The Cowboy's Christmas Family

by Donna Alward

  And as such, Maddy’s story was pretty common knowledge. Her husband had been killed in a car accident several months before, leaving her widowed with the twins. Which would have been bad enough, but rumors had spread that Gavin Wallace had been having an affair. He didn’t blame Maddy for being defensive. It wasn’t nice having your dirty laundry hung up for everyone to see.

  The exhausted, hopeless look on her face tonight had reminded him of someone else, too. Someone he tried not to think of much anymore...

  He hardly noticed when his mother came into the kitchen. It wasn’t until the fridge door opened that he jumped and spun in his chair, looking over his shoulder at her.

  Ellen Hudson was still a beautiful woman at fifty-seven. Her gray hair was cut in a wispy sort of bob and while she had crow’s-feet at the corners of her eyes, they still twinkled as blue as ever. She gave a light laugh at Cole’s surprise and took a carton of milk from the fridge.

  “You’re up late. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “Just reading. Winding down.” Thinking too much.

  She went to the cupboard and got a mug. “Me, too. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d try some warm milk.” She poured the milk into the mug and put it in the microwave. Cole watched as she took it out again, added a splash of vanilla and a spoon of brown sugar, and took a sip.

  “I don’t know how you drink that disgusting stuff,” he commented, closing his magazine.

  She grinned and sat down opposite him. “I drank it when I was pregnant with Tanner and was off the caffeine.” She cradled the mug and looked up at him. “Something on your mind, son?”

  “Not really. Probably just too much coffee at the meeting tonight.”

  “How’d that go?”

  “Good,” he answered, leaning back in his chair. “Things are coming together.”

  “I’m sorry we’re going to miss it,” his mother said. “We’ll be in St. Thomas by then.”

  Cole grinned. “You’re not that sorry. You and Dad have been waiting for this trip for years.” They were flying to Florida to spend a week, and then taking a two-week cruise through the Caribbean. “Besides, you’ll be back for Christmas.”

  “Of course we will. With a suntan.” She laughed a little. “I’m not sure if my sleeping problems are from excitement or anxiety.”

  It was Cole’s turn to laugh. “Mom, I promise Tanner and I aren’t going to throw any ragers while you guys are out of town.”

  “Smart-ass.” But she laughed, too. “You both are grown men. And good men. Still, I hate leaving you to manage both the ranch and the house.”

  “We’re big boys. We know how to clean and cook. You go and don’t worry a bit about us. We’ll eat steak every night. It’s Tanner’s specialty.”

  If Tanner was ever home, that was. He always seemed to find somewhere to go, something to do. And when he wasn’t being a social butterfly, he was putting in hours as a volunteer EMT. Maybe it was because Tanner was younger, but he had an energy that far surpassed Cole’s. Or maybe Cole was just more of a homebody.

  “You know, if you’d hurry up and get married...”

  “I know, I know. You and Dad would downsize and you wouldn’t worry about me so much. And while I’m at it, get to work on some grandkids for you to spoil.”

  It was a well-worn refrain. And one he understood, but he didn’t need to have it mentioned quite so often. It wasn’t that he had anything against settling down. He just hadn’t met the right one yet. Every girl he dated seemed great for a while, but then the novelty fizzled out.

  Lately he’d started to wonder if the problem was that he was afraid of getting too close to someone. When Roni left him, he’d felt like such a failure. He’d tried over and over to help her, but nothing had worked. He had no idea where she was now, or if she was even okay. Truth be told, he hadn’t been in love with a woman since she’d trampled on his heart. And that had been eight long years ago.

  His mind went back a few hours to Maddy and the way she’d shut him out so quickly. She was living proof of what happened when a marriage went wrong. The last thing he’d want to do was rush into a marriage and end up making a mess. “I’m not in a big hurry,” he replied, frowning into his water glass. “I take marriage seriously, Mom. Isn’t that what you want?”

