Chapter 7
Was she enjoying her time with Max too much?
Emberly’s shot easily hit the clay disk that had been tossed in the air to imitate a bird. She lowered her Browning shotgun and grinned at Max, who stood beside her in the shooting stand.
“I can see why clay shooting is your favorite activity.” Max was holding his shotgun and staring at the clay tile now cracked on the ground.
Most of the snow from yesterday had melted away under the high-altitude sun, leaving only a few patches behind in the shade.
The clumps of grass were yellowed and damp.
The sagebrush was brown and scraggly. And the prairie dog hills were lonely and lifeless.
Regardless of how bedraggled it looked, the grassland was peaceful.
It was in a secluded part of the ranch away from the rest of the activities, lodging, and guests so that no one would inadvertently get caught in the crossfire.
In fact, they’d used an ATV to reach the shooting range with its modern array of equipment, targets, and guns.
The spacious cabin behind them contained the instructors’ offices as well as a coffee bar and snacks, along with comfortable seating for the guests.
The overhang above the wide structure and the outdoor wood-burning stove allowed practice in all sorts of weather, even throughout the winter.
“Don’t feel too bad,” she teased. “We can’t all be good at everything.”
“Oh, prideful much?” Through the thick lens of his protective gear, his eyes sparkled with playfulness.
“When it comes to this ranch? Yes.” She loved the easy way she could banter with Max, similar to how she bantered with her brothers.
“You have beaten me at both trap and skeet shooting. So I suppose I ought to give credit where credit is due.”
“Yes, you should.”
He removed the protective glasses and perched them on top of his head. “When you come to Karltenberg, I shall challenge you to the European way of clay shooting.”
“When I come to Karltenberg?”
He took off his noise-blocking earmuffs. “Perhaps you will come someday, and I can return the favor of taking you around to my favorite activities.”
She slipped off her glasses and earmuffs too. Was Max being serious, or was he only being nice? And what did it really matter?
This morning when she’d arrived at her office, she hadn’t been able to resist googling him. A whole host of pictures had flooded her laptop screen, of him with various women—movie stars, other royalty, models, and more. All of them had been beautiful and rich and famous.
Then there had been the pictures of him with Sarah, who, as it turned out, happened to be the Duchess of Bavaria.
She, too, was pretty and nearly perfect in every way.
From all accounts, Sarah had been devastated to lose Max, especially because she’d hoped for a proposal, and instead, he’d delivered a breakup.
If he went back home and worked harder at his relationship with her, no doubt he could make things work.
Even though last night’s discussion about relationships had made him uncomfortable, she wasn’t ready to let the topic go quite yet. “What will your wife think of you inviting me to come visit and taking me around to all your favorite activities?”
“My wife?” Max set aside his gun and supplies. “I thought you knew I am single.”
“You won’t be forever.”
He bent and retrieved a log from the woodpile, opened the stove door, and added more fuel. As he straightened, he expelled a tight breath. “I suppose if I implement our agreement to work hard in a relationship, I shall hopefully facilitate love.”
“You’re a great guy, Max. I’m sure women have an easy time falling in love with you.”
“Easy time falling in love, eh? I assume you are referencing yourself in the matter.”
“Oh, you guessed it,” she deadpanned. “It was love at first sight.”
“Precisely what I expected.”
This time she rolled her eyes.
He chuckled.
“If women fall in love with you so quickly, then I guess that means you’re the one not falling in love back.”
His mirth faded, and the muscles in his jaw ticked.
Was she pushing him too much? If only she could control her curiosity. “Why haven’t you fallen in love with anyone yet?”
He paced back to the railing of the shooting stand and peered out over the barren landscape.
She surveyed the land too. The wide-open range with its thick grass had drawn her relatives to begin ranching cattle so long ago. And it had drawn lots of McQuaids ever since. It was easy to love the land and the mountains and the beauty of it all. And she did . . .
But there were times when she felt stuck, when she couldn’t help wondering if her life would have turned out differently if she hadn’t failed out of school, if she’d kept going with her degree in business. Where would she be now? Would she have made a life for herself apart from her family?
Shoulders slumping, Max stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I was in love once. Long ago.”
