Page 68 of The Cowboy's Christmas
She only wished she felt more like a winner. Hiring Jeff Barnett and allowing Quinn to go on his way was the thing to do. She knew it as certainly as she knew that he would have the tractor running before she left the house, even though it had to have been after midnight when he got back to the ranch. She knew because she’d woken up when he’d driven in and even though she had an uncomfortable task ahead of her the next day, she’d fallen into a deep sleep after he’d arrived home.
Not his home, she reminded herself. He didn’t want a home, even though he kind of had one. He’d been with the Nearys for six years, and that qualified as home in her book, but if he still saw himself as a wanderer, then there wasn’t much she could do about it.
He was a man with no ties. He could quit the Neary Ranch tomorrow if he wanted.
Not that he would, because one thing she knew about Quinn was that he was a stickler for responsibility. And helping people. Protecting people. His trip to the hospital last night had proven that. He would not leave the Nearys high and dry.
“Quinn’s got the tractor running,” Deke said as she headed to the coffeepot.
“I’ll use a travel cup.” She was running late. After staying awake stewing over the situation and worrying about Quinn driving on icy roads, she’d overslept.
She didn’t allow herself to think as she dressed in her insulated clothing and wrapped a wild rag around her neck loosely enough that she could pull it up over her chin if need be. Habit. She’d be in the tractor and not in the cold like Quinn.
“You’ll call Jeff Barnett?” she asked before she went out the door, a travel cup in each hand. Quinn had a coffeemaker, but she’d always brought him coffee, and saw no reason to make this, their last morning together, any different.
“I will.” Deke didn’t sound particularly enthused, but he didn’t fight her on the matter.
“Thanks,” she said in a husky voice before swallowing. This morning would not be easy for her, but Quinn was probably going to appreciate it.
And maybe, after some time apart, they could touch base. See how they felt. She’d have a better idea then if he was her rebound guy.
He’s not.
I know.
She wasn’t feeling anything close to rebound.
*
The tractor wasstill warming up when Quinn got a text from Ty. He sent a reply, then looked up when he heard Savannah coming across the drive carrying two travel cups.
“Any more news on the baby?” she asked, nodding at the phone in his hand.
“Yeah. They’ve decided to transport her to Bozeman to be on the safe side.”
“Even though it’s not an emergency, I imagine that’s tough on her family.”
“Yeah. I told Ty I would help him out on the ranch, and it looks like he’ll need help for today anyway. I’m heading over to his place after I finish here.”
“Then you guys…”
“Are in a better place. Yeah.” They were. All it had taken was an emergency for him to get over himself. He’d realized on the drive from Marietta to the Dunn Ranch that that was what a lot of his problem was. Getting over himself. Getting over his deeply seated notions of who he was and how his life needed to play out. What he was able to do and what he wasn’t.
Maybe he needed to stop limiting himself.
Savannah gave him a congratulatory smile, but her eyes weren’t onboard. “Great. Well, let’s get to it, so that you can get to the 46 Ranch.”
“Right.” He smiled back, but still couldn’t tease a real smile from her.
Because of yesterday. And the day before. Because of mistakes he’d made and things he was now rethinking.
They still had a few more days to make this right. Deke had told him that he thought he’d be able to run the tractor around Christmastime, and Quinn believed him. The man was no longer pushing things. Maybe he, like Quinn, had come to realize that just because you thought you had to be a certain way, you didn’t.
“I’ll ride the trailer to the Anderson place with the dogs,” Quinn said as they headed to the tractor. Warm air was pushing in ahead of a storm, which meant he had no need to be in the cab with Savannah. She needed space, that was obvious, and he needed time to figure out how to let her know that some of the givens he’d lived by weren’t carved in stone as he’d thought.
She gave him a tight smile. “If you want.”
What he wanted was to get this right. He didn’t know how—he was feeling his way along—but it was imperative not to make things worse.
Again, he had days on the Dunn Ranch to figure this out. He’d bide his time, and when the moment was right, he and Savannah would talk. He’d set things right, and maybe pave the way to seeing if they had a future together.