  “Of course.” She reached over and touched his hand. “You know we just want to see you happy. You’d be such a good dad, Cole. A good husband. You’re a good man.”

  Ugh, she made it sound as though he was such a paragon, when he knew he wasn’t. He supposed she was looking at him through mom goggles.

  “Hmm,” he answered, thinking again of Maddy and how stressed she’d seemed. It had to be hard at the best of times, handling twins. Doing it on her own must be an extra challenge. He remembered what she was like before. A hard worker, always with a smile, with an extra glow once she met Gavin and they got engaged. In Gibson everyone pretty well knew everyone else, even though she’d been a few years behind him in school. It sucked that her vibrancy, that glow, had disappeared.

  “Thinking about anything in particular?” his mom asked.

  “Just Maddy Wallace. She was working at the library tonight and her babysitting fell through and she had the twins. She was run ragged.”

  “Maddy’s had a rough time, that’s for sure.” She nodded. “Losing her husband, finding out he was cheating. She’s one strong girl, picking herself up the way she has. But the whole situation has to be hard.”

  “I got the impression that she doesn’t appreciate a lot of pity,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Would you?” his mom asked simply. “If your dad had stepped out on me, and the whole town knew about it? I’d be humiliated. And really angry. Honey, Maddy hasn’t got anyone to be angry with anymore, except herself, really. I’m sure she’d rather forget all about the whole thing.”

  He hadn’t thought of it in quite that way before. The one person she’d probably like to ask most about the affair couldn’t answer. And as far as he could gather, Laura wasn’t talking. Which was to her credit, really. But it didn’t help stop the gossip.

  “Son,” she said, taking the last drink of her milk, “this is one time I’m not going to do any urging or matchmaking. Maddy has a truckload of baggage to sort through. But if you ended up in a position to give her a helping hand, that wouldn’t be amiss, either. The holidays are coming up and she has those two babies to think about. Maybe your committee can think about that, too, amid all the festival stuff.”

  It wasn’t a half-bad idea, though the idea of Maddy accepting any form of charity was ludicrous. She wouldn’t even accept his help in cleaning up the room tonight, which was just dumping some garbage cans and emptying the coffeemaker.

  It would have to be something secret, something she wouldn’t expect, something that seemed random.

  What in heck would that be?

  “I’m a guy. I don’t do well with this sort of thing.”

  His mom laughed, got up and put her mug in the sink. Then she came over to him and dropped a kiss on top of his head. “You’re probably better at it than you think. And now I have to get to bed. I have a lot of packing to do tomorrow. I’m not letting your father anywhere near those suitcases.”

  After she left the room, Cole fussed with the corner of the magazine pages, thinking. It wasn’t a bad idea, actually, helping one of their own. Besides, up until the last few months, Maddy had always been active in Gibson, helping out with fund-raisers and activities with a smile.

  Life had handed her some huge lemons. Maybe it was up to them to give her the lemonade. It was the season of giving, after all.

  What could go wrong?

  Chapter Two

  Maddy was trying to space out her shopping and minimize her babysitting bills, so she hit the town’s rather small department store o
n a Tuesday after work to pick up a few things before she was due to get the boys.

  She had forty dollars today. That was it. And there was another payday before Christmas where she might be able to squeeze a bit more out of her check. It wasn’t as though the boys were old enough to know they were getting less than most other kids. It was that she knew. She knew she couldn’t provide the type of Christmas she wanted to and it bugged her to no end.

  As she pushed the metal cart toward the baby section, she took a deep breath. Thinking about finances just made her angry at Gavin again, and that didn’t serve any purpose. In the new year, she was going to make a new plan, that was all. Maybe downsize to a smaller house, for one. The three of them didn’t need two thousand square feet, really. A smaller bungalow would suit them fine and the upkeep would certainly be easier.

  She stopped by the baby clothes, searching for discounts. Pajamas were on sale, cute little blue and green ones with the feet in them and a brown-and-white puppy on the front. She put one of each color in the cart. She picked up fuzzy socks, new slippers with the traction dots on the bottom and two soft white onesies.

