Santa Wore Spurs

by Various

  "Once we get the annulment, I'll give it back to you," she insisted, folding her arms over her chest.

  "Fine," Cord said tightly. "Let's skip breakfast. We'll eat in town and hit up the jewelry shop after breakfast."

  Cord walked toward the kitchen and Hope dropped her arms to clutch her stomach. Bold didn't begin to describe what she had just done. She just hoped her boldness didn't end in a broken heart. With Cord Dixon, that was a distinct possibility if she wasn't careful. Offering to marry him had been an impulse, but it would help both of their situations. It was the only solution she could come up with.

  Hope would just have to make sure she kept her heart where it belonged. In her chest, not in Cord Dixon's pocket.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Standing beside Cord on the porch, Hope watched his friends get out of the two pickups that stopped in front of the bunkhouse. They were like ten-year-olds getting off a bus at summer camp, shoving, punching and laughing.

  The last person out of the back of the big, blue truck was a woman, or at least Hope thought it was. Either that or it was a long-haired hippie of a cowboy. The woman was almost as tall as the men, leggy like a newborn horse, and was as straight as a one-way street, not a curve in sight. One of the cowboys nudged her in the shoulder playfully. She punched him back and his hat fell off. He tossed her a comical frown then bent to pick it up and dust it off. Hope couldn't see how Cord was going to wrangle these roughnecks into any semblance of order to help him. They looked pretty wild to her.

  In a flash mob, they moved toward the porch. After a few steps, their eyes landed on her and the men's feet stopped moving. The woman crashed into one of their backs and cursed. The cowboys jerked their hats off their heads and grinned at her then fought to be the first to the porch steps. Hope forced a smile onto her face as she nervously twisted the solitaire diamond on her ring finger.

  The tallest cowboy in the group, and the best looking, almost rivaling Cord in his looks, elbowed his way through the others and stuck his hand out to her. "Hi, pretty lady. I'm Zack Taylor," he said, giving her a smile she was sure would have melted any other woman's panties on the spot. Before she could take his hand though, Cord stepped between them.

  "Zack, this is my fiancé, Hope Carlisle." Hope heard the undercurrent of warning in Cord's voice, and Ryan must have too because after he made a choking sound, he stepped back.

  "You're engaged?" Zack hooted and the other guys whistled. "Since when? Last time I heard, you were dating that hot mod—" he started then cast a nervous glance at Hope as he bit his lip. The man's face turned bright red. "Um, congratulations," he corrected, huffing out a heavy breath.

  "We're getting married on Monday," Cord blurted as he dropped an arm around Hope's shoulders as if he thought she might run off. Monday she would be a married woman. Married to a man she barely knew. She should be running.

  What the hell was she thinking?

  Panic settled in her chest. It was the same feeling she had when Cord slipped the ring on her finger at the jewelry store. She twisted the ring faster around her finger, and the metal heated more with every rotation.

  "Wow, you don't let any grass grow under your feet, Dix," Zack said with a laugh.

  "Can you blame me?" Cord replied, looking down at her. He leaned in and kissed her gently. Soft waves of pleasure floated through her to wrap around her heart.

  "Hell, no. She's ho—gorgeous," he fumbled. "You're a lucky man."

  The other men stepped forward to slap him on the back then they all took a turn introducing themselves and hugging her. By the time they finished, her head was spinning and she needed some space to catch her breath.

  The woman didn't introduce herself. She stood by the porch rail staring at Hope, looking none too friendly —especially when the guy named Zack hugged Hope. Now that she looked at her closely, those two looked a lot alike. They had the same white-blonde hair and blue eyes. His were a little bluer, she noticed, but there was too much of a resemblance for them not to be related.

  "Did ya'll eat on the way in?" Cord asked.

  "Yeah, we stopped at Denny's and cleaned them out," Zack piped up. "Or Twyla did," he corrected with a laugh. "I don't know how my sister stays so skinny because she eats like a linebacker." A squeak came from behind the men then Twyla came barreling through to slug her brother in the arm. He yelped then stumbled back out of swinging distance to glare at her.

