Page 54 of The Holiday Heartbreaker

“Hi. I... Was I supposed to bring something?” She gestured to the tables full of food.

“No,” he said. “You don’t need to worry about that. You just get to enjoy the food. Come on in.”

She looked back at Benny and the other kids.

“He’s fine,” he said. “Kids run wild here, it’s what they do. He doesn’t want to sit through the meeting.”

So she walked inside with him, and she could feel everybody looking at her. It reminded her of a Western you might see on TV, set in the 1800s, like he had walked into a church and announced they were courting, just because he was standing next to her. That was what everyone’s gazes felt like.

Which was fanciful. Beyond fanciful. Because Brody McCloud was certainly not making any declarations by walking into a barn with her.

“Let’s find a place to sit. My family’s over here.”

She was surprised how many people were there. And Brody explained the different families, the staff, and everyone in between. “Sometimes, people from town just come,” he said. “Because we try to keep these events jovial. And we have enough food to feed anyone who might need something. And enough company to make sure that nobody around is lonely.”

That filled her with warmth.

The meeting itself was a fairly brief affair. Gus got up and talked about the first week running the ranch, and he gave a quick introduction to Elizabeth, who sat there feeling like the whole world really was looking at her.

But it all moved on quickly. Fia Sullivan got up next and talked about the inroads they were making with their farm store, and the Garrett and King families gave an update on their meat production. It was all interesting to somebody who had never been part of a working ranch.

Equestrian facilities were very familiar to her, but this was not.

“Well, I expect you’re all done listening to us talk,” one of the King brothers said. “So, time to go eat.”

She had any number of people coming up to her and introducing themselves, talking to her, laughing with her. And that continued all through dinner. And the food was incredible. Various pies that she learned had been baked by the Sullivan sisters, with produce fresh from their garden. Rolls and loaves of bread, baked by Violet and Evelyn Garrett.

Meat grilled by Denver and Landry King.

Pasta salads, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, basically every form of starch and mayonnaise that you could possibly imagine, all provided by the ranching families.

It was a feast. Even Benny ate everything on his plate, and didn’t complain once about not liking something. It was a modern-day miracle. The kind she had never expected to witness in her lifetime.

And then the music started playing, and people began to congregate around the bonfire, where she knew there was alcohol. And it didn’t take long for the dancing to begin.

“Do you dance?” Brody asked.

“No,” she said, feeling horrified. “I don’t dance. At all. Ever. Not once in my life.”

“Oh, now that you’ve announced you’re a virgin, I’m going to need to be your first,” he said.

And she could tell the moment he realized that landed heavier at the center of her chest than he had intended it to. Not just her chest, everywhere. She suddenly throbbed between her thighs.

“I think you know that I’m not actually...”

“I meant a dancing virgin.”

“Right. But, that’s not what you call someone who has never danced.”

“A dancing novice implies that you’ve dabbled. You just said you never had.”

“I’m not dancing with you,” she said.

“Sure you are,” he said, extending his hand. And in spite of herself... She took it. She had no idea what she was thinking, grabbing a hold of his hand like that. No idea why she was letting him lead her to the bonfire and take her hands, moving her in time with the music. He twirled her, then pulled her back against his body. And everything around them seemed to fade. Her chest got lighter, and she just...couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t worry about anything. Didn’t think about anything. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt like this. Just... Happy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d really had fun.

There were floodlights mounted on the barn, and she looked over to see the kids running around in the grass, doing cartwheels, tagging each other, screeching.

It was just... Glorious.

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