Her New Year's Wish List
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Makenna Lee
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Chapter One
“Is that a baby goat in your rowboat?”
With a hip bump, Daisy Dalton closed the door of her new sapphire-blue truck, zipped up her heaviest winter coat and looked past the three cowboys standing at the edge of the pond. Their arms were crossed over broad chests, and their heads were tilted in what she recognized as their thinking pose.
“Yep. That is in fact a baby goat.” Finn Murphy glanced over his shoulder with a shrug and a half grin. He was the tallest and blondest of the brothers, with wavy strands brushing the tops of his ears below a black cowboy hat.
The ice-tipped blades of grass crunched under Daisy’s boots as she joined them at the edge of the oval-shaped pond. This wasn’t the first time she’d found them involved in something unexpected. “She’s so tiny. Where in the world did you get a goat?”
“You’ll have to ask our big brother about that,” Jake said, and punched Finn’s shoulder. Jake was the youngest Murphy brother, always quick with a comment and very outgoing.
“I didn’t have a choice.” Finn rubbed his fingers through his blond beard, which had grown thicker over the winter months. “Someone abandoned the goat at the feed store. The second we got home, she sprinted down the hill, hopped into the rowboat, and it slid down the frosty bank and launched into the pond before I could catch her. I’ve decided to name her Rascal.”
“Seems like an appropriate choice.” Daisy smiled at the man who had become one of her best friends. He was a tough as they come cowboy, but it didn’t surprise her that Finn was the one who’d brought home the orphaned animal.
A gust of wind rustled the cluster of bare-branched trees that grew along the edge of the water, and the musical sound of tiny ice shards tinkled onto the rocks below. Sleet began to fall from the gray sky as the tiny brown-and-white goat jumped up onto the center bench seat, making the boat rock in the frigid water.
Daisy’s heart sprang into her throat. “What if she falls into the water?”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Finn said. “I’m hoping the wind will blow the boat to the edge of the pond.”
As if the universe was laughing in his face, another gust blew the boat farther into the middle, but at least Rascal hopped down from the seat into the center of the boat and propped her chin on the side. The little animal was bleating excitedly and looking around as pleased as could be with her grand adventure.
“So...how are you going to get her back to shore?” Daisy asked the three brothers.
“I guess we need another boat,” said Riley, the quiet middle brother who only talked when necessary. His extra deep voice was a low rumble in contrast to the goat’s high-pitched bleating.
Daisy’s long hair blew across her face, and she tugged her red stocking cap lower to cover more of her ears. As she watched Finn pace along the bank, an idea took shape. The two of them were always on the lookout for a challenge to issue to the other, and this was something he wouldn’t be able to do. In one of his recent dares, she’d ended up with her butt in the mud, and it was payback time for Finn.
“Too bad there isn’t anyone brave enough to swim out there and tow the boat back to shore,” she said.
Three sets of blue eyes snapped in her direction.
“Are you offering?” Jake sat on the open tailgate of an old black truck and lifted his hat to brush back his dark blond hair.
“Absolutely not.” She shivered at the mere idea of torturing herself in such a way. “You know I don’t do cold water, but your big brother is always bragging about how he used to jump into the river in the middle of a Montana winter.” Finn’s playful scowl made her grin. He hated it when she came up with a dare that he couldn’t complete.
“You don’t think I’ll do it?” Finn asked.
“Nope. I think you’re going to drive next door to my ranch and borrow my boat.”
He shrugged off his coat, tossed it over the truck bed and then started unbuttoning his flannel shirt. “Shows how much you know, Daisy Maisy,” he said, using the nickname he’d given her.
This was a dare she would’ve refused and assumed he’d do the same, but she was getting a bad feeling. “You cannot actually mean to jump into that ice cold water.”
“Sure I can.” Now bare chested, he walked out onto the wooden dock, hung his shirt and his hat on one of the posts and pulled off his cowboy boots and socks.
Heat blossomed in her belly. She’d learned to think of Finn as a close friend who just happened to be good-looking, and her initial lust had been safely tucked away, but when he paraded his perfect male body like this... She sighed and shook her head.
I really need to start dating again.
Every once in a while, he did something that re-sparked her libido. He’d say something that made butterflies dance or he’d touch her in an innocent way, completely unaware of the tingles rippling across her skin.
His full-body shiver snapped her back to the danger of what he was doing. This could go wrong in a hurry, and it would be all her fault. Who was going to rescue him when he cramped up in the middle of the pond?
“Okay, you win. You don’t have to turn yourself into a human Popsicle to prove how tough you are. I believe you swam in the ice-cold river as a kid.”
“It’s the quickest option to get the goat back to shore before she falls in.” He started working on the top button of his jeans.
