Rancher Seeks Christmas (Mountain Man Christmas #4)

Chapter 1

Toby

Every human has a flaw. Even me.

Some people pick their noses. Some have active imaginations and like to embellish stories.

My brother Austin is a bit of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to the furniture he makes.

There can be a gnarly knot in a piece of wood he uses for a countertop or a table and that’s OK but if he’s even a quarter inch out on a measurement, he gets mad.

I’m not sure my oldest brother Rhett has any flaws.

The man has multiple bull riding championships and I bet there’s no one who toured or competed against him that would have a bad word to say.

His One, Cora, might have something to say about that though considering he just might be the most overprotective new dad I have ever met!

Landry, my Irish twin, his flaw is that he’s too nice.

Thankfully, between the rest of us Graham siblings–including our baby sister, Tess–we’ve always been there to make sure that nobody takes advantage of his ooey gooey heart.

Now, that job has been passed on to his wife Starchild so we know he’s in good hands.

Then there’s Red Grayson, the head of our ranch–even if we all own it equally. His flaw isn’t really a flaw–except to him. Before he met his soulmate, Mags, he was always putting everyone else first. That’s probably why it took them so damn long to realize that their One was right in front of them.

There’s also Colt and Leah Roberts who live and own a part of Bull Mountain Ranch with us. Lee is our mountain’s Seer, so there’s no way I’d ever say she has a flaw–even if she has a habit of dreaming of about strangers thanks to the mountain spirit.

As for me, my worst flaw is that I always have to win, even more so if there’s a bright and shiny trophy for me to claim as my own.

My wife Delilah, the love of my life and owner of my heart, happens to think my competitiveness is both amusing and sexy.

Although I’m not sure she thought that when we went to Rainbow Springs last Christmas, and I sulked all the way from home to Anchorage because Rhett and Cora won a truck decorating contest.

I got my own back eventually. Then I got to be the best damn Santa the town had ever seen–or so I think, anyway.

It’s not that I don’t know all of us have our own flaws, but there’s one competition I’ve decided I must win. It’s imperative I win. Because if anyone at Bull Mountain is going to out-gift everyone this Christmas, it’s me.

“Did I just hear you right?” Red asks over his steamy mug of cowboy brew.

“You sure did. Unless your hearin’s goin’, in that case I’ll.

have. to. speak. Slowly.” I shoot him a smirk, which earns me narrowed eyes.

That look from Red used to scare me years ago.

Now that we’re all business partners–family– I’m more than willing to goad him and not be scared of the consequences.

When we were back on the circuit and Red was a workhorse and grouchy, not so much.

“I heard you. I just can’t believe my ears. You want us to compete against each other… again?”

“Yep.” I pop the P and grin at our table full of cowboys.

Rhett’s lips turn with a devilish smirk. “A Christmas giftin’ competition?”

“Nope. A Christmas date competition. For our Ones.”

“What’s the prize goin’ to be?” he asks, confirming I’ve piqued his interest.

I recognize that twinkle in his eye–mainly because I too have thought a lot about effort versus reward for this particular battle. It’s going to be a win-win for all of us.

Austin speaks up before I can answer. “How exactly do you propose we conduct such a contest?” he asks, leaning back in his kitchen chair and quirking a brow. “And how would it be judged?”

“You might as well give me the title now,” Colt pipes up. “There ain’t no way, no how, that any of you can beat me. I’ve been in love with Lee for close to ten years now. I know exactly what ticks her boxes, and Christmas is her favorite holiday. I can’t lose.”

“You may have time on your side,” Landry replies, “but I’ve got a wife who is as open-minded as she is whimsical. She loves everythin’ I do for her.”

I smirk. “Mine loves everythin’ I do to her t—”

Colt, Red, Rhett, Austin, and Landry all glare at me, shouting “Toby,” all at once.

I shrug. “Just sayin’.”

“Some things don’t need sayin’, Tobes,” Red says.

“Yeah,” Austin adds. “There’s a reason I chose to live here with Red before Charlie and I got together, and it’s not ‘cause I didn’t like the bunkhouse. You hear?”

“More like you heard,” Rhett quips, earning a low laugh from the rest of them and a proud grin from me.

“OK, people. Can we get back on task?” I ask.

“Sure, Tobes. Tell us what your latest plan is to win a trophy from us,” Austin muses.

I grin. “Good to hear you already know you’re gonna lose to me, brother. I figure, after putting up with all of us, our women deserve bein’ treated.”

“Speak for yourself, but I don’t just show my wife appreciation on a commercial holiday,” Landry says. “I’m an all-year-round kind of guy.”

Rolling my eyes, I look around the group. “I’m not sayin’ you do or you don’t, I’m sayin’, since Christmas is coming soon and we’re not off performin’ Yuletide miracles or competin’ for the Holly Jolly Cup again, why don’t we make it interestin’.”

Red lifts his chin. “OK. You’ve got our attention now. Who’d choose the winner?”

I grin. “The Sunday School Sallys, of course.”

“OK. And the prize?”

“A weekend away at a private cabin in Timber Falls and dinner at that fancy restaurant Austin went to,” I explain. “I’m sure the folks at Cooper Ranch would put us up in one of their fancy schmancy guest accommodations.”

Austin’s face screws up. “And risk dealin’ with that dastardly donkey of theirs? Not sure it’s worth courtin’ that animal's wrath when we’ve got our own creepy creatures here.”

“How ‘bout you make it a meal of the winner’s choice because that restaurant may be Michelin-starred but it’s not my cup of tea. The burgers from the Icebox diner down the road though…” Red gestures a chef's kiss, making us chuckle. “Nothin’ on Mags’s cookin’ though.”

Glancing around the kitchen table, I can already see the men’s minds turning. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that we all love our Ones, and will do anything to show them that—especially spoiling them at Christmas.

A contest for the best Christmas date might just be my best idea yet. At the very least, there’ll be a bunch of very happy people at Bull Mountain by the time Santa arrives.

They won’t win… but they’ll be loved up.

Now all that’s left to do is come up with the best idea ever to romance my darling Aussie wife.

Easy peasy, as she would say.