Merry Cowboy Christmas

by Carolyn Brown

  “I’m not sure what tomorrow holds but I’m not in a hurry to leave Dry Creek.” She squeezed his fingers. “My heart and my mind are at peace with each other and I’m not making five- or even one-year plans anymore. That gets in the way of living, and I’m enjoying the life I’ve got right here at home.” She hesitated. Maybe she’d already said enough but she couldn’t stop. “Call it a Christmas miracle or karma or fate kicking me in the butt, but I’m happy and I’m not throwing that away just to prove that I can make a plan work.”

  “And us?” he asked as he squeezed her hand ever so tenderly.

  “Is there an us? Or just booty calls?”

  “I’d like for there to be an us,” he said.

  “Then”—she paused, trying to find the words—“we should slow down.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked. “Are you saying date without sex?”

  She nodded slowly. “I want to know if what I missed was Jud these past two nights or the hot sex.”

  “That’s fair enough.”

  “So now you talk. And I mean seriously,” she said.

  “I want there to be an us, Fiona. I want to see where this goes. Knowing that you’re happy here and not planning on leaving anytime soon makes me more than just happy. I’m a man and we don’t express feelings too well. Living with Truman should teach you that.” He paused.

  The silence was deafening for a few seconds. Then he went on. “I’m glad you are home and that you found peace in your heart. I’m having trouble here, but…”

  She removed her hand from his, cupped his cheeks in her palms, and kissed him. A brand-new feeling joined desire and heat, one that held the promise of a future in the kiss. “I can feel what you feel and that’s enough for now.”

  “I’ll gladly move back into the trailer if you want to announce it to the world right now because I sure want to crawl up on the rooftop and tell everyone,” he offered.

  She shook her head. “Let’s keep it under wraps until Dora June and Truman move out. But I do intend to tell Mama about what happened.”

  “Then that means I can tell my sister?”

  “Of course. Now tell me how in the hell you got Truman to go to the Lucky Penny and to go to dinner at Nadine’s today with Blake and Toby.” She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

  As Jud embellished the story with facial expressions that were so like Truman’s, her laughter seemed to make him give her even more details about the whole day. By the time he wound down the story, her sides ached and she had the hiccups.

  “How about a beer to cure those hiccups?” he asked.

  “We’ve still got beer in the cooler? I thought it was all gone. Some boyfriend you are,” she said.

  “Those are all gone. But Deke brought them to the poker game and Truman said that if Dora June found out and he got into trouble, then he would never play with us again, so I snuck the last two up here in a plastic bag of ice. They’re in my room. Shall we have one before we head off to bed?”

  A loud hiccup and a nod sent him toward the bathroom. He returned with two icy cold beers, the caps off both, and handed one to her. She tilted it back and let the cold liquid slide down her throat. Lord, that tasted good and it was an instant cure of the hiccups.

  Jud did the same as he sat back down. “Fiona, I like that you called me your boyfriend. And FYI, I know for a fact that Truman and Dora June will be gone by Christmas Day. You have to keep this under your hat and not even tell your sisters because if Truman found out I told you, he’d probably shoot me.” Jud went on to tell her all about the RV plans.

  Fiona hugged herself and giggled. “That is amazing news. You really did turn Scrooge around. So Christmas Day? That sounds like a perfect time for you to announce that I’m your new girlfriend.”

  “It does, doesn’t it?” He set their two empties on the floor and pulled her up into his arms. One brief kiss was all he gave her before he headed off to his bedroom and gently shut the door behind him.

  Dammit! She wanted more than a peck on the lips. She wanted the big kahuna, the tsunami, the class-five wild Texas tornado, all of it rolled into one big kiss and then a long bout of amazing sex. What in the hell was she thinking when she said they should go slow?

  You are an idiot! she thought as she picked up her boots in one hand and the beer bottles in the other and crossed the landing. Her room looked different, not nearly as confining and more inviting. She tossed the bottles into the trash, making a mental note to get rid of them the next morning and set her boots in the closet where they belonged.

