The Christmas Cowboy Hero

by Donna Grant

  He directed them to the UTV. She climbed into the passenger side and closed the door, grateful to be out of the rain. He started the engine and pointed the vehicle toward the bunkhouse while she held her arm, trying to will the pain to lessen.

  When they pulled up to the side of the building, Clayton shut off the engine and turned his head to her. “Stay here. I’m going to check to see if he’s in there.”

  Clayton had no sooner opened the door than a figure stepped from behind the bunkhouse. When Abby saw it was Brice dripping wet with a rifle slung over his shoulder, she started to get out of the SxS. But Clayton’s hand on her leg stopped her.

  “Let me,” he whispered.

  Somehow, she stayed put, wishing that she’d made her brothers stay in the main house last night. But before dinner, Caleb had asked her if he and Brice could sleep in the bunkhouse. She hadn’t had the heart to deny them.

  Her gaze moved from Brice to Clayton and back to Brice when her brother walked beside the UTV before climbing into the bed. Clayton got into the vehicle and started the engine.

  As he drove off, Clayton said, “He won’t talk to me. But I did convince him to come back to the house with us.”

  She slumped in the seat. But no sooner had her mind grasped that he was fine than Abby knew she had to think of something to say. The problem was that she didn’t know how to handle this situation or even what to say to Brice.

  Back at the house, the three of them filed inside. Clayton walked Brice upstairs for a hot shower and a change of clothes. Needing something to do, Abby went to the kitchen, but she could barely move her arm.

  As she stood there with tears clouding her vision, wondering what to do, a soothing arm came around her. Justine pulled her close and held her.

  “It’s all right. Why don’t you sit down while I get breakfast going? My goodness, Abby, you’re shaking. Sit, sit,” she ordered as she removed the raincoat. “I’m going to get a blanket for you and start some coffee.”

  Abby numbly sat at the bar while Justine draped a thick blanket around her. Within minutes, a cup of coffee with steam wafting up from the liquid was placed before her. She wrapped her hands around the mug, letting the heat seep through her palms.

  She stared at the quartz counter as Justine moved about the kitchen. Every sip of the coffee helped to warm her. Then, finally, Clayton returned. He took one look at her and went to the bottle of pain meds. She shook her head when he lifted it. The pills clouded her mind and put her to sleep. Right now, she needed to think. Later, she’d take one.

  Clayton blew out a breath but relented. He returned, holding a cup of coffee for himself. “The gun hasn’t been fired.”

  “At least there’s that,” she murmured.

  Justine stirred the pancake batter, holding the bowl against her. “Clayton told me what happened. I’m not condoning what Brice almost did, but you are his world, Abby. He felt helpless when you were shot.”

  “And he’s afraid of telling me anything in case Ronnie and his men get to you before I get to them,” Clayton said.

  Justine shot her a sad smile. “So he tried to take matters into his own hands.”

  “I don’t know what to say to him,” she admitted.

  Clayton put his hand atop hers. “Just be there for him. Listen if he wants to talk.”

  “And don’t push him if he doesn’t,” Justine added.

  Mother and son shared a look that spoke volumes about the past. If they could get through Landon’s death, then she would make sure she, Brice, and Caleb got through this.

  Another fifteen minutes passed before Ben walked into the kitchen beside Brice. Her brother’s dark brown locks were still wet, but he was no longer shivering. The too big clothes he wore were most likely Clayton’s.

  Abby turned to Brice and opened her arms. He rushed to her, clasping her tight. She didn’t even care that he was hurting her arm.

  “I almost did something stupid,” he said.

  The last time Brice cried was when their mother left, but this was the second time in two days that she heard the tears in his voice. “But you didn’t. That’s all that matters.”

  He pulled back, sniffing. “Damn, Abby. Your shoulder. I forgot.”

  “I don’t feel it,” she lied.

  He gave her a flat look, telling her he didn’t believe her. “I’m ready to tell y’all everything.”

