Christmas at Colts Creek

by Delores Fossen

  Cursing and yelling, Riggs didn’t go down, but he did let go of Teagan, and that’s when Brody moved in. He tossed the shoe onto the steps, gently moved Teagan aside and rammed his fist into Riggs’s face. He heard the satisfying crunch of broken cartilage, and Riggs’s nose spewed with blood. Still, the idiot didn’t go down. He tried to grab Teagan again, no doubt so he could use her as a shield.

  Janessa fixed that.

  Swinging the umbrella like a baseball bat, she slammed it against the side of his head, and she kept slamming until Riggs dropped down to his knees. And yeah, he yelled in pain.

  Brody caught a blur of motion from the corner of his eye and saw Velma Sue’s shoe fly past him. Obviously, she’d picked it up, and it bashed into Riggs’s already broken nose. This time, the yell of pain was more like a sobbing howl.

  “Are you all right?” Janessa asked Teagan. Teagan gave a shaky nod as Janessa got off the bungee cord.

  “I’ll take that,” Brody told her, and when she tossed him the cord, he used it as makeshift handcuffs to restrain Riggs. He also had to stop Velma Sue from hurling her other shoe at Riggs.

  “He’s not getting Sweet Pea,” Velma Sue declared, and it was by far the most emotion Brody had ever heard in her voice. That tone could have gotten death row inmates to back off.

  In the distance, Brody heard the police sirens. So did Riggs, and proving that he was indeed a moron, he tried to scramble away. That was such a bad idea. Brody merely stepped to the side and let Velma Sue hurl that shoe. It bashed right into Riggs’s balls. Well, that was assuming he had any. There must have been something in that general region because it put him on the ground where he howled, groaned and yelled.

  Since there were now nearly a dozen hands in the yard, Riggs wouldn’t be going anywhere so Brody turned his attention to Teagan. She was still sobbing, and seeing those tears made Brody want to punch Riggs again. Instead, he sank down on the other side of Janessa so he was facing Teagan.

  “I’m so sorry,” Brody told her.

  Teagan shook her head. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m so sorry. I was going to work, and I didn’t see Riggs before he jumped out and grabbed me. He put me in his car and forced me to come here with him.”

  That meant Riggs could be charged with kidnapping and forced imprisonment for starters, and hopefully that would keep him behind bars for a long, long time especially since he already had a record.

  All three Last Ride cruisers came to a stop in the driveway, and the sheriff and deputies poured out. “The little shit was trying to take Sweet Pea,” Velma Sue told them, and she walked toward them, no doubt to fill them in.

  The sheriff would want to question all of them, but for now Brody continued to sit next to Teagan. “Why don’t you come inside?” he asked. “It’s cold out here, and you could probably use something warm to drink.”

  Teagan shook her head, and she gave a wary look over her shoulder toward the still-open front door. “The baby’s here?”

  “Yes,” Janessa assured her. “And she’s safe. She’s upstairs with Margo.”

  “Then no. I don’t want to go in. I don’t want to see her.” Teagan’s tears came pouring again. “I can’t see her.”

  “I understand.” Janessa’s voice was a soft, soothing purr. A contrast to the “chaos” that was now going on in the yard with the deputies hauling a still-howling Riggs away.

  Teagan lifted her teary eyes to meet Janessa’s. “I was going to call you today to tell you that Char can’t take her. She says it’ll be too much for her to handle, what with the twins.”

  Hell. Brody had known this could happen, but he’d held out hope that Char would still be able to take Sweet Pea.

  “I don’t want the baby to go into the foster system,” Teagan went on, her attention still glued to Janessa. “Please don’t let that happen. Janessa, I’m begging you to adopt her.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  BUNDLED UP IN a blanket and with her thermos of hot chocolate, Janessa sat beneath a sprawling live oak, her tablet on her lap, and she stared at her father’s tombstone. Maybe if she stared at it long enough, she’d be able to figure out how to finish the research paper for the Last Ride Society.

