“I bet I know what favor he wants. He wants us to talk our wives into putting in a good word for him with Savannah?” When Raff sent him a surprised look, he laughed. “Don’t try to act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I knew some hanky-panky was going on as soon as I walked in the door of your cabin. Both you and Savannah looked like kids caught with your hands in the cookie jar.”

  “Raff and Savannah?” Cole lifted his eyebrows at Raff. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “Probably,” Raff said dryly as he sat down on a barstool next to Dirk. “But there’s nothing going on between me and Savannah.”

  “That’s what I tried to tell him,” Dirk said. “Savannah doesn’t go for small town cowboys. From what I can tell, she likes big city men with money and power.”

  Raff should be glad he wasn’t Savannah’s type. And yet, he couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed. “And look at how well that worked out last time. Miles sounded like a real catch.”

  “Carly can’t stand the man,” Zane said. “She wanted to seriously hurt him after he dumped Savannah.” He paused. “Maybe you shouldn’t set your sights on Savannah. Carly will rip your heart out if you hurt her friend.”

  “I’m not getting involved with Savannah,” Raff said a little too loudly. He took a deep calming breath and lowered his voice. “I only gave her a place to stay while you guys were out of town.”

  “Then what favor do you want?” Cole asked.

  “I was hoping you’d help out an abused kid.”

  Without another word, Cole and Zane placed their pool cues in the rack on the wall and joined him and Dirk at the table. Once they were seated, Raff told them the story of Luke, starting from the barn and ending with Granny Bon’s proposal.

  “I think filing with a judge for emancipation is a bad idea,” Zane said. “I can’t see a sixteen-year-old kid being ready to live by himself.”

  “I was fifteen,” Dirk said, “when I went to live with my father. And that was pretty much living by myself. I worked, paid bills, cooked, and cleaned the apartments we lived in. It was tough, but it has to be better than living with an abusive parent.”

  “What about a foster home,” Cole said. “Couldn’t Granny Bon make sure he got with some good people?”

  Raff had thought the same thing. Unfortunately, he didn’t know the system as well as Granny Bon. “She said the foster system is overwhelmed right now. There are a lot of children they need to find homes for. With Luke being so much older, he’ll be the last one to get placed. And chances are, they won’t get him in a home for months.” He paused. “That’s if Luke is willing to turn his stepdad in for abuse. Which I don’t think he will. Especially if he thinks it’s going to put him in foster care. And I can’t blame the kid. I’d rather deal with the known than the unknown.”

  His three cousins nodded before Dirk spoke. “Then I guess emancipation is the only way to keep him safe. He can live with me and Gracie.”

  Cole shook his head. “No. You and my sister just got married. You need time alone. Besides, your house doesn’t even have any furniture in it. He can live at the Arrington Ranch with me and Emery.”

  Zane spoke up. “I thought Emery’s family was coming for the holidays. That’s why you couldn’t have Savannah stay with you. He can stay at the Earhart Ranch. My folks and Carly’s are coming in this week, but I’m sure we can squeeze in one more.” He shook his head. “Damn, I forgot that Becky and Mason are staying with us too. A water pipe in their house burst during the ice storm. But no worries, we can have Luke sleep in the bunkhouse.”

  Raff was grateful and proud that his cousins were so willing to help. But for some reason, he didn’t like the thought of Luke sleeping in the big bunkhouse all alone. Before he could put much thought in it, he spoke.

  “He can stay with me at the cabin through the holidays.”

  “You’re staying here for Christmas?” Cole asked. “I thought you were headed out soon.”

  “I changed my mind.” When Zane exchanged looks with Cole, Raff got a little annoyed. “What? Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No,” Zane said. “No problem. It’s just that this will be the first Christmas you’ve spent in Bliss since . . .”

  He left the sentence hanging, but the three cousins knew what word should be there. The only one who didn’t know was Dirk. He hadn’t been living in Bliss at the time of the fire. He hadn’t seen the flames shooting into the sky that fateful Christmas Eve. He hadn’t heard the sirens. He hadn’t seen the total destruction. He hadn’t witnessed Raff being handcuffed and carted off to jail.