  "Good, we can get to work then," Cord said with excitement. "There's tack in the barn, and the horses are in the field. We'll have to round them up. First thing I'd like to do is check the fence line while the stock is thin, but we only have five horses. Twyla, if you and Ryan don't mind, you can stay here and clean and organize the barn. Check with Dean when you're done to see if he has anything he needs help with."

  Zack's blue eyes narrowed. "I'll stay behind with Twy—" he started, but Ryan cut him off with a raised hand.

  "We're on it," Ryan said with a grin, hooking his arm through Twyla's to lead her down the steps. When she smiled up at Ryan, she was almost pretty. With a little help, the woman could be beautiful. The worshipful look on her face when her eyes met Ryan's told Hope that Twyla was in love with him. Ryan's expression was open and friendly, sort of brotherly. She wondered what the story was there.

  Cord yelled behind them, "Mama's made sandwiches for lunch, so when ya'll get hungry just go to the house and grab what you want off the counter. She's at the church bazaar this weekend."

  "Can't wait to see her!" Ryan yelled back over his shoulder.

  "Okay, let's get busy...and thanks for coming, guys," Cord said, putting his hand on Lucky's shoulder.

  "Wouldn't be anywhere else. Let's head out," Lucky said. All the men walked off the porch and across the yard, leaving Hope trying to figure out what the heck she would be doing while they were all out mending fences.

  Halfway across the yard, Cord stopped then turned and walked back toward her. Her eyes followed his easy movements all the way to the porch. He didn't stop. He came up in front of her and put his finger under her chin to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm new at this," he said then leaned in to give her a lingering kiss. He pulled her in for a hug then stepped back. "Are you gonna be okay while we're out?"

  "Yeah, but everything is clean in the bunkhouse, so I don't know what I'll do to help. I'd help Twyla and Ryan, but I don't know a thing about barns or organizing them."

  His brows pinched. "You could get the stuff together for the campfire tonight. We're going to have hotdogs for dinner. There's a Gator," he said then cleared his throat when her eyes widened. "An all-terrain vehicle out behind the house that you could use. Just load it up, and we'll drive it out to the fire ring in the field later. And for goodness sake, don't forget to ice the beer," he said with a laugh.

  She smiled. "I can do that."

  That would take about thirty minutes probably. She had no idea what to do for the rest of the time they were gone. Hope would figure it out though. She was not going to be a whiner who needed his direction on every detail. Hope knew that wouldn't be helpful at all.

  Mrs. Dixon was going to be out for the day, so she could probably use some help cleaning up the ranch house. By the end of the day there would be dusty boot prints throughout the house so Hope could at least make sure when Mrs. Dixon came home, she didn't have a mess to clean up. She could also make sure the ice tea pitcher was kept full, and the cowboys didn't run out of sandwiches. Maybe she'd even load up the Gator and bring lunch out to them later.

  Cord smiled and her panties did melt this time, because he dropped another lingering kiss on her mouth. Hope sighed and put her hand on his cheek then tiptoed to kiss him again because she could now. And she wanted one more taste of him.

  "Stop making out with your bride, and get your ass out here, Dix! She'll be there when you get back!" Hope looked over Cord's shoulder and saw the guy she recognized as his friend, Coop. He winked at her and Hope smiled then kissed Cord once more for good measure.

/>   Cord laughed and hugged her before pulling away. With a wink, he turned and quickly rejoined the group waiting for him in the yard. With a smile, he turned and waved once more, and her heart tripped in her chest. For just a minute, the look on his face almost made her fantasize it was love she saw there. But that would be silly. They hardly knew each other. And this marriage wasn't about that. They were helping each other out of a sticky situation, nothing more, she reminded herself.

  Once their problems were settled, they would go their separate ways.

  Her heart plunged south in her chest and sadness filled her. Hope sucked in a breath and went into the bunkhouse. She'd get her camera too, she decided. If she went out to bring them lunch, maybe she could get a few shots for the calendar.

  Earlier, when Hope called Tina, she agreed that the working cowboy angle was a good one. She gave her the go ahead to proceed in that direction. But she also gave her a very tight deadline. Hope needed to get busy.

