His Christmas Cowgirl

by Alissa Callen

  Peta’s attention lingered on Garrett’s leather-gloved hands. They were poised and ready to steer Trapper after the calf if it made a run past the cowboy. If Garrett were on the rodeo circuit she’d have no doubt he’d rope the calf in a record time. When she had a spare five minutes, she’d do a computer internet search on him. A rodeo background would explain Hal’s words that Garrett usually hung out with women who didn’t know their way around a cow? Not all rodeo fans were country girls.

  She stifled an unexpected twinge of possessiveness. She’d be foolish to think Garrett lived a lonely life. After all he’d left Wyoming because of women trouble.

  She scanned the trail ahead as it dipped into a narrow valley. “Lola has been along here once before so she should know the way home. Even though we don’t usually take this shorter route as it’s more mountainous. We also have to leave the ranch and travel on a road and cross a bridge before we enter Bluebell Falls land again.”

  “This trail will be fine. It’s not an option to have the herd and boys out in a storm. The last thing we need is lightning setting off a stampede.” Garrett’s attention dipped to her knee and she thought he was about to say something more but then he swung Trapper around. He glanced at her, eyes guarded. “See you at lunch.”

  She ignored the sudden sense of loss as he rode away. There’d be no chance of anything up-close-and-personal happening between them anytime soon. Garrett had acted just like he should have. Professional and focused, he had his mind on the task of getting her cattle safely home. It would be inappropriate and irresponsible for anything personal to have passed between them. Tank whined softly as he watched Garrett ride off.

  “Off you go.” She sighed. “Today’s not a day I’ll be chasing any cattle. You’ll have much more fun with Garrett.”

  The border collie wagged his fluffy brown tail and dashed off after Trapper.

  Peta headed Cloud toward the young cowboy travelling at the rear of the herd as the drag-rider. His job was to keep the cows moving and to keep any stragglers from falling behind. She’d take over the slower paced job and let the cowboy take on a role with more action and less dust.

  *

  “Don’t even think about it,” Garrett said as a cow and calf looked like they were about to bolt through the space between the right point and flank cowboys. The cattle drive had become complicated enough without edgy cattle thinking they’d be better off away from the herd.

  When the cow changed her mind, Garrett eased his grip on the reins but not his vigilance. With every slow mile they travelled the temperature dropped and the sky darkened.

  At lunch, Sam had provided the cowboys with a hot meal and everyone had taken the chance to rest. Garrett turned to look at the rear of the herd where Peta again rode drag. Except for his boss. She’d eaten in the saddle and rode around the cattle to allow her ranch hands to have a break. Never once had she revealed she was in pain. Her strength and her courage humbled him.

  At breakfast, when her face had whitened when she’d sat at the table, he’d asked her if she was okay. Her quick reply had established she was fine and the angle of her chin had communicated he wasn’t to ask her again. But when she’d kept her weight off her left leg while she’d made her hot tea he knew she was far from fine. And now here she was putting in a day’s work and never once complaining. All he wanted to do was to settle her in Trapper’s saddle in front of him and wrap his arms around her.

  He glanced at her straight back as she and Tank hurried a straggler along. But he had as much chance of her agreeing to ride with him as he had of the sun breaking though the moody clouds overhead. So he’d made sure Tank stayed with her to lighten her work load. He’d also asked the young cowboy to again ride drag and to be careful he didn’t make it obvious he was there to help Peta. Now, weather permitting, all Garrett had to do was to get the herd to the ranch as soon as possible.

  Beyond where Troy led the cattle, the meadow flattened and a wire fence ran arrow-straight. The wide double-gates were open and Sam had parked his red truck on the road, his hazard lights blinking. He’d make sure the cattle headed the right way and would also warn oncoming traffic there was stock ahead. But judging by the washboards that indented the neglected dirt road, it was more of a fire-trail than a regular thoroughfare.

  Garrett stopped Trapper on a rise to watch as Lola walked through the gates. The gateway was wide but with a herd this size it wouldn’t take much for nervous calves to rush and push the herd too quickly through.

