Chapter Four
It had taken Riley a long time to decide he was ready to settle down.
He’d had a few girlfriends he’d thought might work out, but they never had.
Maybe because there was a certain type of woman he wanted.
And he finally figured out it was Letty.
Smart, sassy, pretty, unafraid to work hard, and he knew she understood what a rancher’s life was like.
Unfortunately, it looked like convincing Letty that she wanted him wasn’t going to be that easy. Letty was not really cooperating.
He was clearly going to have to try harder with Letty than he usually did with women.
He didn’t think of himself as a player, but he also didn’t tend to date women for long.
Not always because of his choice. Sure, there’d been a few, but not many.
Several women thought he was too caught up in taking care of his horses, his breeding business, and the ranch.
Just as well they realized it. Anyone who didn’t understand how much work it took to be a rancher and to breed horses was clearly not the woman for him.
Letty knew. She’d not only lived on a ranch, but Val was her best friend, and his sister was a rancher through and through.
Of course, Letty’s flirting with Davis aside, she was wary of getting involved with cowboys.
He didn’t know the whole story about her failed romance with the cowboy in her past, but he knew enough to realize it had made her wary of cowboys.
Still, Riley wasn’t just some random cowboy.
She’d known him for years. Surely she didn’t still hold it against him that he’d turned her down when she was younger.
No, he figured it was the present that bothered her.
Although he’d been thinking about Letty for months, he hadn’t made a move until a few days ago.
So the fact that he was interested in her had shocked her.
He needed to romance her. Something he hadn’t done in a long time.
If ever. In the past if a woman hadn’t been interested in him, he simply moved on.
He wasn’t a total jerk, he just wasn’t terribly romantic.
Thanksgiving at the McFarlands’ was a big deal. His family and Liam’s had always been close but now that Val and Liam were married, they were closer than ever. He expected Letty to already be there by the time he and his folks showed up, since Letty was very punctual, but she wasn’t.
“Why do you look disappointed every time the door opens and someone comes in?” Val asked after he’d been there awhile.
Crap. He hadn’t realized he was that obvious. “You’re imagining things,” he told her.
She simply raised an eyebrow at him. “If you say so.”
He talked to several other people but a part of him was on alert, waiting for Letty.
Was Letty never going to get there? She was always on time. What if something had happened to her? She could be sick. Or worse, what if she’d had an accident?
He told himself that Letty would have told someone if she was sick and if the accident was that bad they should hear from the cops or the hospital. Which, of course, they hadn’t. But he still worried.
*
Letty was one of the late arrivals to the McFarland ranch on Thanksgiving.
All because she couldn’t decide what to wear and had changed so many times, she finally quit counting.
And she couldn’t even look at the state she’d left her bedroom and closet in.
The whole thing was absurd, given that most of the people who would be present were either family or good friends.
But she’d never been to a Thanksgiving meal when Riley had been being… well, different.
She just couldn’t figure out what he wanted. If he wanted her what had taken him so long to do something about it? Why now? Because he’d seen her flirting with Bud? It had never bothered him before who she was with. In fact, she wasn’t sure he’d even noticed.
But he was clearly interested now. And so, damn it, was she.
So, here she was, dressed in her white sweater dress that clung to her figure and long black suede boots that reached her knees.
Not to mention, her more carefully applied than usual makeup.
There wasn’t much different she could do to her hair, except wash it, since it was so short.
She fluffed it around her face and called it done.
At least it looked better today than it sometimes did.
On her way out to the ranch she wondered what the hell she was doing, dressing for Riley.
She wasn’t sure that even if he did want to date her that she was ready to take that step.
Did Riley actually want to settle down…with her?
And if he did, did she? No. She couldn’t.
But that didn’t mean she had to shut him down completely.
Riley met her when she drove up. He and Liam were walking up from the barn.
Riley was a dog magnet. Any dog. So Liam’s dogs were trailing along behind him.
Liam peeled off to go inside and Riley came to her car.
As usual, he wore jeans and cowboy boots.
His shearling jacket was open, showing a pretty flannel shirt she’d bet someone gave him for Christmas one year.
“Hey, need some help?”
She’d opened her door but hadn’t gotten out yet. “Sure.” She handed him one of the pies, then got out and opened her back door to get her hooded faux fur coat. Once she put that on she picked up the other pie. “Nice timing.”
“I live to please.”
Since they had food, they entered the back door to the kitchen. Val was there, looking harried, but Lorraine—Riley and Val’s mom—was also there so Letty knew she had help.
“Letty, so good to see you,” Lorraine said, giving her a hug. “Riley, take her coat and hang it up.”
He helped her out of it, then stood there a moment looking at her. “Wow, you look great.”
“Thank you.” The look in his eyes said he was sincere. Val and Lorraine were both looking at her quizzically. “What?”
“You do look really pretty,” Val said. “What’s up?”
She frowned. “It’s Thanksgiving. Is it a crime to want to look nice?”
She shot a glance at Riley but he’d left the kitchen.
“Of course not. But I haven’t seen that outfit.”
“I’ve had it a while.” She changed the subject quickly. “How’s Vivian?”
Lorraine lit up and gushed about her granddaughter before Val could answer. Riley came back in a few minutes later. “Your presence is requested in the other room.”
“Who wanted to talk to me?” She left the kitchen with him.
“Me. You look amazing.”
“Thanks but you already said that.”
“No, I said you looked great.”
“What’s going on with you? Am I missing something? You’ve been acting weird ever since you dragged me out of Grey’s.”
“And kissed you. Don’t forget that.”
As if she could. “Why did you kiss me?” She needed to get this out in the open. Riley knew what was going on but she sure as hell didn’t.
“Because I wanted to. And I want to do it again.”
“Why?”
“That’s a silly question. Because you’re a beautiful woman and the first time was good but not nearly long enough.”
Before she could respond they walked into the den where a bunch of the guests gathered. Riley left her chatting to Cici, Val’s sister-in-law and a good friend of Letty’s. But every time she turned around, he seemed to be close. He also maneuvered to sit beside her at dinner.
There was turkey and dressing, green beans, potatoes, cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, and more.
All the fixings for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Then there was dessert, pies of all varieties, including Letty’s apple pies, naturally, and a chocolate sheet cake in case someone didn’t like pie. Someone had also brought a cheesecake.
Later, after dinner when she was ready to leave, Riley turned up again with her coat. “Thanks. Why are you being so nice and polite?”
He grinned. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“I think I can make it on my own.”
“I’m sure you can, but I want to go with you.”
She gave up.
“It’s supposed to snow Saturday,” he said.
“Are you going to the meeting for the Stroll?” The Stroll, which kicked off the Christmas season, was one of Marietta’s traditions that most of Marietta participated in.
Main Street was closed to all but foot traffic and the stores stayed open late so people could Christmas shop.
There were also food trucks with something different for everyone.
“Yes. Why?”
“Want me to pick you up?”
“I’m pretty sure I can manage to get there. I have snow tires, you know.”
“I’m not questioning if you can do it. I know you can. I just wondered if you’d like a ride.”
“Thanks, but no.”
“All right. Drive safe.”
She thought about Riley and what the hell he was doing all the way home. She didn’t come to any conclusions. Other than, for whatever reason, he’d decided he was interested in her.
And against her better judgment, she was interested in him. Because she was afraid Riley was one man who could make her forget why she didn’t want to be involved with anyone.