Page 41 of Snowed In With the Maverick
It was frustrating as hell that he was leaving, but the admirable sense of duty he had toward his work tempered her disappointment. “I’ll call the Tenacity Shuttler this afternoon. You get back to the ranch. Let me pack something up for you.”
Seth gathered his things in the other room while Andrea put some of the frittata into a container, then poured another coffee into an insulated mug and tightened the lid. She returned to the front foyer to find Seth pulling on his boots.
“Here you go,” she said, and passed him the containers.
“Thank you,” said Seth, a funny look in his eyes. “And thank you for last night.” He paused and fixed her in a gaze that told her he didn’t want it to be the only one. And what about her? Was this something she wanted again? How on earth was she supposed to know what to say as a farewell, when her mind and body were making two very different and very polarizing appeals?
Seth was so handsome. Maybe, if it was possible, even too handsome. How would she ever trust a man so perfect, so magnetic, to want to commit to one woman? And then there was his wealth. With his level of wealth came a certain degree of power. Would she ever be able to really assert herself when at the snap of a finger, Seth could just make things happen?
She glanced at the wall beside her, the very wall that Seth made happen when she was struggling. That level of access was appealing, but the dynamic it presented still came with some serious caution signs.
Her hesitation hung in the air between them. “Alright,” Seth said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Later?When was later? And was she really going to sit around wondering?
“Drive safe,” she said. “And good luck at the ranch.”
Seth made a move to leave, then paused, placed a hand on her arm, then kissed her softly. “I’d love it if you came to Thanksgiving dinner with my family,” he said, and she felt herself nodding. “You’re an incredible woman, Andrea,” he said, then slipped on his sunglasses and moved out the door before she could respond. She stood in the doorway watching as he got in his truck, then waved as he made a three-point-turn and drove down the lane toward the newly plowed road.
When his SUV disappeared in the distance, she closed and locked the door, then approached the Christmas tree, and took the crystal star ornament Seth had given her off its branch. She examined the little trinket, and how it caught the light, casting a miniature rainbow on the hall near the fireplace.
It’s just an ornament,she told herself, but the lump in her throat said otherwise.
Maybe this is how it starts,she thought. Something small. Something fragile. Something worth holding on to.
Chapter Thirteen
When Seth pulled into the parking area at the ranch, the on-site plow had already cleared spaces, but unlike usual, only half were full of the employees’ vehicles.
He pulled in beside a pickup truck and took the last bite of the frittata Andrea had sent with him, enjoying the fluffiness of the eggs and the tangy cheese. She was a terrific cook. He only wished he was sitting across the table enjoying it with her, instead of what was going to be a huge backlog of farm chores to deal with over the next several hours.
Seth entered the barn and surveyed the situation. The feed bags had been cleared—that would have been priority one—and judging by the two empty wheelbarrows near the door, there were still several stalls in need of mucking out.
“Hey, Buck,” he said. Buck McCormick was the team lead at the barn. His deep mahogany skin was as striking as the intricate tattoos that covered his arms, and while he looked every bit his former linebacker self with his 250 pounds of raw muscle, the guy was a total softie who loved to bake and had a thing for ’80s movies.
Buck lived on-site in the house behind the barn, so there’d never be a situation where he couldn’t make it to the ranch and care for the animals. Today was proof in the pudding that it was a necessary arrangement.
“Seth,” he said, extending a fist bump. “Thanks for coming out. Hope you aren’t inconvenienced.”
Inconvenienced? More like he had a major itch that he knew was going to go unscratched for a good long time. That he now lived in a world where being in Andrea’s presence felt more right than anything he’d ever known, and every moment away would be spent in anticipation of being together again.
“No sweat,” said Seth. “How’re things going? Looks like you guys have been grinding.”
Buck tossed the feed bin he was holding on the ground. “If Brick Oven Pizza’s delivering, today might be the day.”
“10-4,” Seth said. Bronco Brick Oven Pizza was the best pizza joint in Bronco, and every now and then, during the busiest seasons where the work was extra demanding or there was a sense the staff needed a morale boost, they’d put in a big order and make sure there was a reason to celebrate at the end of the shift. “I’ll go make a call, then let me know what needs doing.”
The rest of the afternoon was grueling and fast-paced, and by the time the pizza was scheduled to be delivered, Seth was ready to collapse into a heap and would have been happy to make a bed in one of the empty paddocks.
His phone buzzed. He opened it to find a message from his mother.Can you come by the house? I need to talk about Thanksgiving.
Seth braced himself. Thanksgiving at the Taylor household carried a legacy involving his father making a point, over several times during the evening, of reminding his children how very thankful they should be to be a part of the Taylor family. For all the privileges they’ve been given. The comfortable life and all the access.
Basically, how thankful they should be to have him as a father.
While most people saw Thanksgiving as a time for togetherness and pumpkin pie and some great games on television, Seth just saw it as another performative occasion and tinder for what would usually devolve into some kind of unnecessary family drama. If it were up to him, they would convene in smaller units, where the simmer of underlying feelings was contained to fewer people, and less likely to ignite Taylor family drama.
But at the end of the day, as always, he hated saying no to his mother, and the fact that Andrea would be coming made the situation a whole lot more palatable.