  After she got comfortable on the bed, with pillows propped behind her back, she hit the button on her phone to call her mother. Katy answered on the first ring with laughter in her voice.

  “Hello, Fiona. I just hung up from an hour-long conversation with Allie. Y’all deserve special things in your Christmas stockings for the way you’ve turned Truman around. I didn’t expect anything but hoped for at least some kind of reconciliation between him and my sons-in-law before I came home. Looks like we’re getting a lot more with him talking about a big RV and taking Dora June to see the whole country.” Katy stopped for a breath.

  “Well, dammit! Do Allie and Lizzy both know? I wanted to tell you the story. I laughed until I got the hiccups at the way Jud told it.”

  Katy’s tone changed and suddenly Fiona could hear the sound of the ocean in the background. “Blake and Toby can’t keep a secret one bit better than Jud can, evidently. Now, I want to know your story. Lizzy just had the highlights. I want the details. What is going on in your heart, Fiona Deann Logan?”

  “You just triple named me. Am I in trouble?”

  “No, but I want you to know that I’m serious and I want the whole story,” Katy said.

  “Jud and I are dating, but we don’t want to tell anyone until after Dora June and Truman are gone or they’ll think it’s improper for us to live together in this house. Do you have a problem with that?”

  All Fiona could hear were the waves coming into shore for several seconds. “Mama, are you still there? Please don’t faint or die of a heart attack.”

  “I’m still here. Took a minute to process what you just said. I wasn’t expecting that right here at the first of the conversation. Can’t say I’m surprised, but it still shocked me,” Katy said breathlessly.

  “Do you want him to move out into his travel trailer?”

  “You are both grown adults. What you do or how you handle this relationship has nothing to do with where you sleep at night. Now that that’s out of the way, tell me why you thought you had to run away and not let anyone know where you were for a whole night?”

  Fiona repeated the whole story, even adding in how every song on the radio seemed to be talking straight to her, from the first one that made her leave to the last one that told her to go home.

  “I’m wiping tears from my cheeks,” Katy said at the end with a sniffle. “My biggest prayer has been answered. Not that you would come home. Not that you’d find someone to date. But that you’d finally find yourself and happiness.”

  “And now you’ve got me crying. I never can let anyone weep alone,” Fiona said.

  “I can’t wait to come home.”

  “Are you homesick?” Fiona asked.

  “Not for Dry Creek but for you girls. I’m really settling in to a life with no responsibilities and liking it. I didn’t know how tense I was until I started to relax but I wouldn’t want to live here forever. Texas is where my heart and soul is.”

  “Mama, there won’t be a problem with me staying here at the house and working in the back room at the store for a long time, will there?” Fiona asked softly.

  “Not at all but I’ve got some things I want to talk to you about when I get home. It’s not something to discuss on the phone so we’ll wait. You just go enjoy your newfound happiness and we’ll have a long visit. But don’t worry, you are welcome to the back room as long as you want it and I love that you are in the house. Now I�
�m going inside and having a margarita with the girls. Good night, Fiona, and, darlin’, you’ve given me the best Christmas present in the world tonight.”

  “I think it’s me that got the Christmas miracle this year, Mama. Good night, and have an extra margarita for me.” Fiona pushed the END button.

  She draped her clothing over the back of a chair and pulled a nightshirt over her head, slid beneath the covers, and wiggled into a comfortable spot. It sure beat the hell out of sleeping in her car the night before.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  On Monday morning, Allie and Dora June began to gear things up for the ranch party the next Saturday night. The whole town was either talking about the party or the fact that Truman was going to be Santa Claus. Everyone had thought that the Lucky Penny would fail for sure and yet here they were throwing a huge ranch party at the end of their first year. No one would have believed that Truman, of all the men in Dry Creek, could ever have been coerced into doing anything for Christmas, but yet he was bragging about the pillow that Dora June was making for him to wear around his midsection.

  The end of the world had to be on the way. Any second the clouds would part, a bright white light would shoot down, and a booming voice would come out of the heavens, calling all the saints and sinners to Judgment Day.