  But the outriders did their job and soon the cattle were calmly through and walking along the road. The front cattle started to jog and Troy slowed the herd’s pace. The experienced point rider was sticking to Garrett’s instruction not to let too much distance open up between the front cows and the stragglers. The more spread out a cattle drive the harder it would be to manage.

  He caught up to the herd and rode Trapper alongside Cloud. Peta flashed him a smile that didn’t fool him. Dark bruises were smudged beneath her eyes and fine lines of strain framed her mouth. For the second time that day, he stopped himself from giving into his concern and asking her to either take it easy or to go home.

  “We’ve a mile until the bridge,” she said, her words lacking their usual energy. “Then it isn’t far until we turn onto Bluebell Falls land. This time the gate’s only a single width but the cattle shouldn’t have any trouble. In the spring I’ll have another gate cut into the fence opposite the first one so if we come this way again we won’t need to travel on the road or cross the bridge.”

  Garrett blanked out the hollow feeling that he wouldn’t be here come spring or be on another Bluebell Falls roundup. “That’s a good idea. It won’t be long until we’re on the homeward stretch.”

  Relief lightened the dull blue of her eyes. “I know and if the rain continues to hold off, we’ll make it home warm and dry.”

  He held her gaze, not hiding his silent message to “hang in there”. Instead of frowning or her chin lifting, she gave him a weary nod and turned Cloud away to hustle along a cow and calf who’d dropped back.

  Garrett made his way along the side of the herd. He wanted to be close to the front for the bridge crossing. Cattle could spook at the unfamiliar sound of their hooves ringing on a bridge.

  Troy, and Lola, led the front of the herd across without any issues. While a few calves balked at the echo of their hooves, they soon rushed to follow their mothers. The tense line of Garrett’s shoulders lowered. The herd would soon be across and then there was only a gate to get though before the final run to the winter pastures. He assessed the heavy clouds that hung low over the valley. They should just make it before the rain arrived.

  Two thirds of the herd was across the bridge when Garrett saw a heavy-set Black Angus calf step onto the bridge, then shoulder his way across to the side rail. Just when Garret thought the bull calf would follow the cattle ahead, he ducked around the end of the rail and dashed down the creek bank. His daring set off a chain reaction as black and brown bodies streamed past the rail and followed him into the willows below the bridge.

  Rod and another cowboy set off after the runaway cattle, their horses sliding as they descended the dirt bank.

  Garrett and the other cowboys concentrated on the remaining cattle who’d now balked and did their best to run away from the bridge. The once calm and manageable herd was now split three ways. With no Lola to lead and cows bellowing from the creek below, it took two attempts before the last of the cattle crossed the bridge. Legs wet, the bull calf and his renegade friends climbed the opposite bank to rejoin the larger group.

  Garrett crossed the bridge and, once around the cattle, gave Trapper his head. The herd was now only in two parts but a long gap had opened up between the groups. With the weather closing in, he couldn’t risk stopping the front group and waiting for the herd to merge. Troy would curb Lola’s pace as much as possible but the narrow gate could prove a problem. The danger would be that sensible Lola would lead her group through but
the flighty second group might not go through the gate so willingly. Even as he looked, Lola left the road and headed through the single gate onto Bluebell Falls ranch land.

  After a quick word with Sam to move his truck in closer to the gate and positioning three cowboys close by, he waited for the second lot of cows to arrive.

  The skittish group appeared and, oblivious to the open gate, remained intent on walking in a straight line. It took some quick maneuvering by Trapper, but Garrett managed to turn the lead cows. Once the group realized there was a gateway, and that cows were on the other side of the fence, they bolted through. The cattle numbers swelled until there were too many bodies pushing through the opening. Cattle broke away from the sides, bellowing their uncertainty that there was no room left for them to go.

  But then the congestion eased and the flow slowed. Everything appeared to be under control, when a Hereford, instead of lumbering through the gate, broke away and jumped over the fence. She landed and swung around to call for her calf who tried to follow. Peta and Cloud directed the calf back into the herd and as soon as he was through the gate, he raced to his mother’s side. It was only when the pair moved, Garrett saw the mother cow walk with a pronounced limp. His hands tightened on the reins. There was no way the injured cow could now keep up with the herd.