She spun to face Riley and Jake. “Guys, tell him not to do it.”
They both shrugged, not appearing the least bit concerned.
When she turned back to Finn, he was standing at the end of the dock in a pair of black boxer briefs—his powerful physique framed by the gray winter sky. And it was quite glorious.
He glanced over his shoulder with a mischievous grin and then dove into the water.
“Finn!” She gasped and rushed out onto the dock, holding her breath until he surfaced and began swimming with long powerful strokes toward the boat. “Is he going to be all right?”
“He’ll be fine.” Riley stepped up beside her and handed her a heavy wool blanket. “We always keep a few of these in the truck.”
“Now I understand why.” She’d always wondered if Finn kept the blankets there so he could take his dates out “stargazing” in the bed of his truck.
Finn grabbed the front of the rowboat and began towing it in. The goat peeked over the side, bleating noisily in-between attempts at trying to eat his hair.
As he reached the shallows, each step revealed chilled skin so taut across his muscular body that he resembled a marble statue. And with water droplets clinging to his blond beard and his breath pluming into the icy air with each huffed breath, he looked like a painting of a Viking warrior of old.
Shivering and scolding the noisy goat, he pulled the small boat onto dry land. “This is the thanks I get for saving your scrawny little butt?”
Daisy rushed forward with the blanket held open and wrapped it around his shoulders. “Crazy fool. I can’t believe you did that.”
His teeth chattered behind lips that were tinged blue. “Payback is g-going to be a b-b-bitch.”
There was no doubt that she’d set herself up for something awful.
Riley scooped up the tiny animal before she could bolt again and tucked her into the front of his coat. “I’ll take her back to the house.” He started walking up the hill while Jake pulled the rowboat farther up the bank.
“Get in my truck. The heater is already running full blast.” Daisy put a hand on Finn’s back and urged him forward and was relieved when he didn’t argue. “I’ll grab your clothes.”
Jake handed over Finn’s coat. “Tell my brothers that I’m driving down to the barn to put out a couple more bales of hay for the cattle.”
“Be careful. It’s icier than you think,” she told him.
Daisy followed the path of Finn’s striptease and put his hat on her head, her stocking cap making it fit and not slide down over her eyebrows like it normally did. Lifting his black flannel shirt, she caught the scent of his soap and cologne and brought it closer to her nose before she could stop herself. Why did he have to smell as good as he looked? Stepping around icy patches on the dock, she made her way carefully to his discarded jeans.
At least I don’t have to pick up his underwear.
With her arms loaded, she made it back to her truck without incident, until she reached for the door handle. Her feet slipped in two different directions and his clothes tumbled to the ground. The only thing that saved her from going down completely was her one-handed grip on the door frame.
“Graceful as always,” Finn said with a chuckle.
“Shut up, Jack Frost.” Daisy still had a hold of one boot, and once she righted herself, she tossed it his way before collecting the rest of his belongings.
“Sorry I laughed. Are you okay?” he asked.
She scoffed. “You’re not the least bit sorry about laughing at me.”
“That might be true.” He put the boot on the floorboard and leaned his face close to a heater vent. “Why did you come over this evening? I thought you were excited to have the house all to yourself while your niece and sister’s families are away for the week.”
“I am, but some of your mail was in my box again.” She flicked an unpolished fingernail across an envelope sticking up from a cup holder. “It’s postmarked from Montana. Maybe it’s from one of your family members?”
“We don’t have any relatives left in that part of the country.” He scrubbed a hand roughly over his face.
Daisy wasn’t sure if it was to warm up his skin or to brush away his past. He didn’t like talking about his life in Montana, and she regretted bringing it up. “What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? Hot date?”
“Jake wants to have a party and invite everyone we know, and not surprisingly, Riley wholeheartedly objects to a house full of people. But the bad weather and icy roads might prevent any kind of big celebration.” He wiped water droplets from his hair with the blanket. “What about you? Got any big plans?”
“No. It will be a chill New Year’s Eve for me.” She didn’t want to admit her lack of a date, and since he hadn’t answered her question, maybe he didn’t have one either. But that seemed so unlikely, and he’d no doubt have his choice of gorgeous dates by New Year’s Eve. A hint of melancholy settled over her, and she sighed. She’d been looking forward to her time alone, but now...the idea of ringing in the new year all by herself wasn’t as exciting as it had been only a few hours ago.
It only took a minute to drive up the hill from the pond to his house, and Finn Murphy’s skin was prickling painfully as the heater began to thaw him from the outside in. He’d never been this cold. Ever. But letting Daisy know the extent of his misery after plunging into glacial water was out of the question.
When she grinned at him, he playfully scowled. “You lost. I took your dare and did what you thought I wouldn’t. So, you’re enjoying this more than you should be.”