  Raff pushed down the emotions that always swelled whenever he allowed his mind to drift to the fire and got back to the subject at hand. “I’ll only be here until New Year’s. After that, I think Luke should stay with Zane and Carly. They don’t have to worry about new babies, and I was hoping Carly could give him a job at the diner.” He looked at Zane. “But I have to warn you that Luke is a sullen teenager with an attitude.”

  Zane grinned. “If I remember correctly, you were a sullen teenager with an attitude and we got along just fine. We’ll work it out. We always do.” He pulled a gold chain out of the collar of his shirt and held up the Native American arrowhead. An arrowhead similar to the one on Cole’s keychain, the one attached to the braided band around Dirk’s cowboy hat, and the one lashed with leather to Raff’s wrist.

  He, Zane, and Cole had found the arrowheads as kids and made them part of a secret pact to never become like their fathers. Their fathers had let a disagreement split up the Arrington Ranch and the family. Their sons made a vow not to make the same mistake. Dirk was now part of their family, and they had presented him with his own arrowhead on his wedding day. He took his hat and held it up. Cole held up his keychain. And Raff held up his fist.

  “Arringtons . . . straight and true.”

  “Straight and true,” his cousins echoed.

  Normally, Raff would’ve stayed and played a few games of pool. But now that he had his family’s support, he couldn’t wait to talk with Luke and see what the kid thought of their plan. Since the jail was only a couple blocks from the Watering Hole, he walked. He was almost there when Ms. Marble called his name.

  He turned to find her hustling across the street in her big down coat and bonnet. This one was decorated with a red ribbon and a cluster of holly berries that jiggled as she walked. Why the older woman was out after dark, he didn’t know. But since she was coming from the direction of the diner, he figured it had to do with dropping off her baked goods for the following morning. Her tote bag was slung over her shoulder, and as soon as she stepped up on the curb, she opened it and pulled out a plastic-wrapped plate.

  She held out the plate. “When I saw your truck parked at the Watering Hole, I thought I’d bring you a thank you for a job well done. I went by the church earlier today and saw the stables.”

  He took the plate and sniffed the plastic. “Cinnamon-swirl muffins?”

  “Of course.”

  He smiled. “Thank you. But I still have a little sanding to do and the star to attach before the nativity is finished.”

  “I’m sure it will be perfect.” She paused. “Waylon told me that you had a little help building the stables.” The way she said it made Raff wonder if that’s all Waylon had told her. She quickly confirmed his suspicions. “What a shame that a young man would feel like he had no choice but to run away. There has to be something we can do for that boy. And we certainly can’t leave him in jail during the holidays.”

  “If all goes to plan, he won’t be in jail. He’ll be staying with me at the cabin.”

  A bright smile lit her wrinkled face, and she patted his arm. “You don’t know how happy that makes me. You needed a reason to forget the past and stay where you belong.”

  He held up a hand. “Now don’t be getting any ideas. I’m only staying through New Year’s. After that, Luke will live with Zane and Carly, where he’ll be much better off.”

  Her steely blue eyes narrowed on him. “And why would your cousins be better mentors for that young man than you are?”

  “I think you know the answer to that. I’m not exactly what you would call a good role model. I’ve always had a rebellious streak.”

  “Because you didn’t fall into the townsfolk’s crazy notions of how an Arrington should act? Some people might call that rebellion. I call that individuality. You chose to go your own way. Make your own choices.” She paused. “And your own mistakes. While it’s taken your cousins years to figure out how to separate themselves from the Arrington name and become their own men and women, you were always your own man. That takes strength and honesty. Two admirable qualities that every young man needs. So no, I don’t think Luke would be better off with your cousins. I think he would better off with you.”

  She pointed a finger at him. “And in return, I think he would help you to realize that going your own way is fine . . . until it’s time to come home. And this is your home, Raff Arrington.”

