Carousel Horse Christmas Read online

  “Yes,” Audrey said joining Lisa at the table and tracing the lines of the pretty carousel horse. “I needed a venue for a party that included horses, and since he obviously has horses, I called him.”

  “Oh, convenient,” Lisa said propping her chin on her hand as she leaned on the table. “So when will you see him next?”

  “It’s not like that,” Audrey insisted reaching for the cookies. “It’s just business.”

  “I’d like some business like that,” Lisa teased.

  Audrey smiled, her friend was not going to let this go. “I’m heading over to his ranch on Tuesday.”

  Lisa sat up clapping enthusiastically. “A real life cowboy, maybe your little horsey is bringing you good luck,” she said, trotting the little figurine across the table. “Now please make me some hot chocolate to go with these cookies.”

  ***

  “You gonna be here when I get back.” Audrey asked on Tuesday morning as she grabbed her laptop and schedule then reached for the door.

  “No, I should be back in my apartment by then. I’ll call if something changes.”

  “Alright, see you soon.”

  “Don’t forget me when your cowboy sweeps you off your feet,” Lisa shouted as Audrey stepped through the door with a shake of her head.

  Lisa was such a dreamer. Didn’t she realize that this was just a business trip?

  It was a cold gray winter’s day as she turned onto the freeway following her GPS instructions toward the town of Glimmer, Colorado after swinging by a drive through and grabbing a biscuit and coffee.

  It looked like snow, and she hoped she’d get there and back before the weather turned. She had too much to do before taking off and heading home for Christmas.

  Clicking on the radio she listened to the weather man prattle on about a cold front setting in as she ran through her checklist of emergency items in the back seat.

  As a country singer began belting out It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas, Audrey wondered if she should have put off this trip, but it was never too early to start planning. It was one of the things that had made her business so successful.

  Not only did she get things organized as early as possible and in advance, she also had developed several very popular package deals where a party could be thrown together in a matter of days. Keeping her clients and her providers happy had been her hallmark, and so far it had been working.

  Perhaps if all went well today, she’d have another venue to add to the list and could offer simple western themed parties in a beautiful country setting.

  The first flakes of snow were large and fat as they splattered her windshield, but in no time at all the heavy snow fall was a blinding white.

  Chapter 7

  Audrey was stuck. There was no other word for it. The snow was blowing so hard she could barely see, and the snow banks on either side of the road were growing deeper by the minute.

  Looking at her GPS she could see she was less than ten minutes away from the ranch by car, but that wasn’t going to help her as she crept along on the slick roads, clutching the wheel with white knuckled hands and praying she could make it around the next turn.

  A gust of wind buffet her little car as she took the turn and she grasped the wheel only to feel the car slipping off the road, twisting and turning on the icy road until it came to rest at a lopsided angle in the ditch.

  Leaning her head against the steering wheel and trying to catch her breath Audrey assessed her situation.

  She was stranded. She knew it even before she put her car back in gear and tried to get out of the drift she’d settled in.

  Grabbing her phone she punched in the number from the card, surprised when it was answered on the third ring.

  “Hello.”

  “Holden, it’s me Audrey.”

  “Hey, I hope you’re calling to tell me you’re canceling. The weather’s terrible out here.”

  Audrey groaned, “No I’m calling because I’m stranded along the road.”

  “Where,” the voice was serious.

  Audrey honed in on the little blue dot on her GPS and rattled off the coordinates.

  “Stay put. Okay?” Holden said. “Just stay put, we’ll get you out.”

  “No.” Audrey called back but the phone had already gone dead. She didn’t need anyone else coming out in this mess.

  She dialed the number again but the phone didn’t even ring through.

  With a sigh she reached into her back seat and pulled out the heavy wool blanket she kept there and grabbed her kindle from her bag.

  “Well at least my coffee’s still hot,” she said, lifting her travel mug and snuggling up. She’d try to call Holden back in a minute maybe in the mean time a snow plow would come by and pull her out.

  Audrey must have drifted off because the tap on her window made her jump and she turned expecting to see a police officer or rescue worker.

  She did not expect to see Holden Bays standing by her car next to Dasher who was hitched to a shiny red sleigh.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked rolling down her window.

  “I told you I’d be out to get you,” he smiled, his blue eyes bright under the brim of his dark hat. “You comin’ or are you planning on camping out here until the weather breaks?”

  Audrey smiled back unfurling her blanket and grabbing her bag.

  “We’ll call a tow truck for your car once the weather clears,” Holden said, helping Audrey into the elegant little sleigh, draping the blanket over her legs.

  “I probably should have paid closer attention to the weather,” Audrey said snugging her mittens over her hands.

  “There wasn’t any warning at all about this,” Holden said chirruping to his horse and driving into the snow. “The whole thing just blew up out of nowhere.”

  Audrey shivered and Holden slid closer to her, trying to block the worst of the wind.

  He was wrapped in a heavy sheepskin coat, a deep maroon scarf wrapped under his chin and his dark brown hat pushed down over his brown locks.

  “Aren’t you afraid of getting lost in this mess?” Audrey said, her eyes still roving over the cowboy.

