The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,1
off. “I know we need this fixed,” he said to Bear. “Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll get it.” He grinned at Bear and dove under the tractor again.
Oh, to be in his thirties again. Bear wished he had half the energy his brother did, but as the oldest, and comparing himself to the youngest, he didn’t.
He also didn’t want to stand there, growing ever more impatient while Ranger and Bishop fiddled with settings and trims and this belt or that one. Everyone on the ranch knew the fields had to be ready by next weekend, and they’d get it done. He himself had worked through the night more than once to make sure the crops got put in on time.
He left the equipment shed in favor of the corral, where his manager over the horses had let all the equines out today as he worked to get the stables cleaned. Bear’s family was a traditional ranching family, doing everything from horseback, with dogs and men. None of the fancy ATVs and helicopters some ranches used. He was never as comfortable as he was in the saddle, with a few dogs streaking along beside him as they moved cattle.
Therefore, the horse care at Shiloh Ridge Ranch was crucial, and Bear kept his finger on the pulse of all of it. He stroked the nose of one horse, stealing some of the calm energy, and saying, “You don’t think I’m a grizzly, do ya?”
The horse didn’t answer, and Bear wasn’t sure he’d have wanted to hear the animal disagree anyway. His phone rang, and Bear didn’t even want to look at it. Tuesdays weren’t usually this rough.
Evelyn Walker’s name sat on the screen, and Bear’s mood changed instantly. He connected the call with his rough rancher’s fingers, nearly knocking the phone out of his own hand. “Hey,” he said easily, actually smiling while he did it.
“Bear,” Evelyn said. “Sammy is at Micah’s, fixing Simone’s kiln.”
His heart started dancing in his chest. “How long will she be there?”
“She just arrived,” Evelyn said. “It’s impossible to know, but Simone said the kiln has been acting up for a few weeks now. Could be a while.”
“Thanks, Evelyn.” Bear normally didn’t waste words, especially when he didn’t have much time. A sliver of humiliation went with him as he turned from the horses in the corral and strode toward his truck.
He could get to Seven Sons Ranch, where Micah lived and his wife did her antiques restoration, in fifteen minutes. Fine, the drive was usually twenty, but Bear was unusually motivated today.
He hadn’t been able to figure out how to ask Sammy out on a date. He’d been the nicest to her out of anyone who set foot on Shiloh Ridge property, that was for sure. And he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.
His brothers—and he had plenty of them—had been teasing him for months and months about his crush on the woman, but he didn’t see any of them dating anyone.
He drove down the dirt road as fast as he dared. He didn’t need anyone asking questions later, and if he didn’t kick up too much dust, no one would even know he’d left the ranch.
Several months ago, he’d had the thought that he just needed the right situation to present itself for him to ask Sammy to dinner. Nothing ever had. No amount of prayer had produced a different result than Bear giving her tasks around the ranch, Sammy completing them, and him paying her for a job well done.
He needed a matchmaker. And that was when he remembered a small-town scandal from several years ago, when Evelyn had married Rhett Walker to prove her worth as a matchmaker.
It had taken Bear four more months to get up the nerve to call her, and he never would’ve done that had Micah not encouraged him. He said Rhett and Evelyn were real happy in their marriage, even if it had started out fake.
Micah was a good man, and his wife was Evelyn’s sister. So Bear had made the call.
Evelyn had said it would take some serious planning to get Sammy in a situation where Bear would just happen to show up. She’d said they’d have to be patient and wait. She’d never called before.
Bear’s mind blanked as he turned onto the asphalt and started down out of the foothills. Sammy was working on a kiln. He was just stopping by to see Micah’s…something.
Bear frowned at himself. This was going to fail spectacularly.