Page 10 of A Rancher's Love

He snorted. “Stop objectifying my brain.”

“Ha. It’s the least of yourassets, and you know it.”

“Enjoy the Full Monty?”

She let out a forlorn sigh. “Every damn time.”

They grinned at each other, and when he opened his arms wide, she dove into them, this time squealing like a little girl. The contact wasn’t sexual but back on track withfriendsandfamilyand exactly where they needed to be.

Exactly where Tucker hated that they needed to be.

The only good part about being here was being closer than ever before to fixing the travesty of him and Ginny being a no-go for more than clandestine fun. He needed a little more time to update his master plan before he said anything.

No use in rushing before he had everything lined up properly.

Ginny laid her head on his chest. “I missed you.Jerk. You’re shitty at keeping in touch.”

“Me? You were the one on the other side of the world. I wasn’t messing with time zones and all that bullshit.”

She squeezed him again then sat in the chair against the wall. “What are you doing here? And I don’t mean the trailer, but at the ranch?”

“Technological screw up.” He settled kitty corner, reaching into his gym bag and pulling out a sweatshirt. He spoke as he dragged it over his head. “Uncle Ashton sent a text at three a.m. that said I needed to get my butt out here as quickly as I could.”

Ginny blinked in surprise, her expression immediately sliding to worry. “Is he okay? I didn’t see him in the house, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. He’s usually around on Christmas Day, not the evening before.”

“He’s fine,” Tucker assured her. “Well, a little less fine after I shouted at him.”

It had been the weirdest thing. Tucker’s phone shut off between midnight and five except for emergency contacts, and his uncle was one of the few who could get a hold of him no matter what.

Ginny was another, but he wasn’t going to tell her that now.

“I tried to get in touch with him, but no answer. After half an hour of fucking around, I figured I may as well get on the road. I waited until six o’clock here to contact Luke, which meant I’d gotten nearly four hours of driving behind me.”

“You drove all the way from Winnipeg since this morning?” Ginny shook her head. “Damn, I’m sorry I woke you. I hate anything longer than three hours, and you did over thirteen.”

“Roads were good, so I made it a little faster than that.” He kept a straight face. “We don’t need to tell my uncle about that part.”

“Where is Ashton?”

“He’s fine. Luke couldn’t find him at first, and he wasn’t answering his phone. Finally showed up after lunch, and Luke said he was completely surprised to hear I was on the way. He swears he never sent any text.”

Ginny pulled a sweater from her backpack and tugged it over her shoulders. “Well, I’m glad he’s okay, but that’s odd.”

“Very. But since I was already mostly here, Ashton told me to come for the holidays.”

“I hope you don’t need to turn around and drive back in a couple of days.”

He’d done it before, but getting to enjoy an extended stay was good for many reasons. “I contacted my boss while I was driving. J&R Stables gave me two weeks off. Said they’d decided to run with a limited staff anyway since the place needs some upgrades done before customers can return. They were having some electrical problems, so it’s probably a good thing.”

“Well, that is good news.” She covered her mouth, but the yawn still escaped. “I’m sorry. I’d complain it’s been a long day, but mine wasn’t anywhere near as bad as yours.”

“It’s not a contest,” Tucker drawled.

“Ha. Tell that to Luke.”

Which made something inside him happy. After many summers spent together, Luke was a good, good friend, but they did tend to bring out the competitive nature in each other.

Her eyes lit up. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s like a summer reunion, only in the middle of winter. Without sunscreen.”