  “First, we eat,” Justine said and motioned for Brice to get the plates.

  Clayton leaned close and said, “Mom always thinks things are dealt with better on a full stomach.”

  “Don’t come between my wife and food,” Ben said with brows raised. “You don’t want to see what happens.”

  To her surprise, Abby found herself smiling. She slid from the stool and carried her coffee into the dining room. Clayton held out her chair for her before taking his seat across from her.

  Brice was silent as he put out the plates and utensils while Justine set the stack of pancakes and the syrup in the middle of the table. After the blessing, the food was passed around.

  Once everyone had taken a few bites, Ben look to Brice, “You can begin your story whenever you’re ready, son.”

  Brice set down his fork and swallowed the bite in his mouth. Then he turned his head to Abby, his pale blue eyes meeting hers. “I’m sorry. All of this is because of my idiotic mistake.”

  “You owned up to what happened,” she said with a smile. “That makes me proud.”

  He glanced away. “I met Ronnie at the feed store after school one day when I was trying to find a job. He hired me to help clean up the place he’d just bought. The pay wasn’t much, but it was something.”

  “I had no idea you had a job. I thought you were staying after school for basketball practice.”

  Brice shook his head, his shoulders drooping. “I was thrown off the team for my attitude and slipping grades. I was going to wait until Christmas to tell you about that and the job when I surprised you with the money.”

  Abby set down her fork, no longer able to eat. “I don’t care about basketball or why you aren’t on the team. All I want is honesty between us.”

  “I know. I hated lying to you,” he said softly. Brice then blew out a breath. “At first, I thought the job with Ronnie was a stroke of luck. It didn’t take me long to realize that he’d heard about the crowd I used to hang with and my brush with the cops.”

  “So he went looking for you,” Ben said.

  Brice nodded slowly before meeting Abby’s gaze. “Ronnie came to me with a plan. He said if I joined them, he’d give me five thousand dollars. All I had to do was help them steal some cattle. When I asked if it would hurt whoever we stole from, he told me ranches have insurance for such things.”

  Her brother’s face crumpled as he struggled to get out the next words. “I know you’ve always told me that the easy way out of things is rarely ever the right way, but I was tired of seeing you struggle to pay the bills and buy us food. You were working yourself to death, and I wanted to give us all a cushion in the bank to get caught up on past-due bills. And I really wanted to go to the grocery store and buy whatever we wanted.”

  Abby didn’t even try to stop the tears. She put her hand on his face. “Your heart was in the right place. I can’t fault you for that.”

  “No,” Brice bit out. “But I made another stupid decision.”

  Clayton shook his head. “Someone took advantage of you, Brice. That’s completely different.”

  Her brother swallowed and swiped at his cheeks that were wet with his tears. “Ronnie told me if I said anything to anyone they’d kill Caleb and then come after Abby. I couldn’t take the chance of something happening to my family. Then they came, and I hadn’t said a word to anyone.”

  “That’s on me,” Abby said. “I found something at work and pieced it together. I’m the one who gave Ronnie’s address to Clayton.”

  “And I found the cattle last night. When I saw you,” Clayton said.

  Brice lo
oked between them, resolve forming in his eyes. “So we can take them down now?”

  “Yep. Want to help?” Abby asked.

  Her brother sat up straighter. “Please.”

  Chapter 30

  The need for action, to take back what had been stolen and set right what had been broken burned through Clayton. For the first time, his mission assisted both himself and his family.

  While serving in the military, he’d gone on hundreds of operations that protected his country—and therefore his family. But this was different. This served no one but those he cared about.

  Christmas music played, and the Christmas lights on the tree and in the garland were turned on as if his mother wanted to remind him that there was more going on than hunting down a thief. Clayton stood in the doorway and watched Abby with Brice and Caleb as they sat before the giant Christmas tree in the living room. Over the last week, more presents had been put under the tree. Clayton knew his mother had bought things for the Harpers, and he whole-heartedly approved.