  “It’s not my home. It’s my parents’ home. They are the ones who belong in Bliss.” He didn’t add that they would still be there if not for him. But for some reason, maybe because she had always been intuitive, Ms. Marble heard the words without him saying them.

  “Maybe what happened on Christmas Eve was meant to be? Every time I talk with your mother, she seems happier than she’s ever been. And so does your father. They needed to leave Bliss. There were too many sad memories here to deal with.”

  He knew Ms. Marble knew about his mother’s miscarriages. She was the one person in town who everyone confided in. But like most people, she thought the only ones affected by those loses were his parents. She didn’t realize that he’d been affected too. He’d had to watch the two people he loved most in the world suffer. She was right: There were too many sad memories here in Bliss. And that’s why he couldn’t live there. But his parents could. And he intended to make sure they did.

  He tipped his cowboy hat. “Thank you for the muffins, Ms. Marble.”

  “There was no china. No finger sandwiches. And the teapot had a large crack that ran along the spout. But the tea party Melanie had been invited to by the wives of Tender Heart was the best party she’d ever been to. Probably because soon after she told the mail-order brides about her situation, the tea became more of a strategy meeting on how to catch a gunslinger.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Savannah was in heaven. She was getting to do what she loved most—decorate—in a place that had filled her dreams since she had started reading the Tender Heart series as a young girl. The little white chapel in the books symbolized happily-ever-afters to Savannah. And the fact that it had actually existed and been the wedding site for eleven real-life mail-order brides made it all the more special.

  Gus Arrington had built the white clapboard church in the late 1800s. And Savannah believed that the vows those mail-order brides and cowboys exchanged still hung in the air around the church like a magical love spell. Whoever made a wish for love at the chapel would receive it.

  Savannah had made a wish the very first time she came to the chapel. It was just another reason that she believed that she would eventually find the man of her dreams. But for now, she wasn’t worried about men. She just wanted to enjoy decorating the chapel with her friends for her favorite holiday.

  Becky and Carly were hanging swags of evergreen branches over one of the stained-glass windows. Gracie and Emery were stringing lights on the Christmas tree in the corner.

  “That brings the total number of chapters found to eleven,” Emery said as she handed Gracie the string of lights to wrap around the other side of the tree. Savannah had given Emery the chapters she’d found in Raff’s barn, and Emery had verified that they were indeed written by Lucy. So the decorating party was also a celebration. They were that much closer to finding the entire book.

  “Twelve with the one that Luke stole.” Savannah turned a potted poinsettia she was decorating the altar with to the fuller side, then stepped back to make sure she was satisfied with the arrangement. “But I can’t really blame him for taking it. He was the one who found it first.”

  Carly finished hanging the evergreen garland and climbed down from the ladder. “I can’t believe five chapters were in Raff’s barn and he didn’t even know they were there.”

  “He could’ve known they were there and just not cared.” Becky picked up a box of red ornaments and started hanging them on the tree. Although she didn’t seem to have a clue on placement. She was clustering the balls way too close together, which would put the entire tree off balance. “The men in our family have never cared anything about the Tender Heart series,” she continued. “They think we’re foolish to even waste our time looking for the book. But, of course, they aren’t stupid when they look for Indian arrowheads.”

  “I know what you mean.” Gracie finished hooking the lights on the bottom boughs of the tree. “Dirk thinks that silly arrowhead my cousins gave him is the best thing ever. He only rolls his eyes when I talk about the final Tender Heart book.”

  “Which is why Carly and I haven’t told Zane and Cole about the other chapters we’ve found.” Emery moved over to the table Carly had set up with snackies and picked up a carrot and dipped it in ranch dressing. “I can’t wait to see their faces when we find the final chapters and present them with the entire book. Where exactly in the barn did you find them, Savannah?”

