A Bramble House Christmas (Carrigans of the Circle C Book 6) (25 page)

Mattie was petite and slim-waisted, with curves that seemed almost indecent on such a little woman. She had the same dark hair as all the Carrigans—all but Sage, who’d pulled the recessive red hair gene wild card.

Though Mattie was only thirty-eight, Sage could see signs of aging that hadn’t been present during their last visit. Fine lines bracketing Mattie’s lovely smile and a tired look in her milk chocolate eyes.

“Oh, Wes decided to compete in a rodeo down in Utah this weekend.”

That didn’t make sense. For as long as Wes and Mattie had been together, Wes had signed up for the Copper Mountain Rodeo. Usually they brought their twins with them. But the girls had left this fall for their first year of University.

After a warning look from Callan, who was also tiny like Mattie, only with a more boyish figure, Sage decided not to question her older sister any further. Instead she gave Dani a hug. “How is life in the ivory tower in Seattle?”

Dani, who’d recently been promoted to full professor in the psychology department of the University of Washington, dragged her gaze up from her Blackberry. “Very busy. Very exciting.” The second eldest sister, Dani was taller, like Sage. Not as fine-boned as the others. More average. Though she definitely carried more weight than Sage.

Office work, Sage supposed. Professional dinners and travel. That sort of thing.

“How do you stay so slim?” Dani’s mind was on the same subject. Her gaze ran over Sage in her cropped pants and peach-colored top. “You make chocolates for a living. You should be roly-poly by now.”

“I
make
them. Then
sell
them. I would think a smart woman like you would understand the concept of
profit.”

“You never sample?”

“Oh, I have minions for that.”

Everyone laughed, because if there was one thing Sage didn’t have, it was minions. Two part-time employees who helped cover sales during busy times and on weekends, that was it.

God this is good.
Sage savored the moment, because it didn’t happen often that the four of them loosened up this way. Their father had raised them to keep their heads up. At any moment you could be chastised for doing the wrong thing or for not doing the right thing. Dani and Mattie had resented him bitterly. Only Callan seemed to be able to shrug off his barbs, often giving as good as she got.

As for Sage, she thought she understood what was behind her father’s bitterness and anger, and so she made allowances. But then she knew things that her sisters didn’t.

”—and I told him I
so
wasn’t going out with him again. Then I left the restaurant and caught a ride home with a friend.” This was Callan, talking about her latest romantic escapade, Sage supposed. She’d tuned out for a bit. Callan always had fun stories to tell, whether they were about her love life—very active—or about ranching trials and tribulations. There were lots of those, too.

“Sometimes I wish I hadn’t married so young.” Mattie, normally so pragmatic and solid, sounded atypically yearning. “I never had a chance to date and have fun like you, Cal.”

“
Nobody
has dated as much as Callan,” Dani said. “That includes me and I’m still single and eight years older!”

They all looked at Sage then. Dani, never one for the subtle approach, was the first to ask. “So, how are things with Toby?”

“Over.” Callan answered for her.

“But—why? Was it the age difference? He was in your class at school, wasn’t he Mat?”

“Yes. And he’s a good guy. But just let Sage be. You know she doesn’t like talking about stuff like this.”

Sage shrugged. She never found it easy discussing anything personal.
And why was that?
She’d assumed it was just her personality.

But suddenly she remembered her mother saying something to her only a few months before she died. They’d been right here, in the kitchen, and Sage had been twelve. Bev Carrigan had leaned over the table and taken Sage’s hand in hers. “You used to be such a chatterbox, honey. What’s happened to you?”

Sage hadn’t said a word, and her mother had sighed. “Guess you’re at that age, huh?”

At the time she hadn’t realized her mother was talking about adolescence. But those years were long gone and Sage still felt as if there was a fine plastic film separating her from the people she loved. She wished she could just set down the secret and leave it somewhere. But secrets were like land mines. You had to make sure no one stepped on them. Or the whole family might blow apart.

A
n hour later they were gathered around the dining room table, the five of them—just as it had been before Mattie got married and before Dani moved to the city. Some fathers might have deemed the occasion worthy of a toast. Or at least have said something like, “It’s good to have all my girls under the same roof again.”

Not Hawksley. He did come close to smiling a few times. But when dinner was over, he didn’t linger. “Got my show to watch. Sage, you make sure you stay and help clean up. Don’t leave all the work to your sisters.”

Dani shook her head disbelievingly after he’d gone. “He never changes. Never.”

“I don’t mind,” Sage said. “He’s disappointed I gave up barrel racing.”

“Wasn’t that five years ago?” Ever the mother, Mattie started stacking the plates.

“Let me do that,” Sage said. “Dad’s right—I missed all the prep work.”

Mattie didn’t release her hold. ”Because you were
working.
Sage, you have a God-given gift with chocolate. I hope you never let him guilt you into giving up your business.”

