“I’m the guy stopping you from being arrested.” He jerked his thumb at Highwater who was bearing down on them at a fast clip.

  Ernie let go of Regina, who backed away rubbing her arm. “I said I’ll be home next week.”

  “You’re coming home tonight,” Ernie said, advancing again on Regina—but Nate stepped in front of her.

  Only he wasn’t expecting Ernie to sucker punch him in the gut. He doubled over. Highwater was on Ernie in a heartbeat, two hundred pounds of pissed-off police chief. Nate almost felt sorry for the guy. Highwater had him handcuffed and subdued faster than Nate could take down a runaway calf.

  “Are you all right?” Regina said. “He didn’t mean it.”

  Wincing, Nate straightened up and rubbed his stomach. He almost wished Highwater wasn’t so efficient because he’d have liked to have gone a few rounds with Ernie. “He meant it all right.”

  “Are you pressing charges?” Highwater asked.

  “You’re damned right I am.”

  “You can’t,” Regina said and tugged him away from Ernie and Highwater.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he’ll take it out on me,” she said simply.

  “Not if he’s dead,” Nate growled and advanced on Ernie.

  Regina tugged him back and Rita, Janice and the other women from the retreat were suddenly there.

  “What’s going on?” Janice asked, stepping between him and Ernie.

  “This asshole punched me in the gut. Regina doesn’t want me to press charges because he’ll take it out on her,” Nate said loudly, making sure Highwater heard him.

  Regina burst into tears. Ernie started swearing and Janice said, “What did you do to make him punch you?”

  Really? “Not a damned thing.”

  “He’s sleeping with my wife,” Ernie shouted, trying to pull out of the death grip Highwater had him in.

  “I don’t even know who your wife is,” Nate said.

  Janice pointed at Regina.

  “Oh,” he said. “No, I’m sleeping with her.” He pointed to Janice.

  “What?” a new voice said, sounding both shocked and amused.

  Oh no.

  “Mom,” Janice said, mortification flooding her tone.

  “I suppose I shouldn’t have said that.” He hadn’t noticed Sarah coming up—with Doc Pete no less. Maybe he should attack Ernie back and spend the next few days in a jail cell, because he was in hot water.

  “Damn it, Nate,” Janice growled.

  Highwater shook his head and said, “Well, I don’t care who is sleeping with whom. I’m a witness to the assault. I saw this jackass hit you without provocation. He needs to calm down some anyway, so I’m going to take him down and process him.”

  “I want my lawyer,” Ernie said.

  “Good,” Highwater replied, hauling him toward his squad car. “That’ll take me most of the day.”

  Nate inched toward them, but Janice shoved him back with both hands. “You have all the sense of a bull. How could you?” She turned back to comfort Regina and the retreat group.

  Pete looked embarrassed and excused himself. Sarah gave him a stern glance before following Pete.

  Crap. What if he had just ruined things between Pete and Janice? Nate tamped down the feeling of satisfaction. That wasn’t fair to anyone. Fuck a duck. What if Sarah told Frank?

  *

  The parade had been a total shit show with Regina’s soon-to-be ex showing up and Nate blabbing to everyone that they were lovers. But some retail therapy at the Christmas booths, after Rita got Regina centered, had put the retreat back into a festive mood. Janice avoided her mother, but Sarah hadn’t said anything about Nate’s announcement at the tree-lighting ceremony. It helped that Nate had made himself scarce.

  After the tree lighting, it was tradition to go back to the ranch and find out who your secret Santa was this year. Janice was tickled that her retreat was going to be a part of it. They would all exchange gifts on their last day, after the cattle drive.

  Her father also invited Pete to take part and she was surprised when he agreed. But he had done so much for them his year, he was almost like family. He was chatting with Rita over hors d’oeuvres that her mom had set up by the punchbowl. Janice hoped that he would buy Rita a few cows so Frank would get off Janice’s back about what that meant. It meant he knew how to buy a cow as an investment.

