Harlequin Heartwarming December 2020 Box Set Read online

  “Then you could continue in the rodeo, even if your horse can’t,” she said.

  “It’s complicated.” He turned toward her. Distress tightened across his jaw. “Rain Dancer has been with me since I started competing. We never missed a rodeo together. Not one.”

  She nodded, although she didn’t quite understand his connection to his horse. She understood connections to people. Her sister Amanda would recognize and value Zach’s relationship with Rain Dancer. All Georgie really understood was that everything seemed complicated.

  And the only way to handle complications was to deal with them head-on. Formulate an approach and dismantle the obstacle piece by piece.

  “Are we fessing up, then?” Zach asked.

  “We just misled my grandmother and my sisters, then accepted Dorothy’s hospitality.” Georgie tossed the pillow against the headboard. “We have to play this out.”

  Zach stilled and eyed her.

  “No one knows you’re a rodeo star except me.” Georgie turned over possible strategies and outcomes in her mind. “It could work. I just need you to be less cowboy.”

  “Less cowboy,” he repeated.

  “You know. Leave your hat off.” She glanced at his feet. “Do you have any other shoes besides boots?”

  He shook his head.

  “We’ll figure something out.” She recited one of her pages from Colin’s spreadsheet. “I need to know your favorite food. Favorite color. Important things about you.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  “Yes. It is.” Georgie reached for her laptop bag. She had copies of Colin’s material for the London Project on her computer.

  “If I told you my favorite food was deep-dish pizza, does it make you like me more?” He interrupted her search for her paperwork.

  Georgie glanced at him.

  He continued, “Or what if I claimed forty-clove garlic chicken and pasta was my favorite dish ever?”

  “That makes me like your breath less.” She unzipped her laptop bag.

  “Fair enough.” He smiled and relaxed against the window frame. “But those details don’t really matter.”

  “If you’re allergic to peanuts or shellfish or milk products, those details matter very much.” She pulled out her laptop and power cord.

  “No allergies, food or otherwise.” He tipped his head toward her. “What about you?”

  “No allergies either.”

  “Look, I think too many specifics give us too many chances to slip up and get things completely wrong.” He sat on the bed, blocking her access to the electrical outlet. “Then our pretend relationship will be blown for sure.”

  Her fingers curled around her laptop. She had a strategy already outlined on her computer. “What do you propose we do?”

  “Make things up as we go.” He stretched out until his back rested against the headboard and stacked his hands behind his head. “It’s all fake anyway. The particulars don’t have to be real either.”

  “But it’s the details that ensure the ruse will be believable.” She’d spent her life immersed in details. The small things mattered.

  “We don’t have a month to prepare like you and Colin,” he said. “We can have a signal.”

  “A signal like touching our noses.” Her voice and tone were drier than desert dust.

  “Not that obvious. When we get asked a personal question about our relationship and I don’t know what to say, I’ll say, Georgie tells this story better than me. And then you tell whatever story you want.”

  “What about when we aren’t together?” She was doubtful his scheme would work.

  “We make it up.” He lifted his hand and added a warning to his words. “But keep it succinct and short.”

  “Sixty seconds short,” she said.

  “Exactly.” He sat up and leaned toward her. “So, to be clear. It’s an introduction and good word to your cousin from you in exchange for London backing from me.”

  “That’s our deal.” She patted the mattress. “But nothing in our arrangement includes sharing this bed.”

  “We’ll trade off,” he said. “Tonight, you sleep here. Tomorrow night it’s mine. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

  He looked more than fine stretched out on the bed. Hardly worn down at all.

  “It’s only fair,” he said. “You never really gave me a chance to agree to this ruse. You sort of owe me.”

  He was right. She’d been the one to continue the lie, even after they’d decided to come clean. She’d been as surprised as he must have been. Truly, she’d been desperate, and her mouth determined to continue the hoax. “Fine. We trade off nights in the bed.”

