turned with a frown and she sincerely hoped he couldn’t see that little niggle of attraction.
“Not really, I’m sorry to say,” he answered. “There are a couple other guest ranches in the area, but everybody else closes down for the winter. There’s a motel in town, but I couldn’t recommend it.”
“Why do you stay open when everybody else shuts down?”
He made a face as if the very question had occurred to him more than once. “We have some hardcore snowmobilers who’ve been staying since the ranch opened to guests five years ago. Their bookings are being honored, though we haven’t taken new ones since…well, probably since you made your reservations.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw. “Look, do you mind waiting here while I check the computer?”
“I have a copy of my reservation in the rental. I can get it for you.”
“I believe you. I just want to figure out what Joanie has done. For all I know, we’re hosting a damn convention she forgot to mention to me before she ran off. Just give me five minutes.”
He walked away, leaving her standing in the entryway with the little girl—who was suddenly joined by another girl who looked perhaps a few years older. Her hair wasn’t quite as long and her features were thinner. But just like her sister—they looked so much alike, they could be nothing else—she said nothing, just regarded Emery with solemn, dark eyes.
Something strange was going on at the Hope Springs Ranch. She couldn’t help noticing a large artificial Christmas tree in the great room, but it was bare of lights or ornaments, and as far as she could tell, that was the only concession to the holidays within her view.
“I really like your hat,” the younger girl who had answered the door finally said to break the silence.
She smiled at her, despite her exhaustion. “Thank you. I made it.”
“You made it?” The older girl’s eyes widened. “Like you sewed it and stuff?”
“Yes. And I designed the material.”
The girl frowned, clearly skeptical. “Nobody designs material. You just buy it at the sewing store. That’s what our mom used to do anyway.”
“Before she died,” the younger one added.
“Be quiet, Tallie,” her sister snapped. “She doesn’t need to know everything.”
Emery wanted to tell them she might not know everything, but she did know about losing a mother. Her own had only been gone a few months. But she supposed the experience of a twenty-seven-year-old woman losing her mother was quite different than that of two young girls.
“You do pick out material in a fabric store,” she answered. “But someone has to design the material in the first place and decide what color dyes and what sort of fibers to use. That’s what I do.”
She didn’t add that her fledgling textile line had recently been called “innovative, exciting and warmly elegant” by the leading trade magazine.
“Can you show me how to make a hat like that?”
“Me, too!” The younger girl exclaimed. “If Claire gets to make one, I want to. I can give it to my friend Frances for Christmas.”
“Ooh, maybe I could make two,” her sister said. “One for Natalie and one for Morgan. They’re my very best friends.”
“Can I make a pink one?” Tallie asked. “I love pink, and so does Frances.”
“Ooh, I would like purple,” her sister said. “Or maybe red.”
Emery shifted, wondering where in Hades their uncle had disappeared to and how the situation had suddenly spiraled out of her control. It must be the fatigue—or perhaps her complete lack of experience with young girls.
“I don’t even know if I’m staying here yet. Your uncle and I are still working out the details.”
The expression on both faces shifted from excitement to resignation in a blink and she wondered what in their young lives had contributed to their cynicism.
She hated sounding like such a grump, especially toward two girls who had lost their mother. “If I’m staying, we can see,” she amended.
That was apparently enough for them. For the next few moments the girls talked about colors and patterns until their uncle returned to the room.
“Your reservation wasn’t on the main calendar in the office, but I found it on a deleted copy of her files from the hard drive backup. I don’t know what happened. Everything is in such a mess.”
“Is the cabin I reserved available, then?”
He sighed. “Nobody else is staying there, so I suppose you could say it’s available. But Joanie basically ran the lodging side of things and I haven’t had time to replace her yet. I’m going to have to scramble just to find maid service. It might take me a few days, so you might want to reconsider and find a place in Jackson Hole. We’ll of course fully refund your deposit.”
“I don’t need maid service. I can take care of myself. I just need a quiet place where I can get some work done.”
He studied her for a long moment then finally shrugged. “I think you’re crazy, but what do I know? If you want to stay, I suppose it wouldn’t be fair of me to turn you away since you’ve had a reservation for several months. Let me grab my coat and I’ll take you down and open the cabin.”
“Yay! You’re staying.” Tallie beamed at her as Nate reached into a closet in the hallway and emerged with fleece-lined ranch coat. “Now you can show us how to make a hat.”
“She only said we could see,” the older girl warned her sister. “That usually means no.”
“Ms. Kendall is our guest,” their uncle said with what she was beginning to consider his characteristic frown. “You girls are not to pester her. You know the rules.”
Though Emery had been seeking a tactful way to discourage them, she had a sudden obstinate urge to do exactly the opposite.
“Give me a day or two to settle in. I brought my sewing machine and some fabric samples we could probably use.”
“Who packs a sewing machine for a holiday visit to the mountains?”
She forced a smile. “I’m not here to ski, Mr.…”
“Sorry. Cavazos. Nate Cavazos.”
“Mr. Cavazos. This is a working vacation for me. I just need peace and quiet to finish several projects awaiting my attention. The setting doesn’t really matter.”
That was an outright lie, but she decided it was none of Nate Cavavos’s business exactly why she had come to Cold Creek.
Damn tourists.
Nate grabbed the key to the biggest and best of the four small cabins his sister and her husband had built along Cold
