My Kind of Christmas (The Christmas Tree Ranch 1)

She grinned. “Too late for that now. We’re already pals. Come on, let’s get that truck emptied before the weather hits.”

“Right.” As mayor, Maggie was clearly accustomed to calling the shots, Travis observed. No wonder some men found her off-putting. But he, for one, enjoyed a woman with backbone. He tossed her the leather work gloves he kept in the truck. “Put these on,” he said.

She hesitated. “They’ll be too big.”

“Put them on—unless you’d rather get splinters.”

She slipped the gloves on her hands. “All right, let’s get to work,” she said.

With Bucket trailing them back and forth, they hauled the pieces into the house. Maggie carried the bureau drawers and the nightstand in by herself. But it took both of them to lug and balance the rug and the ends of the wooden bed frame and wrestle the full-size mattress and box spring through the door and down the hall.

Travis had to admit Maggie was a lot of help. She was strong for a woman, and she didn’t stand around waiting to be told what to do. It took them maybe fifteen minutes to get everything out of the truck and in the house, and another fifteen minutes to put everything together in the bedroom. When the mattress finally lay over the box spring on the bed, she fell backward across it with a little whoosh and lay there, laughing. “Now that was work!” she said.

As he looked down at her, with her cheeks flushed and her hair falling in glorious tangles, it was all Travis could do to keep from flinging himself down beside her and taking her in his arms. Not a good idea, he told himself. Either Maggie would slap his face, or she wouldn’t, which could mean serious trouble for them both.

For a few more seconds, he feasted his eyes on the sight of her. Then after announcing that he was going to get the box from her car, he turned and strode outside. Safe on the porch, he took a breath.

Was the woman aware of her effect on him? He would bet good money she was. Maggie hadn’t gotten to be mayor by being a shrinking violet. She was an expert at getting what she wanted.

He knew what she was up to—playing up to him, helping him with Conner’s room, flirting with him in her maddeningly subtle way. But it wasn’t going to work. He wanted nothing to do with the Christmas parade, especially if she expected him to play Santa.

* * *

Maggie sat up, pulled down her jacket, and brushed back her hair. She’d come out here hoping that Travis would open up about his father. Understanding what had driven a wedge between them could be the first step in getting father and son back together. But so far all she’d done was haul furniture.

Maybe she was wasting her time. Not that she hadn’t enjoyed herself. Travis was the most attractive man she’d met in a long time, and the way he treated her made her feel—as the old Carol King song put it—like a natural woman. But she’d come here on business, and that business was getting nowhere.

She heard the front door open and close, then the sound of footsteps as he came down the hall with the box of bedding.

“I can make the bed for you,” she offered as he walked into the room and set the box on the bed. “There’s a mattress pad in the bottom of the box. It needs to go on first.”

“I know how to make a bed, Maggie,” he said. “You’ve been a lot of help, and I’m grateful, but you must have better things to do than hang around here.”

The words felt like a cold slap in the face, but Maggie chose not to react. “Fine,” she said. “Just one more thing. I’d like to look at the sleigh and the other things Abner left. I need to make sure everything is there and nothing needs to be replaced. Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Sure. Come on. But it’s getting cold out there. You won’t want to spend much time.”

He led her through the kitchen and out the back door to the open shed. Bucket, who’d been waiting on the porch, tagged along after them.

Maggie could see the covered sleigh, mounted on the flatbed. She stepped back while Travis pulled the tarp to one side. “It looks fine,” she said. “I’m always amazed by this sleigh. Abner put so much love into building it. And he loved being Santa for the kids. When he was dressed up in that red suit and beard, it was like he was the real thing.”

“Too bad he had to leave,” Travis said. “I know you won’t have an easy time replacing him.”

“Actually, I have someone in mind.” Maggie spoke cautiously, knowing she couldn’t push him too far. “I think he’d be perfect, but I haven’t asked him yet. I don’t know if he’d be willing.”

She held her breath, waiting for him to ask who it was. But at that moment, Bucket, who’d followed them into the shed, jumped into the sleigh and onto the seat. He wagged his tail and gave a little yip, as if to say, Let’s go!

“Maybe Bucket could do the job,” Travis joked. “All he needs is a red suit and a beard.”

“Bucket always rode on the seat with Abner,” Maggie said. “He even wore a red Santa hat. The kids loved him. Look at him now. He knows right where he belongs.”

With Bucket supervising from the seat, Maggie inspected the boxes that contained the harness gear and the Santa costume. “Everything seems to be here,” she said. “We’ve got all we need except our Santa.” She glanced at Travis, wondering whether he’d be open to her mentioning his father. His stone-faced expression told her to wait. “Where are the horses?” she asked.

“They’re out in the hay pasture. So far they’ve done all right. But Conner is the horseman. He’ll know how to take care of them. Meanwhile, our resident horse handler is right here.” He gave Bucket a nod. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

They covered the sleigh again and left the shed with Bucket trotting at their heels. Fine, powdery snowflakes were blowing on the wind. Maggie felt their cold sting against her cheek as they walked out to the wire fence that surrounded the pasture. She could see the big Percherons in the middle of the field, standing close together as if to shield each other from the weather.

“Time to get them in.” Travis glanced down at Bucket. “What do you say, boy?”