  This definitely wasn’t a comfortable or joyous way to spend a chilly Texas winter night, but once she’d left Colts Creek and started driving, she’d somehow ended up here.

  Here, where it’d all started.

  Abe’s funeral seemed like a lifetime ago, but the fresh lettering and date on the tombstone let her know that a lifetime could happen in a single season. This particular lifetime of hers certainly had. That was rather deep musings, considering she should be writing this report and fixing stuff by making sure that all was well at the ranch. And with Brody. And with Teagan.

  And with everyone else.

  Including herself.

  The only person she was certain wasn’t still shaken up by what Riggs had tried to do was Sweet Pea. That’s because the baby was thankfully too young to realize that her sperm-donor dad was basically—to borrow one of Margo’s expressions—a flamin’ bunghole. The baby had slept through the ordeal and afterward had shown absolutely no signs of stress. Janessa had personally made sure of that once the aftermath of the flamin’ bunghole’s antics had been brought to a stop.

  The aftermath had started with Riggs being carted away in a police cruiser. His destination was the hospital followed by the jail. Where he would remain until the cops worked out who would charge him, try him and then lock him away for a good portion of his life.

  During Teagan’s aftermath, she’d been examined, too, not at the hospital but rather by the EMTs. Once they’d given her the all clear to leave and she’d given her statement to the cops, Brody had put her in his truck to drive her back to Dallas.

  Janessa was thankful he’d volunteered to do that, and she could tell that Teagan had been, too. The girl had wanted to leave fast, and she probably wouldn’t have been as comfortable with a ranch hand or deputy that she didn’t know.

  Continuing with her own aftermath, Janessa had said a teary goodbye to Teagan and waved Brody and her off, and then she’d gone to the nursery. There, she’d just rocked the baby while the minutes and the hours ticked by. Janessa had fed her, changed her and rocked her some more, all the while wondering what the heck she was going to do. That’s when she’d finally handed off the baby to Sophia and let everyone know she was going out, that she needed some thinking time.

  The thinking time was a necessity, but she knew it had caused so many people to worry about her. The proof of that was the sheer volume of texts and calls she’d gotten after a couple of hours had passed. Apparently, they thought thinking time was code for her doing something stupid because Janessa could read the worry between the lines of the messages. Still, she hadn’t been able to make herself move from this spot and go back to give everyone a face-to-face assurance that she wasn’t falling into a million little pieces.

  Sighing, Janessa took out her phone when it dinged with another text. It was Sophia wanting to know if she was all right. Her mother had used her own version of code, though, by saying Alma had just dropped off some fresh snickerdoodles and didn’t she want one?

  Save some for me, Janessa messaged back. Will be there in a while.

  Of course, in a while might be a couple more hours. So far, her thinking time had resulted in zero decisions, and she wasn’t going to give up on it just yet.

  When she slipped her phone back in her purse, her fingers brushed against the small box. Her thirteenth birthday gift from Abe. She’d put it in her purse, intending to open it once she’d decided what to do with, well, everything and everyone, but Janessa took it out now and with a “What the heck,” she tore off the paper and looked inside the box.

  It was a necklace.

  Not anything over the top or meant to show off his wealth, either. It was a del
icate gold heart locket with her initials inscribed on it. When she opened it, there was a thumbnail-sized picture of her, one taken when she’d been about six or seven. On the other side of the heart was a wedding photo of Abe and Sophia. Janessa hadn’t even known such photos of them existed, but as she looked closer, she had no doubt it was them. Either they were putting on an Oscar-worthy performance or they looked very much in love.

  Janessa put the necklace on, fumbling around with the tiny latch until she got it on. She looked at Abe’s tombstone to see if he was going to give her any kind of approval from beyond the grave.

  A bat swooped and dipped through the night sky.

  Well, that probably wasn’t a sign from the hereafter, but she’d take it. She had too many unresolved issues in her life to mentally quibble about hereafter signs and how her father would feel about her now.