The hollowness in his voice tugged at Emberly. She crossed to the railing and stood beside him. She might not be able to say or do anything to take that hollowness and hurt away, but at least she could listen.
“Ava. She was my tutor’s daughter.” His tone dropped low. “She came to the tutoring sessions with Mr. Koch, her father, and we became good friends.”
“How old were you?”
“Sixteen when I first met her, and naturally, our friendship turned into more. She was my first kiss, first love, first everything.”
“Sounds like you really cared for her.”
He was silent for a heartbeat. “Before I left for Cambridge, I gave her a promise ring and asked her to wait for me.”
Emberly could guess the direction of his story, and already her heart ached for him.
“The first year I was gone, she met and married someone else.”
The first year? That was fast. And to marry someone else? That was brutal. “That’s really crummy. I’m sorry, Max.”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment. “It shattered me, and I coped the only way I knew how. I attempted to drown out the pain and forget about her.”
“I guess that didn’t work so well, huh?”
He shrugged. “It worked well enough.”
“You obviously haven’t forgotten about her and are still hurt by her betrayal.”
“I have forgiven her,” he said sadly. “But I have not forgiven her father for accepting the bribe from my father to marry her off as quickly as possible.”
“Oh wow. That’s terrible.”
“What my father did was unforgivable too. But he has always been more rigid about . . . well, about the protocols in my family. But Mr. Koch? I thought he was open-minded and did not abide by old customs and class differences.”
The ache inside Emberly swelled, and before she could stop herself, she laid a hand on Max’s arm.
He didn’t brush her aside, but neither did he acknowledge her touch. He continued to stare straight ahead, his jaw taut.
No wonder Max was still single. He’d fallen in love once and had never really gotten over all that had happened. “Max,” she started slowly. “You obviously want to move on from this, otherwise you wouldn’t have promised me that you would work hard at a love-crazy relationship.”
He remained rigid, as though he might spin and walk away. But after a moment, he released a breath and nodded. “I have tried to move beyond what happened. Many times. But perhaps I am doomed to be haunted by it forever.”
“You’re not doomed. But you are stuck, and maybe you need a little push to de-stick you.”
“De-stick?” He slanted a glance her way. “If that is a word, I am not familiar with it.”
“Fine.” She dropped her hand away from him. “It’s not a word. But that’s not the point.”
“What is your point?”
“You need someone to help you see your potential to love again.”
He shifted so that now he was facing her, leaning his hip against the railing. “Would that someone happen to be you?”
“Maybe.”
“So you are not only the ranch expert, but you are also the expert in matchmaking?”
“I’m no expert, and I’m no matchmaker. But I have learned a lot about the McQuaid legacy of love through watching my dad and brothers—enough that I can give you a few tips on how to win over a woman.”
“You are suggesting that would help?”
“If you want to know how to love a woman well, then there’s no better person to learn from than a McQuaid, especially my dad.”
“I have no wish to disturb your father with this matter.”
“We won’t. I’m just saying that he’s a wise person, and there’s a lot to be learned from looking at the way he did things.”
Max nodded. “Very well. If you wish to instruct me on how to win and love a woman, then I shall do my best to humbly receive the advice.”
A winter breeze blew against Emberly and through her parka. She shuddered. “First word of advice: Always, always be paying attention to the woman’s needs. For example, when she’s cold, you really need to notice.” This time she shivered on purpose.
His eyes lit up with humor. “I see how this arrangement is going to work. You will expect me to practice your advice on you.”
“You know what they say. Practice makes perfect.”
“Agreed. So once I notice the woman is cold, what shall I do first?”
“You’ll do everything within your power to make sure she warms up and is comfortable.”
“Shall I give you my coat?”
“That’s one possibility.”
He began unzipping his heavy jacket.
She halted him halfway with her mittened hand. “In this instance, you should keep your coat. Instead, you should pull me closer—”
She wasn’t able to finish her sentence before he was tugging her under his jacket. He drew her gently against his side and wrapped one arm around her, situating her as carefully as if she were made of glass.
“How is that?” he asked. “Warmer?”
She was trying hard not to think about the fact that she was pressed up against Max. “I was saying you could pull me closer to the stove, but this does the trick too.”