The Billionaire’s Christmas Contract by Laura Haley-McNeil

Chapter 13

Leah settled into the plane’s seat and stared out the window.

Christmas Eve. The day that should’ve been her wedding day. She felt empty, and she felt cold. Not because Charlie broke her heart. He had, and she hadn’t healed completely, but God’s grace gently moved her in the right direction.

A month ago, she had planned for a completely different Christmas Eve―a day when she would’ve walked down the aisle overflowing with joy because her future husband waited for her at the altar. Somehow, she made it through the last two weeks when she left Mardale and returned to Braxton to tie up loose ends before the winter quarter. She didn’t discuss teaching remotely with the dean, because she wouldn’t stay in Mardale. For now, Braxton was her home.

When she returned to her condo, the phone was ringing. Charlie’s number appeared on her caller ID. She wondered if he’d called every day, hoping she’d pick up the phone.

She and Charlie had spoken once while she was in Mardale. His apology was heartfelt, but when he asked if they could start over, she had said it would be better for both of them if they went their separate ways. Charlie hadn’t agreed and had asked her to reconsider. She told him she already had.

The phone stopped ringing. Tension eased from Leah’s chest. She’d use her time in Braxton to focus on her next quarter’s classes and trust God that the changes Bryg would make in her hometown were part of His plan.

The phone rang again. She released a soft exhale. She couldn’t avoid Charlie. She’d hear what he had to say.

She answered the phone. When Charlie started to apologize for the umpteenth time, she told him he didn’t have to, and then she realized how freeing forgiveness could be.

She was ready to move on with her life. She wished him the best with his.

“Is there someone else?” Charlie asked.

That made her breath catch. The image of Bryg looking at her with such concern in his eyes filled her with unfamiliar emotions. She couldn’t have these feelings for Bryg. There was nothing between them.

She walked to the picture window that overlooked the town’s square.

“Leah, are you there?” Charlie asked.

“I’m here, and no, there’s no one else,” she said, her voice quiet and controlled. She closed her eyes. Bryg wasn’t part of her life. She’d closed that door firmly.

She was so calm when she ended the call, it took her a moment to realize what she hadn’t done―she hadn’t cried. The knot in her stomach slowly unwound.

Charlie had done her a favor. She could’ve made the biggest mistake of her life, but thanks to her perfect timing⸻when she caught him with his assistant⸻Leah learned Charlie wasn’t the man for her.

The two weeks she’d spent in Braxton helped get her mind off the changes Bryg planned for Mardale and focus on her life in Braxton. She didn’t live in Mardale anymore. The final decision for Bryg’s changes should be made by those who did.

Leah stared out the plane’s window while the airline captain reported the weather in Denver, and the plane’s arrival time. A bubble of joy wrapped around her heart. She was on her way to Mardale to spend Christmas with her parents and the boys. That was the greatest Christmas gift of all.

When Leah arrived in Denver, her mother met her at the airport with the truck. Leah said little on the drive back to the ranch. As they neared Holly’s old ranch, Leah’s heart rate picked up speed. Bryg had bought the Johnson property. Had he started the development? What changes would she see when she and her mother drove home?

When the truck crested the hill, Leah looked over the valley to Holly’s old ranch. The valley looked as it had when she’d left. There were no plowed fields and no stakes with orange flags dotting the countryside. Leah released a shaky breath.

“Bryg won’t start work until we’ve finished raising the boys,” her mother said, giving Leah a start.

She gave a soft laugh. Her mother had always been good at reading her mind. “Do you know why?”

“He didn’t say, but I’m assuming he has some things to finalize.” Her mother gripped the steering wheel with both hands. When she glanced at Leah, there was relief in her face.

Leah felt relief, too.

At the house, Leah carried her suitcase inside. The boys sat around the dining room table and worked on a school project with her father, who stood and hugged her. The boys jumped up from the table and greeted her before her father guided them back to the project.

The house looked and smelled like Christmas, which filled Leah with the joy she’d felt from her childhood. She hadn’t decorated her condo, because she knew she wouldn’t spend Christmas there. After unpacking and changing into jeans and a sweater, she helped her mother in the kitchen. She lifted the lid on the slow cooker and inhaled the rich aroma of roasted chicken and vegetables, but her mind was elsewhere. What were Bryg’s plans?