  He grinned. “Your sisters are calling you.”

  “I need to go.” She searched his face. “We’re really doing this?”

  “Appears so.”

  “They’re going to ask me questions about you,” she said. “Like, what do you do?”

  “I’m good with my hands,” he said.

  Not the answer she’d been looking for. “I’ll come up with something. Are you going to be okay?”

  He took off his hat and set it on the nightstand. “I’m going to try out the bed. See how it works. I could use a nap.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “We never discussed napping terms.”

  “I think naps are optional.” He tugged off his boots and grinned at her.

  “Optional,” she repeated.

  “You can join me if you want, but you have to stay on your side of the bed.” He fluffed a pillow. “Your sisters are calling you again. Do you want me to tell them we’re busy discussing napping conditions?”

  Georgie spun around and hurried out of the bedroom. Zach’s deep chuckle trailed after her.

  Join me. Georgie stumbled and sprinted down the stairs.

  Her sisters and Dorothy had gathered in the enclosed sunroom. Late-afternoon light streamed in the oversized windows, the better to highlight Georgie’s deception.

  “Good. You’re here.” Lily held a deep red gown. “Put this on.”

  Dorothy pulled a pincushion from a vintage sewing basket. “There’s a powder room down the hall, toward our bedroom.”

  Georgie padded across the hardwood floors in her fleece socks and clutched the top of the strapless floor-length gown to her chest.

  It didn’t take very long for her to wiggle into the dress, which Fee zipped closed. “It’s not fair. The dress fits you perfectly.”

  Georgie stepped onto the small riser in the sunroom and tugged at the material dragging behind her. “It does not.”

  “That’s nothing but extra yardage.” Fee adjusted the drop shoulder on Georgie’s arm. “The dress fits where it counts.”

  “It certainly does. You’re making my job easier.” Dorothy stood back and eyed Georgie. “You look lovely, dear.”

  Georgie smoothed her hands down her stomach. The gown was cut to accentuate a woman’s figure without displaying too much. Still, Georgie felt exposed in the fitted gown. Her shoulders were bare. There were no pockets to bury her hands in. And the bold, deep crimson color demanded notice. Promised she would be hard to miss, like the scheme she’d orchestrated.

  “Okay, don’t be mad.” Lily clapped her hands together.

  Alarm clapped around Georgie.

  Fee picked up a shoebox and took off the lid to display the contents. “We picked out shoes, too.”

  Faux fur trim covered the tops of the gray ankle-high boots. The heeled ankle-high boots. “We know you like flats.”

  Because she could walk in flats. Because she wouldn’t wobble or trip or face-plant in flats. Because outrunning bad decisions was easier in flats.

  “But these are adorable.” Fee picked up the matching gray faux fur wrap. “And we coordinated the colors.”

  “At l
east put them on,” Lily urged. “You can wear them around the house this week and practice.”

  While she practiced reciting all the things she made up about her relationship with Zach. Georgie took the boots from her sister and slipped them on.

  Fee and Lily sighed at the same time.

  “They do look rather fetching. I admit I was worried about the fur.” Dorothy knelt in front of Georgie and tugged the gown around Georgie’s feet. “But it all comes together rather well, doesn’t it?”

  “Now we have nothing to do but talk about Zach.” Fee quickly chose a seat and folded her hands in her lap.

  Georgie swayed on the wedge heels and locked her knees. “I want to hear about Conner and Simon.”

  Lily swept up the pile of faux fur wraps and made a place for herself on the sofa. “We’ve told you all about the men in our lives on our phone calls.”

  But Georgie had been avoiding everything related to Falcon Creek, including her sisters. She’d buried herself in her lab, finalizing the last of her research paper to submit for possible publication in a well-respected medical journal. And had been more concerned about coaching Colin on how to be a flawless partner in her ruse than really listening to her sisters.

  Guilt splashed through Georgie. How she’d often heard the refrain family first from her dad.

