“Shhh.” She put a finger on his lips. “This is all about the ranch tonight. Not about us. We can wait one more week. Smile when we walk through the door. Lizzy is going to snap our picture to send straight to Mama.”
He closed his free hand around her finger and kissed it. “You rendered me speechless when I looked up and saw you.”
“That may be the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. Now, let’s go make everyone welcome and show them that the Lucky Penny is a ranch to reckon with.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Within seconds of entering the party, Jud was pulled into a group of high-powered ranchers from around Olney. Two were women, an older one with gray hair and a tall blonde wearing a lovely little dark green lace sheath dress that hugged her slim body, leaving little to the imagination.
Instant jealousy washed over Fiona when the younger woman moved so close to Jud that her breasts, sporting a mile of cleavage, brushed against his arm. He took a step to the side and motioned for Fiona to join them. That helped the green-eyed monster subside but only slightly.
She started that way, but Sharlene caught her arm. “Did you see that hussy making a play for Jud? You’d better go rescue him. She’s the one who took Deke out to the car to ‘cool off’ when we went dancing. That’s her grandmother with her and the old gal owns half of the county around Olney.”
“What’s her name?” Fiona asked.
“Lacy, and her grandma says that she has to be married in the next year or another grandchild is going to inherit the ranch.”
“Why?” Fiona asked.
“Because the grandma is eighty years old and wants to retire. But she wants someone who is settled to run the ranch,” Sharlene said.
Fiona nodded and took a few more steps toward Jud, who was looking pretty frantic. She’d only gone a few feet when Mary Jo waylaid her and dragged her into a corner.
“This is a really nice party. I’m glad that the Dawsons are making the Lucky Penny into a ranch,” Mary Jo said.
“Thank you,” Fiona said.
“But that’s not why I grabbed your arm. You need to tell Jud to watch out for that woman over there. She wanted Deke but bombed out there, so she’s on the prowl again. I imagine that Jud is the whole reason she and her granny are here. I’d tell him but the way he keeps looking at you, I expect he’ll listen to you better,” Mary Jo said. “I’m going to the bar. Want me to bring you something?”
“Yes, a glass of red wine would be great. Thank you, Mary Jo,” Fiona said.
She finally made it to the group and held out her hand to the older woman. “Hello, I’m Fiona Logan. I don’t believe I’ve met you.”
“Yes, you have, darlin’.” The older lady smiled. “I knew your grandmother, Irene, and your grandfather very well. But I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl. Please let me introduce you to my granddaughter, Lacy. I expect she’s about your age.”
Fiona turned slowly and flashed her best Southern smile. “I’m Fiona. I hope you’re enjoying the party?”
Lacy looked at Jud like she’d gladly have him for a midnight snack. “Oh, honey, it’s a great party, but I can’t believe I didn’t dance with this good-looking hunk when I met y’all a couple of weeks ago. When does the dancing begin?”
“I’m afraid we don’t have room for dancing tonight. Maybe next year we’ll plan to hire a band when the sale barn goes up,” Fiona said sweetly.
“Wine?” Mary Jo handed Fiona a glass.
Fiona took it and extended her arm toward Lacy. “You don’t have anything. Please, take this and I’ll get a beer later.”
“Thank you,” Lacy said.
“Oh, Jud, there are some people over here that you have to talk to. They have a little spread down around Throckmorton and they always have a fall sale. We should go to it next year to get an idea of how to build the new barn on the Lucky Penny.” She looped her arm in his.
Just as Lacy was raising the glass to her lips, Fiona stepped on her toe. Wine went everywhere: inside all that cleavage, down the front of her dress, the last drops hitting the tops of her ridiculously high heels. Surprisingly enough, not one drop hit the floor and yet the glass was empty.
“I’m so sorry,” Fiona said. “Please come upstairs with me and I’ll help you clean this up. We’ll get some club soda at the bar. It works wonders.”