  On Tuesday night, Fiona met Jud on the landing. He opened his arms and she walked into them, holding him tightly as she inhaled the sexy scent of soap, shampoo, and what belonged solely to Jud.

  “I’ll be glad when this party is over,” she said.

  “Me too. Let’s celebrate on Sunday by going to an afternoon movie in Wichita Falls. We’ll sit in the dark, hold hands like teenagers, and relax,” he whispered into her hair.

  “Yes, but only if you promise you won’t laugh at me if I snore. I’ll be so tired by then, I won’t be able to stay awake. And can we stop in and see Granny either before or after the movie?”

  “Yes, we can. Truman bought an RV today. The fanciest thing you’ve ever seen. He’s going to have it parked outside the house on Christmas morning and as soon as the leftover potluck is finished at the church that night, he and Dora June will head south for the winter,” Jud said.

  “Oh. My. God! He was serious. Dora June is going to faint.”

  “I hope not,” Jud chuckled, and then he tipped her chin up for a quick kiss. “He’s like a little kid about all this. Tomorrow he and Blake are going to Throckmorton to buy a small car that’s listed in the newspaper down there. He’s going to sell his truck to Toby but this is all a big hush, hush secret. Not even your sisters know it’s a done deal.”

  “Oh, they know. Blake and Toby don’t keep secrets any better than you do,” Fiona laughed. “We are planning to buy stuff for their new trailer for their Christmas presents.”

  On Thursday, things really moved fast. The rental company with all the tables arrived that evening right after Fiona got off work. In an hour the living room was changed into a lovely party area with small round tables scattered with the flow pattern to the bar and the dining room planned out beautifully. Centerpieces were chunks of mesquite with the Lucky Penny brand burned into the sides. Across the tops of the logs holes had been drilled to hold short tapers that would be lit just before the party started. Silk poinsettias and greenery had been used to give the pieces a Christmas flare and the ribbons matched the sashes on the backs of the chairs.

  “Oh my!” Fiona gasped.

  “Pretty damn impressive, isn’t it?” Lizzy asked from the Christmas tree area, where a big red chair waited for Santa Claus. “Did you see the bar? They decided to set it up in the foyer. The guys had to move out the hall tree and the credenza but it looks like it’s going to work very well. I wish Mama were here for the party but to have her come home early would be selfish.”

  Fiona peeked out into the foyer. “It’s all decorated, too.”

  “Oh, yes. This is the party to attend this year from what everyone says. The Dawson guys did not fall on their faces their first year in business and Truman is Santa Claus. What else could we ask for?”

  “That Granny could be here and having a good day.” Allie carried Audrey into the room. “Who’d have thought a year ago right now that we’d all be where we are?”

  “If you’d have told me I’d be married to anyone other than Mitch, I’d have thought you were crazy,” Lizzy said.

  “We didn’t even know the Dawsons and only heard rumors that a bunch of fool cowboys were interested in the Lucky Penny.” Allie handed Audrey off to Fiona and straightened several ornaments on the tree.

  “Fool cowboys, huh?” Jud asked.

  “Yep.” Fiona nodded. “That’s exactly what they called you three. Like that old commercial said, ‘You’ve come a long way, baby.’ You weren’t supposed to last past that hard winter or the hot summer and yet, here you still are.”

  “And we’ll be here next year and the one after that, won’t we?” Jud asked, but his eyes were on Fiona.

  “Hopefully,” she said.

  “It looks good. The caterers arrive at eight in the morning and take over the kitchen. I’m shutting the store an hour early to have time to get ready. Why don’t y’all girls come over here at four and we’ll have the whole upstairs to ourselves.” Fiona swayed back and forth with the baby in her arms.

  Jud cleared his throat loudly.

  “Minus Jud’s room. We can do mani/pedis,” Fiona said.

  “Then we can all make an entrance down the staircase.” Lizzy nodded.

  “Audrey and I will be here at four on the button,” Allie agreed.