  “In that pile of furniture Raff has collected.” Savannah moved over to the tree and, as inconspicuously as possible, started rearranging Becky’s balls. “It was just like an Easter egg hunt. One envelope was taped behind the headboard of an antique bed. Another under the seat of a needlepoint rocking chair. Another in an adorable dollhouse. And the last in a cradle. I’m assuming all the furniture once belonged to Lucy.”

  “But I thought the chapters were only hidden in places that had to do with Lucy’s writing and the Tender Heart stories,” Becky said.

  “A writer’s work is the culmination of all their life experiences.” Emery munched on a ham and Swiss cheese wrap. She had gotten over her morning sickness and was back to eating. “Technically, Lucy’s entire life has something to do with Tender Heart. Do you remember anyone in the family mentioning the items?”

  Instead of answering, Becky stared at Savannah with her deep blue Arrington eyes. “Hey, are you touching my balls?”

  Savannah didn’t know Zane’s sister as well as she knew the other women and was still a little scared of her tough cowgirl persona. “Umm . . . I was just doing a little rearranging to balance the tree.”

  Becky laughed and punched her playfully in the arm. It hurt. “Just kidding you, Red. You can touch my balls all you want. I hate to decorate as much as I hate to cook. Poor Mason got the boobie prize of wives when he married me.”

  “He did not.” Carly joined the women at the tree. “You might not like to cook or keep house, but you know how to run a ranch. While Mason has been setting up his law practice in Bliss, you’ve single-handedly started your own cattle business.”

  Becky shrugged. “It’s not that big a deal.”

  “Yes, it is,” Gracie said. “The entire family is proud of you.” She gave her a big hug before she answered Emery’s question. “I remember the dollhouse. I saw it in a picture of Lucy as a little girl. When I asked my stepfather if it was still around, he said that all of Lucy’s childhood things had been sold or given away long before anyone knew how famous she would be.”

  Savannah was confused. “But how did they end up in Raff’s barn? I thought he’d just inherited them.”

  “He must’ve discovered them while he was junk hunting. Anything of Lucy’s that his family inherited was destroyed in the fire.” Becky moved over to the food table and picked up a chocolate peppermint brownie. Savannah had already had two so she tried to ignore the ooey-gooey bite Becky took. “I don’t know how he would’ve ended up with Lucy’s things. But I’m with Gracie, I remember the dollhouse from pictures.”

  Savannah should’ve taken the opportunity to ask how Gracie and Becky felt about her buying the dollhouse and the other pieces of furniture for Mrs. Carlisle. But right now, she wanted to hear more about the fire. She’d tried to talk to Raff about it on the drive back to the ranch after Mr. Sims’s accusation, but he’d turned up the Christmas music and pretended not to hear her. Obviously, it was a tender subject.

  “How did the fire start?” she asked.

  Gracie and Becky exchanged looks as if they were hesitant to discuss the fire at all. Which made Savannah even more intrigued. Carly and Emery looked as interested as she was. They moved closer, their eyes intent as Becky spoke.

  “It happened two years ago Christmas Eve. Raff was visiting his parents for the holidays. After college, he bought a Harley and started traveling around the country. He was a bartender in Austin for a while. Worked on an oil rig in the Gulf. Spent some time in New Orleans working on a shrimping boat. He had almost as many jobs as Dirk.”

  The bad boy biker went with the first impression Savannah had of Raff. But it didn’t go with the man she’d come to know in the last few days. Raff wasn’t a bad boy. In fact, for all his tattoos and gruff talk, he was a bigger pussycat than Miss Pitty. He was gracious enough to offer Savannah a place to stay, made her breakfast, and allowed her cat to sleep on his pillow. He was chivalrous enough to open her doors, loan her his coat, and give up his bed. And he was kind enough to build the stables for the Christmas pageant and worry about a runaway. He might not be the type of guy she wanted to date, but he was a nice guy.

  “It was an accident,” Gracie said. “Raff started a fire in the fireplace after my aunt and uncle went to bed. I guess an ember flew out and caught the Christmas tree on fire.”

  Savannah’s eyes widened. What a horrible accident. Poor Raff.

 

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