  “Nope. Dash here will get me home one way or another.”

  Audrey looked out at the dun horse as he pranced through the falling snow, his mane and tail streaming out behind him.

  “Do all your horses pull sleighs?”

  Holden chuckled drawing her eyes back to him. “No, as a matter of fact, my brother started training Dash to pull this the same day the sleigh turned up at our place.

  “You still don’t know who left it?”

  “No, we’ve asked all over town and even called the whole family, but they don’t seem to know anything.”

  “Was there a note?”

  “Handley said the only note he found said, you need it more than I do.”

  “Well it did come in handy today,” Audrey said smiling as they trotted under a hushed avenue of tall pines draped in snow

  Holden looked over at Audrey watching as the soft flakes of snow clung to her long lashes, and he had to smile. “I’m rather glad it did.”

  Something in the way that Holden looked at her made Audrey’s insides turn over. She felt like a giddy school girl looking up into those blue eyes.

  The sleigh lurched knocking Audrey into Holden’s side, and he quickly slung an arm around her steadying her in the narrow seat.

  “You okay?” he asked his voice husky.

  “Yes,” Audrey’s voice seemed hushed in the silence of the snow fall as she felt Holden pressed close.

  A moment later their lips met in a tender kiss only to be broken when the sleigh veered left shaking them apart once more.

  Chapter 8

  Holden couldn’t understand what had possessed him to kiss Audrey.

  He’d grasped the reins firmly again and was now staring straight toward home. If his glimpses of the passing scenery were any indication, they’d be there in a few minutes.

 
; Casting a glance her way he noted that Audrey was studying her surroundings as if nothing had happened and perhaps that was the best for both of them. They would pretend that the kiss had never happened. But something told Holden, he would never be able to forget it.

  ***

  Audrey peered through the snow catching glimpses of huge rolls of hay covered in snow between gusts of wind.

  In the distance she was sure she’d seen a house of some sort and another larger darker building further out.

  “We’re almost there,” Holden said quietly and for the first time since the kiss Audrey looked at him.

  She was sure it was one of those passing things that happen to people. A chance situation tossing two souls together in a romantic setting that resulted in a tender moment. Still it was best to pretend it had never happened and get on with what she was here for.

  The big horse came to a sliding halt in front of a two story house, and Audrey felt Holden climbing down from the surprisingly snug sleigh. Throughout the trip she’d barely felt cold at all considering the blustery, frigid day.

  A moment later, Holden was reaching up for her, helping her out of the conveyance, and their eyes collided once more. Unspoken thoughts and desires sizzling between them for the briefest speck of time before Holden placed her feet on the ground.

  “I was starting to worry,” another man called racing down the stairs to take Dashers bridle. “How’d he go?”

  “He did fine Handley, just fine.”

  “You two go on in. Mom’s cookin’. I’ll put up Dasher here.”

  Holden grabbed Audrey’s bags from the sleigh then nodded as his brother jumped into the seat he’d just vacated and trotted toward the barn that could be seen between gusting sheets of fluffy snow.

  “Come on in and get warm,” Holden said, ushering Audrey up the stairs and into the warmth of an old farm house.

  Stepping through the door Audrey breathed deep of the familiar smells of Christmas.

  A tall pine stood twinkling with colored lights and sparkling ornaments graced a large living room, while the smell of hot chocolate and baking permeated the whole house.

  “Holden is that you?” a woman’s voice called. “You come on into the kitchen and get warmed up.”

  Holden smiled down at Audrey. “She’s going to feed you,” he said. “There’s no way out of it.”

  “I understand,” Audrey laughed following him into the kitchen.

  “Oh dear, you must be half frozen,” an older woman said hustling to Audrey. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll get you some hot cocoa.” She placed an arm around Audrey’s shoulder and hustling her to the table.

  “Holden you take those things up to the spare room and get those wet boots out of my kitchen.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Holden said, a smile playing at his lips as he winked at Audrey and hurried to comply.

  “Now are you as pretty as a picture,” Mrs. Bays said, “but you must be cold. Here you sit.”

  Audrey took the chair she was offered and hid her smile, noting an array of Christmas cards tucked in the door frame like a ragged wreath. It felt like being back home with her aunts all fussing over her.

  In seconds a steaming mug of hot cocoa sat steaming before her with a huge homemade marshmallow swimming in the creamy drink.

  “Thank you Mrs. Bays,” Audrey said. “You really didn’t need to bother though.”

  “Of course I did. You’re our guest. And call me Kris.” Mrs. Bays insisted shoving something into the oven and then sitting down with Audrey her own cup of cocoa in hand.

  “Now what happened? Are you alright? Did you damage your car?”

  “I don’t think so,” Audrey said. “It was a little scary though.”

  “Weather is strange up here sometimes, but this.” The older woman shook her head of graying hair. “This though,” she glanced out the window, “I don’t remember a storm showing up like this one ever before.”

  Audrey smiled, she couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was trying to make her feel less of an idiot for getting stuck in a winter storm. This was Colorado after all, and it wasn’t uncommon for blizzards to blow in fast.