  When she got back outside, a tall, broad-shouldered man walked out of the barn leading a big black horse. A saddle was slung over his shoulder, and dangling from his fingers was a leather and metal contraption she assumed was a bridle. Shading her eyes, she realized the man had to be Cord's father. They were built too much alike, and had the same square jaw. Smiling, she walked off the porch toward him.

  It was time she met her future father-in-law. The man wasn't smiling, and he didn't look up when she got closer. He led the horse to a fence rail and tied the lead rope there. The closer she got, she saw the signs of sickness in his slightly stooped shoulders, the way he flinched when he hefted the saddle to rest it on the fence, and his grayish complexion.

  Sympathy shot through her for both Cord and this man who was determined not to let his illness slow him down. She stopped in her tracks and lifted her camera to her eye to capture him as he patted the horse on the rump. With the sun backlighting him, the photo was poignant, moving. An idea crossed her mind and Hope snapped a few more shots before she turned and walked toward the house without interrupting him. She'd have time to meet Mr. Dixon later.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Every muscle in his body felt like it was on fire, but Cord welcomed the exhaustion of hard work. His buddies worked right beside him and they had to be just as exhausted. None of them had taken a break at noon to go eat, so they had to be hungry and thirsty too. A whole section of fence at the back of the pasture was down, and if not for the thick brush on the other side, he knew his father would have lost half the herd the past summer.

  "Hey, Coop. We're ready for more posts, man," Cord yelled.

  With a nod, his friend dropped the posthole digger to walk toward his truck. Cooper had gone back to the barn earlier to get posts and wire. Somehow he had managed to get his jacked-up, four-wheel-drive truck across the back pasture to them.

  It was much warmer than it had been this morning, so Cord took off his flannel shirt and wiped his face with it. The cool air felt good on his heated skin, so he tossed the shirt down on the ground, picked up the wire twisters, and went back to work. Something bouncing up and down across the field caught his attention. Cord stopped to shade his eyes and see what it was. A flash of red hair swinging told him it was Hope coming out to them on the Gator.

  A smile spread over his face and he waved at her. Lucky walked up beside him to ask, "That Hope?"

  "Yeah," Cord replied softly, amazed that she was coming out here.

  "That ground is rough. She probably won't have any teeth left by the time she gets here. You're gonna have a toothless bride, buddy." Lucky hooted, slapping him on the back.

  "She might be bringing beer, so toothless or not, don't kick a gift horse in the mouth," Cord replied with a laugh.

  Lucky whistled. "I sure wouldn't be kicking that mouth. I'd be kissing it."

  Cord's smile disappeared and he rounded on his friend. "Your lips get anywhere near Hope and you'll be toothless," he threatened.

  Lucky threw up his hands and laughed. "I was just kidding, man. But you have to admit, she's pretty damn cute."

  "Yeah, she is. And she's mine," Cord said gruffly. "Don't forget it."

  Cord jerked the wire twisters out of his pocket and went back to work on the fence, trying to work out his anger on the fence instead of on his friend. Lucky squeezed his shoulder then walked off. All afternoon long, he'd had to fend off ribald remarks and comments about Hope. He was tired of it. They all needed to back off and show some respect. She was marrying him.

  The Gator stopped near the fence, and Cord realized Hope had brought Jeremy out with her. His nephew jumped down and reached into the back of the cart, trying to lift out a heavy cooler. Hope laughed then went around to help him. Between them, they managed to carry the cooler to the fence where they set it down. Hope's pleased smile made him smile too.

  She put her hands on her hips. "You didn't come up to the house for lunch, so I thought we'd bring it out here. You need to eat!"

  Jeremy glanced up at her then put his hands on his hips too. "Yeah, you need to eat, Unk!" he seconded.

  Cord laughed and shoved the pliers back into his pocket then swiped his forehead with his arm. "Thank ya'll for worrying about us."

  He pulled off his gloves and shoved them into the other pocket, then picked up his shirt and wiped his face. Other than his mother, Cord had never had a woman worry about him at all. It was a welcome feeling, especially coming from his intended bride. Even if she was a temporary wife, she'd be a good one.

