Her Christmas Billionaire (The Joy of Christmas Series Book 1) Page 9

  “What is going on in that mind of yours? You look like you’re calculating the square root of the distance to the moon.”

  Hannah looked over at Blake, who was straightening a ribbon attached to the end of the stair baluster. “The distance to the moon? What?”

  “I was kidding. You look like your mind is far away. You okay?”

  Hannah let a smile rest on her lips. “I’m fine. Just thinking about the party. Want to make sure I haven’t forgotten any preparations.”

  “I’m pretty sure we’ve got it covered. How about we take a day off tomorrow and get out of the house? Maybe go for a hike? I’d really like to take a look at Mystic Ranch. See what the story is there. I could use a new project.”

  Her heart dropped about ten thousand feet. “You mean buy it? I don’t think you want to buy that old place.”

  “Why not? What’s wrong with it?”

  “It’s been abandoned for years. There was a fire that did a lot of damage and the investors who’d bought it just dumped it. It’s in such bad shape, I wouldn’t be surprised if a family of bears were hibernating in there. No one’s ever had enough courage to buy it.”

  “Do you know who owns it now? I’m puzzled as to why James would have even had it on any list in his office if it’s in that bad of shape.”

  “I’m not sure since I’ve been gone the last few years. I’ll have to ask Charlene.”

  “I’d still like to look at it. Seems a shame for a property like that to sit empty like that for so many years.”

  “I suppose,” Hannah said. “I think Love Valley residents can be a bit superstitious. I think some people may think the house is cursed because of the fire.”

  Blake raised an eyebrow at her. “Now that is just plain silly.”

  Hannah shrugged. “I know. But Love Valley has a lot of superstitions.”

  Blake moved to join her on the sofa in the sitting room. “That it does. But I am more inclined to believe the magical love spell lore about Love Valley.”

  The way Blake was looking at her made her heart pound like a drum. “Really?” Her voice came out in a soft, squeaky whisper.

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  And, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do, Blake leaned over and kissed her.

  His lips were soft and sweet. His aftershave lingered in the air around her. She could sense the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree beneath her closed eyes, could smell the fresh scent of the pine tree and the mountain air it brought with it. For one second, the world stood perfectly and magnificently still with the delight of Blake’s kiss on her lips.

  What sounded like a hammer knocking against the front door destroyed the blissful moment kissing Blake. They both drew back, startled.

  “What the…?” Blake muttered.

  “Someone’s insistent,” Hannah grumbled. She got up and walked to the front door as she straightened her shirt over her jeans. She was beyond annoyed at being so rudely interrupted from her blissful kiss.

  “Who is it?” she called out as she laid her hand on the door knob.

  “It’s Clay. Clay Turner,” a barely familiar voice replied.

  Clay Turner? What on earth was he doing here? She opened the door. A tall, handsome man with a head of perfectly ruffled golden hair stood on the other side. Hannah had to admit, Charlene was right. Clay had grown into a rather handsome man.

  “Clay?”

  He smiled broadly before grabbing Hannah into a big bear hug. “It’s me,” Han Solo,” he said, using the inexplicable nick name he’d called her in their high school days.

  She let out a startled laugh. “Oh, hi Clay,” she said as she disentangled herself from his embrace. “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard you were having a Christmas party to celebrate your return to Love Valley. I thought I’d offer my help. Anything you need…er, it’s a bit cold out here. Do you mind?” he gestured to the inside of the home.

  “Oh, sorry. Of course, Clay. Come in,” she said. Well, this was going to be awkward.

  Clay stepped into the foyer and looked around, focusing on the sitting room beyond. “I see you’ve already got your Christmas decorations up,” he said, his tone rich with disappointment.

  “Yes.” She led him to the sitting room, dreading the next moment. “This is Blake Bradley. He’s been helping me. He’s kind of a guest too,” she said.

  The two men sized each other up before giving each other a gruff hand shake.

  “Oh, you have a boarder then?” Clay said with more than a trace of snide.