“If you want to know what’s going on, go to the old Johnson ranch and see for yourself.” Her mother looked at her.

“Is Bryg there?” Leah asked, her heart drumming a steady beat. She couldn’t avoid him forever. Mardale was small, and she and Bryg were bound to meet, but he ran an empire. He may not even be at the ranch.

“I don’t think so,” her mother said, and that made Leah breathe a little easier. “There’s always someone in town who knows when his jet flies into the community airport, and no one has said anything. You know he lives at the Johnson’s old ranch house.”

“No, I didn’t know that.” Leah’s head came up.

“I thought I told you.” Her mother frowned. “Anyway, when he’s in town, he stays there, which was a relief to know it wouldn’t sit abandoned during the development. He drives by, whenever he’s here. If any of us is outside, he always stops and chats, which thrills the boys. Drive over to the old Johnson ranch. See what he’s done.”

“Have you seen it?” A bubble of panic welled in her stomach.

“From the road. I’m always in a rush to get the boys somewhere,” her mother said, and Leah pressed her lips together. This was another reason her parents should retire. “But you can go.”

“I will later.” Leah lowered the slow cooker’s lid.

“Go now.” Her mother waved her away from the counter. She lifted an eyebrow at her. “You can drive the truck.”

“Thanks,” Leah murmured, and walked out of the kitchen. Her mother was right. Until she saw what Bryg had done, her curiosity would torture her.

Fifteen minutes later, she guided the truck down the gravel driveway that led to Holly’s house―Bryg’s house.

Bryg stood in the front yard, an ax in hand. A log stood in the center of an old tree stump⸻the one Holly’s husband had used to chop kindling. Bryg swung the ax over his head, the muscles in his back swelling and filling out his sweater. With a clean sweep, the ax sliced the log into two pieces.

Leah stopped the truck at the driveway entrance. Her heart leaped. Bryg hadn’t looked up, so maybe he hadn’t heard her drive in. If she backed out of the driveway now, he wouldn’t know she’d come.

He looked over his shoulder. Seeing her, he turned, a smile pressing thumbprint dimples into his firm jaw. Her stomach quivered. His pleasure at seeing her couldn’t have been more apparent.

She drove the length of the driveway and stopped a few feet from him. He didn’t approach the truck, just watched her. She waited a moment and then climbed out. They weren’t in high school, and she wasn’t the shy girl who blushed whenever she talked to a guy. Okay, she still blushed, but she was a college professor. She should act like one.

Bryg remained still, his eyes never leaving her.

“Hello,” she said. She slipped fingers into the front pocket of her jeans and stepped toward him.

“Hello, Leah. It’s good to see you,” he said, his voice husky. He watched her every move. The light in his eyes was like a caress against her cheek, and she remembered the night he’d kissed her forehead. A tremble moved across her shoulders, making her take a deep breath.

“It’s good to see you, too,” she murmured. She dropped her gaze before she stood there and gawked at him.

“I take it you just flew in,” he said. Feeling him look at her was distinctly unsettling.

“Yes, Mom said …” She stopped. She wouldn’t blame her mother for her spontaneous visit. “I wanted to see what you’ve done to the place.”

“By all means.” He smiled and waved a hand toward the ranch house that looked as it did when Holly had lived there. He looked back at her.

“You haven’t done anything yet,” she said, confused

He gave a soft laugh. “No, I’ve decided I like it the way it is.”

“You’re not going to change anything?” Leah blinked. Her heart picked up speed. Was he going to make changes at her parents’ place instead? Her throat went dry. He’d tear down the house where she’d been raised, along with the barn, the pigpen, the work sheds.

“Leah, don’t look like that,” Bryg said, his voice soft. His mouth tipped into a hesitant smile.

“Like what?” Her face came up.

“Like a deer caught in the headlights,” he said. “I’m not saving the big project for your parents’ place.”

Leah stood rooted in shock. How well did Bryg know her? Apparently, enough to know her thoughts.

“Then where will you start the big project?” She narrowed her eyes at him. What other ranch had he bought, and why hadn’t her parents told her?

“I’ve started here.” He tipped his head toward the house. “Come inside. I’ll show you.”