“Not as much as I would have if you’d kept your clothes on. Now I have to wash my eyes out.”
He barked a laugh. “I’ve never had a woman wish I’d keep my clothes on.”
“Okay, Casanova.” She angled another heater vent in his direction. “I had such big plans to endlessly tease you when you refused to swim in an ice bath, but you foiled my evil plan.”
“Don’t mess with the master. My brothers learned that lesson years ago.”
She parked beside the row of hawthorn bushes and turned off the engine. “I’ll bring in your clothes and boots, so you don’t drop your blanket.”
“Good idea. We can’t risk you getting another look at me without my clothes on,” he said. “It’s too cold to have you fainting like a wilting flower.”
“Hey, my name might be flowery, but I’m...” Her voice trailed off as her brow crumpled. “Not.”
Why had that made her good mood fall away? Did she wish she was more...flowery? She was pretty, but not turn-your-head-gorgeous. He’d only seen her in a dress a few times, and her face was usually free of makeup. She was more tomboy than feminine. But did she want to be seen differently? For some reason, anytime Daisy was sad, it made his chest tight.
It’s just because I’m protective of her like I am with Riley and Jake.
He grimaced and instantly knew that was not the reason. She might not be some party girl he was dating, but he definitely did not put her in the sister category.
She moved his cowboy hat from her head to his. “Maybe this will keep you warm.”
“You’re such a giver.” He grabbed the mail, took a deep breath and stepped from the warmth of the truck’s cab. “Holy hell.” He hissed as his feet touched the ice-cold gravel and every step was like walking on a pile of Lego bricks.
Why the hell didn’t I put my boots back on? This was yet another time he wasn’t willing to admit a weakness. All that did was give people an invitation to use it against you.
The sounds of chaos met them before he’d even opened the front door of the sprawling one-story log ranch house he shared with his brothers. When the front door swung open, the scene that greeted them was his own doing. He’d been the one who brought another animal home. Their black dog was barking his head off at the baby goat who was bouncing across the back of their old sectional sofa. They seemed to be competing to see who was louder.
“Enough, Astro!” Riley knelt beside the dog. His deep voice could bring a rowdy room to attention, but he rarely used it at full power.
Daisy dropped Finn’s things onto one of the recliners and scooped up the miniature goat. “You really do live up to your new name, don’t you?” She laughed when Rascal headbutted her shoulder and then snuggled into her arms like it was nap time. When the animal was curled up, she was no bigger than a puppy.
Finn rushed across the cold hardwood floor of their living room to stand on the rug in front of the fireplace. Flames blazed in the stone hearth, and he flung open the wool blanket to let in the heat, but in his haste, he forgot he was holding the letter from Montana. The envelope slipped from his cold fingers and sailed right into the fire. The center blackened immediately, and the edges curled as they were caught in a flash of flames.
“Damn. I hope that wasn’t important.”
Daisy came up beside him with Rascal curled up in her arms. “Did you just burn that letter?”
“Not on purpose. For some reason, my fingers are too numb, and I couldn’t hold on to it.”
She winced. “I feel partially responsible for your discomfort, and I know you’re—”
“A hero?” he suggested.
She smiled wide enough to show her one dimple, which was low on her right cheek. “I was going to say freezing, but now that you mention it, yes. I’m sure the goat will agree with your hero status.” She snuggled the animal under her chin. “Do you have any idea what kind of goat she is? She seems smaller than other baby goats I’ve seen.”
“She’s an African Pygmy goat. The old farmer who brought her to the feed store said she was orphaned, and he didn’t have time to supplement her food with bottle feeding.” He shivered.
“Want me to start a hot bath for you? A long bubble bath can be so relaxing, and I’m planning to have one when I get home. It’s the least I can do for you before I leave.”
When she licked her lips, which were red from the cold, an image flashed in his mind. Daisy in the bathtub, wet and surrounded by a mound of bubbles. He squeezed his eyes closed. A flash like this had happened once before. His brain needed to get it together and knock it off.
Back when she’d been their boss, he’d had no choice but to keep things completely chill because he and his two brothers had needed the job on her horse ranch. Once they saved enough and bought Four Star Ranch next door, he briefly considered asking her out for a bit of fun, but Daisy Dalton was the girl next door type—both figuratively and literally—and his tastes ran more toward party girls who had no interest in anything serious. Plus Daisy was his first female friend, and she meant a lot to him. If he let his mind go down a dangerous path, it could ruin everything.
Daisy expected—and deserved—a committed relationship, and that’s something that was not part of his DNA. He never did it on purpose, but he always ended up breaking hearts. He wasn’t the kind of guy who settled down with one woman.
He cleared his throat. “I think I’ll just get in the shower. Seems faster.”
And safer.
