The Cowboy's Christmas Bride. Patricia Johns

some dried fruit and an apple turnover.

      “Are you ready for a rest?” Dakota asked softly, stroking Barney’s neck. “You really are a sweetheart, you know.”

      The horse bent to take a mouthful of grass and she patted his shoulder. He wandered off a few paces, seeming to enjoy his temporary freedom.

      Elliot, Dave, Finn and Carlos were sitting together on some rocks by a dried-up creek laughing at something—probably a joke told by Dave. He seemed to be an unending fount of raunchy humor, mostly centered on the women he’d dated, who seemed a questionable lot. Harley sat alone, a little ways off. He was opening a foil-wrapped sandwich and his gaze flickered up toward her as if he’d felt her curiosity. She gave him a cordial nod, which he returned then turned his attention to his food.

      Andy sauntered in her direction and she was struck anew with those Granger good looks. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and he had the rolling gate of a man who knew how to ride.

      “Hi.” Andy paused a few feet from her then nodded toward a patch of shade a couple yards off. “Care to eat with me?”

      No, she didn’t want to eat with him, but avoiding the man wasn’t going to be possible. She’d taken the job, and part of that job was dealing with the boss, so she silently followed his lead and they settled themselves on their jackets to eat. Dakota unwrapped a bagel, the scent of whole wheat making her stomach rumble.

      “Nice speech earlier,” Dakota said, taking a bite.

      “That’s a rehash of another speech I gave when I bought the dealership. That was a complicated time for worker morale.”

      It was strange, because she’d never really thought of Andy as a successful businessman before—more like an improperly rewarded fiend. But he did have a good sense when it came to getting people to work with him, and a team of drovers was probably the hardest group to win over. Not that he’d succeeded yet, but they’d stayed, which was more than she’d expected.

      “So—” Dakota paused to swallow a bite “—you’re doing well with the dealership, then.”

      “Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ve built it up. When I bought it, it was barely breaking even, but after three years, it’s making a steady profit. That doesn’t come easily.”

      He’d made money, but that didn’t mean he was liked—she knew that well enough. Sometimes the wealthiest men were the most hated because they’d climbed on the backs of the little guy to get where they were. She was curious what sort of boss Andy was when he was away from the town that knew him so well.

      “How many employees stayed?” she asked.

      “Most of them. A few were ticked off at the change of management style, and it didn’t take too long to encourage them to move to something else.” He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully then shot her a smile. “I’m good at it, you know.”

      Was he bragging now? It was hard to tell. Didn’t he realize that he was announcing this to the woman who needed extra jobs to keep the family business afloat? In the distance a flock of birds lifted like a flapping sheet and then came back down in a fluttering billow.

      “Good at what?” she asked curtly.

      “Making money.” He shrugged. So he was bragging. It was in bad taste and she shot him a flat look.

      “What?” He frowned. “Hey, I know you all wanted me to go to Billings and fail miserably. Sorry to disappoint.” He was silent for a moment. “I wanted this ranch. Well, my dad’s part of it, at least.”

      Dakota’s swallowed. “You always made it pretty clear you didn’t want this life.”

      “I had to talk myself out of it,” he replied with a shrug. “Haven’t you ever wanted something you could never have? I wasn’t going to get it, and I didn’t feel like waiting around for the rejection. My brother was the heir and I was the spare.”

      “So if Chet hadn’t been interested—” She wiped some crumbs from her jeans.

      “Yeah, if I’d had a fighting chance at running this place, I’d have done it.” He nodded. “But you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. That’s life.”

      They were both silent for a couple of minutes as they ate. Dakota polished off the bagel and moved on to the dried apricots, sweet and tangy.

      She and Andy had their desire to work the land in common, as well as their status as second-born. She’d always wanted to work her family’s land, too. What would she have done if Brody had shared the same dream? Ever since they were kids, Brody had wanted to join the army. He played soldier. She played cowgirl. Knowing her brother’s ambitions, her only problem was trying to open her father’s eyes to reality. But what if her reality was more like Andy’s and she loved the land that she’d never inherit?

      But even then, she would have loved the land enough to keep it from developers. This community meant something to her, and outsiders didn’t understand the heart of Hope. Maybe this was part of his talent—drawing in his employees so that they liked him against their better instincts.

      “So why a car dealership?” she asked. There had to be plenty of other business opportunities around Billings. It was the largest city in Montana, after all.

      “It seemed like a sound investment.” He gave her a wry smile. “But no one dreams of spending fourteen hours a day on a car lot.”

      “So it was about the money for you?” she asked.

      Andy popped the last bite of sandwich into his mouth and spoke past it. “Money? Uh-uh. I needed a life. So I built one.”

      So he’d settled, and in the process made a small fortune. When there were people following their hearts and just about losing their land, that seemed unfair. He might have built a life for himself, but it had come at a cost other people were forced to pay. Apparently karma had been sleeping on the job.