A Cadence Creek Christmas (Cadence Creek Cowboys) (10 page)

“It’s Monday. I’m due back at Diamondback, remember? I should have been there an hour ago.”

Right. His job. Time hadn’t stood still, had it? “You’re working today?”

“And tomorrow.”

Emptiness opened up inside her. This was really it then. She might not even see him again before her flight out on the twenty-sixth.

“Rhys...”

“Don’t,” he said firmly. “We both knew what this was from the start.”

Dread of losing him sparked a touch of anger. Was she so easy to forget? So easy to leave—again? “And you’re okay with that? Just a couple of days of hokey pokey and see you later, it’s been fun?”

He gripped her upper arms with strong fingers. “We weren’t going to do this, remember?”

“Do what?”

“Get involved.”

“I am involved. Up to my neck, as it happens.”

“Taylor.”

He let go and stepped back, his dark eyes clouded with confusion. He ran a hand through his hair. “I should never have come back. I should have left well enough alone.”

“You didn’t. We didn’t. I don’t know how to say goodbye gracefully, Rhys.”

To her chagrin she realized tears were running down her face. She swiped them away quickly. “Dammit,” she muttered.

He came closer, looked down at her with a tenderness in his eyes that nearly tore her apart. “Hey, we both knew it would come to this. My life’s here. Yours is there. You have
Exclusive!
to run.”

Yes, yes, the damn business. When had she started resenting it so much? Even a quick check of her email on her phone this morning had made her blood pressure spike. She couldn’t ignore reality forever. Didn’t mean it didn’t stink, though.

“Thanks for the reminder.” She stepped back, wished she had something to occupy her hands right now.

Rhys frowned. “Look, Taylor, we both know you’re competitive and a bit of a perfectionist. I like those things about you. I really do. But I also know that the drive and determination that made you so successful is going to keep you in Vancouver until you set out to do what you’ve wanted to achieve.”

“Even if what I’m doing isn’t making me happy?”

It was the first time she’d come right out and said it.

His frown deepened. “The only person who can decide that is you. But I’ll caution you right now. Letting go of that goal isn’t easy. There are a lot of things to accept. And I’m not sure you’d be happy walking away.”

“And if I did walk away, would you be here waiting?”

Alarm crossed his features. She had her answer before he ever opened his mouth, didn’t she? Oh, she should have listened to what he’d said ages ago when they’d first kissed. She was different from local girls, and she was low risk because she wasn’t staying. The idea of her not going was scaring him to death.

“Look, Taylor...”

“No, it’s okay,” she assured him. “You’re right. This was what we agreed and I don’t have any regrets.” That, at least, was the truth. She didn’t regret the last few days even if there were mixed feelings and a fair bit of hurt. They’d been magical when all was said and done. And Rhys Bullock would be a nice memory, just like he said.

He came forward and tilted up her chin with his finger. “I know I’m where I belong. I learned my lessons, had my failures and successes. You’re not there yet, that’s all.”

She pulled away, resenting his attitude. What did he know? She had her own failures, but she was glad now that she’d kept the baring of her soul to one messed up wedding and not the disaster that was her last relationship. “You’re leaving anyway, Rhys. I’d appreciate it if you weren’t patronizing.”

The air in the room changed. There was a finality to it that had been absent only moments before. Rhys went to the doorway and picked up his bag. Silently he went to the door and pulled on his boots and jacket. When he was ready he looked up and met her eyes. “I don’t want to leave it this way,” he said bleakly. “With us angry at each other.”

“I’m not angry,” she said quietly. “I’m hurting, and the longer you stay, the worse it is.”

He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms for one last hug. “Hurting you is the last thing I wanted to do,” he murmured in her ear. “So I’ll go.” He kissed the tip of her ear. “Take care, Taylor.”

She swallowed against the lump of tears and willed herself to stay dry-eyed. “You, too, Rhys. And Merry Christmas.”

He nodded and slipped out the door. The milder temperatures of the Chinook had dipped slightly and she could see his breath in the air as he jogged down the steps and to his truck.

She shut the door, resisting the opportunity to give him one last wave.

They’d set the ground rules. Leaving was supposed to be easy. It definitely was not supposed to hurt this much.

