The Billionaire’s Christmas Contract by Laura Haley-McNeil

Chapter 7

At the house, Leah led the boys and Bryg inside to an aroma of roast beef and freshly baked bread. Her parents’ voices sounded from the kitchen.

The boys shrugged out of their coats, hats and gloves, and headed for the dining room.

“Upstairs, first,” Leah called after them. “Wash your hands and comb your hair.” Feet pounded up their stairs, followed by running water with an occasional demand to use the sink and the mirror.

Bryg helped Leah stow the outerwear into the closet.

“It smells wonderful in here, and it’s making me hungry,” Bryg said, his smile casual and tender. The thumbprint dimples pressing into his cheeks made Leah’s heart tip over.

“Good.” Leah turned away so he couldn’t see the color rising into her cheeks. She led him into the dining room her mother had set so immaculately it almost looked like the five-star restaurants where she and Charlie had dined.

The boys gathered around the table while Leah and her parents set the carved roast beef, a tureen filled with steaming vegetables, a bread basket and a salad in the center.

The relaxed and casual meal followed the blessing with Bryg as interested in what the boys said as he was in talking to Leah and her parents. After dessert, Leah’s mother asked the boys to clear the table. When Bryg helped, the boys stared at him open-mouthed.

“You may need to tell me where to put things,” Bryg said to them and winked.

Their eyes bright, they were more than happy to tell him what to do. When they finished, Leah started the dishwasher and told them to work on their homework. They groaned. They wanted to spend more time with Bryg. Leah couldn’t blame them. Bryg was interested in everything they said and did. With reluctance, they followed Leah up the stairs. She made sure they understood their homework before she returned downstairs.

In the living room, her parents spoke to Bryg in low tones, and Leah slowed her pace. They were discussing the sale of the ranch.

“The attorney is looking over the offer,” her father told Bryg. “We can let you know our decision in a couple of days.”

“That’s all I ask,” Bryg said and rose. He thanked them for the meal.

“Let me get your clothes. I checked them several times and think I removed all the stains,” Leah said, and dashed up the stairs.

When she returned, she held out the hangers holding the clothes.

Bryg’s eyes widened with surprise. He lifted the hangers from her hands, the strength in his fingers radiating through her, and she took a quick breath to still the jump in her pulse.

“I don’t know how you did it,” he said, his look direct, “but thank you.”

“You shouldn’t thank me.” She shook her head. “I feel responsible.”

“Don’t,” he said gently. “They look great. I appreciate what you did.”

“You’re welcome.” She couldn’t help but smile at the appreciation in his eyes. “I’ll walk you out.” She took her coat and his from the cloak closet and led him outside.

“Why do I get the feeling you have something to say?” Bryg asked her when they walked down the front steps to his SUV.

Leah gave him a quick look, but his comment shouldn’t have surprised her. He was a man completely aware of his surroundings.

“Holly Johnson told me about your offer to buy her ranch,” she said and looked into eyes that seemed to offer an apology.

“I did. I don’t know that you can put a price on a lifetime of work, but I think what I offered her was fair,” he said, his tone sincere. He hung the clothes in the back of the SUV. When he turned to her, his gaze was direct.

“Maybe, but is it comparable to what you’ll make when you develop the land?” She studied him. She hadn’t meant to be so direct, but was relieved Bryg’s gaze remained steady and even.

“In my business, everything’s a risk.” He took her hand and gave it a tender squeeze.

She didn’t pull away. His touch was gentle yet firm and filled her with a warmth that scooped air from her lungs. Charlie’s touch never felt like this.

He released her hand, and she set her jaw against the cool air that swept away his touch.

“You seem to know when you should take the risk and when you shouldn’t,” she said.

“Not always, but I have been doing this for a while, so maybe I’ve learned a few things along the way,” he said and looked straight at her. “If you like, I’ll email you my plans for the entire area. Nothing’s been finalized. Since your father is the town mayor, he’ll give final approval before we approach the other ranchers. Everything’s been designed to fit in with the terrain.”

“I’m sure you saw the plans the developers submitted to the other communities,” she said, knowing he would have. Someone like Bryg studied everything before beginning a project.

“Yes.” He looked at her as if knowing what she’d say next. “And I saw what happened to those communities.”

“So you know those communities lost their country charm,” she said, and wished she could keep the heartbreak out of her voice.

“Trust me,” he said, and the sincerity in his eyes almost made her believe she could. “I won’t let that happen.”

She released her breath softly. By the time the development began, he’d be in another part of the country, or world, and would’ve delegated the project management to someone in his office.

“I’ll oversee everything to make sure it goes according to plan,” he said as if reading her mind.

She blinked. Never had she met a man so intuitive. With business, Bryg would have to be. He couldn’t have built the Winslow empire without being aware of what others were thinking and feeling. So why couldn’t she calm the unease rising in her chest?

“I keep my word, Leah,” he said raggedly. Slowly, so slowly, he intertwined his fingers with hers.

The touch filled her with a longing she hadn’t felt before, and she didn’t want it to ever leave. She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t curl her fingers around his. She let the feeling soak through her skin and pulled it deep inside her. The warning bells she wanted to ignore sounded faintly in the corner of her mind. She’d trusted Charlie. She thought they’d marry Christmas Eve. Instead, she was back at home and with a man she could fall hard for if she didn’t keep the walls around her heart in place.

