I Saw Mommy Kissing A Cowboy (Cowboy Christmas Romance)

by Charlene Bright

“You’re just trying to be able to say I went out to dinner with you after all, aren’t you?”

  He grinned and said, “Whatever I have to do. Once the first date is over, it gets easier from there.”

  She laughed. “Okay, we can stop at the diner. But, this isn’t a date.”

  He didn’t say anything for the next two miles, but as he pulled the pickup into a parking stall in front of the little diner and put it in park he said, “Is too,” under his breath.

  She rolled her eyes and laughed again. He was wearing her down.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  It was almost eight p.m. by the time Grant had unloaded the tree and set it up. Gabe tried to get Jyl to agree to decorate it right then, but she put her foot down.

  “It’s been a long day, Gabe. We’re all tired and I’m sure Grant has other things he needs to do.”

  The truth be told, Grant did need to get home and feed the cattle he had up in the holding pen and the horses in the barn, but another hour or two and they wouldn’t starve. He decided he would be better off backing her up. “I really should get home and feed my animals, little man. I had a great day with you.”

  “Me too,” Gabe said. “Thank you for the tree. It’s the coolest tree ever.”

  “Say good night to Grant and go put on your pajamas, bud,” Jyl told him.

  “Good night, Grant.”

  “Night, little man.”

  The little boy took off down the hall, and Jyl looked at Grant. “He’s right. It was a really good day. Thank you.”

  “I had a great time too. Thank you both. You have a great kid there.”

  She sighed and looked like something bothered her about that statement.

  “What?” he asked her.

  “He’s just getting really attached to you.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “I don’t want him to get hurt.” She walked toward the door, subtly announcing to him that it was time to go.

  “Hey.” She looked up at him. He had to stop and catch his breath. She’d pulled off her cap and her hair spilled out all over her shoulders. He literally ached to touch it. “I’m not going to hurt him.”

  She smiled. “Grant, I don’t date because I can’t stand the thought of putting him through any more loss. I know that he told you about his dad. I just couldn’t do that to him after what he’s been through already.”

  “So, you plan on staying single forever?”

  “No, not forever … just until he’s not a little boy any longer.”

  “So ten years? You’re going to deny yourself the right to be happy for ten years?”

  “I’m happy.”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant. What about intimacy? What about an adult to talk to and share things with? Don’t you miss that?”

  “Of course I do. I miss a lot of things. But the bottom line is that he comes first—always.”

  “I understand that and admire it, but I also think that you’re not the only one that would suffer if you just gave up on love and a future with a husband and more kids in it. Gabe would know at some point that you were alone because you thought that’s what he needed. I got the pretty distinct feeling today that wasn’t what he was hoping for.”

  “He’s not even five years old yet. He doesn’t know anything about it. He doesn’t know how much potential there is for him to get hurt.” She reached around behind him and opened the door.

  He grinned. “I can take a hint.”

  She smiled back. “I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just been a really long day.”

  “I don’t think you’re rude.” He took a chance then while they were standing so close, that she wasn’t going to knee him. He brought his hand up and cupped the side of her face. She seemed to lose her composure for a few seconds and she melted into his touch. “I’m crazy about you—and your son. I don’t want to hurt either one of you; I’d just really love a chance to see what we can make of this.”

  “This?” she sounded almost breathless.

  “Yeah, this.” He said it with a resounding period on the end as he leaned in and let his lips touch hers softly. He heard her sigh and his resolve to just give her a soft, sweet kiss and go home was gone. He let his hands finally wrap up in that glorious hair and he used them to tip her head to the side. She still wasn’t resisting, and when he covered her lips again, he heard her let out a little whimper. Her lips fell open and he used his tongue to deepen the kiss. She met his with soft thrusts of passion. He could not only hear her moans now, he could feel them against his lips. His heart was hammering against the inside of his rib cage as he continued to kiss her and pull her in even tighter. If this was heaven, he was ready to go then—until he suddenly felt her pull away and take a step back.

  “Grant …” She was breathless and his name on her lips sounded so sexy. He reached for her again and she took a step back. “No. Gabriel is going to see us. We need to stop.”

  “Okay,” he said, palms in the air. “Another time.”

  She was breathing hard, practically panting as she said, “I had a great time today, but this can’t go any further. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

  “Yes, you should have. That was a kiss unlike any other I’ve ever had. I felt that one to my very core. I can’t imagine that you didn’t feel anything.”

  She swallowed hard and said, “I felt it, but it’s not going to happen again, and it shouldn’t have happened today.”

  “I’m afraid that unless you’re ready to tell me you don’t want me around completely, it’ll happen again.”

  “What’s gonna happen again?” Gabe was there in his little footy pajamas.

  Grant smiled down at him and said, “All of this, little man. I had such a great time with you and your mom today that I already wanted to do it again.”

  Gabe looked up at his mom and Grant knew she wanted to choke him—not the little guy, him—as Gabe said, “Can Grant come back tomorrow and help us decorate the tree?”

  Shoe smiled tightly and said, “I’m sure that he probably has other things he needs to do—”

  “Nothing I’d rather do,” he said without taking his eyes off her face.