  “Not exactly,” Hannah said. “Blake needed a place to stay after his plans fell through.” She didn’t want to need to get into any details with Clay.

  “I thought the Inn wasn’t open yet?” Clay said.

  “It’s not,” Blake offered. “Hannah’s just helping out a friend in need. She’s a good-hearted woman, aren’t you?” he said, saddling up next to Hannah and putting his arm around her.

  Clay’s face went red. “Sometimes too good of a person. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you, Han,” he said. “Present company excluded, of course.”

  Blake gave him an artificially friendly smile. “I’m sure.”

  “Well, I’ve got to help Mary with the menu now,” Hannah said as she drifted from Blake’s hold. She ushered Clay to the door, not liking the tension that was bouncing off the walls between Clay and Blake. “Thanks so much for stopping by,” she said.

  “You don’t need any more help?” Clay gave it one last try.

  “No, everything is done now. Mary and I will finish up the rest, which all takes place in the kitchen.”

  Clay stood in the foyer looking forlorn. Hannah felt a little sorry for him.

  “You’ll come to the party I hope?” she asked. “Seven o’clock on Friday night,” she said.

  Clay brightened. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  He bent down and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. His lips were still cold from standing outside and left a chill on her face.

  She shut the door behind him with a frustrated sigh. She hadn’t really wanted him at the party with Blake there, but she couldn’t very well not invite him under the circumstances. He’d all but invited himself. She’d known Clay since the first grade, and they’d dated on and off during the last two years of high school. She took a deep breath before turning around. She knew Blake was going to bombard her with questions.

  Questions a man who’d just kissed her would want to know about another man showing up at her doorstep. Questions a man who was leaving to go back to his life in LA had no right to ask.

  ~

  Blake found himself in the oddest position, and he didn’t like it one bit. Blake Bradley, so-called Bachelor of the Year, a name he’d cringed at all year, had competition. Competition with lousy or impeccable timing, depending on who you were in the scenario. This was something he was not prepared for at all.

  “Who was that?” He tried to ask casually, as if it had been an old girlfriend at the door instead of a man who was clearly an old boyfriend. But it didn’t come off as casual; his tone came across as resentful and maybe just a little bit jealous. He didn’t bother to correct himself. He did resent Clay-what-his-face for barging in on his delightful kiss with Hannah. And he didn’t need any ex high school boyfriend moving in on his girl.

  “That was Clay Turner, an old friend from high school,” Hannah said lightly.

  She wasn’t fooling him. “And old friend? Huh.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “We dated on and off in high school. That was a long time ago, though. I haven’t seen him in years.”

  “Is that so? Appears to me that he’d like to rekindle that relationship,” Blake said.

  Hannah pursed her lips together with amusement as she stood with her hands resting on her hips in a scolding manner. “Are you jealous, Blake Bradley?”

  Blake gave her a highly indignant look. “Of course not. Just stating the obvious.”

&
nbsp; Hannah shook her head laughing as she sank into Gram’s favorite chair. “Of course not,” she echoed. “The only thing obvious to me was that you two took an immediate dislike to each other,” she mused.

  “Imagine that,” Blake grumbled.

  Hannah just laughed, completely insensitive to his predicament.

  They finished the evening with Mary’s leftover pot pie and hot cocoa by the fire in the sitting room, enjoying the fruits of their labor. When it came time to say good night, Hannah vanished upstairs before Blake got any ideas about a repeat performance of his earlier kiss.

  Darn.

  As much as he’d love to feel the warmth of her kiss again, she was starting to stir feelings in him that he didn’t know how to handle. Or even worse, how he’d handle them with their uncertain future living in different states.

  She bid him a quick good night and disappeared into her bedroom, while he tried to banish his disappointment. He wasn’t anything if not imaginative. And he was a natural problem solver, a person who said no to the odds, who plowed forward with fierce determination. He would do the same with Hannah. He’d figure it out if it was the last thing he did this year. He’d sleep on it tonight and come up with a solution.