  She didn’t quibble either when the night breeze took a swipe at her hair and caused her earrings to jangle. Her Christmas gift from Brody. She hadn’t taken them off except to shower and sleep, and she’d kept them right next to her bed. It made her feel a little like a lovesick teenager.

  Her phone rang, again, and she knew it was a call she’d have to take when she saw Kyle’s name on the screen. He had as much on his plate of worry as she did and was probably blaming himself for what Teagan had been through. Especially since there’d been enough time for it all to have sunk in. According to the text Janessa had gotten from Brody, he’d dropped Teagan off at Bright Hope nearly four hours ago. Four hours for Teagan to give Kyle her personal account. Four hours for Kyle to mentally kick himself.

  “I’m okay,” Janessa greeted as a preemptive strike. “And none of what happened was your fault. You couldn’t have used your ESP or crystal ball to stop this.”

  Kyle’s silence let her know that her preemptive strike was a direct hit. “I just hate that Teagan had to go through it.”

  “I know. I know,” she repeated with another heavy sigh. “How is she?”

  “As well as can be expected. Is everyone there okay?”

  “Everyone but Riggs. He has a broken nose and sore balls. Brody punched him. I bashed him with an umbrella, and Velma Sue hit him in the balls with shoes. Really heavy shoes.”

  She nearly laughed after spelling that all out. Nearly. But the image of a terrified Teagan was still too fresh in her mind.

  “Riggs is in jail?” he asked.

  “He is, and the sheriff here assured me that he was going to fight any quick bail because Riggs is a flight risk with a violent streak and a record. He intends to charge him with the forced imprisonment, assault and attempted kidnapping of the baby, and he’ll transfer him to the county jail to await trial. Once he’s convicted and sentenced to what should be several decades, then he’ll face the kidnapping charges for Teagan in Dallas. That will add even more years to his time behind bars.”

  “Good. I’ll make sure Teagan understands that. She’s in her room right now having some downtime to process everything, but a group of us are having dinner with her tonight.” He paused. “I didn’t ask her about it, but I take it she didn’t want to stay there in Last Ride?”

  “Nope, and she didn’t want to see the baby.” Janessa paused, took that deep breath she needed so she could continue. “Teagan wants me to adopt Sweet Pea.”

  Kyle paused again. “So she said. And will you?”

  “To be determined. My life feels like one of those thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles that have just been tossed into the air, and the pieces are all over the place.”

  Just as she said that, Janessa saw one of those pieces walking in the darkness toward her. Brody.

  “Gotta go,” she told Kyle. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Her heart did the little leap it always did when she saw Brody. The man certainly made a picture in his jeans and Stetson. A cowboy in winter moonlight. A cowboy she loved down to the soles of those boots.

  She was betting Brody had wrestled with his confession about that love on the drive back from Dallas. Janessa had, too.

  “Being in love doesn’t fix squat,” she greeted him just as he’d leaned down to kiss her.

  His mouth stopped and hovered above hers. “Oh?”

  “Squat,” she repeated. “I still have decisions to make. Big decisions. And this research for the Last Ride Society.” Janessa set the tablet on top of her purse so she could pull Brody down to her for that kiss.

  One touch of his lips and she felt some of those puzzle pieces slide right into place. Okay, so maybe being in love did fix some things after all.

  “Big decisions,” he repeated, sinking down on the ground. Not by her side but with them facing each other. A wise choice since it gave her a chance to look at him. At his eyes, that mouth.

  “You look darn good in moonlight,” she informed him, and she pulled him into the blanket with her.

  “Same goes for you.” With the corner of his hot kissable mouth slightly lifted, he used the tip of his index finger to push a strand of hair off her cheek.

  Their gazes locked, held, and she could have sworn they had an entire conversation. One where Brody assured her that everything would turn out all right. A few more of those puzzle piece wiggled right where they were supposed to be.