  She narrowed her eyes and said, “We’ll see.” Grant grinned and gave Gabe another pat on the head before he said good night again and headed out into the cold. He didn’t feel it tonight. He was warm inside from the day and that kiss.

  * * *

  Jyl woke up the next morning tired after a restless night of dreaming about Grant. She was angry at him for kissing her, but she knew that all she would have had to do was say no and he would have stopped. She wanted him to kiss her—and at the same time, she didn’t. She knew that she needed to stop sending him mixed signals. She knew that she needed to just tell him firmly this wasn’t going to happen and leave it at that. But he made it so hard. If he had only been drop-dead gorgeous, she could have easily walked away. But beyond that he was intelligent and sweet and so good to Gabe that the boy was already in love with him.

  She went into the kitchen to start her coffee and while she waited for it, she called Sharla.

  “I love you, Jyl, and I miss you, but why are you calling me at the crack of dawn?”

  Jyl shook her head. “Shar, it’s nine o’clock here. That means it’s eleven there. Dawn happened about five hours ago.”

  “Details, whatever. I was still comatose here.”

  “I’m sorry. Do you want me to call you back?”

  “Nope, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Nothing’s wrong. …”

  “Oh come on, it’s me. I can hear it in your voice. What is it, honey? Are you homesick?”

  “No Shar … I miss you, but that’s about the only thing I miss. It’s so peaceful and beautiful here and Gabriel has really adjusted quickly. We both love it.”

  “I’m happy for you then, honey. I can’t wait to see you after Christmas.”

  “I can’t wait to see you either. I need to ask you something.”

  “S
ure what’s going on?”

  “Well, I met this man. …”

  “Okay, now I’m awake.”

  Chuckling, Jyl said, “I’m so confused, Shar. Be neutral here, okay? Try and take my viewpoint into consideration.”

  “Even if it makes no sense?”

  “Sharla!”

  “Okay, okay. Lay it on me. What does he look like?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “It is to me. I need all the facts so that I can make an informed decision.”

  Jyl sighed. “He’s about six-four. He’s a deputy sheriff and a cowboy, so he’s got lots of muscle, but it’s the lean kind from working, not like the muscle heads at the gym.”

  “I like him already.”

  Jyl laughed. “Stop it. Anyway, he has black wavy hair and these really pretty dark blue eyes. …”

  “Hell, I’m in love now.”

  “I’m hanging up.”

  “Hey, you’re the one calling me with a wet dream.”

  Shaking her head, Jyl said, “The thing is, when I first met him I just assumed he was a player. I wasn’t going to get involved with him, but the more I get to know him, the more I think this guy might just be the exception. I mean, he looks like a model—he is that good looking—and yes, he’s a little bit arrogant, but who wouldn’t be? The thing is that he’s also intelligent and funny and fun to be around. He’s got this side of him that’s just a little boy who never grew up and it’s refreshing.”

  “I’m not hearing any problems here. Is he single?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does he have any kids?”

  “No.”

  “Serial killer?”

  Jyl laughed. “I haven’t seen any signs of it.”

  “Oh! I’ve got it … Gabe hates him, right?”

  Jyl sighed. “That’s the worst part. Gabe loves him. I’m talking pure, innocent, wide-eyed adoration.”

  “That’s the worst part? I’m just not following you here.”

  “Gabe is infatuated with this man, so much so that if I did pursue any kind of relationship with him and if it didn’t work out, my son’s heart would be broken. He’s already been to hell and back and he’s only four years old. How can I risk his heart again?”

  “Let me ask you a question, don’t you want your son to be a strong man?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Something I tell my writers at the magazine is this: Taking chances takes strength. Learning how to fail is as important in life as learning how to succeed. If you don’t learn that failure is as much a part of life as success, then when it happens, and it inevitably will at some point in his life, he won’t know how to deal with it. And about losing Josh … do you want him to look at that for the rest of his life and think that just because his past is painful that means his future is destined for the same?”

  “When did you get so wise?”

  “I put on my managing editor hat for a few minutes. It’s off now. Tell me how much of this man you’ve actually seen—and I want details.”

  Jyl laughed again. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. You better call me back the second the two of you—”

  “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Sharla laughed. “You’re such a prude. Just don’t give up on life because it dealt you a crappy hand for a while, okay?”

  “Okay.” Jyl hung up and sat down at the computer. She logged in to her blog and saw that she had a few new comments. She started reading through them and was happy to see that they were all positive and from people welcoming her to the community. She approved them all before going in and writing her post. Today she wrote about the Christmas tree farm and sledding with friends and family. She talked about the snowball fight and how it had unleashed the child in her that had been trapped for a really long time, and then she ended by saying,

  “My friend Sharla, whom I called today for some friendly advice, told me something that I really already knew, but I desperately needed to hear. She said that it takes as much strength to fail as it does to succeed. So today when we go out into the world and we see people who might not have as much as we do or who may even be homeless, let’s remember that none of that means they are weak. It just means they haven’t been given the same opportunities in life as some of the rest of us. Go forth and have a good day, and if you’re not here to breathe in that fresh mountain air, I’ll take a few extra breaths for you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The day was finally completely dry; only a few clouds lingered in the sky, but no snow had fallen for at least two days and Grant was looking at finally being able to get some work done around the ranch. It was still cool, but not freezing. He had to push himself into getting after it this morning—which was unusual.