CHAPTER TEN

C
ALLUM
AND
A
VERY
arrived back home, happy and tired from their trip and with tons of pictures from Hawaii. Taylor found herself bathing Nell after dinner while Callum checked on the stock and Avery started to make a dent in the mountain of laundry from their luggage. When Taylor suggested she go back to the B&B for the next few nights, Avery insisted she stay. “The couch pulls out. Please, stay. I’ve missed having a sister around.”

Taylor had no good argument against that so at bedtime the cushions came off the sofa and the mattress pulled out. Avery brought sheets from the linen closet. “Sorry it’s not as comfortable as our bed,” she apologized.

A lump formed in Taylor’s throat. Memories she wished she could forget crowded her mind, images of the last few nights spent in the master bedroom. This morning she’d stripped the bed and put the sheets in the washer. Rhys’s scent had risen from the hot water and she’d had to go for a tissue.

“Taylor, are you okay?”

“Fine,” she replied. “Hand me that comforter, will you?”

Avery handed it over while putting a pillowcase on a fat pillow. “Callum said Rhys did fine with the stock. Did you see him much while he was here?”

Taylor met Avery’s innocently curious gaze, watched as her expression changed in reaction to Taylor’s. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with Rhys?”

Taylor focused on tucking the bedding around the mattress. “Of course not.”

“Taylor.” Avery said it with such meaning that Taylor stopped and sat down on the bed.

Avery came over and sat beside her. “I saw you dancing at the reception. And Callum said Jack said something to him about you and Rhys kissing in his truck the night of the rehearsal. There’s something going on between you, isn’t there?”

“Not anymore,” she replied firmly. She wondered if she sounded convincing.

Callum came through to the kitchen carrying an empty baby bottle. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Avery looked up at him. “Girl talk. No boys allowed.”

Taylor saw her brother’s expression as he looked down at his wife. He was utterly smitten. Having someone look at her that way hadn’t been so important even a month ago. Now it made her feel like she was missing out on something.

“Who am I to get in the way of my two favorite girls?” he asked, then looked down at the bottle with a stupidly soft expression. “Well, two of my three favorites anyway.”

Callum knew where he belonged. He was contented, just like Rhys. So why was it so hard for her to figure out?

“I’ll leave you ladies alone, then. Gotta be up early anyway.”

When he disappeared back around the corner, Avery patted Taylor’s arm. “Wait here,” she commanded, and she skipped off to the kitchen. She returned moments later carrying two glasses of wine. “Here,” she said, handing one to Taylor. “Sit up here, get under the blanket and then tell me how you managed to fall in love with Rhys Bullock within a week.”

“How did you know?” Taylor asked miserably.

Avery laughed. “Honey, it’s written all over your face. And as an old married woman, I demand to know all the details.” She patted the mattress. “Now spill.”

* * *

Christmas Eve arrived, along with Callum and Taylor’s parents and Jack, back from Montana bearing presents and a strained expression. His trip hadn’t gone all that well, as the manager for his corporate retreat business had been in an accident, leaving no one to run things at his Montana property. He was going to have to go back down there right after Christmas instead of taking the break he’d planned.

But nothing kept Jack down for long, and as they all gathered in Callum’s small house laughter rang out in the rooms.

“I wish we had room for everyone here,” Avery mourned.

“The bed and breakfast is lovely, don’t you worry,” Susan assured her. “And Harry and I have a surprise for you. We’re taking you all out for Christmas Eve dinner.”

A strange sort of uneasiness settled in Taylor’s stomach. Please let her say it was out of town and not at the diner...

Susan went on happily. “You two just got back from your honeymoon and you’re hosting us all tomorrow for Christmas. Tonight someone else is going to worry about the cooking. It’s all arranged. Martha Bullock is doing up a prime rib for us and then we’ll go to the Christmas Eve service.”

Oh, God. The Wagon Wheel? Really?

Taylor pasted a smile on her face. “Surely the diner closes early on Christmas Eve?”

Harry shrugged. “Mrs. Bullock said it would be no trouble, especially for just the six of us.”