  Peta came to his side. “I’ve got this.” She raised her voice above the gathering wind. “You, Tank, and the boys get the herd back together and closer to the ranch. There’s a small sheltered pasture not far from here. I’ll take this pair there and Dr. Noah can take a look at her foot tomorrow.”

  Garrett hesitated. Peta’s lips were so pale they appeared blue. It was only sheer willpower that kept her in the saddle. A raindrop splashed on his saddle horn. But trailing behind two slow cows would be easier on her knee than racing to get the herd home.

  “Okay. But when we reach the ranch, I’m coming to get you and Cloud with the truck and the horse trailer. No arguments.”

  To his surprise she didn’t put up any resistance. “Okay. If you follow the road we took to the falls, I’ll ride back that way.”

  Garrett didn’t know if it was being on familiar ranch land, or if it was the soon-to-hit storm, but the cattle gave them no further trouble. Cooperative and responsive, they covered the last mile to their sheltered winter pasture. As soon as Lola headed through the wide gate, he turned Trapper toward the ranch. When he arrived at the stables Sam waited for him.

  The cook reached for Trapper’s reins. “I’ll unsaddle him. You get the boss. The horse trailer is already hooked up to your truck.”

  Garrett stripped off his chaps. “Thanks.”

  He jogged to the ranch house to collect towels and a blanket and found Hal waiting on the front porch.

  “I hear you had a few roundup adventures.” Hal’s shrewd gaze examined his face.

  “Just a few. And they might not be over yet if I don’t fetch Peta soon.” In the distance thundered rumbled. “How’s your hip?”

  “All good. I’ll be here waiting for when you get back. You might need reinforcements if Peta still won’t come clean about being hurt.”

  “Thanks. We might also need some of Sam’s bear sign donuts.”

  The horse trailer rattled behind him as Garrett sped along the trail to the waterfalls. Intermittent raindrops splashed his windshield. The odds were high he and Peta were going to get very wet, very soon.

  Ahead he glimpsed a pale blur that soon materialized into the shape of a horse. Peta leaned low over Cloud’s neck as they raced the storm. He stopped in an open area away from the cottonwood trees and any falling branches. Head bare, he left the truck and battled the wind to lower the trailer ramp. When Cloud slowed and stopped beside him, Garrett moved to Peta’s side to help her out of his saddle. His hands gasped her waist as he took her weight and lowered her to the ground.

  There was no time for talk as her long hair whipped around them and a flurry of raindrops splattered their jackets. Working together they unsaddled Cloud. While the gelding self-loaded into the trailer, Garrett opened the side trailer door and slid the heavy western saddle inside. He then returned to help Peta close the trailer ramp.

  The heavens opened. Rain drummed down and within seconds icy drops had found the gap between his neck and shirt collar. He motioned to Peta to go inside the truck while he secured the bolts. She disappeared around the side of the trailer.

  With water dripping in his eyes, and soaking through the thick denim of his jeans, he opened the driver’s side door and jumped inside. But the passenger seat was empty. He turned to look through the back truck window. Peta must have gone to check on Cloud.

  When he saw movement by the window, he leaned over to open the passenger side door. Peta pulled the door open wider. Raindrops pelted the truck upholstery and peppered his face. As she climbed into the truck, he took hold of her arm to help her inside. She slipped into the passenger seat and the wind slammed the door shut behind her.

  The only noise to fill the truck cabin was the pound of rain on the windshield and side windows. Beyond the truck there was nothing but a grey and watery world.

  Peta blinked. The simple action made him release how close they were. Between leaning over to reach for her, and Peta sliding in with the wind behind her, there remained very little space between them. His fingers clasped her arm, and her chest pressed against his shoulder. She made no move to edge away. Instead she looked at him, eyes wide and her breathing accelerated from the race to get out of the rain.

  He could see in her face that instead of frightening her, the storm had thrilled her. Her blue eyes shone and her lips were again a natural pink. His heart pounded. Her lips were also full and wet and, as he stared, the corners curled in an age-old invitation.