  “How much more research?” he asked, picking up the tablet.

  “To be determined. I’ve written and tweaked all the stories and bio details. It’s the ending I’m having trouble with. I read some of the other reports, and they all had a flourish of sorts at the end. Some of them quite dramatic. So-and-so forged unforged paths, was the brightest of stars, leaped tall buildings, etc.” She put those last ones in air quotes.

  Brody’s smile kicked up even more. “How about just saying Abraham Lincoln Parkman IV was a rancher, businessman and my father. It’s simple,” Brody added, then paused. “That is if you think of him as your father.”

  Janessa took a moment to wrap her mind around that particular puzzle piece. “I do. He wasn’t the best parental unit, but he wasn’t the worst, either.” She opened the heart locket for Brody to see. “His thirteenth birthday gift to me.”

  So maybe that piece had fallen into place, as well. An imperfect father, an imperfect man, yes, but life rarely dealt out perfection. It was all about handling the imperfections and making them work. Sliding them until they fit.

  Like now.

  As that single bat made a return and flitted through the air, she pulled Brody to her for one of those long slow, soul-soothing kisses. Of course, it had heat. This was Brody after all, so heat was a given, but a kiss from him was like one of those package deals. Lots of stuff and free shipping.

  She felt a little drunk when she eased back from him. Drunk and incredibly clearheaded.

  “I’m going to adopt Sweet Pea,” she told him. “And I’m naming her Ava Elizabeth. Ava is Sophia’s middle name. Elizabeth is Margo’s middle name. That should make both GeeGees happy.”

  It seemed to make Brody happy, too, because his smile widened. “I think that’s a wise choice, both on the adoption and the name.” He paused. “Though you know they’ll probably keep calling her Sweet Pea.”

  Yep, she’d figured that and was okay with it. Janessa was more than okay with a lot of things. For instance, Colts Creek House. She was going to let Sophia do some full steaming ahead with her plans for putting that together and running it with Margo.

  That left Brody.

  “Now, I’m going to tell you all the things I’m not going to do,” she said. Janessa held up her finger to start counting them off. “I’m not leaving Last Ride. I’m not giving up managing Bright Hope.”

  She’d just have to take a trip there once or twice a month and continue to deal with the paperwork from here. That might take some adjustments for Kyle, but if it became a problem, they could hire some extra help. Especially since she was technically stinking rich now. />
  Janessa held up a second finger. “I’m also not going to raise Ava on Colts Creek Ranch. I’ll find another place.”

  Again, being stinking rich would help with that, but she didn’t want a house. She wanted a home.

  She held up a third finger. “And I’m not going to let you take back the I love you. You’re stuck with that, but I’ll give you an out and say you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do about that whole loving me deal. We can just keep going with this fling until one of us decides we don’t want to fling anymore.”

  He didn’t say anything. Not so much as a grunt or a sigh. Brody just stared at her for what seemed to be the entire life cycle of a bat.

  “Well?” she prompted, pairing it with a huff. “I’ve just shown you all the pieces of my life, and—”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her, but even then she could feel him smiling against her mouth. Well, smiling until he deepened the kiss, and he turned her mind to mush. Good mush. With lots and lots of heat and potential.

  “You showed me yours,” he drawled when they broke for air. And, mercy, he made that sound down and dirty. “Now, I’ll show you mine. Here’s what I’m not going to do.” He held up one finger but then used it to trace the outline of her right nipple. “I’m not going to back away from Colts Creek. I’ll help you with it for as long as you need my help and until we find the right ranch manager.”

  Good. Because that was one of the puzzle pieces that looked as if it might have the possibility of some frayed edges. Janessa still intended to give Rowan the ranch, but it’d be years before he was ready to take it over.

  Brody held up a second finger and used it to trace her mouth. “I’m not going to have a fling with you anymore.”

  Everything stopped. The air, her breathing, maybe even her heart. God, her heart.