Avery caught sight of Taylor’s face and jumped in. “What a lovely thought. But really, we can have something here. There’s no need...”

“Are you kidding?” Jack interrupted. “Prime rib? I’ve been living on sandwiches for a week. I’m so there.”

Avery looked over at Taylor. What could she say? Besides, there was no guarantee that Rhys would be there. It was Christmas Eve after all.

She gave a short nod. “Sounds good to me,” she answered, trying to inject some enthusiasm into her voice. This great Shepard family Christmas wasn’t going to be brought down by her bad mood.

During the afternoon everyone brought out their presents and put them under the tree, which was a major source of frustration to Nell, who got sick of the word
no
as she crawled through the living room and pulled herself up on the chair next to the decorated spruce. She went down for an afternoon nap and everyone relaxed with a fresh batch of one of Avery’s latest creations—eggnog cupcakes—and hot spiced cider. It was supposed to be perfect. Magical. And instead Taylor could only think about two things—the work waiting for her back in Vancouver, and how much she missed Rhys.

Jack pulled up a footstool and sat beside her, bringing his mug with him. “You’re awfully quiet today. What’s going on?”

She shrugged. “Too long away from the city, I guess.”

He nodded. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” Jack and Taylor were the most alike in her opinion. He tended to see the big picture in much the same way that she did. And they were the ones still single now, too.

“Are you happy, sis?”

The question surprised her. “What do you mean?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I recognize the look on your face.”

Oh, Lord. If he guessed about Rhys she was going to wish for the floor to open up and swallow her.

“I saw it when I first got here, when you were planning the wedding,” he continued. “How’s business?”

“Booming,” she replied.

“And how do you feel about that?”

She met his gaze. “What do you mean?”

Jack hesitated for a minute. “A few years ago, remember when the company expanded? New franchises opened up, and Shepard Sports launched south of the border. It was all very exciting, right?”

“Dad was ready to burst his buttons with pride.”

“I wasn’t. It was everything I’d worked for and yet...do you know what ended up making me happiest?”

Curious now, she leaned forward. “What?”

“The property I bought in Montana. The corporate retreat and team-building business. The sporting goods, well they’re like numbers on a page. Units in and out. Sure, we do some special work with schools and organizations and that sort of thing. But it’s just selling. The team building stuff, though, it’s about people. I like that. I like meeting different people and finding out more about them. I like seeing groups come in and leave with a totally different dynamic. They come in and push themselves in ways they don’t expect, which was the very best thing I liked about competing.”

“That’s really cool, Jack.”

“I know. And because of it, I can look at you and see that what you’re doing isn’t giving you that same buzz. Something’s missing.”

“I’ve been doing some thinking,” she admitted. “But you know what it’s like. The bigger you get the bigger the responsibility. You can’t just pull up and abandon what’s already there.”

Jack nodded. “There’s always a way. And anyway, you’ve got good people working for you. You’ve been gone quite a while and everything’s run in your absence, hasn’t it?”

It had. Sometimes a little too well. Even when trouble popped up, a quick email giving her assistant the green light to solve the problem was all it took.

“Just think about it,” Jack said. “Responsibility or not, there’s no sense doing something if you’re not happy at it.”

“Thanks,” she answered, taking a drink of cider. She was glad he hadn’t assumed her reticence was caused by a man. That would have been a whole other conversation. Then Avery called her to the kitchen to taste Susan’s recipe for cranberry sauce and the afternoon passed quickly.

They arrived en masse at the Wagon Wheel at six on the dot. A sign on the door stated that Christmas hours went to 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-fourth and closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Just as she thought, Martha had stayed open for their family and Taylor was a bit upset at her parents for requesting it. Martha had family of her own, probably had plans too.

Inside was toasty-warm and two tables were pushed together to make plenty of room for the six of them plus the high chair for Nell. Nell was dressed in soft red pants and a matching red velour top with tiny white snowflakes on it. After her nap she was energized, tapping a toy on the tray of the high chair and babbling at the blinking tree lights. Taylor was laughing at her antics when a movement in the kitchen caught her eye. It was Rhys, dressed in one of Martha’s aprons, taking the roast out of the oven to rest.