  At least that’s what she hoped it meant. As far as she was concerned, anyone with eyes could see that Rita was interested in him. Janice only hoped Pete could sense that, too. And after Nate had staked his claim in the middle of Main Street this morning, Pete would have to be deaf not to have heard Janice was spoken for.

  While it was hard not to play matchmaker and team up Tracie and Heidi with their beaus, it was more fun when everyone tried to guess who their Santa was. She hoped she didn’t get Nate or her family because she had already picked out their gifts. Reaching into the big empty chili pot, she pulled out a slip of paper. Keeping her face neutral, she read Gayle’s name. Pleased that she’d got someone from the retreat, she stuffed it in her pocket and walked over to the punchbowl where she could watch everyone’s faces and see if they gave away any clues.

  Nate walked over to the chili pot. He was swaying slightly on his feet. She was pretty sure he’d been drinking his way through the Christmas market, sampling a beer here, a glass of wine there. While she was happy that he was starting to relax, she didn’t think he was completely there yet.

  She flicked her eyes to her father, but he was laughing with Suze and stuffing his mouth with her cream puffs. If Sarah had told him about Nate, he was hiding it well.

  Craning her neck, Janice tried to see whose name was on the piece of paper Nate picked out. But after he squinted at it, Nate jammed it into the pocket of his Levi’s. As she picked her way over to him, he stepped outside.

  “Janice,” her father called. He was talking with Pete and waving her over.

  “One minute, Dad.” Janice darted outside and saw that Nate was heading back to his cottage.

  “Wait up,” she said, jogging out to meet him.

  He reluctantly halted and tapped his foot impatiently as she came closer. “If you came out here to holler at me, I don’t want to hear it.”

  “No hollering, I promise. What’s done is done. Although, as far as I can tell no one has mentioned your crass announcement to my father…yet.”

  Sighing, Nate crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Where are you going?” She held up her punch cup. “There’s still eggnog left.”

  “I’ve had enough Christmas for one day. I’ve got to go check on Daisy.”

  Alarm pierced through her. “I thought she was doing all right. Is she keeping her food down?”

  Nate held up his hands and she stopped moving toward him. “No, she’s fine. I’m just worried about her.”

  “Oh,” Janice said, rocking back on her heels. “Who did you get for secret Santa?”

  A ghost of a smile passed briefly over his face. “That’s cheating.”

  She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone had followed her out. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  He shook his head. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re going to have to wait until after the cattle drive next week, just like everyone else.”

  Stepping in close, she danced her fingers up his shirt. “I bet I can make you talk.”

  “Is that right?”

  Her entire body shivered when he closed the distance between them and dipped his head.

  “Janice!” Frank hollered from the porch.

  “Damn it,” she said, glaring back at her father. “We’ll continue this later.” But when she turned back to Nate he had already walked away. She stomped back to the ranch house porch. “What? What is so important?”

  “You’re neglecting our guests,” he said and jerked his head to the party.

  “No, I’m not.” Everyone was having a great time without her there to act like a mother hen. The retreat gals would go back to the retreat center or the bunkhouse, depending on if some hanky-panky was going on. And for their sakes, she hoped there was. This was their getaway and their vacation. It was none of her business where they slept.

  “Leave Nate alone,” Frank said.

  So that was what this was about. Janice set her jaw and crossed her arms. “Nate and I are adults and it’s none of your business what he does when he’s not working.”

  “He’s not the man for you.”

  “I’ve got news for you, Dad. Yes, he is. He has been since we were both sixteen. And now that we’re consenting adults, it’s none of your business.”

  “You are my daughter and it is my business. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “How can you say that?” she said. “Nate would never hurt me. We’re friends. We always have been.”

  “I think he’s a great friend. But that’s not what we’re talking about here.”

  She didn’t want to have this conversation with her father right now. She wanted to have a nice peaceful holiday. The stress from the near bankruptcy and the thousand things that had gone wrong as they tried to keep the ranch out of the red this year had taken its toll on all of them.