  Since Brice relayed his story, the teen looked as if the weight of the world had been removed from his shoulders. He laughed and smiled with ease now.

  When Clayton thought about how close he’d come to losing Abby, his stomach churned viciously. He’d known upon meeting her that she was different than anyone else. The more he got to know her, the more he liked what he learned.

  It hadn’t taken him long to fall for her, and to fall hard. He’d wanted her to know that his feelings were growing fast and deep, because he didn’t want her to think she was just a passing fancy. Not when she meant so much more.

  He saw a future with Abby. That was special since he hadn’t seen his future in years. With her, he felt as if he’d finally found the other half of his soul.

  Without a doubt, he knew he loved Abby. He’d suspected it before the shooting, but it was after he discovered that she’d been hurt that he knew for sure he couldn’t live without her.

  It was just a little over a week until Christmas. The holiday had never meant that much to him, but that was before Abby. Now, he couldn’t wait to spend it with her. He wanted to wake up that morning and walk with her downstairs to watch Caleb and Brice open their presents.

  He wanted to watch her open her own presents.

  “When are you going to tell her?” his father asked as he came up beside him.

  Clayton looked at him with a frown.

  His dad smiled. “It’s obvious you’re in love with her, son. You should tell her.”

  “What if she doesn’t feel the same?” That had been weighing on his mind ever since she’d shut down when he tried to tell her of his feelings after they had made love the first time.

  “How will you know if you don’t give her a chance to answer?”

  The doorbell rang, interrupting their conversation. Clayton met Abby’s gaze before he opened the door to Danny and two other sheriff’s deputies. When Clayton stepped aside to let them in, Brice was beside him. The teen stood tall with his chin lifted and resolve in his blue eyes.

  “I’m glad you finally came around,” Danny said to Brice as he and the others filed in.

  Clayton closed the door and started toward the office when he saw Abby standing in the foyer with Caleb. He walked to her and pulled her against him for a long, slow kiss. Desire heated his blood, making him yearn to take her upstairs to his bed and make love to her all day.

  He pulled away and smiled at her before he made his way to his father’s office to begin planning how they would take down Ronnie Baxter. Clayton closed the office doors behind him and found the three deputies, his father, Brice, and Shane looking at him. It had only been two hours since Brice told his story, but in that time, Clayton had already done most of the work.

  “We should have more men,” Danny said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  Ben nodded in agreement. “We will. Shane will take another ten from here.”

  “I’m not sure if that’ll be enough,” Danny argued.

  Clayton walked to the map of the area that he’d hung on the wall. “It probably won’t be. I’m just not sure who we can trust. I don’t want Baxter tipped off before we get there.”

  Danny’s arms dropped to his sides. “Are you telling me that you think there’s someone working with Baxter in the department?”

  “Shane placed the call about the stolen cattle, but no one came. It was by sheer accident that you were on that back road and saw what was going on. I’ve not investigated if Ronnie does have someone at the sheriff’s department in his pocket, but right now, I don’t want to chance it.”

  A muscle ticked in Danny’s jaw. “Point taken. And before you get started, I have some good news. Nathan Gilroy has been caught in Galveston on a ship headed to Cuba. It seems he had a bit of a gambling problem, and debts he couldn’t pay.”

  “So he used our money to pay off the debts?” Ben asked.

  Danny shook his head. “No, Nathan just wanted to get out.”

  “And the money?” Clayton asked.

  The deputy shook his head before removing his cowboy hat. “He spent a lot, but I suspect by the time the FBI is through with him, he’ll have given up the bank accounts he’s used.”

  “Well,” Ben said as he looked at Clayton. “One problem nearly solved.”