He was here. Her stomach tangled into knots and her mouth felt dry. They hadn’t seen each other or spoken since the morning they’d said goodbye. From the strained expression on his face, he wasn’t too happy about tonight, either. As if he could sense her staring, he looked up and met her eyes across the restaurant. She looked away quickly, turning to answer a question of her mother’s about the upcoming event her company was planning.

Martha brought them all glasses of iced water and placed a basket of hot rolls in the center of the table. That was followed by a fresh romaine salad with red onion, peppers and mandarins in a poppy seed dressing that was delicious. Rhys stayed in the kitchen, out of everyone’s way. The fact that he seemed to be avoiding her stretched her nerves taut, and by the time the main course was served she was a wreck.

Martha had outdone herself. Glazed carrots, green beans with bacon, creamy mashed potatoes and puffy Yorkshire pudding and gravy complemented the roast, followed by a cranberry bread pudding and custard sauce. By the time the plates were cleared away, Taylor was stuffed to the top. Her father checked his watch. “Seven-fifteen. We’d better get going,” he announced. “The church service starts in fifteen minutes.”

Everyone got up to leave, reaching for coats and purses and gloves. Everyone but Taylor. They really didn’t see, did they? She’d bet ten bucks that Martha and Rhys probably wanted to go to church, too. According to Callum, most of the community showed up at the local Christmas Eve services. And the Bullocks were going to be stuck here cleaning up the mess instead of enjoying their holiday.

“Taylor, aren’t you coming?”

“I’ll be along,” she said lightly. “You go on without me.”

Avery gave her a long look, then a secret thumbs-up. Taylor returned a small smile, but it was quickly gone once the Shepard crew hit the door.

She went back to the table and started clearing dessert plates and coffee cups.

Martha hustled out from the kitchen. “Oh, heavens, girl, don’t you worry about that! You head on to church with your family.”

“What about you? Aren’t you planning to go to church?”

Martha looked so dumbfounded that Taylor knew she had guessed right. “If I help it’ll get done faster and we can all make it.”

“Bless your heart.”

“Where’s Rhys?” Taylor looked over Martha’s shoulder into the kitchen.

“He just took a bag of trash to the Dumpster out back. I swear I don’t know what I’d do without that boy. He always says we’re in this together, but he’s got his own job.” She handed Taylor the bin of dirty dishes and briskly wiped off the tables. “It was more than enough that he invested in this place for me. He’s supposed to be a silent partner, but not Rhys. He thinks he needs to take care of me.”

Taylor nearly dropped the pan of dishes. Silent partner? But Rhys was so determined to stay away from owning a business. How many times had he gotten on her case about it? And this whole time he was part owner in the diner and just neglected to mention it?

For the briefest of moments, she was very, very angry at him. How dare he judge her? And maybe he hadn’t exactly lied, but he hadn’t been truthful, either.

She remembered pressing him for something he’d been going to say. Now she got the feeling he’d almost let his stake in the diner slip while they’d been talking, and caught himself just in time.

“Rhys is part owner of the diner?”

Martha looked confused. “He didn’t tell you? I mean, he doesn’t say much about it, but I thought the two of you...” Her cheeks flushed. “Oh. I’ve put my foot in it.”

Taylor shook her head. “Not at all. We’re not...”

But she didn’t know how to finish that sentence. They weren’t together but they weren’t
not
together, either.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Martha said quietly, putting her hand on Taylor’s arm. “You’ve been real good for him these last few weeks. And I think he’s been good for you, too. You smile more. Your cheeks have more color. If I’m wrong tell me to mind my own business.”

“You’re not exactly wrong.”

“He’s needed someone like you, Taylor. Not that he’s said a word to me about it.” Her lips twitched. “He’s not exactly the confiding type. Bit like his father that way.”

Taylor knew that Rhys probably wouldn’t like that comparison.

“My husband had his faults, but he always meant well. And he loved his family. I wish you were staying around longer, Taylor. You’re a good girl. Not afraid to work hard. And I can tell your family is important to you.”

She was perilously close to getting overemotional now. “Thanks, Martha. That means a lot to me. And Rhys is a good man. I know that. I’m sorry things can’t work out differently.”