A Cowboy's Christmas Wedding

“Don’t you love it?”

She would have to admit, the tent looked perfect for their purposes, though it didn’t look a thing like a traditional tent, more like the Swiss Alps with its multiple peaks and steep edges.

“It says the tent’s designed to repel snow off the edges and that they have portable heaters you can rent, too.”

Saedra hadn’t known how tense she was until she expelled a deep sigh of relief. “It’s perfect.”

A squeal leaked out of the girl just before she turned and gave her a hug.

“Do we know how much?” Saedra asked, leaning toward the screen.

“No price.”

That didn’t bode well.

“But Trent said cost wasn’t an issue, remember?”

Yeah, but there was cost and then there was cost.

“Let’s see what else they have.”

They cruised around the website, Saedra spying several tents that might work. They also rented tables and chairs and chafing dishes, silverware and plates— everything they needed.

“One-stop shopping.” Saedra turned to Rana. “Good job, kiddo. This place looks perfect. I’ll call them tomorrow.”

“My mom used them once.” The little girl lost her smile for a moment. “We had a fundraiser out here for my school before...”

Her world had been turned upside down. Alana had told her about it. Cabe’s wife and brother had been killed and Rana critically injured. Rana had lost the use of her legs. They’d thought she’d never walk again, but Alana had taken on the role of therapist. They’d used horses to strengthen Rana’s legs. It was how New Horizons Ranch had gotten its start. Alana had found her calling and Cabe had found something to keep his mind off his loss, or so Saedra surmised.

“It must have been hard,” Saedra found herself saying, “what you went through.”

It broke her heart to see the pain on Rana’s face. “Harder for my dad.” Saedra saw the girl take a deep breath before meeting her gaze. “I was out of it for the first few months. They had me on a lot of medication. But my dad...” She shook her head. “He had to take care of...everything.”

She’d missed her mom’s funeral. Alana had told her that, too. Poor Rana had been bed bound for months. Cabe had made all the arrangements. He’d had Alana for support, the two of them grieving together, but it’d been a horrible time, Alana had admitted. No wonder Cabe was such a curmudgeon.

“And now here we are.” She touched the girl’s arm lightly. “Planning a wedding.”

The smile returned, although not as brightly. “It’s going to be fun.”

Fun.

That’s what the Jensens needed, Alana thought. Fun. They were both stuck in the past. Oh, sure, they appeared to have moved on, what with starting New Horizons Ranch and opening their home to strangers, but their pain was still there, bubbling beneath the surface. It tugged at Alana’s heartstrings and she vowed to do whatever she could to help them both.

“You know what I think?”

Rana’s gaze hooked her own. “What?”

“I think we need to decorate the house for Christmas.”

“Oh, no. We couldn’t do that. My dad, he wouldn’t—”

“Approve,” Alana finished for her. “I know.” Just as she knew she had to tread carefully, too. “But how would you feel if the house was decorated?”

Rana’s smile brightened again. “I would love it.” She seemed almost ashamed to admit it, though. “I miss Christmas.”

She was still a child for all her outward appearance. A teenager, yes, but still young enough to be excited about presents and stockings and Christmas cheer.

“We should do it,” Saedra said.

“My dad—”

“Leave him to me.”

Fun.

They needed it bad, and she was just the person to show them how it was done.

* * *

HE MANAGED TO avoid Saedra the next day, which wasn’t hard to accomplish with guests in residence. All it took was the offer of a guided hunt and one of his best customers, a dealership owner from the city, leaped at the chance. Cabe leaped at the opportunity to leave the ranch.

He was gone all day. When he returned later that afternoon, it was to note every light in his house ablaze and the sound of music thumping through the window.

“Damn.”

He thought about turning around. There was always work to do in the barn. He could sweep out the feed room or rearrange the saddles, maybe muck some stalls.

His empty belly put a stop to such thoughts. It was his house and he’d be damned if he allowed a woman to scare him out of it.

The music coming from his study nearly deafened him, Cabe counseling himself to take it easy on Rana. Sometimes he forgot that she was a teenager and that blaring music at unhealthy levels was a rite of passage.

But it wasn’t Rana who was playing the music.

He drew up short in the doorway as Saedra glanced up, a smile unfurling across her face like the petals on a flower. She was seated behind his desk, a fuzzy off-white sweater with a cowl neckline hugging a body that belonged in a Victoria’s Secret catalog. Her long blond hair hung loose around her shoulders as she swung the chair from side to side. She half closed the screen of the laptop Rana must have allowed her to borrow.

“There you are,” she said, but she had to yell to be heard. “I was wondering when you’d get back.”

“Here I am,” he repeated back faintly. The truth was, the sight of her sitting there had completely poleaxed him.

“How was the great safari?”

He was so befuddled he heard himself ask, “Safari?”

“Your big-game hunt.” She fashioned a pistol out of her fingers, mimicked the sound of a gun. “Bag any big ones?” The pistol morphed into an antler at the side of her head, her other hand joining the first, fingers splayed. “Eight pointers.”

He glanced at the stereo, though if he were honest with himself he did so to prevent her from seeing a smile, although why he wanted to keep his grin to himself he had no idea. “Can we turn that down?”

“That,” she said over the pounding beat, “is our homework assignment for the night.”