“I won’t,” Sage said calmly. Her older sisters were always quick to defend her, and that was sweet. But she wished they would cut their dad a little more slack. “He’s looking older, don’t you think?”

“He’s losing steam on the ranch, too,” Callan confided. “He doesn’t want to admit it, but he can’t work as much as he used to. He said he has to go watch his show—but I’ll bet you anything you’ll find him sleeping by the TV.”

“Maybe we need another hired hand?” Dani asked. They’d cleared off the table and were now in the kitchen, falling back into their old roles easily. Mattie putting away the leftovers, Dani rinsing the plates and handing them to Sage to stack in the dishwasher, while Callan wiped  the countertops and appliances.

Again Sage’s mother’s voice was in her head, as she admired the pattern on the old Royal Albert dishes. “Silly nonsense having nice dishes and never using them. Of course we’re going to put them in the dishwasher...”

“I suggested hiring another worker, but he dug in his heels. You know how he can get.” Callan shook her head. “I think the only strategy with any hope of success is if I got married. He’d have to let my husband work on the ranch.”

”Married? Do you have a candidate in mind?” Mattie had to know.

“You mean just one?”

They all laughed again.

When it came time to leave, Sage felt a little sad. Maybe she should have packed a bag and stayed overnight. She hated to miss any of the fun. But she would see them on Saturday, at the rodeo and then later at the community steak dinner. When she said goodnight, Mattie walked her to her car.

Fallen leaves crunched under their feet as they walked out the side door and the horses by the fence perked up their ears.

“No treats tonight, fellas,” Sage told them as she headed for her car.

“You seemed quiet tonight.” Mattie put a hand on her shoulder. I mean, you’re always quiet. But even more so.”

She wasn’t surprised Mattie had noticed. Even before the birth of her sister’s twins, or the death of their mother, Mattie had had strong maternal instincts. As a child she’d been the one to nurse the orphaned animals, to rescue the bird that had fallen from its nest.

“Yeah, I guess I was.” She’d thought about Dawson far too often tonight, despite her determination to forget him. “Is everything okay? With the business?”

She considered telling her sister the whole story. But it was late and she had to work tomorrow. “It’s fine. I’m not getting rich. But I’m doing something I love and I’m making a comfortable margin.”

Mattie pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Wish I could say the same about our ranch.”

Ranching was always a precarious living. That was why Wes, in his late thirties, was still on the rodeo circuit even though he’d injured almost every body part he had. “Is Wes okay?”

“Just between you and me, he’s been better. A close buddy of his was killed by a bull when they were at the Crazy Horse Stampede in South Dakota this June. It shook him up pretty badly.”

“I guess so.” Sage gave her sister a hug. “Is he thinking of quitting the circuit?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t been talking much. Used to be he’d come home from a rodeo and we’d make love and talk for hours. That hasn’t been happening lately.”

“I guess all couples go through times like that.”

“Sure. We’ll get through it.” Mattie smiled. “Now you better get going. Drive safe little sister.”

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Find out what happens next...

Buy now!

Visit Sage Carrigan’s Copper Mountain Chocolate Shop in the brand new

Love at the Chocolate Shop series...

Pre-order now!

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Who is the handsome cowboy who comes into small town Marietta’s chocolate shop every week to buy a box of chocolates? More importantly...who is he buying the chocolates for? These are the questions sales clerk
Rosie Linn
asks herself as she waits for her sadly neglected childhood home to sell so she can pursue an exciting new career in L.A.

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Rosie finds out the answers the day rugged ranch hand
Brant Willingham
introduces himself and asks for her help in managing the care of his younger sister. Brant’s mother has recently died, leaving him the sole guardian of eighteen-year-old Sara Maria–who has been a puzzle to Brant ever since she began exhibiting signs of autism at age two.

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Rosie and Brant come up with a plan. She’ll help with his sister if he handles repairs and a new paint job for her old house. It seems the perfect solution, but a new dilemma is created when the couple start spending time together. Brant discovers he doesn’t want Rosie to sell and leave, and Rosie fears she will have to choose between love and her dreams.

USA Today
Bestselling author C. J. Carmichael has written over 50 novels in her favorite genres of romance and mystery, three of which were nominated for the
Romance Writers of America
RITA Award. C.J.gave up the thrills of income tax forms and double entry book-keeping in 1998 when she sold her first book to Harlequin Superromance. After publishing over 35 novels with Harlequin, C.J. became a founding author with Tule Publishing, where she writes heartwarming western romance. Her more recent books include her independently published Twisted Cedar Mysteries series. When not writing C. J. enjoys family time with her grown daughters and her husband, including hiking in the Rocky Mountains around their home in Calgary, and relaxing at their cottage on Flathead Lake, Montana.