  Rudy Harrison had always put his wife and daughters first. He wasn’t the girls’ biological father, as they’d believed all their lives. Yet Rudy was and would always be Georgie’s dad. As for her family, she had the next ten days to put her sisters first.

  “It’s all we seem to talk about it, isn’t it?” Fee grinned. “We should find a new topic, I suppose.”

  “Talking about the people who mean the most to you isn’t a conversation that ever goes stale.” Dorothy stuck several pins in the hem of Georgie’s dress.

  “There.” Georgie motioned to Dorothy and tried not to wobble like the pincushion on her grandmother’s wrist. “You’ve been given permission to keep on talking about Conner and Simon.”

  “But it’s your turn. You have the floor and our undivided attention.” Lily sorted the silver faux fur wraps on the sofa. “Tell us all about Zach.”

  She had a cowboy who’d agreed to be her pretend date. A cowboy she’d met on an airplane. If he’d only remained a superficial charmer, she could’ve dismissed him. But pain and angst shadowed him, and Georgie wanted to know all about him, too. That was only her inquisitive nature stepping forward. “He’s really tall.”

  “We saw that for ourselves.” Fee stretched out as if to get even more ready for a long tale.

  “I don’t know what to say.” Finally, the first truth she’d spilled. Still, she flinched, fought to keep her shoulders from sagging forward.

  “Start at the beginning,” Lily said. “How you met. Where your first date was. Your second date.”

  There hadn’t been any dates. Not a first or a last. She scrambled to recall the details of her most recent date. Nothing came to mind. How long had it been since she’d gone on a date? Her sisters accused her of losing herself inside her research lab. That wasn’t true. Couldn’t be true. Uncertainty arced through her guilt.

  “What does he do for a living? Have you met his family?” Fee joined in. “Why have you never mentioned him to us?”

  She hadn’t known Zach had existed until today. Her shoulders drooped. Deception weighed more than the weight of the world. “I told you I was bringing someone to the wedding.”

  Fee glowered at her. “You know what I mean.”

  “He’s a good guy. He likes horses, plaid and peppermint brownie ice cream cake.” And that was all she really knew. Except he concealed his pain beneath his charm. Had secrets—the kind she sensed hurt—and his claim that he liked being alone sounded more like a shield than the truth. If she probed into his past and the painful parts, she’d move their relationship into something more than fake. Fake was all it could ever be.

  “We know he’s a good guy or you wouldn’t have brought him home to meet us,” Fee countered.

  “You definitely wouldn’t have included him in our Christmas,” Lily added. “This is our special time to spend together as a family.”

  That weight of deception rolled against her, the force rocking Georgie in her heels and shoving her off-kilter. She’d brought Zach home to further her own cause, not for him to become part of the family. What had she done?

  “Almost finished.” Dorothy reached up, set her hand on Georgie’s waist and helped steady her. The older woman’s perceptive gaze lifted to Georgie. “Once you put your other clothes and boots back on, you’ll find your balance again.”

  If only that was true. Not only did she not have the right clothes for the week, they were lost in Central America. She didn’t have the right plus-one either. He’d never made the connecting flight. She didn’t even have the right words. Georgie pressed her heels into the platform, willed herself to stand tall and accept the weight of her deception. Silently, she urged Dorothy to hurry before she buckled.

  Finally, Dorothy rose and smiled. “Fiona, help your sister out of the dress and be careful of all the pins. I’ll meet you in my room. The sewing machine is in the alcove and I could use an extra set of hands.”

  Georgie did another quick change and headed for the sunroom. Her feet were back inside her suede booties. Her fleece leggings were back on, too. And she’d put on the new sweater she’d purchased earlier at the store. Any minute now, she’d surely start feeling like herself. She stepped through the archway and Lily stood up from the sofa.

  “You know what’s weird? I could have sworn that you told me the name of your plus-one was Colin…not Zach. Is something going on?”

