Page 31 of Christmas with the Cowgirl
And as she drove home as fast as she could manage, she thought once more about how much she loved this place, and its people, and the history that held them all together.How much they all cared about and took care of one another.
No, she thought as she made the turn onto the Hickory Creek Spur, headed for home, Last Stand was no Hollywood.
Chapter Sixteen
“Idon’t know,man,” Miles said, shifting the phone to his other ear.“I mean I can do a lot remotely, but—”
“It’s Christmas, Miles.You know the people you’d want to do business with aren’t doing any at the moment.And those you wouldn’t want to are likely to be drunk until after New Year’s.”
Miles laughed, although even knowing Jackson was intentionally exaggerating there was still enough truth in his words to make him wince.
“You might as well say yes now, so I don’t have to call in the prime persuader,” Jackson said.
An image flashed through his mind, deep blue eyes, a long, shiny tumble of dark brown hair.He swallowed tightly before saying, “The…prime persuader?”
“Jeremy, of course.”
“Oh.”He couldn’t help sounding relieved.
“Who did you think I meant?”Jackson asked with a laugh.
“I…never mind.You’re serious?”
“I am.We are.Nic’s old place is empty at the moment, her folks are fine with it—her mom liked you, by the way—and all you’ve seen are Hollywood Christmases for too long, my friend.”
He was gratified by the news Nic’s mother had liked him.It had only taken a single, albeit lengthy, conversation with the woman to have him admiring her immensely.This was a powerhouse of a woman who wasn’t about to let her need of a wheelchair stop her.
But right now, he needed to think, about Jackson’s offer.So he stalled.“Look who’s talking.You haven’t even had a Christmas there yet.”
“Who’s talking is someone who can already see and feel the difference.Look, I’ve got to roll—we’re headed over to the Garrett place.”
Miles felt a jab in his gut, as if the words had been a physical prod.“Oh?”
“Yeah, Riley’s dad, Jim, had a setback, and their foreman and his two sons who also work for her, are out of town on a family emergency, and they need some help.So just think about coming, okay?”
Miles sat there for a moment after the call, staring at the screen of his phone.Jackson had changed his phone number to the predominant Hill Country area code about three months after he’d arrived there, which had told Miles as much as anything how serious he was.The old number was now routed to his agent’s office back in L.A., and only family and locals to Last Stand had the new one.
And you, at least.
He did feel a little kick of emotion when he thought about that.That Jackson trusted him that much was a good feeling.
But this was a crazy idea.He’d been home all of two weeks.He had work to do here.But Jackson had a point—not a lot of new business upcoming, leaving nothing he couldn’t do remotely if he had to.
But stay there for a month?A weekend visit was fine now and then, and he’d already planned on that, but a month was crazy.Wasn’t it?Although he liked the idea of being in a place new to him.The old and familiar didn’t inspire much in the way of ideas.And Last Stand was not only new to him, it was about as different as he could get, short of maybe heading for Alaska.
No, he couldn’t do this.Could he?
Although he had to admit dropping off the Hollywood radar was greatly appealing.He might not get recognized on the street anywhere like Jackson, but he was known, and expected to be wheeling, dealing, and listening for hours on end to pitches that lately seemed to be just remakes of old ideas.
But leave for a month?From now until after Christmas?
You ordinarily would be going to see Mom and Dad, so what’s the difference?Would an extra three weeks really matter?
And if the Baylors were really okay with him staying in Nic’s former quarters, then he wouldn’t feel like he was intruding on Jackson, Jeremy and Nic so much when they were busy prepping for their wedding.In fact, he was fascinated by Barbara Baylor, and would love to talk to her more about how she functioned so well in a world mostly designed for walking.
He sat there for a while longer before finally admitting to himself the one thing that kept him playing this mental game.
Riley needs help.
