Christmastime Cowboy

And that was the bitterest pill to swallow.

That the one time she’d decided to believe in herself, to trust her gut, her gut had been nothing more than a fluttery case of hormonal butterflies.

“This is amazing,” Lindy said, walking slowly across the wooded floor, her high heels clicking on the surface.

Sabrina pressed her fingertips against the door, right where Liam had put his hand earlier. She pulled it back.

“It is,” she said, stepping inside after her sister-in-law.

They had brought along the other tasting room employee, Olivia Logan, who was a funny little woman even though Sabrina quite liked her. She was a prim creature, with a lot of very lofty ideas about right and wrong, and sometimes got a little too judgmental for her own good, but she’d become a good friend to Sabrina over the years.

“This will be too far for me to drive every day,” Olivia commented, sniffing.

“It’s fine,” Lindy said. “Nobody will expect you to come down here. You’re welcome to continue working up at the winery. But, just in case, I did want you to come down and see it. Because I want everyone to feel like they have input.”

Lindy almost overinvolved the winery staff in her decision-making, in Sabrina’s opinion. Though she knew the whole “we are all in this together” thing was kind of part and parcel with her gaining control over the winery.

Damien had been much more about it being a Leighton family business. And only Leightons got a say in what happened. Her family was all about their standing in the community, all about their money.

Perhaps that was one reason she was sympathetic toward Olivia, even when she was a little bit difficult.

Olivia Logan was a member of the founding family of the county. The Logan family had been here since the 1800s, the first to settle both Gold Valley and Copper Ridge. They had come from Independence, Missouri on the Oregon Trail. And Olivia still carried their name.

Sabrina didn’t have a famous name, but she knew how family pride, a lot of interest and concern with family reputation and standing could shape you.

And what happened when you demolished said reputation.

Of course, Damien hadn’t exactly helped the reputation. But she’d always had the feeling their dad didn’t expect as much from Damien as he had from her once upon a time. As if he was given a pass because he was never supposed to do well. Sabrina knew her dad felt like the fact that Lindy had ended up with the winery was ample evidence that their son had made a mistake marrying outside of his class. That she had somehow taken advantage of him.

Sabrina just hadn’t been able to understand their take on it. Not in the least. Not when Damien was the one who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.

Knowing what she did about her parents’ marriage made it all the more confusing in some ways, though not in others. Because what her dad believed in above all else was doing the right thing to avoid making waves. And that was where Lindy had sinned.

She had made a tsunami when she’d discovered her husband’s affair. And after the ground had dried from the storm, she’d left it scorched in her wake. She hadn’t just gotten mad, she’d gotten it all.

That unchecked emotion was what Sabrina imagined really irked her dad.

Sabrina hadn’t been able to imagine a scenario where she cut off a relationship with Lindy to preserve the fractured one she had with her mom and dad. So the choice—and she’d had to make a choice—had been pretty clear. What had surprised her was that Bea had ultimately sided with Lindy. It was possible that Bea’s attachment to Dane had played a role in all of it, but she doubted that her parents paid close enough attention to understand that.

“That’s nice,” Olivia said. “I mean it. It’s nice to feel part of something.”

Sabrina often wondered if Olivia didn’t feel much a part of her life in Gold Valley. Even though she had a boyfriend that she loved, she always seemed somewhat lonely. Distant. She was a funny, repressed little bird.

“I think that we can make this something,” Lindy said, turning a circle in the large, vacant room and holding her hands out. “It’s like girl power.”

“No one has said girl power since 1996,” Sabrina said, but she couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m saying it,” Lindy said, slapping her hands down at her sides. “Because I feel it. Because I’m optimistic.”

It was nice to see Lindy smile like that. Nice to see her excited. Nice to not see her heartbroken by Sabrina’s douchebag brother.

“I’m glad,” Sabrina said.

“I notice you didn’t say you’re optimistic too,” Lindy said.

“It’s not my job to be optimistic, Lindy,” Sabrina said. “It’s my job to make it happen. You don’t want optimism from me anyway. You want realism. Active realism.”

“Okay, my little active realist.” Lindy reached out and patted her shoulder. “Can you get everything accomplished in time for us to take advantage of the holidays?”

“I think we can,” Sabrina responded. “I think we can and we will. Because I’m determined.”

And because it regrettably seemed like Liam Donnelly knew what he was doing. Though, Sabrina supposed that since she did have to have her wagon hitched to him, it was best that he be a competent wagon partner. Because if she had to work with him and he sucked, it would be untenable.

Realizing he had grown into an adult man who was responsible, smart and resourceful was goading in other ways.

She was going to focus on the business aspect though. And from a business standpoint, Liam was exactly who she should want to work with. And really, what better way to strike back at Liam? To show him how competent and amazing she was.

She had just thought earlier that she and Lindy had different goals. That Lindy wanted to do this to stick it to Damien, and that Sabrina just wanted it done to get away from Liam.

But they were more similar than she had initially imagined.

Why not use this as an opportunity to show him that she was a kick-ass woman and not a girl he could just walk away from while she wept on the floor of the cabin he’d been staying in on the winery property.

“We can even get a Christmas tree. Christmas lights. It will be festive. The most festive grand opening Copper Ridge has ever seen!” Lindy said.

“Wait,” Olivia said, looking suddenly envious. “I kind of want to work here if there’s going to be a Christmas tree.”

“I’m sure we can schedule you for a shift. I bet Bennett won’t mind coming down to pick you up and see the new location.”

Olivia smiled. “You’re right about that. And I’m thinking he might even propose before Christmas. So that means he could do it here. It would be so picturesque. The photo you would, of course, take of the moment would be so perfect.”

Sabrina exchanged a glance with Lindy, and in that wordless exchange, Sabrina could tell that her sister-in-law thought much the same thing about Olivia’s boyfriend. That the proposal was likely not as forthcoming as the other woman hoped.

Still, neither of them said anything.

Lindy walked across the space, rubbing her hands together. “This is what I’ve always dreamed of doing. And Damien wouldn’t consider it. Not at all. He wouldn’t entertain any of my ideas.” She shot Sabrina a glance. “I’m sorry. I know he’s your brother.”

“Yeah, he’s my brother. But you know that I’m mad at him for what he did. You know that I don’t support him. I love him, I always will. But I can’t be comfortable around him and that woman. Whatever her name is.” Sabrina knew Brandy’s name. But she didn’t like to acknowledge it. Especially not in front of Lindy.

She could tell Lindy appreciated that. Even if she knew it was a put-on.

“Thank you. But you know it’s not like you have to choose between the two of us. I’m actually just happy that you still want to be in my life at all.”

“Family is about more than blood,” Sabrina said.

It was a difficult thing for families like hers, families like Olivia Logan’s, to acknowledge anything other than blood. But everything she’d been through in the last thirteen years had taught her that blood really wasn’t the be-all and end-all. It wasn’t even half of it.

“You know,” Olivia said, her expression turning mischievous—a side of her Sabrina thought she didn’t express enough. “Instead of putting up the first dollar we earn here at the tasting room, we could always put up a picture of your divorce papers. Since the loss of Damien is what made this possible in the end.”