the man the real deal? Or as Sara had suggested, a safe way to get back in the game? If it were the latter, it was something of a fail, because it didn’t feel safe. It felt as if it mattered.
“You have,” Deke agreed.