  Usually there wasn’t anything he’d rather do. His mind was still on Jyl and he was having a heck of a time getting it to focus on anything else. He called Scott at about five-forty a.m. and wasn’t surprised at all when his brother told him he was just finishing up branding five new calves he’d bought. Scott was usually out working by four every morning, and nary a sunrise happened that he didn’t see. Grant gave his brother a hard time a lot, teasing him about his wife pushing him around and other things, but the truth was Scott was one of the people in his life that he admired the most. In the true nature of a brother-to-brother relationship, he never said that aloud to him.

  “I was looking to see if I could break one or two of those Mustangs while the weather is holding. They’ve been sitting here eating my hay and taking up space for months. I’d like to turn them out to pasture when spring comes, but I can’t really do that until they lose some of that stubbornness. So, any interest in getting your butt kicked today?”

  Scott laughed. “It might be fun while it’s happening. You’ll have to come by and pull me out of bed tomorrow though. I’m not getting any younger.”

  “I know! Do you know how close to thirty you are?”

  “Thanks for the reminder,” Scott said sarcastically. “I’d forgotten. Speaking of old guys, though, do you want me to bring Dad?”

  “You better not let him hear you call him an old guy,” Grant said with a laugh. “But yes, please bring him. If he’s not here, who will point out everything I do wrong?” He was being facetious. His father would point out what he was doing wrong, but he was also good at telling his sons what they did right and how proud he was of them. He was the best teacher that Grant had ever had or known, and most of the time he was very grateful for his father’s input. He was also grateful for the role model he was. Kent was a great father and Grant hoped to be one too one day.

  “Hey, is Kat up yet?”

  “Yeah, she was making breakfast already before I left this morning. I’m headed in now to get me some before those boys of mine eat it all. Why?”

  “Will you ask her to text me Jyl’s number?”

  “You don’t have that girl’s number yet? Who are you and what have you done with my little Casanova—I mean, brother?”

  “Shut up. I’m a gentleman. We weren’t there yet.” Scott was laughing so Grant said, “Just have your wife text me.”

  Scott was still laughing. “Okay, but you know since this is so out of character for the suave Grant Underwood, you won’t be lucky enough to get away with a simple number text. Kat’s going to have something to say.”

  “Doesn’t she always?”

  Scott laughed wryly. “Don’t I know it?”

  After Grant got off the phone, he went out to the barn and got together the tack he was going to need. He didn’t want to saddle any of the ponies until his dad and Scott were here, just in case he was thrown for a loop and needed someone alert to call 911. He got out the hackamore, which was a special bridle that didn’t have a bit. It had an adjustable band instead that would put pressure on the horse’s nose. He used it for breaking his horses and it worked well most of the time. He also got out his training saddle. He’d oiled it and put it away before the snow started this
year. He was glad to see that the leather still felt soft and didn’t have any cracks in it. He made sure he had plenty of rope in case they needed to lasso one as well. While he was doing all of that, he got a text from Kat.

  Why don’t you have her number?

  He shook his head. I’ve just never asked for it. Like I told your husband, we weren’t there yet.

  Why? You’ve known women for five minutes that you asked for their number.

  Jyl and I don’t have that kind of relationship.

  What kind of relationship do you have?

  Kat! Please!

  Oh fine … but what are you calling her for today?

  Rolling his eyes, he texted back, You are so nosy, but since I have nothing to hide, I will tell you. Gabe invited me to help decorate the tree. I wanted to find out what time.

  The tree lighting in town is tonight. Are you going to ask Jyl to go?

  Maybe … if I ever get her number.

  He got a smile emoji with a cowboy hat on and a number. Then another text came rapidly: I’m taking chairs down early so we can get a good spot. I’ll take extra for you and Jyl and Gabe.

  Grant smiled. Thanks, Kat. What would I do without you?

  You’d be lost.

  By the time his dad and brother got there, Grant was ready to go. His father took his usual post on the outside of the fence. He still worked his own ranch every day, but when it came to actual wrangling, he didn’t do much of that anymore. He had developed arthritis from so many years of hard work. He had two hands to help him out now, something he’d never had before. Even when the boys were young, he would show them what to do and assign them chores, but he never hesitated to roll up his sleeves and pitch in himself.

  Grant picked up the saddle and held it ready as his brother tried to get ahold of the hackamore. The big roan pony named Thunder had shaken his head back and forth convulsively, shaking part of it loose. The horse was already protesting and Grant had yet to drop the saddle on his back. He had bought the five Mustangs on his last trip to Wyoming. He’d made a habit of going to buy cattle twice a year. He was building up his ranch and his stock slowly. It would be a while before he was ready to leave the sheriff’s department and do it full-time, but when he was ready, he wanted to have a good start.