  Afterall, tomorrow was another day.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hannah was sitting at the kitchen table painting snowmen cookies with Mary’s buttercream icing, eating more of it than the snow men were getting when Blake bounded into the kitchen. The morning had been like Grand Central Station with deliveries for the party tomorrow night. Extra chairs, tables, coolers for soda pop and drinks, and a ham from the local smokehouse were just a few of the deliveries to Clearview Inn that morning.

  “So, you want to get out of the house or what?” he asked, falling into his chair next to her.

  Boy, did she! She needed a break from the chaos she’d created by planning a Christmas party with only days to spare. Not to mention, inviting nearly half the town. “Absolutely,” she said.

  “Get your hiking boots on and meet me in the foyer in one hour. I have a few things to do.”

  “You got it," Hannah said. She had no idea what Blake had in store for them but after days of being inside the house decorating and preparing for her party, she was going stir crazy. A walk in the woods or a hike up the mountain sounded divine.

  When Hannah went down to meet Blake, he was dressed like a regular mountain man in heavy hiking boots, a fleece jacket and jeans. It wasn’t lost on her that he almost identically matched her appearance, including an over-stuffed duffle bag dangling from one hand.

  “What’s in the bag?”

  “Snow jacket and snow pants. Just in case. What’s in yours?”

  Hannah couldn’t help the laughter that sprang from her mouth. “Same.”

  “Let’s go then. I’ll drive,” Blake said.

  “If we’re going out in the country to the Mystic Mountain Ranch, the roads may not be cleared or iced yet. Are you sure you want to drive? This isn’t LA you know.”

  Blake opened the door of his truck for her and put their bags in the space behind the seats. “No need to worry, I’ve got chains if we need them. I grew up with snowy winters in an even more rural area than Love Valley.”

  When she slid into her side of the truck, she was speechless. Blake Bradley, LA billionaire grew up in the country? In the snow? She could not hold back her curiosity.

  “Where did you grow up?”

  Blake looked over at her as he put the key in the ignition. “Idaho.”

  He started the truck and backed out of the driveway, putting an end to any questions she might have about his past. He was still harboring some secrets. Well, so was she, and so was most of the world for that matter. She’d just let it go for the time being. Would it really matter a month from now when they’d gone on with their prospective lives?

  He set his shiny new phone in a stand on the dashboard, letting the GPS’s robotic voice guide him as he drove through the rough, curving roads of the countryside. She didn’t bother helping him with the directions; it had been a long time since she’d been out to the countryside of Love Valley, and his robotic voice helper seemed to be doing just fine.

  The further they drove, the less homes dotted the landscape, and the more mother nature was revealed in the snow-covered mountains and treetops to the occasional elk or deer herd. Hannah had forgotten how beautiful the wide-open country was in the winter, covered in snow. After a while, he pulled up to the Mystic Mountain Ranch, in all its derelict glory.

  She’d only driven by the ranch a few times and that was years ago when she was a child. She barely remembered it, but as they drove up the long driveway to Mystic Mountain, Hannah quickly became enamored with the abandoned compound. The structure was a sprawling building of near mansion proportions. Despite some parts being damaged, it was a beautiful structure of stone and wood, in the classic log cabin style. There was no way this place was haunted. It was like heaven on earth. She rolled down the window in the truck.

  “It’s lovely!” she exclaimed.

  “It really is,” Blake said. “Let’s take a closer look. See how much damage was done.”

  “I think the fire was mostly out buildings, hopefully not much of the home was damaged. But after years of neglect… I hope it is salvageable.”

  “Are you saying you hope I buy it, then?” Blake asked.

  Hannah looked over at him with a mocking smile. “I’m saying Mystic Mountain Ranch is too beautiful to lose. I hope it can be saved. Let’s get out and take a look.”