  “I think you need to go inside and have some eggnog and butt out of my life.” To her horror, she felt tears glisten at the corners of her eyes. Oh no. Oh hell no. Not now. Not in front of her father. He never believed they were tears of anger. She turned her back on him before he could see them. Janice was going to have to tell Nate that the jig was up. Frank knew and was being reasonable about it. It was always worse when he didn’t yell. It was easy to ignore him when he yelled.

  “I want you to marry Pete Dickerson.”

  She had to have heard that wrong. Whipping back around, she said, “What did you say?”

  Frank held up placating hands to her. “Hear me out. I think you’re a good match. He’s looking to put down roots. You have a lot in common and he’d be good to you.”

  “He’s also rich,” she said sarcastically. “I’m sure that fact hasn’t slipped your mind. What does Pete think about your matchmaking?”

  “I haven’t brought it up to him.”

  That was something at least.

  “Yet.”

  “Don’t you dare,” she warned. “This isn’t the Middle Ages. You don’t get to marry off a daughter for profit.”

  “It’s not me who’s profiting from this.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Not entirely.”

  “Dad, Pete’s a great guy. I admire and respect him.”

  “That’s a great foundation for a marriage.”

  “But I don’t love him. I love…” She cut herself off. She was not going to tell her father she loved Nate before she got the chance to say it to the man himself.

  “What’s love got to do with it?”

  “I hope you’re singing Tina Turner songs because otherwise I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “You and Pete suit. You and Nate don’t. He’s too much like me. I love him like a son, but he won’t make you happy.”

  “He does make me happy.” When he wasn’t being a pigheaded, stubborn ass. Which, now that she thought about it, had been a lot lately.

  “You are too different. He will run roughshod all over your feelings. I know because that’s what I do.”

  “That’s what you’re doing.” Janice felt herself softening toward her father, though. “I know you mean well, and that you have my best interests at heart. But I need to choose who I marry, not you.”

  “Janice,” her father said, looking as defeated as she had ever seen him. “If you don’t marry Pete, I’m afraid we’re going to lose the ranch.”

  Panic thundered through her. “Why? What aren’t you telling me?” She thought back to the finances and her conversations with Emily and Kelly. They weren’t in great shape, but in the time she and her sisters had been back, there had been an improvement. With Trent’s bull-riding school bringing in more students who wanted portraits, Kelly was doing very well. Emily’s wind turbines were being built and once they were up, the ranch wouldn’t have to worry so much about bills. And with Rita and Charlie’s retreats, she was finally pulling her weight as well.

  “Emily thinks beef cattle is a losing business.”

  Janice frowned trying to connect the dots. “How is me marrying for money going to change that?”

  “It’ll mean she can build her dairy and me and Nate can still sell cattle.”

  “Wait, slow down. Emily isn’t planning on shutting down the cattle business.”

  “Isn’t she?”

  Emily had been pretty vocal about her opinion on slaughtering cattle for food. But quite frankly, Janice had just tuned her out. She loved her sister, but they didn’t see eye to eye. Especially not on the subject of bacon and steak. However, the changes her father was talking about weren’t something that could happen overnight. And certainly not when their finances were in a flux. Janice couldn’t risk defaulting on her loans and losing her horses. “She’s not in charge yet,” Janice said. “And that’s way in the future. A lot can happen in between now and then.”

  “Don’t think I don’t know you’ll side with her when it comes out. You both think it’s inhumane.”

  “The ranch hands could treat the cattle better, and you could look at them as sentient creatures instead of a line on a ledger.”

  “See,” he said.

  Janice still wasn’t sure what that had to do with Pete. “So if I marry Pete, you’ll finally listen to me about resting the cows?”

  “If you marry Pete, I’ll retire tomorrow and Emily can have her dairy farm as long as Nate and I keep our herds of cattle.”

