Page 78 of The Cowboy's Christmas
“Let Aunt Vannie talk, then we’ll see,” Deke said, using the gentle but firm tone that the girls rarely argued with. “Go,” he said to Savannah.
Savannah went. She shrugged into the first jacket her hand touched when she went into the mudroom, which happened to be Deke’s. Thankfully, she managed to shove her feet into her own boots so that she wasn’t clown walking.
“Wear a hat, Aunt Vannie,” Sophie ordered, but Savannah didn’t slow down.
The cold air smacked into her as she crossed the porch, but she barely noticed the sting. Quinn was here, on the ranch, on Christmas Eve, striding toward her, silhouetted by the yard light behind him. A Christmas miracle? It certainly felt like one.
Maybe he’s back because he forgot his razor.
His purposeful stride told her otherwise. He was here because of her. The doubts that had plagued her since she recognized the lights of his truck vaporized into the winter night.
She stopped at the gate that stood between them. “Quinn?”
Her voice sounded close to normal, and the hammering of her heart slowed a touch.
“I’m supposed to be headed south right now.”
“Yet you’re here.”
“I am.” He stopped on his side of the gate, the neat row of pickets standing between them. It seemed there was always something between them, but Savannah was done with that.
“I heard you were moping around the ranch.”
“What?” Her jaw dropped. “Who—”
“Jeff Barnett.”
“That’s it. He’s fired.” The heat in her cheeks did battle with the freezing air, but the chagrin at being discussed by the day hand faded as she took in Quinn’s intense expression.
He loved her.
A crazy warmth flooded her, and she had to remind herself to take a breath as she stared up at the gorgeous man standing on his side of the picket gate.
He loved her and he was back.
“I don’t want you unhappy because of me,” he said in a low voice.
“You’re here because of your conscience?”
“Maybe I decided to give you another chance to kick me out of your life.” He dropped his gaze for a split second, then canted his head to one side as he said, “Maybe I’m hoping that this time you don’t take it.”
“There’s no way I’m kicking you out of my life again.” A look of relief shot across his face, and Savannah was pretty certain that the smile she gave him in return could have lit up the night. “Besides…I really need a new hired hand.”
He might have growled as he reached for the gate latch. She wasn’t sure because he’d barely gotten it open before she launched herself into his arms. He caught her, almost going over backward in the process, but he didn’t. Even if he had, she wouldn’t have cared because he was here, and she had a second chance with the man who had changed her world.
“I want the job,” he said close to her ear as his arms tightened around her, pulling her and the bulk of Deke’s big coat against him.
“You’re hired,” she murmured against the warm skin of his neck. “I lied to you the night you left, Quinn. I wasn’t afraid of falling in love with you. I was already there. But I thought you needed to leave, to find out what you needed—”
“I did that. I’m done with it.”
She leaned back to look up into his face, then pulled his mouth down to hers, showing him in the best way she knew that she’d made a mistake sending him away and she was all about rectifying it.
When he finally lifted his head, she brought her hands up to cradle his face.
“I was going to call you.” She bit her lip as she raised her eyebrows. “This is better.”
“Much.” He lowered his forehead to lightly touch her own. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m not loving the idea of being a vagabond anymore. I spent the last few days with my brothers and,” he pushed his fingers into Savannah’s hair at her temples, holding her face as he said, “I like having a family. And I love you.”
