Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Cole wasn’t used to getting what he asked for. This setup was exactly what he’d envisioned back in June when he’d left his unsatisfying job and ended a tepid relationship.
Mila was the woman he’d always wanted — imaginative, principled, funny, sexy. He’d felt a zing of recognition from the moment they’d met. Being in charge of ranch maintenance suited him to a T. No two days were the same and he couldn’t ask for better folks to hang with.
On top of that, he got to see his sister on a regular basis. He’d missed her like crazy when she’d created a business that kept her on the road. But now she traveled less and when she was home, she was steps away.
Hell yeah, he was scared it might all disappear. And excited for the chance he’d been given to finally get it right.
“Did you ask the Beaver Bunch if they’d play for us?”
“I forgot.” He flashed her a grin. “Had other things on my mind.” Putting down his beer, he slipped off the stool and headed over to those critters. She hadn’t seen everything they could do.
The control box door was still open, the main switch still on. Once he’d kissed her, those animatronic critters had taken a back seat. He picked up a wireless mic he had hanging on the wall and turned it on.
He didn’t need a mic since Mila could hear him just fine, but he might as well practice using it. “Hey, Rufus! We’d be much obliged if you boys would play us a tune.” Then he hit one of the many switches in front of him.
Rufus turned his head in Cole’s direction and his mouth moved. “On it, boss! Whatcha hankerin’ fer?”
Mila whooped in delight. “That’s you?”
“Heck, no. That’s Rufus. That’s how he talks.”
She giggled. “Love it.”
He glanced back at the trio. “How about On the Road Again?”
“Copy that, boss!” Rufus turned toward the others as Cole punched in the selection. He didn’t have many numbers loaded yet, but eventually he’d have a couple of hours worth.
Cuing up a jug band version of Willie Nelson’s classic, he added two more tunes, a jug band rendition of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire and Do You Believe in Magic by the Lovin’ Spoonful. All three came from a flash drive of recordings made by his old jug band. Good thing he’d saved it.
Closing the control box door, he returned to Mila as those beavers launched into their routine. She was an appreciative audience, giving them all her attention as she ate her sandwich and soup.
He pretended to be watching them, too, but instead he focused all his senses on her. He still couldn’t quite believe his good fortune.
He’d already thanked Jordie for inviting him out to the ranch on that fateful July Fourth, but it had been a generalized statement of gratitude. Someday soon he’d thank her specifically for the life-changing opportunity to share space with Mila.
They’d almost finished their simple dinner by the time the music ended. Mila put down her beer and applauded the trio. “Well done Rufus, Buster and Shorty!” She turned to him. “They’re fantastic, Cole. I love that Rufus talks. The raccoons don’t do that.”
“They might, soon. Clem said he felt an update coming on, probably after the first of the year.”
“You inspired him.”
“We inspire each other. It never occurred to me I’d run into another animatronics nerd.”
“He’s probably thinking the same. But he doesn’t have time to fool with them during the Christmas season. Speaking of that, have you thought about giving the Beaver Bunch Santa hats like the raccoons have?”
A flicker of unease invaded the happy glow he had going on. “I didn’t. Probably too late to order any.”
“True, but I’ll bet we could still find regular ones in town. I’m pretty good with a needle. I could modify them for you.”
Mild panic set in. “I’d hate to put you to the trouble. You must be busy doing—”
“Not really. All my family gifts are ready to go. Claudie and I mailed off the Christmas cards to the Hearts & Hooves supporters last week. Our holiday adoption push winds up tomorrow. How soon would you like to unveil these guys?”
“It can be anytime, now that you’ve seen them. How about this weekend?” He needed to get it done before the twenty-third, when he was scheduled to get sick.
“Part of me wants to do that, but you’ve kept the secret this long. Wouldn’t it be more spectacular if it was part of the celebration, like on Christmas Eve?”
He managed to control a shudder. “Well, I—”
“No, that might be too dicey, weather-wise, but if Christmas Day is sunny, you could do it then. So far they’re predicting decent weather on Christmas. We might get snow before then, but then it’ll clear off.”
He started to sweat. This is what he got for being so focused on completing the project so he could show it to Mila.
Even without that single-mindedness, he might not have realized the holiday was coming up.
He’d spent fifteen years ignoring it. “Don’t you—” Pausing, he cleared his throat.
“Don’t you have plenty of other things going on that day? ”
“We deliberately don’t have a lot going on. We just hang out with each other, eating and playing whatever game Mom gets for the family. If the conditions are good for the sleigh, we hitch up Woody and Buzz and take turns going for a ride.”
“There’s a sleigh somewhere?”
“That’s what’s under the tarp in the tractor barn.”
“Huh. I never looked.”
“We haven’t taken it out yet because you need at least six inches of packed snow and lately it keeps turning to slush. If we get fresh snow, we build forts, make snow people, have snowball fights. In other words, it would be a perfect day for introducing the Beaver Bunch.”