  Some man would be lucky to have her forever one day. Some man other than him. That thought wiped the smile right off his face. He cleared his throat. "I'm sure the guys will appreciate it. Let me go round them up," he said as he walked off.

  Hope ran back to the vehicle and grabbed her camera. She quickly brought it to her eye and focused on Cord's muscular back. When he got at the right distance, she snapped a few shots of his sweat-slicked back with his friends blurred in the background.

  The sexiness of the shot got to her, and she sighed. Every angle of that man's body was amazing. Hard, defined...perfect. If she took a thousand photos of him, she didn't think she'd ever capture his essence. She could see how the Laramie photographer had a hard time deciding how to shoot him.

  "Why you taking pictures, Miss Hope?" Jeremy asked from beside her.

  Hope looked down at him. "We're making a calendar with your uncle in it."

  His eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

  "Yeah, a Christmas calendar."

  "He's not Santa Claus," Jeremy said with a snort. "He's a cowboy."

  "This year, Santa is wearing spurs," Hope replied with a smile. An image of Cord in a Santa hat, boots, chaps, spurs and not much more floated through her mind, bringing with it sizzling heat.

  "That's silly." Jeremy laughed.

  The women of Texas Tomboy wouldn't think so. She was sure this was going to be the best marketing campaign they'd ever done. Tina would be a rockstar at her company, and maybe Hope could use it to reinvent her career. A fashion photographer wasn't what she'd ever envisioned for herself, but it was a career she could live with.

  Hope shrugged, and went back to the cart to pull out the bag of sandwiches. After she distributed them, and cans of ice cold beer, she waited while the men ate then gathered up the trash and kissed Cord goodbye. The boys went back to work and Hope did too. She got a lot of what she thought were good photos before she and Jeremy hopped into the cart and headed back to the house.

  After she cleaned up the cart, she swept and mopped the kitchen in the ranch house then went to the bunkhouse to study the photos she'd taken, and do a little editing. She was so into her work that when the front door opened a few hours later, Hope didn't even look up. Not until a smell so rank she fought back a gag reached her.

  She looked up just as Twyla came through the front door of the bunkhouse, followed closely by Ryan. Both were laughing and covered in hay and all kinds of other things Hope didn't want to identify. The door swung shut, bringing with it
another wave of that smell. Hope fought the urge to cover her nose.

  "Hey, beautiful," Ryan said with a grin. Twyla frowned and stomped off down the hall with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. Ryan dropped his bag to the floor and walked over to the sofa to sit beside her. He leaned closer to stare at her computer screen, and the smell got so bad she stopped fighting and covered her nose.

  "Whatcha doing?" he asked curiously.

  Hope scooted over a little and pinched her nose. "Wow, you smell...earthy," she told him with a laugh.

  "Hard work and pig shit," he explained then his lips twisted. "We had to clean out the pen. They sold the pigs at auction but hadn't cleaned it out yet."

  "Good, Lord. I'm glad this isn't a pig farm," she said breathlessly.

  "Yeah, we had a neighbor in Wharton that raised pigs. The smell was pretty overwhelming when the wind was blowing in the right direction."

  She heard water running down the hall, and assumed that Twyla must be in the shower. Ryan definitely needed one too. "Um, there are two bathrooms here. You might want to use the other one before the guys get back," Hope suggested with a cough.

  An evil grin spread over his face as he scooted nearer to her on the sofa and leaned in closer. He puckered his lips. "Give Porky a kiss. You'll forget all about it," he teased.

  Hope laughed and leaned back, but he leaned closer still, making sucking sounds. The front door opened and Cord walked inside, stomping his boots on the door sill. He stopped when he saw them and his face turned bright red. He pinned Ryan with a laser beam glare. "Get the fuck away from her," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

  Ryan shot to his feet and brushed his forearm over his mouth. "I was just playing around, Cord. You know better than that, man," he said, sounding insulted.

  "Play around with Twyla," Cord replied coldly. "Leave Hope the hell alone, man." Every muscle in Cord's body was as tense as his voice.