  Just like the storm ripping apart the sky over their heads, his self-control splintered. His hands framed her face and his mouth found hers. Her cold lips parted, her hands gripped the back of his neck, and then there was nothing but urgency, heat, and need between them.

  He fought the layers beneath her jacket to find the satin-smooth skin of her lower back. When he ran his palm up and along her delicate spine she shivered. Her own hands snuck beneath his shirt and he couldn’t contain his groan as her fingertips trailed across his hip and stomach. As if from a long distance away, thunder cracked like a bullwhip before Cloud’s hard hoof connected with the metal of the horse trailer.

  He pulled away only far enough to stare into Peta’s eyes, which were a dazzling blue.

  “Cloud’s telling us to get a move on.” His husky and ragged voice didn’t even sound like his own.

  She smiled a smile that would have sent an army into battle for her. “He’s right. We shoul—”

  Garrett’s mouth covered hers before she could finish. This time he gentled their kiss until both of their breathing slowed.

  She sighed and eased herself away. “Hal will also be worried.”

  “He will.”

  Garrett reached for the towels and blanket behind him. He handed them to her and stole a final, quick kiss.

  The smile stayed in her eyes while she wrapped a towel around her hair and used another to soak up the water in the truck cabin.

  Fingers unsteady, he started the pickup engine. The state of his truck was nothing compared to the ache in his chest. It was the woman beside him, whose passion and spirit was as wild as the storm that raged around them, who’d done the most damage.

  Chapter Eight

  ‡

  “This time tonight, you’ll be a married man.” Peta smiled across the breakfast table at Rhett.

  Her brother had again come to stay at Bluebell Falls so that on the morning of his wedding he wouldn’t see his beautiful bride.

  “I know.” Emotion thickened Rhett’s words. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day. I still think I’ll wake up and find having Ivy in my life is nothing but a dream. She could do so much better than me.”

  Peta leaned over to squeeze his han
d. “No, she couldn’t. She loves you, Rhett, so much. Today is just the beginning of your life together.” Peta paused to gather her own emotions. “If Mom was here, she’d be so happy for you both. She’d love Ivy just like the rest of us do.”

  Rhett cleared his throat. “She would.”

  Peta pushed back her chair and stood, favoring her left knee. She took a second, to make sure her voice sounded casual, before she spoke. “Have you seen Garrett and Hal this morning?”

  Rhett came to his feet and collected his empty plate. “Yes, they ate early and went to work with Scout. Garrett also mentioned something about taking Hal to town so they could get haircuts before the wedding.”

  Rhett ran a hand over the back of his freshly-cut blonde hair that Peta thought suited him. There’d been a time before Ivy when he’d worn it way too cowboy-long.

  “Okay. If I don’t see them before I go, please tell them the Hereford cow can be let out of the corral. The shots Dr. Noah left for her foot have done the trick. Now, there’s man-food in the fridge, plenty of towels and hot water. Have fun getting ready and…” She gave Rhett her best big sister stare. “When Cordell, Zane, Saul, and Brent arrive, don’t get distracted doing cowboy stuff and forget you have a wedding to get dressed for.”

  Nervousness tempered Rhett’s grin. “Trust me, today I’m not thinking about cows, only about wedding waltzes. Those lessons Ivy booked for me didn’t help.” He paused, expression now serious. “Peta…”

  She stiffened. She’d been so careful whenever she mentioned Garrett’s name to appear relaxed, had she not been careful enough?

  Rhett stepped forward to give her a hug. “Thanks.”

  Throat raw, she hugged him back. “Anytime.

  Her emotions still close to the surface, she packed what she needed for her transformation from clumsy, working cowgirl to supposedly glamorous bridesmaid. Then, with still no sign of Garrett or Hal, she headed for her truck. Ivy wanted everyone at the Rose Crown ranch house early for when the Bozeman hairdresser and makeup artist arrived. Marietta’s usual go-to experts for hair and makeup were all attending the wedding. Ivy and Rhett’s nuptials, the Christmas Stroll, and the Christmas Ball were the three social highlights of the festive social calendar.