“It’s all right,” the grandmother said. “We’ve got another party this evening in Olney, so we’ll just run by the ranch and she can change. It’s been wonderful meeting you again, Fiona. Come on over to our place anytime. We’ll catch up about Irene. Come along, Lacy. We’ll have to hurry.”
Lacy set the glass on the nearest table and shot Fiona a dirty look. It was meant to kill Fiona on the spot, drop her like a ton of bricks into nothing but a black dress right there at Jud’s toes. But Fiona apologized a dozen more times and invited them to come back to the Lucky Penny anytime.
“Did you do that on purpose?” Jud whispered.
“Would you care if I did?” she asked. “Honey, I know how to pick up bits and pieces of conversation. I was saving your ass.” Fiona unhooked her arm from his and went to greet another couple coming into the room.
Blake clamped a hand on Jud’s shoulder. “I want you to meet Mark Hutchins. He’s got a sale barn that we need to look at before we build one. If all goes well, we can have our ranch sale and party in our own barn in a couple of years.”
Jud never let her out of sight the entire time he talked to Blake and Mark about a new barn and joined her as soon as he could wrangle his way out of the conversation. He draped his arm possessively around her shoulder when the rattle of sleigh bells sounded on the stairs.
“Ho, ho, ho!” Truman bellowed in his deepest voice.
Fiona had trouble finding Truman beneath all that belly and gray beard. If it hadn’t been for his eyes and those heavy dark brows, she might have thought Herman had decided to play the part after all. “I’ve got a bag full of presents for boys and girls of all ages, and I’ll be right over there in my chair for any of you who want to tell me what you want for Christmas.”
Folks were still eating, drinking, and talking but the focus shifted to the kids. Cameras came out and Truman was the center of attention for the next hour. Audrey was the first baby to sit on his lap and he was a little awkward, but when she cooed at him and flashed a toothless grin, he softened right up.
“Never actually thought I’d see this happen,” Jud said.
“You’ve worked some mighty fine magic,” Fiona told him.
“Not really. I think he wanted to be like this all along but he didn’t know how. Now he does. I hope Dora June was serious about that RV thing. He’s so excited that he can’t be still. I’ll be surprised if he keeps the secret another week.” Jud slipped an arm around her waist.
“Mama will be home on Tuesday, so I hope he keeps it until then. I want her to be here when Dora June finds out. It’s all because she invited them to stay here that this has happened.”
Allie bumped Fiona on the arm. “You and Lizzy are going to have to take care of the last of the party. Audrey is getting fussy. I’m glad that she stayed awake long enough to get her first Santa picture made, but I’m taking her upstairs to my old room to rock her for a while.”
Fiona kissed the baby on the forehead. “She’s been passed around a lot tonight. Her little bones are probably sore.”
At eleven-thirty, Truman gave the last present in his bag to a five-year-old who was so tired that she whined because it was wrapped in red paper instead of green. Lizzy and Toby walked them to the door and the second their taillights disappeared, they turned off the porch lights.
“Great party, darlin’.” Toby picked Lizzy up and swirled her around in the foyer.
“Y’all told me an hour,” Truman grouched. “I’ve been sitting here in this chair for three hours and my mouth is dry as bone. I need a drink. Don’t you look at me like that, Dora June. I earned it.”
“Th
e bartenders left thirty minutes ago with the caterers,” Blake said. “I bet I can mix up anything you want. There’s a little liquor left.”
“I don’t want liquor. I want a beer.” Truman pulled the beard and hair off in one motion. “But first, Dora June, I want you to get me out of this pillow contraption so I can go to the bathroom.”
“I suppose you’ve earned a beer,” Dora June said.
“While they’re gone, take what’s left of the liquor out to our truck,” Lizzy said. “We paid too much for that to have Dora June pour it down the drain.”
“Part of it can go upstairs to my room,” Jud offered.
“We’ve got maybe five minutes.” Blake nodded.
