This time Ally’s smile was from the heart. “And your familial one,” she added softly.

That was true, too, Hank noted. Never had he wanted to have a family of his own more than he did right now, with Ally, Duchess and Gracie…

Whenever she let her guard down, Ally seemed to want that, too.

Silence fell as they looked into each other’s eyes. Ally sobered, as if suddenly recalling all that still remained unsettled, all that could drive them apart. She was right to be concerned, Hank admitted reluctantly to himself. It was time to have a serious discussion, at least about the things they could talk about at this juncture.

Such as her meeting with Marcy Lyon.

Hank pocketed his phone once again. Figuring this was one conversation best had with no distraction, he helped Ally return the puppies to the warming box, next to Duchess in the whelping pen. The warming box was situated next to the mother dog. When they’d all settled down to sleep once again, Ally motioned for Hank to follow her.

“So how did your meeting go?” he asked, while they walked back into the living room.

She sank down on the sofa, propped her feet on the coffee table and released a long, slow breath. “Premier Realty’s appraisal did not come out as I had hoped.”

Hank tensed, not sure whose side he was on-hers or his. Maybe both… He sat next to her, being careful to give her plenty of room. “How bad was it?”

Ally passed a weary hand over her eyes. “So bad Marcy is refusing to list the ranch for me, because she doesn’t want every bit of profit I might make from the sale of the property to go toward her commission.” Briefly, she explained, then looked over at him and shook her head in exasperation. “What kind of person shoots themselves in the foot professionally that way?”

Hank replied frankly, “The kind who lives in Laramie, Texas. Neighbors here help each other out. They don’t take unfair advantage for personal gain.”

“Like Corporate Farms would.”

Hank nodded, knowing he would give anything to find a way to keep Ally in his life. Even his dream of one day owning this ranch, if that’s what it would take. Because she was worth any sacrifice to him. The question was, what was he worth to her?

She released a beleaguered sigh and turned toward him, tucking one foot beneath her, her other knee nudging his. Her green eyes were full of strength and wisdom. “I’m a financial analyst.” She shifted closer, the fragrance of her hair and skin inundating his senses. “I know the smart thing to do, fiscally, would be to accept CF’s deal and not look back.”

Hank gazed at her thoughtfully, really wanting to understand her. “And yet…?” he prompted softly.

She tensed, seeming on guard once again. “They’d destroy the house, the barn and everything that is familiar about this place.”

And that, Hank noted, was something Ally couldn’t bear. He reached over and covered her hand with his. “I thought you hated Mesquite Ridge.”

Her fingers grasped his and she bit her lip. “I did, too. At least I thought I did.” She paused to look deep into his eyes. “But now that I’ve been here again and started fixing up the house, I’m remembering some not so bad times.” She shrugged. “Like sewing with my mother. Learning the ins and outs of finance and bookkeeping with my dad. As much as I hated their frugality, I have to admit no one could stretch a dollar better than the two of them.” Ally pushed her free hand through her hair, mussing the silky strands. She shook her head, her eyes glimmering moistly. “I feel like I have no good options.”

Unable to bear seeing her in so much distress, Hank shifted her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “That’s not true. You have me. I am this close-” he held his index finger and thumb half an inch apart “-to being able to help you.” This close to being able to tell you everything I feel…everything I want us both to have.

She scowled briefly. “Please don’t say that,” she begged, splaying her hands across his chest. “Really. I can’t bear any more half-baked promises. Not tonight.”

Tenderness swept through him. Not sure when he had ever felt such devotion, he shifted her closer still. Heaven help him, he wanted to make love to her here and now. And one day soon, their time would come.

“Then what can I do?” he asked quietly.

The caution that she’d been feeling the last few days, about the two of them, fled. She leaned into him and allowed herself to be vulnerable to the undeniable sparks between them once again. “Help me to forget I may soon have to sell the only real link to family that I have left. Or that tomorrow I’m going to find out whether or not I’m going to be laid off from my job.” Her voice cracked emotionally. She looked at him with raw need. “And that Duchess and Gracie and the rest of the puppies are going to be taken away…”

She was facing tremendous loss, Hank knew. But she wasn’t going to lose him. Not if he could help it. And lowering his mouth to hers, he set about to show her that.

