Nola glanced around, feeling as if they’d time-warped into a Christmas episode of Happy Days. The fifties-style luncheonette was draped from top to bottom in holiday kitsch. Festive songs played merrily in the background while glittery garlands danced above archways. Little Christmas trees were tucked wherever there was a free corner and snow globes decorated every table. The waitresses wore red dresses with white aprons and Santa hats, and Nola could swear she spotted the cook in an elf costume. She couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of the places in town looked like inside. Chase wasn’t kidding when he said everyone went all out.
Over a breakfast of gingerbread-flavored coffee and eggnog pancakes, Chase practically had Nola in tears as he described the previous Christmas morning when his mother’s dog, Barney, had attempted to climb the fully decorated tree.
“The poor thing must have thought it was one giant squeaky toy.” Chase laughed. “Everything toppled over, but luckily the presents cushioned the fall and very few ornaments broke. This year Mom said she’s anchoring the tree to the wall with fishing line.”
Nola couldn’t remember the last time she’d put up a tree. There was no sense in having one in her condo when no one else was there to enjoy it.
“I bet there’s never a dull moment in your house.” Nola’s family life had been just the opposite. Nola and her brother had never been allowed to play inside or make any noise. Children were to be seen and not heard in the West household. Having a lieutenant general for a father meant always having to be an example for other children on base.
“The Ramblewood Winter Festival is this weekend. You should come,” Chase said. “It would be a great opportunity to interview some people about the Mistletoe Rodeo.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” As much as she appreciated the invitation, Nola feared she’d feel out of place in what she considered a family event. “I don’t want to intrude. Thank you, but I’ll pass.”
“Nonsense.” Chase reached for her hands across the table and held them in his own. “It’s no intrusion. There’s no such thing as an outsider in Ramblewood. Everyone’s welcome. Promise me you’ll think about it.”
Nola stared down at their hands. His warmth was comforting, the invitation tempting. Between the flight and the drive from the airport, Chase had unexpectedly managed to charm his way through Nola’s outer shell, which was no small feat. When she had wormed her way beside him in first class, she’d had a completely different agenda in mind. Now she found herself more interested in the man than the story she was pursuing. She couldn’t afford to blur those lines.
The problem was, a Christmas piece wouldn’t help Nola secure the co-anchor position on the KWTT Evening News. It was between her and Dirk Stevens, another on-the-scene reporter. Dirk was good, but Nola was determined to be better, to make sure that it was her name they would announce for the position on New Year’s Day. It may not be the big leagues, but at twenty-five years old, it was a step in the right direction toward the ultimate victory: a job at CNN. She’d just have to focus on her work and dig elsewhere for an award-winning story. There was no time to daydream about Chase Langtry.
* * *
CHASE CAUGHT A ride home with his sister-in-law after he ran into her at The Magpie. It should have dawned on him earlier that she might be there since her mother owned the place. Even though he’d been tempted to spend a few extra minutes with Nola, he was relieved at Tess’s arrival.
As he entered the house, Chase heard humming and was surprised when he realized it was his own voice. Nola had succeeded in relieving his apprehension about facing everyone, if only for a little while. He was immediately ambushed by his mother’s black standard poodle and took a moment to give Barney some playful pets before making his way upstairs.
Chase closed his bedroom door, kicked off his clothes and jumped into the shower, eager to wash away the remains of the flight and quell his thoughts of Nola.
He was the last of his four siblings to remain in their childhood home. That wasn’t to say some of them hadn’t still been living there into their thirties, But Chase had become more conscious of it now that his birthday was looming.
After their father’s death a few years back, the brothers had collectively decided to remain on the ranch so their mother wouldn’t feel so alone in the stately house. As his brothers married, they left the house one by one, leaving only Chase and Kay. When his rodeo schedule kept him on the road, his brothers would arrange for the grandkids to sleep over. His mother knew what they were up to, but she didn’t complain. She welcomed the company. During the day, the brothers, their wives and their children filled the house with laughter, but the nights were deafeningly quiet once everyone left.
After a shower and change of clothes, Chase was surprisingly alert. He didn’t know if he was still amped up from his disastrous showing in Las Vegas, or if it was the anticipation of Nola coming to the ranch that afternoon.
“I thought I heard you come in.” His mother greeted him as he entered the kitchen. “We weren’t sure when you’d return. How are you doing?”
“I’m surviving. Sore more than anything.” Chase gave his mother a hug. “But I still don’t want to talk about it. I do have something to ask you, though.”
“Whenever one of you boys begins a sentence that way, I know I’m in trouble.” Kay pulled out a kitchen chair and sat with her hands folded in her lap, waiting for a bomb to drop.
“Mom, it’s not bad.” Chase eased into a chair across from her. “Nola West is coming here this afternoon to ask you a few questions about the Mistletoe Rodeo and charity auction. Are you willing to do an on-camera interview?”
Kay’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “When did you and Nola have a conversation? The last I saw, you couldn’t get away from her fast enough.”
“We ended up sitting next to each other on the flight home.”
“Uh-huh.” Kay continued to scrutinize him. “I think there’s more to the story than you’re telling me, but I’ll agree to an interview. I’ve always liked Nola. And I’ve always liked her for you.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “Mom, please don’t play matchmaker.”
“Why not? You could use some romance in your life.” Kay rose and pushed in her chair. “Well, I guess I should find something to wear.”
Chase shook his head and stood. “Nola’s not coming until later this afternoon. You have plenty of time.” He helped himself to a freshly baked apple-pecan muffin from a plate on the counter. “Please promise me you won’t try to push Nola and me together.” Chase thought his mother was about to argue with him when he caught a glint in her eyes. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing, dear. Let me go get myself camera ready. It takes me longer these days, you know.”
As his mom headed upstairs, Chase headed outside. Not willing to face any of the rodeo school students just yet, Chase bypassed the indoor arena and made his way to the ranch’s main office in the stables. Every time he walked through the entrance of what his father had affectionately called the horse mansion, Chase swore he could still hear the man’s laughter. This would be their fourth Christmas without Joe Langtry. People said it would get better with time, but it hadn’t. You learned to deal with the pain and move on, but it never seems to get any better.
The Bridle Dance offices were on the second level of the arts-and-crafts style building. Halfway up the open staircase, Chase stopped and looked around. The building had four quadrants, and from his vantage point he could survey each corridor of his father’s masterpiece. The ranch, originally only a handful of acres, had been a wedding gift from his great-grandfather to his great-grandmother. Chase’s eldest brother, Cole, and his wife, Tess, lived in the original cottage. Over the decades, the Langtrys had expanded the property into a quarter-of-a-million-acre estate. Today, Bridle Dance was one of the state’s largest paint and quarter cutting horse ranches.
His