Page 13 of Evergreen Christmas
Nate sighed. “Yeah.”
“And she’s got a white quarter over there?”
Nate positioned a new log on the stump and swung again. “Yeah.”
“White?” Roxie stopped walking along her log, hopped off, then propped her hands on her hips as she looked up at Tucker. “But quarters are silver, Uncle Tucker. All coins are except for pennies.”
Nate chuckled. “He’s talking about a horse, sweetheart. Not a coin.”
“Oh.” Roxie smiled. “You mean like the one you put in our stable last week?”
Nate nodded. “Just like it. But this one was white as a pearl. I caught a glimpse of her in the stable at Chestnut Ridge as I was leaving.”
Tucker squatted on his haunches beside Roxie and gently tugged her blond ponytail. “Those quarters are magicians when it comes to circling barrels. You know the ones I showed you on the video the other day? The ones that compete in the same arena where I used to ride bulls?”
Roxie grinned, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Yep. I remember. You said you’d take me to see them run one day.”
“Well, we won’t have to go too far for that now, will we? We’ve got a real-life barrel racer living next door.” Tucker, brow furrowing, held up one finger and looked at Nate. “Say, what’s the horse’s name? I’ll look ’em both up. If they’re any good at competing, there’ll be some highlight videos on them somewhere.”
Nate swung his ax again, splitting another piece of firewood, then stuck the blade of the ax into the stump. “It’s a white mare named Star.”
And how he wished he’d had the opportunity to mull over all of this information in silence.
On the short drive home from Jordyn’s place, he’d been looking forward to some solitude in the brisk, winter wind, swinging his ax, relishing the sharp split of oak and dispelling each of the bothersome—but intriguing—thoughts of his new neighbor that buzzed in his mind. Jordyn Banks and the effect her presence had on him had been nothing short of a shock.
When he’d knocked on the front door of her log cabin, he’d planned to greet her politely, welcome her to town and feel absolutely nothing—the same reaction he’d experienced with every woman he’d encountered since losing Macy. But from the moment he’d caught a glimpse of Jordyn through her cabin window, her pretty features and pink, kissable lips had snagged his attention. And when she’d opened the door and stood in front of him, he couldn’t help but notice she had a fantastic figure—soft but strong—and as he discovered later, a sassy attitude to boot.
But it was her fun, flirtatious demeanor that really made him relax in her presence. The open, casual way she’d greeted him as though they were already familiar acquaintances or perhaps even old friends had made him feel an almost instant connection with her. And the teasing tone in her voice and admiring glances she’d sneaked at him when she thought he wasn’t looking had filled him with pleasure. Her easygoing disposition and bubbly welcome were an intoxicating combination. A reaction quite different from the calm, tender emotions he’d felt for Macy.
That realization had sobered him up and dispelled the giddy attraction he’d felt for Jordyn as he’d driven home from Chestnut Ridge over an hour ago. The thought of admiring another woman who was so different from Macy had instantly reminded him of how rare the loving bond he’d had with Macy was.
At first glance, Jordyn Banks was nothing like Macy and therefore, logically, she should not have appealed to him.
But there was something about her. Something about the sweet tone of her voice, the gentle look in her eyes and the way she’d fallen so easily in step with him as they’d walked beside each other across the back lot of her property. Her charisma had made being in her company easy. So much easier than the time he spent with women he’d known all his life, whose advances he’d ended up politely rejecting.
Jordyn Banks was a stranger. It should be easy to get her out of his mind. The emotion she’d stirred inside him had been desire, plain and simple. Nothing more. He just needed to shrug off the attraction he had for her and get down to the business of negotiating a fair price for that magnificent Fraser fir.
“We’ve got a real shot at persuading her to sell us that tree.” Nate dragged the back of his forearm over his sweaty forehead and sighed with satisfaction at the sight of the tall stack of seasoned firewood he’d chopped. “To get off on the right foot, I extended my business discount to her so she can buy furniture and supplies at a good price in town, and”—he gestured toward the stack of firewood—“once I drop this off on her front porch with a neighborly note, she’ll be so pleased with our welcome that she’ll be happy to sit down and negotiate.”
Roxie skipped over and hugged his leg. “She’s gonna give us the perfect tree?”
Throat tightening, Nate looked down and smoothed his hand over her soft hair. “I hope so, sweetheart. Your mom loved watching that tree grow. She used to say God grew it special just for the Noel’s tree competition.”
“And if we have it,” Roxie said, “we’ll win the Christmas Crown again, won’t we?”
Nate nodded. “That’s what I’m counting on. Ten wins in a row. That way, the Reed family tradition of winning will still be going strong and we’ll have a new Christmas Crown for your Mom’s Christmas case.”
“Shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off.” Tucker spun on his heel and started walking away.
“Hey,” Nate called out. “Where you going?”
Tucker stopped and looked back. “I’m gonna bring my truck around, load up the firewood and take it over to her.” He grinned. “Introduce myself to her properly and turn on the charm. We’ll have that tree within the hour.”
“Oh, no.” Nate waved a hand in the air. “No way. Right now, it’s best that we back off and give her some time to settle in. And since she has an empty house, with the Nanas expected to drop by tomorrow, I’m thinking a gift of firewood to make her cabin cozy would be welcome. I’m gonna bribe her a little bit—like the Nanas suggested.” He took off his gloves and glanced at the sky, noting the sun had dipped behind the mountain range in the distance. “I’ll take care of loading this up in my truck after supper, then I’ll drive over after dark and leave it on her front porch.” He could feel Tucker’s suspicious gaze on him, and his skin prickled under his brother’s scrutiny. “I’m gonna wrap a bow around it and leave a card, you know?” He strove for a blank expression, then looked Tucker in the eyes. “Do it up real nice as a neighborly Christmas gesture.”
“A neighborly Christmas gesture?” Tucker cocked one eyebrow, searched Nate’s expression, then burst out laughing. “Oh, man. You want to have a real conversation now? Maybe actually tell me what’s going on here?”
The knowing look in Tucker’s gaze made Nate’s cheeks burn.