As he gazed into those beautiful eyes, the excitement and anticipation shining there made his chest hurt. What now?
He could tell her how he felt about Christmas and watch her happiness turn to sadness and concern. He could agree to the plan knowing he’d sabotage it in the end. Or he could white-knuckle it though Christmas Day.
There really was only one choice. At least she hadn’t set her heart on Christmas Eve. He’d find a way out of celebrating that with the family. Food poisoning was an option.
He sucked in a breath. “Then let’s bring those critters out on the big day.”
“Awesome! Do you want me to make the Santa hats? I’d love to.”
Might as well go all in. “That would be great.”
“It also gives me an excuse to be here. I can tell everyone I’ve seen your secret project and we decided to add a festive element to it. I’ll modify them here instead of at home.”
“Good plan.” He might not like the hat idea, but if she’d work on them here, he’d learn to like it.
She laughed. “I thought you’d approve. Could we pick them up together sometime tomorrow? What’s your schedule like?”
“Your mom asked me to look at the hinges on the main gate in the morning. If I end up replacing them, it could take me a while, but so far my afternoon’s free.”
“If it stays that way, we could go then.”
“Okay.” Driving into town with her would be fun. Looking at Santa hats, which would probably be smack dab in the middle of a bunch of holiday decorations, not so much.
She peered at him. “Is that a problem? You look a little stressed.”
He launched into the first silly excuse he could find. “Me and the boys just realized it’s almost showtime and we have stage fright.”
“Aww.” She gave him a warm smile. “My family will go crazy over those little guys. You know they will.”
“I didn’t know it for sure. That’s why I invited you for a preview. I figured if you liked these critters, there was a good chance the rest of the family would.”
“Really? You had doubts about that?”
“Sure. I’ve only lived here for six months.”
“I keep forgetting that. It feels longer to me. You fit in so well. You and Jordan both do. I’ll bet she’s seen this already.”
“No, ma’am.”
“No? But you two are so close!”
“That’s the point. She’s gonna rave about anything I’ve made. I could throw something together with a few sticks and baling wire and she’d call it a masterpiece. I needed an unbiased opinion.”
She met his gaze. “Then you should have asked Claudie. You had to know I’m not unbiased.”
He flushed. “Okay, I wanted to impress you.”
“Mission accomplished. But since I’m not unbiased, how can you trust what I—”
“Because you’re not my sister.”
“Thank goodness for that!”
“Stay with me. She hasn’t lived here long enough to know for sure what would appeal to your family. You have. Also, if you thought they wouldn’t like the Beaver Bunch for some reason you’d tell me. You’d want to save me from being embarrassed.”
“I would. But I promise they’ll be nuts about your creation. Blown away. I can’t wait for Christmas Day when they get to see it.”
“The weather could change.” He could always hope.
“If it does would you be okay with bringing everyone up here?”
Whoops. Weather wouldn’t save him, after all. “Sure.”
“Good, because it might come to that if a storm—”
His phone rang. Happy to interrupt their troubling conversation, he excused himself and went to grab it from the kitchen counter. “It’s your mom.”
“Don’t tell her I’m—no, wait, you need to tell her I’m here. Just don’t say—”
“You think I would?”
“No, no—just answer it! The longer it rings—”
“Right.” He tapped the speaker mode so Mila could hear the conversation. “Hi, Raquel.”
“I’m so sorry to interrupt your evening, amigo, but that pipe under the sink you warned me about chose to start leaking ten minutes ago. I’ve turned off the main valve but Greta and I are in the middle of a complicated baking session. Could you—”
“I’ll be right there. I picked up a PVC pipe a couple months ago knowing I’d eventually need it.”
“Bless you. Lo siento.”
“No worries. I was just—”
“Gotta go. Greta needs me. ’Bye.” She disconnected.
“You didn’t tell her.”
“She didn’t give me a chance. I’ll mention it while I’m there.”
“How long will it take?”
“At least a couple of hours.”
She picked up her dishes and carried them to the sink. “Then I think I’d better get dressed and go home.”
“Afraid so. Sorry.”
She smiled. “Not your fault. If it’s okay with you, I’ll let Claudie know this addition to the secret project will take hours.”
“Will it?”
“Heck, no.”
“Excellent.” He hesitated. “How do you want to play this with your family?”
“You mean about us?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll have to tell Claudie. She can read me too well. But she’ll keep it to herself if I ask her.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I’d rather not broadcast it, yet. It’ll come out soon enough, but let’s just enjoy the privacy while we can.”
“Works for me.” Pulling her close, he gave her a gentle kiss. “Manana.”
“Manana, mi cielo.”
His Spanish was limited mostly to swear words, but he was pretty sure that mi cielo meant my heaven. And how he loved hearing those words coming from Mila’s sweet lips. All things considered, one day of hell wasn’t such a high price to pay, after all.