  “Still you’re here safe and sound and that’s all that counts.”

  “You must be Audrey,” another voice broke in. “I’m Handley,” he added extending an icy hand.

  “Nice to meet you Handley,” Audrey said, shaking his hand then picking up her mug to chase away the chill.

  “Holden said you have a business op for us.”

  “Yes I do,” Audrey agreed. “It’s a pretty simple party actually if you have the room to accommodate it.”

  “You already talking shop?” Holden stepped back into the kitchen. He wore a black and red flannel shirt and his hair had been combed, removing the imprint of his Stetson, highlighting how handsome he was.

  Audrey looked between Holden and his brother noticing the resemblance, but there was something different about Holden. He was a little taller and his dark hair was curly where Handley’s was straight.

  “Well someone has to,” Handley shot back. “You’re great with the stock and can get a horse to do whatever you want, but I’m the practical one.”

  “That why you decided to turn a cutting horse into a sleigh horse?” Holden joshed.

  “Good thing I did,” Handley said with a grin.

  “Alright boys sit down and we’ll talk. I’ll get you some cocoa.” Mrs. Bays rose grabbing two more mugs and waving the two men back into chairs at the table.

  “You up to this?” Holden asked taking the seat next to Audrey. “It can wait.”

  “No it’s fine.” Audrey said touched by his kindness, “I came to see if this place can provide a new venue for a party, and that’s what I need to do.”

  “So what exactly do you need?” Mrs. Bays asked.

  “I explained the situation to Holden the other night,” Audrey began, “but that’s just one party. It’s not really about the ranch so much as it is the setting. People like to have the feeling of things they love when they party. For example right now Andre’s daughter is into the whole western theme, and she wants a party that reflects that. She doesn’t really want to ride horses or chase cows. She just wants the atmosphere.”

  Around the table heads nodded. “It’s like house decorations,” Kris Bays said. “You can have a specific theme but not necessarily live that way.”

  “Exactly,” Audrey agreed.

  “So what do you need?” Handley asked.

  “Fences, saddles, hay bales, horses. Things like that in the back drop, but not so close as to interfere with the dinner or the food.”

  “It’s like a hoedown,” Kris said. “We do that all the time.”

  “How’s it work?” Handley asked, his eyes glinting with reserve.

  “There’s usually a certain amount of paper work. Mostly legal documents that cover you if anyone is hurt in anyway while on your property.”

  “And what about cost and fees?” Handley pressed.

  “I’ve got a spreadsheet here that breaks down what the usual amounts are depending on guests and special requests.” Audrey pulled the paper work from her bag. “If this one goes well, I might be inclined to ask you to be a regular venue.”

  Handley scanned the sheet looking at the amount they could make with even a modest party and smiled.

  “This could work,” he said. “It sure wouldn’t hurt.”

  “Let’s take a little time to read through everything then Holden you can show Audrey around tomorrow if the weather breaks, and we’ll go from there,” Kris said. “In the mean time Audrey why don’t I show you where you’ll be staying tonight. There’s no way anyone is going back out in this weather.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” Audrey chimed rising and hurrying after the other woman. “I’m sure in a few hours the weather will improve.”

  “Nonsense. You’re here now, so you might as well be comfortable. We’ll worry about everything else tomorrow. For
now you get freshened up then come down for supper.” The older woman patted her arm. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said seriously. “You may be the answer to my prayers.”

  Audrey looked around the small room she’d been escorted into. It was tucked between two larger rooms on the second floor, but had a window that looked out over the yard. Well what would have been the yard if she could have seen it.

  The walls were papered in a soft white with tiny pink flowers twining through it. It was cheerful, but not over powering.

  Walking to the bed Audrey traced her hand across the heavy quilt made with beige, brown and rose squares. It was almost like coming home.

  Studying the room Audrey thought of her years living with her aunts at the old farm. It was a simple house, but warm and inviting to anyone who entered.

  She’d learned so many things from her aunts after her parents’ disappearance, including how to laugh again.

  Peeking behind a door on one side of the bedroom Audrey found a small powder room where she washed her face and hands and pulled a brush through her hair.

  Looking in the mirror she remembered the kiss from earlier and wondered if Holden were thinking of it too.

  So far he’d seemed perfectly comfortable and relaxed with her since they’d arrived at the farm, but what had actually happened still confused her.

  Pushing the thoughts aside she hurried back down the stair toward the kitchen where sounds of the eminent arrival of dinner could be heard.

  “She’s a lovely young lady,” Audrey heard Kris’s words as she approached the kitchen. “I’m glad you brought her home.”

  “Mom, I didn’t bring her home,” Holden’s voice carried around the corner, and Audrey stood listening not knowing if she should go in or stay out.

  “Okay, so I brought her home, but not like that. We met by accident, and she needed some help with this fancy chef in town.”

  “Holden if you don’t know a good thing when it lands in your lap then I didn’t raise you right.”

  “Did someone say dinner?” Audrey announced walking into the kitchen as if she hadn’t just heard them discussing her. “Something smells wonderful.” She cut her eyes toward Holden whose face reddened even as he smiled.