  Jud waited patiently at the bottom of the stairs with his two cousins on Friday night. The pungent smell of barbecue floated out from the kitchen. Waiters wearing white shirts and black slacks stood ready behind the dining room table to help guests.

  Two pretty blond bartenders were in their place to make whatever drinks anyone ordered. A month ago, Jud would have already had two phone numbers and would have been trying to make up his mind which one to call first. But tonight he wasn’t interested in either of their sly glances his way. He was waiting on his girlfriend.

  Allie was the first Logan sister to appear at the top of the staircase. Blake sucked air so hard that Jud turned to make sure he wasn’t choking to death.

  “She’s wearing the red velvet dress that she wore when we married,” Blake said hoarsely. “She took my breath away in it on Valentine’s Day and even more so tonight. I’ve got the prettiest wife in the whole damn state.”

  They made quite the pair, with Allie wearing red velvet and Audrey all dolled up in a Christmas plaid taffeta dress. Jud wanted what Blake had at that moment even more than he wanted the Lucky Penny to have oil down beneath the surface. His cousin’s eyes never left his wife and daughter. It was as if no one else in the world existed but them and when they reached the foyer, he took Audrey from her, cradled the baby in one arm and slung the other around Allie’s shoulders.

  “You are stunning,” Blake said.

  “You look pretty damn good yourself. Shall we go on in to the party? It sounds like we’ve got some guests already and we’ll need to greet each and every one,” she said.

  Lizzy made her way down the steps, but Toby didn’t wait for her to get to the bottom. He bounded up to meet her, kissed her passionately right there in front of the bartenders and Lucy and Herman as they came through the front door, and then hooked her arm into his.

  “You are beautiful tonight, Miz Lizzy,” Jud said when they were beside him.

  “Lucy, darlin’, I’m so glad you and Herman are here.” Lizzy hugged both Lucy and Herman. “Y’all come on into the party room with us. It sounds like folks are already arriving.”

  “That green satin looks beautiful on you, Lizzy. You should wear that color more often,” Lucy said.

  “And you look stunning,” Lizzy said. “How’d you ever get Herman out of his overalls and into a suit?”

  “I threatened to sit on Truman’s lap and tell him what I w
ant for Christmas,” Lucy whispered.

  “Women!” Herman grumbled as he clamped a hand on Jud’s shoulder. “If you don’t want to be bossed around, take my advice and run when a woman even looks at the rings in a store window.”

  “Is that what got you in trouble?”

  Herman sighed. “Damn straight and now fifty years later I got to wear this uncomfortable suit to come to your party.”

  “Looks real good on you,” Jud said.

  “Ain’t wore it since my son got married years ago but it still fits so that’s a good thing, I guess. I knew y’all boys would make a go of that ranch. Truman was against you from the beginning but he’s comin’ around. I can’t believe he’s goin’ to be Santa Claus. All the dirt in Texas wouldn’t make me put on that suit,” Herman said.

  “Herman Hudson, quit hangin’ out at the bar and come on in here.” Lucy crooked a finger toward him.

  “The boss speaks.” He grinned.

  “Sounds like it,” Jud chuckled.

  “Does that one belong to you?” one of the bartenders asked, and pointed up the wide staircase.

  If Jud would have had to utter a word or die before a firing squad, he would have reached for the blindfold and put it on himself. Fiona wore a black cocktail dress that hugged her body like a glove. A choker of bloodred rubies was wrapped around her long, slender neck and her curly red hair was swept to one side, leaving the other bare for his kisses. Between the short skirt and the high heels, her legs looked a mile long.

  “Well?” the bartender asked again.

  “Yes, she does,” he said when he’d found his voice.

  “Well, now, don’t you clean up well,” Fiona said from the second step.

  “This old cowboy suit? Why, I’ve worn it for years.” He picked up her arm and tucked it safely into his. “I should have worn my revolver on my hip. As gorgeous as you are, it’s going to be a chore just knocking the cowboys away from you. Please, let me tell everyone we are dating. I can live in a trailer for a week until Dora June and Truman leave.”