  Calculating in her head, she had about fifteen dollars left. Barely.

  At the toy section she was utterly daunted. How could she buy two toys with what she had left?

  She’d decided on the rock-a-stack rings she knew the boys loved from the church nursery, and was deliberating the wisdom of wooden alphabet blocks when a voice startled her.

  “I just need help getting it down from the top shelf.”

  Maddy looked across the aisle and felt her face go red-hot. Laura Jessup was smiling at an employee, pointing at a crib set on a high shelf. She was everything Maddy wasn’t, it seemed—petite, red haired, creamy complexioned, young.

  And carrying Maddy’s husband’s baby. There was no mistaking the roundness at her middle. At Maddy’s best guess, Laura had to be close to seven, eight months along. Not that she was about to ask the exact due date. Gavin had died five months ago, which meant that he’d been seeing Laura pretty much since she’d showed up in town last spring.

  With the plastic case containing the comforter in hand, Laura turned around and caught Maddy staring at her. For a brief second she looked embarrassed and awkward, but then she put on an uncertain smile. “Madison,” she began, and started walking toward Maddy.

  Hell, no, Maddy thought, her throat tightening and heart pounding. This is not going to happen.

  She wasn’t going to have a panic attack, but it was damned close, and she hustled the cart across to housewares, down the center and straight to the cash registers.

  A quick glance behind her as she put her items on the belt reassured her that Laura hadn’t followed her. Thank God. Maddy wasn’t interested in anything Laura had to say.

  “Is that all today, Mrs. Wallace?”

  She nodded at the girl behind the counter. Young and fresh faced and wearing a Santa hat, she looked innocent and happy. “Yes, that’s it, Stephanie. Thanks.”

  “It’s forty-one dollars and ten cents,” Stephanie said, and Maddy dug out the extra dollar and change. She’d stayed pretty close to budget after all.

  “Is the library still having the tree lighting?” the cashier asked, chatting as if unaware that Maddy wanted to be just about anywhere else right now.

  “Yes, on the thirteenth,” she answered. “To kick off Snowflake Days.”

  “It’s so much fun every year. Last year when I went, I—”

  Maddy grabbed the shopping bags and flashed a hurried smile. “Sorry, Stephanie. I was supposed to pick up the boys ten minutes ago. I’ve gotta run.”

  “Oh, sure, Mrs. Wallace. Have a nice day.”

  The air outside the store was bitter, a distinct change from the crisp bite of earlier. It felt as if snow was in the air. She’d like to get home before it started, since she didn’t have her winter tires on yet. She should probably do that soon...

  “Afternoon, Maddy.”

  She had her head stuck in the trunk, stowing the bags, and the sound of her name being spoken prompted her to stand up too quickly and smack her head on the hood.

  She now understood why people called it seeing stars. Little dots swam in front of her eyes as she held on to the lip of the trunk for support.

  “Whoa, there!” A strong hand gripped her arm, steadying her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry about that.”

  She blinked a few times and her vision cleared, though the pain was still sharp in her head. Cole Hudson stood before her, a frown of concern on his handsome face.

  “I’m fine. You just scared me, is all.” She pushed away from the car, and then reached for the hood, giving it a good slam.

  “Maddy, hold still.” He reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief. “I think you cut your head.”

  Now that he mentioned it, there was a funny feeling on the right side of her head, as if a raindrop had fallen on her hair and was trickling toward her ear.

  He reached forward and pressed the cotton to her head with a firm but gentle touch. “Wow, you really smacked it.”

  He took the handkerchief away and she saw a decent-sized blot of blood. “I’ve been preoccupied all day,” she admitted, letting out a breath. “And I’m late to pick up the boys.” It was a white lie, but he didn’t know that. It sounded better than I’m running away from my husband’s mistress.

  “I want to make sure you’re all right first,” Cole insisted. “Or I could drive you over there myself. They at your folks’ place?”