As if sensing her inner turmoil, Bryg slowly released her hand. “My staff will submit a final plan to me in a couple of days. Why don’t we review it together? You can come to the house I’m renting. It has a large dining room where we can view the drawings, or I can come here.”

“When will you start the project?” she asked.

“If everything goes as planned, next summer,” he said. The twinkle in his eyes relayed the excitement he felt about this venture.

She gave a soft exhalation. That meant all the ranches would be replaced by glass storefronts and homes with three and four car garages. Should she care? She wouldn’t be here. She was teaching a summer class at Braxton. After a brief break, she’d start her fall classes. Her parents wouldn’t sell the ranch until all the boys had graduated and were on their own. After that, she wouldn’t spend Christmas in Mardale. By then her parents would’ve bought their condominium in Florida, and Leah would spend the holiday strolling a beach …

… and remembering Christmases past when she’d bundled up to work in the barn, go to church, and take sleigh rides with her friends.

Already, she missed Mardale.

“I have an idea,” Bryg said, and she looked into eyes that truly seemed to care. “How about I give you a seat on the board? That way, if you have an objection―”

A loud shout from an upstairs window cracked the ranch’s serenity. Leah gasped and turned to the house. Shadows of flailing arms and entangled forms passed behind the glass. More shouts sounded.

Leah broke into a run, but heard Bryg’s pounding footsteps behind her. She jerked open the door. Her parents were crossing the living room when she dashed across the entryway and bounded up the stairs two at a time.

In the hallway, Harry and Carl peered through the door leading into the bedroom Zeke and Frankie shared. Their eyes wide, they jerked their gazes to Leah and stepped back. Leah burst into the room. Zeke straddled Frankie on the floor, his fist raised.

“Zeke, no!” Leah had wanted to shout, but could barely catch a breath to speak.

A strong arm, Bryg’s arm, reached past Leah. He wrapped a hand around Zeke’s upper arm and pulled him to his feet. He led the boy to the other side of the room and released him, but his powerful form remained a barrier between the two boys, as if leery the fight wasn’t over.

Leah noticed her parents usher Harry and Carl to their room, though they stared through the doorway as long as they could before disappearing.

“What happened?” The calm in Leah’s voice barely concealed the thrashing inside her chest.

“He keeps throwing his stuff on my bed. I told him to keep his junk on his own side of the room.” Frankie breathed hard. He shook his hair into place and straightened his rumpled shirt.

Leah arched a brow at Zeke, who rolled his eyes and looked away.

“You need to show respect for Frankie’s belongings. If you need more room, talk to Vern or Mavis or me.” Leah looked into dark brown eyes. Her heart ached knowing the stony expression concealed pain she couldn’t imagine, but that she’d seen in other boys her parents had raised.

Vaguely, she was aware of Bryg moving into the hallway.

“I’ll talk to them.” Leah’s father walked into the room.

Leah nodded. She stepped into the hallway and closed the door. She didn’t see Bryg. From the next bedroom, she heard her mother’s soothing voice talking to the other boys. Soon her father’s reasonable voice sounded from behind the closed door, followed by Frankie’s anxious tone. If Zeke said anything, Leah didn’t hear him, but the boy’s silence spoke volumes.

She moved to the top of the stairs and saw Bryg standing in the entrance.

“Sorry about that.” She walked down the stairs, but still listened to her parents’ quiet voices. She’d always been proud of the work they’d done with the boys, many of whom had gone to college and embarked on notable careers. A lump rose in her throat. Her parents couldn’t do this forever. Who would do this after they sold the ranch and moved to Florida?

No one.

And what would become of the boys who needed this special care? That there were other places that worked with displaced youth provided Leah with vague comfort.

“No apology needed.” The understanding in Bryg’s eyes slightly eased the tension in Leah’s chest. “Boys tend to test their boundaries.” His hand on the front door handle, he looked at her.

Her mouth flattened, and she nodded. Frankie and Zeke weren’t the first boys to scuffle. She released a slow breath. They may be the last.

“If you want me to stay …” Bryg looked at her.

“Thanks, but we’ll be fine,” she said. “We’ve worked through these problems before, and we’ll probably …” Her voice trailed.

She and her parents wouldn’t work through these problems again. She’d return to Massachusetts. Her parents would retire to Florida. What was this emotion rising inside her? Regret? Fear? She’d made her career choice. She’d always admired what her parents did. If it hadn’t been for them, she and her brother would have ended up some place else. How blessed she’d been to be raised by Vern and Mavis Rendell.

She felt Bryg’s gaze on her. The look in his eyes told her he knew what she was thinking.

“I’ll walk you to your car. Again,” she said, eager not to dwell on the hollow feeling opening inside her.

“No need,” he said gently. “I’ll call you as soon as I review the plans, and we can set up a time to get together. We can do it at my place or here.”

“We should do it here,” she said. “My parents should know what you plan.”

“I agree. I have your parents’ number. I’ll call when everything’s finalized.” He gave her one last look and stepped out the door.

She stood in the entryway and listened to the steady hum of his SUV’s engine as it rolled away. She turned from the door. Her parents walk down the stairs.

“Everything okay?” she asked them.

“Yes, boys like to see what they can get away with,” her father said, but his eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She gave a surprised laugh. She wasn’t fine. She liked being home, but after the holidays she’d return to campus. She always had this struggle whenever she visited, but before she knew she’d spend her next break at the ranch.

How had a man she barely knew changed her world―and in more ways than one? She’d get rid of that thought. She wouldn’t lose her heart to the man who was about to transform her life forever.