Page 73 of The Cowboy's Christmas
“Goodbye, Quinn.” Savannah put a hand on each of her nieces’ shoulders, as if anchoring herself. “Thanks. For everything.”
He gave a nod instead of answering, then Jeff revved his truck and the straight exhaust pipes made such a racket that the little girls put their fingers in their ears.
Quinn rolled his eyes, trying to make their last moment a light one. “I have to go.”
Savannah nodded and turned back to the house with the girls as he went in the opposite direction. Never in his life had he felt so torn walking away from, well, anything. When relationships in his life ended, regardless of who did the ending, he’d accepted that it was time. When his mom told him they had to move again, he’d learned to look forward to the next place instead of mourning the one he’d left behind.
He wasn’t looking forward to the next place and he wasn’t excited to be heading back to Oregon. Most of all, he didn’t feel like this was the time to end what he and Savannah hadn’t really begun.
But she did and he would respect her needs.
He forced a smile when he got into Jeff’s truck, then focused on the road as they blasted out onto the driveway, which was rutted from the tracks of Jeff’s truck as he’d driven in that morning.
“Barely made it in,” Jeff said, putting the truck in gear. “Wouldn’t have made it if it hadn’t been for the lift.”
Quinn made an appropriately impressed sound and looked out the window as they drove through the ranch. He’d been there a matter of weeks, but the place seemed to have seeped into his soul.
No. Savannah had done that.
“You need to plow it tomorrow so Savannah doesn’t have to.”
“You giving the orders now?” Jeff asked in an amused voice.
“This one, yes.”
“Sure thing.”
He listened to Jeff brag with half an ear as they drove to Marietta, where Jeff dropped Quinn at the garage. Quinn gathered his stuff and got out of the rig. After Pepper jumped out, he kept a hand on the door instead of closing it.
“I appreciate the ride,” he said.
Jeff gave a self-satisfied smile in return. “Glad you gave up the job.”
“Yeah.” Quinn waited until the man had met his gaze before saying, “About that. Just so you know, if you doanythingthat inanyway endangers Savannah while you two are working together, I’ll come after you.” He drilled Dunn Ranch’s new temporary employee with a hard look. “Do not make her learn anything the hard way. Got it?”
Jeff stared at him for a moment, the smile long gone. “Yes, sir.” He turned his attention forward, dismissing Quinn.
“Good. Thanks for the ride.” He swung the door shut, and it might have been his imagination, but it seemed that Jeff Barnett didn’t rev his engine quite as hard when he pulled away from the curb.
Ten minutes later, he walked out of the garage office with Pepper trotting beside him, an invoice in one hand, keys in the other. His truck was never going to be the same, but neither was he. What was supposed to be a quick visit with half-brothers he’d never known, had turned into a crazy chapter in his life. One which had him questioning the truths he’d lived by. Was he really a guy who didn’t put down roots? If so, why had he stayed with the Nearys for six years?
Lack of pressure. Nothing to confront. One day had slid into another and the next thing he’d known, he was a fixture both on the ranch and in the company.
Unexpected roots.
Could he do the same thing on purpose? Maybe not roots, but with bonds of connection?
After paying the garage for both the repairs and storage, which he’d insisted on, he and Pepper got into the truck, and he turned the key. The engine came to life, but he didn’t put it in gear.
It was time to go.
Time to leave Marietta, Montana. His brothers.
Savannah.
How in the hell had he gotten himself so invested in this place in such a short amount of time? He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His heart jumped when his brother answered.
“Hey,” he said. “I find myself at loose ends. Do you still need help on the 46?”