  “That’s not retiring, Dad.”

  He shook his head. “What do you care?”

  “I care that you’re killing yourself and Nate trying to make the cattle profitable. If you retire, I think the cattle could be more of a hobby than a business.”

  “A hobby,” he sputtered.

  Whoa! She did not want to go down that road. She tried to steer the conversation back to what was important. “Besides, I don’t love Pete and he doesn’t love me. I think he would be offended if I wanted to marry him for his money. That never works out well. You wouldn’t want one of us to marry a gold digger, would you?”

  “You’re not a gold digger. You and your sisters will inherit this ranch, provided I can keep us in the black. I’m trying the best way I know how.”

  “What’s going on out here?” Kelly said. She and Emily had come out to investigate.

  “Dad wants me to marry Pete for his money.”

  “What?” Emily said, laughing.

  “Not just his money,” Frank said. “They’d make good couple. They like the same things. They have a lot in common. They have the same temperament.”

  “Sounds like they’d be better off as friends,” Emily said.

  “Not to mention, Janice has someone else in mind to marry,” Kelly teased.

  Oh, great. Janice shook her head at Kelly, but her father caught the gesture.

  “Who?” Frank’s eyes narrowed.

  “Dad is worried that we are going to lose the Three Sisters Ranch,” Janice added, changing the subject.

  “What?” Emily cried. “Not a chance.”

  Kelly crossed her arms over her chest. “We’ll be all right. We just need to hang tight.”

  Frank’s fist clenched. “We need the money. All I’m saying is that marriages have gotten started on a lot less than mutual respect and friendship.”

  Emily made a face. “Aw, Dad, that’s so romantic…not. Look, we’ve got it covered. You sent for us. We came. We’re going to be all right. You don’t have to sell Janice to the highest bidder like she’s a prize heifer.”

  “Thank you so much for that comparison,” Janice said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “She’s right,” Kelly said. “My portrait studio is making a profit—profit I can invest in the ranch. Janice’s retreat center has two long-term contracts.”

  “Yeah,” her father said. “One that’s going to bring hardened criminals to our doorstep. Aren’t you worried about your daughter?”

  “My daughter won’t be near the retreat center while their group is there and she’s never alone. If her father and I aren’t with her, you and Mom or her aunts are. Alissa will be fine. I think it’s a kind program and something that would be very useful not only for the prisoners, but also for society.”

  Janice was thrilled to have Kelly’s support. She had been worried about what Trent and Kelly would think, and if they were worried about Alissa.

  “If it’s on the up and up,” Frank growled.

  “Donovan is seeing to that,” Emily said. “And trust me, no one wants to catch Charlie Lincoln pulling a scam more than Donovan does. If he is not one hundred percent legitimate, we’ll know immediately.”

  “And the deal will be off,” Janice assured her father.

  “I just don’t want you girls to be hurt. I just want to keep you safe.”

  They each hugged him.

  “Dad, we’ve got this. Let us take care of you and Mom for a change,” Emily said.

  “Or at least, trust us to help out by managing our businesses to assist the ranch,” Kelly said.

  “It doesn’t work like that,” Frank grumbled. “I’m your father and it’s my job to take care of you. I might not be the best father, but I do my best.”

  “We know you do,” Janice said. “It’s going to be all right. Let’s go back inside before people start looking for us.” Kelly and Emily each took him by the arm and walked him back to the party.

  Janice looked over her shoulder toward Nate’s cottage. She wanted to go to him, but she was sick of being pushed away. She didn’t want to think her father was right about them not being a good match, but it seemed every step they took toward being a couple, he retreated the next day as if he regretted it.

  And the last thing she wanted was to be someone’s regret.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Janice had the retreat up at four a.m. again. There were fewer grumbles and more of a gritty excitement in the air. They headed over to the bunkhouse and grabbed plates. Janice helped herself to a stack of pancakes and some sausages and sat across the table from Nate.

 

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