Several cold beers were on the dining room table with the leftovers when Dora June and Truman returned. He was dressed in his usual overalls, a pair of bedroom slippers, and a flannel shirt. To imagine him as Santa Claus at that point was impossible.
He picked up a beer and carried it to the living room, where he plopped down in a chair and propped his feet up in a second one. “I ain’t stayed up this late in years,” he said as he tipped back the bottle and took a long gulp.
Dora June sat down across the table from him, propped her feet up, and popped the cork out of a bottle of champagne. “Somebody get us eight glasses from that bar out there. We’re going to celebrate success.”
Truman spewed beer across the table. “Where did you get that?”
“I took it from the bar when they were setting things up. We done good, so don’t you fuss at me, Truman O’Dell. I don’t reckon one glass of this pretty pink stuff will make me drunk,” she told him.
“I’ll get Allie,” Blake stammered.
“Good idea,” Lizzy said. “She won’t want to miss this.”
A few minutes later, Blake carried a sleeping baby, all nestled down into her carrier, into the room. “I see that you’ve got it poured, Fiona. So a toast.” He set the carrier on the floor and picked up a glass in one hand and wrapped the other one around Allie’s shoulders. “To a wonderful year. We’ve made more progress than we thought we would and this party was a big success. Thank you to our wives, to Fiona and to Dora June and Truman for helping us.”
“Hear, hear!” Toby raised his glass.
Everyone followed his lead and touched their glasses together.
“Well, now!” Dora June said when she tasted the champagne. “If I’d of known how good that tasted, I would have saved back two bottles.”
“Dora June!” Truman gasped.
She picked up his bottle of beer and swallowed twice. “Hmmph,” she said. “Mine is better than that stuff. It tastes like yeast bread smells when it’s risin’.”
“Well, I like yeasty bread,” Truman said defensively.
“And I like this pink bubbly stuff,” she said.
“To the Lucky Penny. May it continue to prosper.” Fiona held up her glass again.
Truman hesitated but he clinked his with the others and finished off the remainder of the champagne in his glass. Dora June poured the last of what was left in the bottle in her glass and sipped at it as she stood.
“I’m going to my room now. Tonight will go down in my book of memories as one of my favorites of all times. Truman, you going with me?” she asked.
He picked up his bottle and followed her, weaving his way through the tables to their bedroom at the end of the foyer.
Blake set his glass on the table. “And we’re takin’ this baby home. See y’all in church tomorrow morning. Don’t forget tomorrow is a potluck. I can’t believe Truman has volunteered to play Santa again.”
“Me neither. Hey”—Toby lowered his voice—“we should give Dora June and Truman a bottle of champagne for Christmas. We could tuck it into their new RV with a card so they’ll find it on their first night.”
“I’ll take care of buying it if Fiona will hide it,” Jud said.
“I’ll get a card,” Lizzy offered. “But right now, we’re going home, too. The rental company said they would be here at three o’clock tomorrow to clean all this up.”
“If the church thing isn’t finished, y’all can stay and I’ll come home to let them in,” Fiona offered.
“Then good night to everyone.” Allie yawned.
Fiona slid down the back of the door, kicked her shoes off, and stretched out her legs as soon as everyone had left. Jud removed his jacket and hung it on the newel post, pulled off his boots, and sat down beside her.
“That went well, except for Lacy’s dress.”
“I’d say that went well, too,” Fiona said.
Jud took her hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss each knuckle. “You were the most beautiful woman at the party tonight, darlin’.”
She pulled her hand free from his and with a single fluid motion she was sitting in his lap. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“Tired?” he asked.
“Worn out and we still have the church thing. Oh no! We were supposed to have our first date tomorrow,” she groaned.
“How about we watch a movie in my room tomorrow evening? We can take leftovers and cookies up there and have a picnic,” he said.
“Will you hold my hand?” she asked.