  Blake pulled his truck up to the front of the rambling compound, which stood with faded grandeur against the snowcapped mountains behind it. The grounds were expansive and Hannah presumed the property was probably made up of acres and acres of land. As soon as she saw the remnants of a greenhouse structure peeking out from behind the home, her mind began making plans for her vegetable garden that would supply the garden to table café at Clearview Inn. The one that didn’t exist. Yet.

  She looked over at Blake who was just as entranced as she was with the property. He turned and gave her a thumbs up.

  “Pretty awesome place,” he said gleefully.

  They walked around the home, surveying the damage. The fire seemed to be contained to one small area on the east wing of the home, to a bedroom or two from the looks of it. Much of the greenhouse’s glass was gone, probably salvaged or stolen, but the frame was intact and in fairly good condition considering the years it had been abandoned. The whole place had the feel of a fairy tale home, maybe one that had been abandoned by the princess. If that princess had lived in the Colorado mountains.

  “What do you plan to do with the place?” Hannah asked. “If you buy it?”

  He was looking through an opening to the interior of the home, where there was a hole about three feet square. “Renovate it, maybe build a small studio on the property. Get a couple of dogs, maybe a few horses,” he said.

  “You would move here?” she asked, incredulous.

  “Why not? It’s beautiful.”

  She couldn’t argue with that, but would Blake really leave LA and move to Colorado mountain country, away from the bustling city and Hollywood? She never would have guessed he’d even contemplate a move.

  “But your life is in LA,” she said.

  “No, my companies are in LA, not my life,” he said. “I could relocate them anywhere I want. Or even open a branch here in Colorado. That is the least of my worries,” he said.

  “What is your biggest worry then?”

  Blake opened his mouth to answer when a loud, growl vibrated through the air.

  “What was that?” Hannah asked. “I hope it’s not a bear cub,” she said, looking around for an angry Mama bear to come charging at them.

  “Didn’t sound like one,” Blake said, bending down closer to peer through the hole in the wall.

  Hannah stepped closer, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Be careful. You don’t know what kind of animal it i
s.”

  “Doesn’t sound too dangerous,” he said. He put his gloved hand precariously through the hole. “I feel something!” he exclaimed. Moments later he’d pulled a tiny, dirty bundle of frozen fur from the hole.

  She bent down, peering at the thing. “What is it?”

  He looked back at her. “I think it’s a puppy.”

  He cuddled the tiny glob of fur to his chest. The thing let out a little mewl of fear.

  “Poor thing!” Hannah said. She always loved dogs but had to forgo having pets when she was living in city apartments.

  Blake handed her the shivering little animal. “Hold her a minute,” he said.

  He shook out of his jacket and held it out for Hannah to place the poor creature, then he wrapped it up tightly. “Let’s head back to the car and put on the heat for her,” he said.

  “How do you know it’s a girl,” Hannah asked.

  “Just a hunch,” he said.

  Hannah guessed she could live with that, she mused as Blake opened to door to the truck. She slipped inside, and took the jacket with what she hoped was a puppy inside, and cradled it close to her chest. Blake got in and started the truck, cranking up the heat to full blast. After a few minutes had passed, the frost had melted and a very dirty, skinny puppy lay in her arms, staring at her with wide eyes.

  “We need to head to Doc’s right away,” she said. “Let’s go!”

  She recited the address to Blake’s phone and within the hour, little Elsa, as Blake and her had named her, was safe in the hands of Doc Pippa, the veterinarian in Love Valley.

  Doc was a tall, tough talking cowgirl, who’d grown up on one of the ranches west of Love Valley. She came out into the waiting room where Blake and Hannah were waiting for news of Elsa.

  “I’m giving her IV fluids and we’ll start her on a wet diet for the next few weeks so she can adjust to food again. She’s borderline malnourished but we can fix that. I’m just going to keep her here for the night to make sure nothing unexpected comes up. If everything goes well, you can pick her up tomorrow. I’m fairly certain, she’s going to be fine.” Doc shook her head, her red braid swishing as she did. “If you hadn’t found her though, I don’t think she would have lasted much longer.”