to a woman like Noelle, who was trying to eke out a living with the barest necessities.
Dear God, he didn’t need to be thinking about her and her smart mouth. It would only make his head hurt worse. But even with the pain crowding every bit of space inside his skull, she’d managed to find room enough to insert herself.
“Tessa, would you like living on an isolated ranch alone?”
The young woman paused and looked at him with a puzzled expression. “No. Why? Am I going to be transferred to a line shack or something?”
He laughed and immediately regretted it as shards of pain splintered the left side of his head. “Not hardly. We couldn’t do without you. I was just wondering. I met someone yesterday who…puzzled me.”
Tessa gave him an understanding smile. “I meet people like that every day. And then I remind myself that I can’t expect everyone to be like me. We all want different things. That’s what makes each of us interesting, don’t you think?”
Ignoring the food on the tray, Evan reached for the pain reliever and swallowed it with a swig of coffee. “You’re too smart to be nineteen,” he told her.
Lifting her chin, she started toward the door. “You know very well that I’m twenty-one. And eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”
Fifteen minutes later, Evan felt human enough to follow Tessa’s suggestion. By then the food was cold, but that didn’t matter. The eggs and bacon would ease the gnawing in his stomach.
He’d finished the meal and was swinging his legs over the edge of the bed when a hard rap sounded at the door and Finn stepped into the room. His younger brother was a lanky, good-looking guy with curly auburn hair that was usually hidden beneath a gray cowboy hat. At twenty-eight, he’d been manager of the horse division of the ranch for four years. It was a job that kept him going from daylight to dark and beyond.
“What are you doing in the house at this hour?” Evan asked.
Finn walked over to the tray on the nightstand and plucked up a piece of half-eaten toast. “I’ve already been down to the barns. I came back to check on you. Dad tells me that Lonesome dumped you. That horse has never bucked in his life. What happened?”
Evan frowned. “He didn’t buck yesterday. A bird flew up in his face and scared him. He sort of reared up and jumped sideways at the same time. I wasn’t expecting it and fell off. That’s all. And before you start in on me, I know I should keep up my riding skills, but it’s not like I have the time.”
“I’m not going to preach. Even the best of us can lose our seat from time to time.” Munching the toast, Finn leaned down to inspect the gash on Evan’s head. “That looks nasty. How do you feel this morning?”
“Okay. Just a little headache,” Evan lied.
Finn looked relieved. “Good. When Dad said you had a concussion—well, the whole family and I couldn’t help thinking about Mom. Are you sure the doctor looked you over good?”
“Finn, they took so many scans and X-rays of my head yesterday, you could stand me out in the yard tonight and use me as a Christmas light. Thanks for worrying about me, though.”
Finn laid a hand on his shoulder. “We love you. That’s all,” he said, then turned and started toward the door. “You need anything? I’ll tell Tessa to bring it up.”
What he needed most was to get one tall cowgirl out of his head. “No thanks. But wait a minute, Finn. About Lonesome, he’s—”
Finn turned back to him. “Yeah. I’ve already heard. You left him at the house of the woman who found you. I believe Dad said her name was Barnes. Is that right?”
“Noelle Barnes. She lives on a small spread over by Douglas County.”
“Okay. Give me the directions to her place and I’ll have one of the hands pick him up today and pay her for her trouble.”
“No. Don’t offer her money. I’ve already tried that. I…” Evan broke off, shocked to feel his face getting hot. Maybe, if he was lucky, Finn would put the flush down to the three cups of coffee he’d swallowed with his breakfast. “I wanted to see if you could do without the horse for a while. Just leave him there. As a favor to me.”
Finn frowned with confusion. “What?”
Evan blew out a frustrated breath. “The woman—she took a liking to Lonesome and wanted to know if the ranch would sell him to her. But, Finn, I doubt she has two pennies to rub together, and she’s not the sort to accept charity. I thought maybe we could simply forget to pick up the horse.”
An understanding grin suddenly spread across Finn’s face. “Look, as far as I’m concerned, the woman rescued you from a bad situation. I’d be glad to give her two or three horses for saving your life.”
“One will be sufficient.”
“Fine. We’ll leave Lonesome where he is. And if anyone asks about him, I’ll just say he found a new home.”
“You’re the best, brother.”
Waving away his thanks, Finn left the room. Evan rose shakily to his feet. Doctor’s orders or not, he had to get back to work and focus his mind on solving crimes instead of a barbed-tongued woman with velvety brown eyes.
* * *
Nearly a week later, Noelle drove into town for a load of feed and stopped on her way out at the Grubstake Café for coffee and a fat cinnamon roll that was a specialty of the old diner.
Even at nine in the morning, the large rustic room was still full of breakfast diners and coffee drinkers. Noelle took a seat at the long wooden bar and looked around the old eating place.
Since she’d been here last, someone had put up a blue spruce in the far corner of the room and decorated it with lights, candy canes and silver tinsel. Overhead, huge ornaments hung from the rafters, while Christmas music played from a nearby radio.
It was the time of year for celebrations, gift giving and family gatherings. Noelle would participate in none of that. She would, however, put up a small tree in her house and give her livestock an extra helping of feed on Christmas Day.
Through the years, when her aunt Geneva and uncle Rob had been alive, she’d spent wonderful holidays with them on their ranch near Prescott. Her aunt had always cooked for days before the event, and her uncle had decorated the house and lawn and even the barns with lights and evergreen branches. On Christmas Eve, they had attended church services. The next morning, they sat around the tree and opened simple but meaningful gifts.
Noelle’s mother and father had never understood why their daughter hadn’t wanted to travel with them to some exotic island or exciting city to celebrate the Christmas season. They’d not understood that their children hadn’t wanted extravagant vacations for a gift. They’d simply wanted their parents to be home and attentive. But that scenario wasn’t Neal and Maxine’s style. As a result, Noelle had always chosen to go to her aunt and uncle’s, while teenage Andy had spent his Christmases with one of his grungy friends.
“Noelle, has anyone waited on you yet?”
At the sound of Jessi’s voice, Noelle looked
