His Christmas Sweetheart by Cathy McDavid

Author:Cathy McDavid [McDavid, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-11-20T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“What do you think? Isn’t she a beauty?” Sam passed his smartphone across the desk to the mayor for her inspection. “The Bishop County Fire Department emailed this photo to me yesterday.”

The mayor took the phone and studied the picture of the fire engine, her face reflecting her delight. “Very nice.”

Will had seen the photo already. His reaction was slightly less enthralled. All right, considerably less. He understood Sam and the mayor’s excitement. An improved volunteer fire department would provide a real boon to the town.

If only he felt more confident about being an asset to the department and not a detriment.

He and Sam had come to town in order to pick up a pallet of grain at the feed store. Once that task had been accomplished, Sam had dropped by the mayor’s office, revealing the real reason for their spontaneous errand run.

“Is it for sale?” the mayor asked hopefully.

“Not any longer. They found a buyer.” Sam looked ready to burst. “Me.”

“Hot dog!” The mayor threw her arms up in the air. “Tell me everything. All the details.”

“It’s a pumper-tanker engine. Only six years old.” Sam spoke with the kind of reverence one might use when describing a rare work of art. “It has an impeller water-pump system and a built-in thousand-gallon tank.”

“Where did you find it?”

Sam explained his efforts over the past few days to the mayor. The results had been a fire engine that was within the town’s budget. That the BCFD was willing to take payments made it an even better bargain.

“Ooh. We should call Cliff.” She reached for the phone.

Will propped his elbow on the visitor chair armrest. This was apparently going to take a while.

While the mayor was preoccupied, Will said to Sam, “I’m going to the Paydirt. See if I can’t hitch a ride with someone back to the ranch.”

“What’s the hurry?”

“I’ve got to finish work on the sleigh.”

Another of his boss’s acquisitions. Sam had intended to decorate it with lights and display it at the entrance to the Gold Nugget. Will had instead suggested they give rides to the guests. Where that idea came from, he wasn’t sure, but now he was stuck with it. The sleigh was in reasonably good condition but needed a few repairs before being able to carry passengers.

“Luiz can help you when we get back,” Sam said.

Will didn’t just sit around doing nothing when he could be doing something.

He glanced out the mayor’s office window. They’d woken up that morning to three inches of freshly fallen snow. Not enough for cross-country skiing—that required another foot at least. But more than enough of the white stuff to turn the town and the Gold Nugget into a winter wonderland.

The contest winners and their families had left the previous day, raving about what a fantastic time they’d had. The publicity hadn’t exactly worked miracles, from what Will had heard. Still, the ranch had gotten a few new reservations, some of those for the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

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