Leah didn’t know if she could stomach the changes he would’ve made. The Johnson house had lead glass transoms and knotty pine flooring. The old kitchen appliances had been Leah’s favorite feature in the house.

Bryg swept his hand toward the front porch, indicating she should lead the way.

She walked up the front steps and went inside. She squinted until her eyes grew accustomed to the dim lighting. The antiques that had filled the Johnson home were gone. Holly would’ve taken those when she moved. The furniture filling the entry looked normal, as if a family lived there, and it wasn’t the chrome and glass furnishings decorators stashed inside a bachelor pad. In the living room, an arrangement of comfortable looking armchairs, sofa and loveseat surrounded the fireplace. A Christmas tree sat in an alcove of bay windows. In the dining room across the hall sat a table, chairs and breakfront.

Frowning, she looked at him. “You have a Christmas tree,” she said slowly.

“It is Christmas.” His mouth tipped in a way that made her laugh.

“Other than the new furniture, I don’t see any changes.”

“I didn’t make any.” When she frowned at him, he said, “I’m not going to.” She opened her mouth, and he held up his hand. “There’s been a change in plans.”

Leah didn’t like the sound of that. Her hands shook, and she balled them into fists.

“Do you want a drink of water?” He frowned and looked genuinely concerned.

She started to shake her head, then nodded. She couldn’t speak.

He pushed into the kitchen and appeared a moment later with a glass. Taking her hand, he led her through the glass pocket doors and into the living room. When she sat, he handed her the glass and sat in the chair opposite her. His elbows on his knees, he dropped his hands between his legs and lifted his gaze to hers.

Her heart thrashed inside her chest as she waited for him to say something she knew she wouldn’t want to hear.

“I’m not going through with the development.” He looked straight into her eyes as if to gauge her reaction.

The glass slipped slightly in Leah’s hand, and she gripped it hard. He frowned. Removing the glass from her hand, he set it on an end table.

“Maybe we should discuss this another time,” he said. The corner of his mouth tipped.

“No, I’d like to hear about your ‘change in plans.’” Why was she being so emotional about land? The ranch had always been important to her, but then Bryg came along, and with him came new ideas and changes. “Did you sell the development to someone else?” She sounded panicky, and she winced. She needed to let Bryg explain.

“No,” he said. “I still own the Johnson Ranch, and I’ve no intention of selling it. I’ll close on your parents’ ranch when they’re ready.”

“I don’t understand.” She shook her head.

“At first, I didn’t either.” He gave a dry laugh. “ The more I worked on the development, the more I realized this wasn’t what I wanted.”

“But the community.” A shiver of alarm raced along her nerve endings.

She had fought him every step of the way. Now, he was stepping back, abandoning the development, leaving Mardale intact. He was giving her what she wanted.

And what of the community? The population had dropped over the past thirty years. The development would’ve enticed families to move to a dying town. Without it, people wouldn’t have a reason to move to the area, which meant the land values would drop.

“Before you start running all those scenarios through your mind, let me tell you what my next plan is,” he said. “I’m working on a campaign to attract a younger generation of ranchers and farmers to the area. I’ve already set up a team to reach out to people working in big cities with the offer they telecommute and continue in their jobs while working the land or raising horses or cattle or even pigs. Whatever they want.”

“Is that what you’re going to do?” Her eyes widened.

It was nice that he’d moved into Holly’s house and kept it as a home, but the house was no Manhattan penthouse. Mardale wasn’t Manhattan. He’d miss the energy of the big city.

“I have something else in mind for myself.” He looked at her as if he knew she was judging him.

Her cheeks burned. Hadn’t she judged him from the moment she’d met him? She’d never given him a chance, and he’d been kind to her. She remained silent. She’d stuck her foot in her mouth so many times it was beginning to hang open.

“I want to take over your parents’ foster home.” Bryg looked straight into Leah’s eyes.

She blinked. She knew she hadn’t heard him correctly.

“You know what my life was like before the Moores took me in,” he said on an exhaled breath. “I didn’t know my father. My mother abandoned me when I was young. I learned later she died.” Emotion filled his throat, and he waited a moment.