“And I won’t laugh if you snore if you don’t laugh at me for the same thing.”
“Then it’s a date.” She yawned.
“Come on, Sleeping Beauty. It’s past your bedtime and we both have to be up early.”
“Jud, I liked being your girlfriend tonight, too. But what I liked most was the look in your eyes when you watched me walk down the stairs. I felt special.”
“You, my darlin’, are very special.”
They went up the stairs hand in hand.
Fiona stopped in front of her door. “My room is a total mess. I’m going to grab a nightgown and sleep in Mama’s bed tonight.”
Jud’s eyes fluttered shut and his lips came closer and closer. She rolled up on her toes to meet him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was the perfect ending for the whole evening but it created a deep desire for more.
“Sleep tight, darlin’,” he said, and disappeared across the landing.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fiona overslept on Sunday morning and grabbed a biscuit stuffed with bacon on the way out the back door. Dora June and Truman had left more than an hour before because she had Sunday school class. If Jud hadn’t knocked on Fiona’s bedroom door as he was leaving, she’d still be asleep.
She’d dashed across the hall to her still messy room, found a bright green skirt that had a matching sweater, and gotten dressed in record time. She’d gone to bed with her hair still swept to one side and it looked like an upside down string mop that had been set out in the sun to dry. She pulled it up into a bun on the back of her head, letting a few curls escape to frame her face. Forget makeup, she didn’t have time for that.
Everyone was singing when she slipped in the back door of the church and tiptoed up the aisle to sit at the end of the Logan pew beside Jud. He shared the hymnal with her, but they were on the very last line of the final verse.
The preacher took the pulpit and covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “Y’all excuse me. If you didn’t go to the ranch party at the Lucky Penny last night, you missed a good time. I’ll make the sermon short this morning. If you will open your Bibles to the twenty-third Psalms, I’m going to talk about the present. The previous two Psalms talk about the future and the past, but this one tells us what we can expect from the present and that’s what’s important because it’s what we have today.”
Work all week, church on Sunday, go see Granny when possible. Fiona asked herself if this was what she wanted out of life as she tuned the preacher out and thought about her own past, present, and future.
Jud laid a hand on the back of the pew and let it fall over her shoulder. A smile tilted the corners of her mouth upward. The past hadn’t been so great. A job was a job if i
t was in a fancy office with a view or if it was in the back room of a little convenience store. The future was as uncertain as Texas weather. This was the present and for right now, she liked her place in it.
“A reminder”—the preacher was winding down when she started to listen again—“we are having our annual Christmas dinner in the fellowship hall today. After we eat, I understand Santa Claus will be ready for pictures and will give out candy and fruit to all the children here today. I’ll say our ending prayer and the blessing for today’s food at the same time so that y’all can go on and eat as soon you get there.”
Everyone’s head bowed and the preacher said a very short prayer, which led Fiona to believe that he hadn’t had time for a proper breakfast, either. Immediately afterward, there was a mass exodus as the women hurried off to the kitchen, leaving the men folks behind to find their own way in their own time.
“So why aren’t you hurrying off to get our donation to the church dinner?” Jud asked.
“Dora June brought our contribution this morning. We had leftover brisket and dozens of cookies from the party last night. Besides, there’s enough cooks in the kitchen right now,” she answered.
Truth of the matter was, she didn’t want to answer a million questions. She’d shared Jud’s hymnal, even if only for a few seconds, and he’d put his arm around her. In small-town Texas, those two gestures carried weight and lots of it. Hopefully, everyone would still be talking about Truman, but if they saw her, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that poor old Truman would take a backseat.
“You look pretty serious.” Jud propped a hip on the arm of the first pew and waited for the line to go from the sanctuary through a narrow hallway to the fellowship hall to thin out. “What were you thinking about?”
“Truman deserves the place of honor,” she said.
“And that means?” Jud raised an eyebrow.
Merry Cowboy Christmas Page 24
