A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas

Money would make for a decent shovel.

She cleared her throat. “I decided to move here, but I had kind of a series of less than fortunate happenings and I ran out of money before I could get a job. So, I didn’t have anywhere to stay.” She wouldn’t have jumped into the Gold Valley situation had she not lost the apartment she’d been in before in Portland. But the landlord had decided she wanted it for her adult son, and McKenna had been unceremoniously booted. Also, she hadn’t gotten her security deposit back. Which wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t like she had created a mildew stain in the bathroom. That was because the roof leaked.

“It was a desperate-times-desperate-measures kind of thing,” she said. “And... Thank you. For not calling the police. And for feeding me bacon. Which seems a little bit above and beyond, all things considered.”

“You don’t have a job yet?” Lindy asked.

“Not yet,” she said.

“What kind of jobs do you normally do?” Lindy asked.

“Aerospace engineering,” McKenna replied, taking another bite of crisp bacon. “But when I can’t find work in that field, waitressing is my fallback.”

“Sadly, we’re fresh out of aerospace engineering jobs,” Lindy said.

“Good,” McKenna said. “Because I was lying about that.”

“I had a feeling,” Lindy responded. “Not because I don’t think you could be an aerospace engineer, just because we’re nowhere near NASA.”

“I’ve done all kinds of things. I’ve been a waitress, hotel maid. You name the manual labor job that doesn’t require much lifting over fifty pounds and I’ve probably done it.”

“Basic cooking?” Lindy asked.

She shrugged. “Diner stuff.”

“Cleaning.”

“Like I said. Housekeeping.”

“I think we could find a job for you right here,” Lindy said.

McKenna frowned. “No offense. But... I’m a stranger who was caught sleeping illegally on your property. Why exactly would you want to give me a job?”

“Because sometimes life is hard and it isn’t fair,” Lindy said, her determined blue eyes meeting McKenna’s. “I’m well aware of that. And sometimes circumstances spin out of your control. It has nothing to do with whether or not you’re a good person. So, you tell me, McKenna. Are you going to steal from us?”

McKenna lifted a shoulder. “Probably not.”

“Probably not,” Wyatt repeated.

“I don’t know. Am I gravely injured? Did a family member of mine come down with a terrible illness and the only way I can get back to them is to steal money from you?” It was moot. She didn’t have any family that knew her. Or that she knew. Just family she was looking for.

“I appreciate the honesty,” Lindy said dryly. “But barring extraordinary circumstances, are you going to steal from me?”

McKenna shook her head. She was a lot of things, and definitely a little bit opportunistic. But she wasn’t an out-and-out thief. “No.”

“Well, then, I don’t see why we can’t give you a job. We can always fire you if you’re terrible at it.” She looked over at her husband when she said that part.

“Fine with me,” Wyatt said. “We were going to have to hire someone else, anyway.”

She blinked. “I...”

“We also have a place for you to stay. One that isn’t that horrible cabin in the middle of the woods that doesn’t have anything but spiderwebs in it for warmth.”

“Oh... You can’t do that.”

“Sure we can,” Lindy said. “We have a bunch of extra room.”

Throughout the entire exchange, her man stood there mute. A solid, silent presence that fairly radiated with disapproval.

“It’s fine with me,” Wyatt said. “But I don’t have time to train anyone right now.”

He shot a meaningful look over at her man. The look that he got back was not friendly at all.

“I’m going to go get dressed,” Wyatt said.

Lindy pushed up from her seat. “Ditto. Enjoy your breakfast.”

The two of them left the room, and they left her standing there with... With him. And he did not look happy.

“I guess I work here now,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I guess so.”

“Sorry,” she responded.

He shrugged. “Nothing to be sorry about.”

“You don’t look happy.”

The corner of his mouth lifted upward. “I never look happy.”

“Oh. Well. That’s good to know.”

And then he stuck out his hand, his dark, serious eyes meeting hers. “I’m Grant Dodge. And I guess I’m your new boss.”

CHAPTER TWO (#u22deb780-f134-5093-9308-9c6dc72d2054)

GRANT FELT LIKE the biggest asshole curmudgeon on the planet. Not that that was a new feeling for him necessarily. But he resented the fact that he had to show this girl around the ranch, and he shouldn’t. Really, he should be proud of the fact that Wyatt and Lindy were using what they had to give her a shot at digging out of the bad pit she seemed to find herself in.

But Grant didn’t have a hell of a lot of altruism left inside of him.

If they had done it without putting her in his jurisdiction, he might have been able to muster a little bit up. As it was, not so much.

“Come on, McKenna Tate,” he said, turning and walking out of the dining area, trusting that she was going to follow him. The sound of her footsteps behind him indicated that she had.

“Where are we going?”

“I expect that you’re going to want to get a look around the place. And that you’d probably like to see where you’re going to be sleeping.”