One kiss turned into two, then three. She shifted around on his lap so she was straddling him. The softness of her breasts pressed against his chest as she nuzzled his neck.

Hank unbuttoned her blouse, eased it off and divested her of her lacy bra. She shuddered as he palmed her nipples, teasing them into tender buds. His hands drifted lower, to release the zipper on her skirt.

Deciding the sooner there was nothing but pure heat between them the better, he shifted her again, so she was on her feet. And then she took the lead, stripping sensually, helping him do the same. She touched and kissed him with a wild rapture, pushing him toward the edge. In a haze, he suddenly found himself sitting on the sofa again, with Ally straddling his lap.

“Now,” she said determinedly, tangling her fingers in his hair.

“Not until you’re ready.” He held her wrists in one hand, using his other to touch, stroke, love. She quivered, as he kissed her again, vowing to make this last, to make it so incredible she would never want to pull away. Her skin grew flushed, her thighs parted to better accommodate his. And then she was wet and trembling, ready, wanting, needing, and Hank was lost in a completeness unlike anything he had ever known. His heart pounding, he caught her hips. Brought her flush against him. Ally closed around him, her response honest and unashamed. Surrendering entirely, she took him deep inside her, resolutely commanding everything he had to give. And when she would have hurried the pace even more, he held back, making her understand what it was to feel such urgent, burning need.

Until there was no doubt that this holiday season, the two of them had every dream fulfilled, in their lovemaking, in each other. Until she was giving him every ounce of tenderness and passion she possessed, just as he was to her.

For the first time Hank knew what it was to come home to where the heart was, to have every detail of his future happiness laid out in front of him, his for the taking.

He wanted to tell her how he felt. But with the business of the ranch still between them, he knew he had to wait. So Hank tried to show her instead, with kisses full of longing, touches full of need. Until she was shivering with pleasure, until she drew him toward the brink and was crying out hoarsely as he thrust inside her, the friction of their bodies doubling the pleasure. Her hands were on his skin, and his were on hers, and nothing mattered but the two of them. Their mouths and bodies meshed until every bit of her was sweet and wild and womanly. And all his… Beautifully, magically, wonderfully his.

All they had to do was make it another thirty-four hours.

Until late Christmas Eve.

When he would finally be able to tell her the truth.

And give her the security and sense of belonging she had always craved.

Chapter Fourteen

Ally clapped a hand over her heart and stared at the litter. Her pretty face glowed with a happiness that would have been hard to imagine just two weeks before. “I can’t believe it, Hank! They’re actually standing.”

“Before they fall over, that is.” Hank chuckled as the puppies-all roughly three pounds each now-struggled upright, tottered and then fell, only to get right back up again. It seemed once Gracie had the idea, all her bigger littermates wanted to follow her example.

“It’s going to be so quiet here without them,” Ally mused tenderly.

Even quieter without you, Hank thought. If you choose to leave. I’m still hoping a Christmas miracle will happen and you’ll decide not to return to Houston, after all.

Pushing his own concerns aside, he asked, “Have you heard about your job yet?”

Ally paled. “Word was supposed to be sent out via email at seven this morning.”

Hank glanced at his watch. “It’s seven-thirty.”

She acknowledged this with a slight dip of her head. “I know. I should check. But…” she lifted her slender shoulders in a shrug “…I’m afraid to look.”

Hank knew it was his job to lessen the tension. He flashed her a consoling grin, and drawled, “You know what they say…”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” Ally replied, mirroring his deadpan expression.

“Burying your head in the sand doesn’t give you anything but grit up your nose.”

She burst out laughing. “And here I thought you were going to go all Churchill on me and say something like-” she lowered her voice to a booming alto “-Now, Ally, there’s nothing to fear but fear itself!”

“That, too.” He moved a strand of hair from her cheek, and tucked it behind her ear. “Why don’t you have a look?” he encouraged gently. For her sake, he hoped she got what she wanted-continued employment and a steady salary coming in. “I’ll have the champagne ready.”