  “You misheard.” Georgie cringed and tugged on the high collar of her new sweater. It hadn’t been so tight or so scratchy in the dressing room at the store.

  “I hate to say it, sis, but Zach is no more a research doctor than I am.”

  Georgie lifted her chin. “Mom always told us we could be anything we wanted. Cowboys can be doctors, too.”

  “I know that.” Exasperation saturated Lily’s words. “Is that what you’re telling me? Zach is your colleague?”

  Georgie spread her arms wide, as if the more space she occupied, the more credible she’d sound. “I’m telling you Zach is my boyfriend.”

  Lily tilted her head to the side. Her gaze searched Georgie’s face as if scanning for proof of Georgie’s deceit.

  Georgie held her ground. Refused to wince at the sunlight reflecting off the windows. Her heart raced. She had to convince Lily. Otherwise her sisters, not to mention her dad, would send Zach packing. Then they’d argue Georgie shouldn’t be left alone, especially in another country, and would plead with her to move closer to them. They’d offer friends, neighbors and coworkers as potential love interests for her. All because they loved and cared about her.

  She loved and cared about them, too. But it would be the hurt from her deception that would bring Georgie to her knees. She’d never wanted to upset her family. Ever. The truth couldn’t come out.

  “You’re serious?”

  The surprise on Lily’s face sparked inside Georgie, kindling her irritation. She chose not to date. It wasn’t that she couldn’t date. “Why does it sound like, despite what you said, you’d have an easier time believing Zach is my colleague, rather than my boyfriend?”

  “Because you don’t date.” Lily lifted her eyebrows, challenging Georgie to debate that fact.

  “I do now.” As of an hour earlier. As of this moment. If only she knew what that meant exactly. She’d outlined the parameters for Colin. When to hold hands. When to hug. Emphasized the no-kissing rule. But Zach was definitely not Colin. You can join me. Georgie wiped her hand over her mouth. The no-kissing rule would remain in effect. She ignored the twinge of regret and faced her sister.

  She curled h
er toes inside her boots, prepping for that growing ball of deception to slam into her. How many lies could she shoulder and not crumble? She was about to find out. “I’m dating Zach.”

  “Are you trying to convince me or you?” Lily asked.

  “Cut me some slack, will you?” Outbursts weren’t her thing. Ever. Neither was kissing cowboys. She steadied her tone to be calm and practical. “You’re right. I don’t date a lot. And I never bring guys home to meet my family. But I just did.”

  “Does this mean you’ve been converted?” Lily grinned. “That you believe in things like the heart knows what it wants and love at first sight?”

  “Love.” Georgie’s voice cracked. Her knees unlocked and wavered.

  “Yes, love. It’s the thing Conner and I are in.”

  “I know what love is.” She’d just never wanted it for herself.

  “Oh, Georgie.” Lily laughed and wrapped her in a strong hug.

  The heartfelt sincerity made her sister’s joy all the more distressing. Georgie hung on to Lily. But all she wanted to do was collapse on the guest-room bed and have her cowboy hold her.

  Lily added, “I’m really happy for you, Dr. Harrison.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  FAMILY DINNER ON the Blackwell ranch was no simple occasion. It was an experience. The twenty-plus gathering included all five Blackwell brothers, their wives and kids. Then extended to Frank and Alice Gardner, Grace’s parents and Ethan’s in-laws. As well as Conner Hannah’s mom, Karen, who was Lily’s future mother-in-law. Everyone arrived in a steady stream at the main dining hall. The smell of fresh-baked bread and barbecue permeated the air. A fire crackled in the stone fireplace, transforming the massive space into something quaint and intimate.

  Seven towering Christmas trees, all individually decorated, twinkled on one side of the room. Festive decorations extended from the thick pine branch garland and red candles on the fireplace mantel to the assortment of over twenty stockings fastened to the opposite wall in an explosion of holiday cheer. Christmas on the Blackwell Family Guest Ranch exceeded anything Zach and his brother had ever dreamed of.