Some things never changed. But here was the deal. Where she’d once found her small country town and the folks in it dull and staid, after traveling the world she had a whole new perspective and a deep respect for the things and people she’d left behind.
At eighteen, she’d been cavalier, not appreciating what she’d had and believing the wide world at large had more to offer her than the community where she’d grown up. Instead of treasuring who she was and where she came from, she’d dismissed it as colloquial and pedestrian. What she’d learned was that people were the same all over the world, and just because something was different and seemed exotic to her, it didn’t make it better than Kringle.
Living with this lesson was ironic when she was sitting in the man's truck. The man she’d left behind. The man who could still turn her world upside down with a lazy grin.
Heavens, she’d been such a foolish young girl when she’d broken his heart. Guilt nibbled at her. How could she have treated his love so casually? Had she secretly believed that he’d just been waiting around for her to return for good?
If so, that was pretty damn selfish. Ava cringed.
Quickly, she dispelled any notion that she had a future with Caleb. It was too late for them.
Losing him was the price she’d paid to find herself. She’d needed time to determine what she wanted in life. Caleb might have known from an early age that he wanted to stay on his grandfather’s ranch and raise horses and longhorns, but Ava hadn’t a clue what she’d wanted from life...
Or love.
Now she knew, but it was too late.
Stop beating yourself up, Ava.
If she hadn’t left Kringle, she never would have discovered who she was as a photographer, and she wouldn’t have built a successful career. She’d needed time, and even though she knew she’d hurt Caleb badly, it had been the right thing for them both.
They crested a small hill, and in the distance, Ava spied a small brown dog wandering aimlessly in a field near the road.
“Look, there’s Minnie Pearl.” She pointed.
Slowing, Caleb guided the truck into the bar ditch near the fence and parked. Ava tumbled out, leash in hand.
Minnie Pearl saw her and came running, eager for rescue.
“Did those longer-legged dogs run off and leave you behind, babe?” Ava cooed, squatting beside the dachshund and clicking the leash clasp around her collar.
Scooping Minnie Pearl into her arms, she opened the rear door and deposited the dog inside and secured her with the doggy seat belt that Caleb used for transporting his ranch dogs. She had to adjust the straps for Minnie’s small size.
“Two down, three to go,” she declared, returning to the passenger seat. “I wonder where the others went.”
Caleb took off his Stetson and ran a hand through his hair.
Her pulse quickened at the sight of his wavy locks. Whether or not she admitted it, he still took her breath away.
“They might have wandered up to my house. My housekeeper Freda is notorious for feeding strays.” Caleb put the truck in gear, and they continued to his home.
Ava glanced over the seat to check on Minnie Pearl, who seemed content.
The old farmhouse that had belonged to Caleb’s grandparents came into view and her breath caught at the sight of it. She had so many fond memories of the place—spring planting and summer harvest. Watermelons and fireworks on the Fourth of July. Picnics by the pond. Halloween parties and hayrides.
And of course Christmas.
It had been her favorite season on the Leaping Longhorn Ranch. His grandparents and mother had gone all out. Decorating as passionately as anyone in Kringle, and that was saying a lot for a town besotted with Christmas. In fact, the ranch had won the town decorating contest more than once. More memories tumbled in on her. She and Caleb helping string lights from the eaves, hanging stockings on the mantel, and kissing under the mistletoe.
Her cheeks heated and she turned her head so he wouldn’t notice and studied the house. “You haven’t decorated for Christmas! Why not? It’s only two weeks away.”
He shrugged. “No reason to decorate. Mom was the Christmas fanatic. Without her, it’s too much of an effort.”
“You liked to decorate when we were teenagers.”
“We’re not kids anymore, Ava. Christmas is for children.”
“And the young at heart,” she said.
“That’s you, not me,” he grumbled.
“Ah, c’mon. Don’t be a grinch. You should at least put up a few lights. It’ll help you get into the holiday spirit.”
“Nah. It’s not really my thing anymore.”
That made her feel so sad, as if he’d given up on the joys of life. Because of her? “Not even a tree inside?”
“Why put up decorations for a couple of weeks just to turn around and take them down again? Seems like a lot of unnecessary work.”
Ava’s mouth dropped open. “Caleb Sutton, I cannot believe you just said that. Why take a shower every day when you have to turn around and take another shower the next day? Why wash your truck when you know your truck is just going to get dirty again the next time you drive across a muddy field?”
He laughed and held up a hand. “Fine. Point made. I’ll decorate. But only if you agree to pitch in.”
She rewarded him with a grin. “Great. I’ll get some of my friends, and we’ll come over tomorrow to help. Decorating is always more fun when you have a crowd. I’ll even bring snacks. We’ll make it a party. We—”
“Look there.” Caleb gestured as he stopped the truck near the horse barn.
Two dogs—a German shepherd mix and an Aussiepoo were standing on their back legs drinking from the water trough.
“They look like drinking buddies bellied up to a bar.” Ava laughed. “Felix and Oscar, the odd couple.”
“You know all their names?”
“I do. They’re my parents’ pets. Mom talks about them endlessly.”
He made a noise that was just short of a snort. “I didn’t think you kept up with something that trivial.”
“What must you think of me, Caleb? I’m interested in my parents’ lives. I communicate with them regularly. We text every day, several times a day even.”
“Why are you getting defensive?”
“I’m not.” Was she? She lowered her voice and spoke more slowly to disprove his claim. “Do you think the dogs will come to me like Minnie Pearl did? These two don’t know me very well and since they started off life as strays, they might still have a bit of wild to them.”
“Let’s stroll along as if catching them is the last thing we have in mind,” Caleb suggested.
Ava chuckled. “Sneaky. I like it.”
He laughed. “Stick with me. I have more tricks up my sleeve.”
She’d missed that laugh so much. More than she realized. Maybe they could be friends after all. That would be so nice. They ambled closer toward the water trough, purposefully ignoring the dogs.
Ava cast around for a safe conversational topic. “How’s your mom doing?”
Caleb’s dad had died in a military operation when Caleb was fourteen. He and his mother Bethany had moved to Kringle to live with his mother’s parents. His mom had stayed on the ranch after her parents passed away until a few years ago when she’d sold it to him, remarried, and moved to Dallas.