  “No, at the day care. I can’t expect Mom to keep them all the time, and it was a workday for me. Besides, the day care is closer.” Maddy’s mom and dad lived on a pretty lot on the other side of the river. They’d been absolutely wonderful over the past few months, but Maddy was determined to stand on her own two feet.

  He dabbed at her head with the kerchief again. “It seems to be stopping. Not too deep, then. Still, it looks like you had your bell rung pretty good.”

  He’d raised one eyebrow and looked slightly roguish, a small smile flirting with his lips. She couldn’t help it—she laughed a little. “So, my secret is out. Now you know I’m the world’s biggest klutz.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that big.” He was genuinely smiling at her now. “Listen, I’ve been meaning to call you. I wanted to talk to you about the festival. Why don’t we grab a coffee or something?”

  It surprised her to realize that she wanted to accept. Generally she took her own tea bags or hot chocolate to the library rather than spend money on the extravagance, and she really did need to pick up the boys...though it had been a complete fabrication to say she was running late, since she was paid up until five, which was another hour and a bit away.

  “I probably shouldn’t,” she said, pushing her purse straps more securely on her shoulder.

  “Hey,” Cole said quietly. “When was the last time you let someone buy you a cup of coffee, huh? It’s got to be hard being a single mom. Heck, my ma raised two boys and she had my dad and she said we were exhausting. You’ve got twins...phew.”

  “Great, now I’m a pity date?”

  “Good Lord, woman, you’re exasperating.” Cole stepped back and tucked his hands into his jacket pockets. “I actually do want to talk to you about the festival. Over coffee sounded kind of nice, that’s all. Look, I admire all your independence and stuff, but not everything comes from pity around here. Sometimes people genuinely want to help people they care about, that’s all.”

  Was he saying he cared about her? They didn’t even know each other that well. Of course, he must be speaking in far more general terms, right?

  His words made her feel sheepish, too. It was no secret she had a chip on her shoulder. She’d always liked Cole. He was well-known in town, and had been only a couple of years ahead of her in school. He and
Gavin had been in the same class from kindergarten right through graduation. Not that she truly trusted Gav’s judgment anymore, either.

  She sighed, met Cole’s gaze. “I get defensive. I’m sorry, Cole. I was kind of stressed out when you came up behind me and then I whacked my head and you’re right about the pity thing.” She shrugged. “I tell myself every day that I should get over being bitter. It’s just hard.”

  “Of course it is. And you’re bringing up two rambunctious boys on your own. You’ll find people in this town have a lot of respect for you, Maddy. Now what do you say? Do you want to stop at the diner, or maybe the Daily Grind?”

  Why shouldn’t she go have a cup of something? Didn’t she deserve something for herself? Maddy nodded and felt a weight lift. “The Grind would be really nice, actually. I haven’t been in there for ages.”

  She locked the car and walked beside him as they made their way down Main Street to the coffee shop. It had opened fairly recently, a somewhat trendy spot in a town steeped in old-time traditions. He held the door for her and she stepped in, loving the scents that hit her nose the moment she entered—coffee, chocolate, cinnamon—lovely, cozy, warm scents that wrapped around her and eased some of the stresses of her day.

  “What will you have?” Cole asked. “My treat.”

  “I can get my own,” she insisted, but Cole cut her off.

  “What did I just say outside?”

  “Sorry.” She hoped she wasn’t blushing again. “Um, what kinds of tea do you have?” She looked at the girl behind the counter.

  “The list is here.” The girl gestured, pointing to a sign on a glass display front. “But this month we have a special flavor called Country Christmas, if you would like to try it. It’s kind of like mulled cider, only with black tea.”

  “That sounds lovely. I’ll have that,” Maddy said. She looked longingly at the apple cinnamon pastries, but it would only be a few more hours and she’d have dinner. Besides, she was letting Cole buy her tea. She wouldn’t presume to order anything to eat.