The pain in his eyes scooped air from Leah’s lungs. Silently, she wished he hadn’t suffered as a child, but that had been the life that made him Bryg Winslow.

“Stories about my past are all over the internet. Some of it true, a lot made up. I gave up a long time ago trying to correct the fabrications. People can think what they want,” he said. “One thing I never forgot was how kind the Moores had been to me. When I started making money, I tried to repay them for what they’d done, but they wouldn’t accept anything. They helped me and other children because it was their calling.” His expression revealed something much deeper than appreciation. “The first time I stepped into your family’s home and saw what your parents were doing for those four boys, I realized that was my calling, too. It took me awhile to accept that, but I realized that no matter how much money I made, it was never enough to separate me from my past. I had a tough life, but it made me who I am. I have the means to help others. I’m ready to do that now.” He looked at her and leaned back in his chair.

“I owe you an apology.” Leah could barely utter the words. She dropped her gaze to her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She’d made up her mind who Bryg Winslow was, and she’d been wrong … so wrong. Wrong to assume he only wanted to make money, and wrong to assume he was like Charlie.

He was nothing like Charlie.

“You don’t owe me anything.” Bryg took her hand.

Warmth radiated through her. She swallowed and tried to calm the turmoil of emotions rising up her throat. The touch was gentle and caring, and it felt so right to have his sinewy hand wrapped around hers.

“But there’s something else I have to say.” He looked at her. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Leah. I think I first realized I loved you when Babe escaped the pigpen. I hadn’t known a woman could be so compassionate, but I feel it whenever I’m near you. I love you, Leah.”

“Love?” Leah’s mouth trembled.

“Yes, love.” He exhaled slowly. “I know you’ve been hurt. I don’t know who hurt you, and I don’t need to. What I want you to understand is that I’m not that man. I can wait for as long as it takes for you to give me a chance. All I want to know is that I have a chance.”

She laughed softly and dropped her gaze. “Falling in love with you was the last thing I wanted to do, especially after …” She looked into his dazzling blue eyes. “I kept telling myself it wasn’t possible that I love you.”

“What do you tell yourself now?” He looked at her, his heart in his hands.

Her lips parted. Never had a man looked at her with such love in his eyes. Bryg loved her for herself, not how she could boost his career.

“That I can’t fight this feeling anymore,” she said, her voice husky.

“That’s all I needed to know.” He tugged her hand, pulling her to him.

He slipped an arm beneath her legs. His strength scooped air from her lungs when he lifted her to his lap. He pushed his nose into her hair and inhaled deeply.

She settled her head against the ridged muscles of his chest. Through his sweater, she felt his heart pick up speed. She closed her eyes. She loved the warmth of him, the scent of him, the feeling of his powerful arms wrapped around her.

“Whenever you’re ready, I’d like to make this permanent,” he said, his voice rumbling through his chest. When she lifted her gaze to his, he said, “I’ll be ready any time. I don’t want to rush you.”

“You’re not rushing me,” she said. Her heart melted. “I’ll need to talk to the college to see what can be arranged about my classes.”

He released a slow breath. “That’s all I needed to know.” He rose and set her on her feet. Bowing to one knee, he took her hand. “Leah Rendell, will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she murmured, her voice filled with emotion.

“You’ve made me happier than I ever thought possible.” Rising to his feet, he took her in his arms. He lowered his face to hers, his lips touching hers tenderly and gently and with a passion she’d never felt before. “You’ve just given me the best Christmas gift I could ever imagine,” he said against her lips.

She opened her eyes and looked into his. “To say nothing of what you’ve given me.”

When she looked past him, she looked out the picture window that faced the front yard. A blanket of snow fell past the window.

Bryg frowned, then turned to the window.

Taking his hand, she led him to the window. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Like you,” he said with feeling.

The sincerity in his voice could almost make her believe she was.

Bryg glanced at the ceiling. Her gaze followed his―to a sprig of mistletoe dangling from the ceiling. She gave a soft gasp.

“We can’t break tradition,” he said, the corner of his mouth tipping.

“By all means no.” She slipped her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. His mouth slanting over hers, he kissed her, his love sweeping over her and making her insides quake. How could a kiss be filled with such affection and so much more? She leaned against him and listened to his heartbeat. She had the rest of her life to find out.