  Clayton nodded and then focused on the map. He pointed out Baxter’s land and the adjacent parcel that they were using to hold the cattle. “They’re antsy,” Clayton said. “They’re expecting something, so we need to come in undetected. I’ve already scouted spots where they’ll likely set up guards.” He circled the sections with a red marker as everyone stared at the map. “There’s a road on two sides of Baxter’s property, which makes it easy for them to know if someone’s coming.”

  Danny snorted. “Yeah, because the other option is to walk across miles of land in order to reach it.”

  “That’s what I did,” Clayton said.

  Brice added, “Me, too.”

  * * *

  Abby stood at the window looking out the back of the house to the horses that were being saddled as she thought about Clayton’s kiss. He’d never shown that kind of affection in front of others before, especially not her brothers.

  “I like him, you know,” Caleb said.

  She looked over her shoulder at her youngest brother and smiled. “I do, too.”

  Caleb walked to her side. “It’s not the ranch or this house, although both are amazing. His folks are good people. But really, it’s the way Clayton looks at you.”

  “How does he look at me?” she asked, wanting to know.

  Needing to know.

  Caleb grinned, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “Like you’re a buffet, and he wants to dive in.”

  Abby couldn’t help but laugh at her brother’s analogy. “Is that so?”

  “Just like you look at him like he’s the gold at the end of a rainbow and you’re expecting it to disappear.”

  “Because I am,” she admitted.

  Caleb bumped his shoulder into her good one. “Don’t be, sis. Clayton isn’t the leaving kind.”

  “It’s not that simple. Sometimes, things happen, and people drift apart.”

  “But wouldn’t you rather see where this takes you than to always wonder?”

  If Abby thought Justine’s words were wise, then she was bowled over at her fourteen-year-old brother’s wisdom. “Yes.”

  “Then stop holding back. You like him. I can see that. Go for it, Abby. Me and Brice will always have your back no matter what.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s scary.”

  “I’m sure it is, but you can’t let life continue to pass you by. You’ve done enough for us.”

  “It’ll never be enough.”

  He wrapped an arm around her. “And that’s why we love you so much.”

  “You’re going to make some girl a wonderful husband. Or guy. You know. If you’re into that sort of thing.”

  Caleb l
aughed softly. “I’m all about the girls, sis. It’s the boobs. I love them.”

  “Okay, okay,” she hurried to say as she wrinkled her nose. “I get it. You don’t have to say more. And I don’t need to know more.”

  “I don’t care if I ever find someone or not. If I do, great. If I don’t, it’s not the end of the world. Just look at Shane.”

  Abby lifted her head to look at Caleb. She didn’t share Shane’s story with him, but she would someday. Shane had loved, and loved hard, though he didn’t have his woman with him. Abby prayed the same didn’t happen to Caleb or Brice.

  She smiled, wondering what the future held for her brothers. “You’re too young to be thinking about marriage anyway. You’ve got plenty of time.”

  “Exactly,” Caleb said with a wink.

  The conversation moved on to other things, safe things like school and baseball. Two hours later, when the rain was nothing more than a fine mist, the men exited the office. Abby stood from the sofa and walked to the back door and the waiting horses. Ben stopped beside Justine as they watched the others.

  Brice came to her, and Abby saw that the boy she knew was falling away as he became a man right before her eyes. She’d never been more proud of him.

  “I’m going to make this right,” Brice said.

  She pulled him forward to kiss his cheek. “Be safe and come home to us.”

  “I will. Love you, Abby.”

  “Love you, too,” she replied.

  Caleb walked out with Brice. When Abby looked past Clayton, his parents had disappeared. Leaving them alone.

  “The same goes for you,” she told Clayton as she closed the distance between them. “I need you to be safe and come home.”

  He tenderly touched her face before his lips were on hers. There was no denying the depth of emotion that he poured into the kiss. It curled her toes and made her knees weak. She forgot all about the pain of her wound as she clung to him with her right arm. His hand cupped the back of her head while his other splayed on her back.

  Abby bit back a groan when he ended the kiss. Then his pale green eyes gazed at her as if memorizing her face.