A Christmas Cowboy to Keep

by Hebby Roman

  “You look like you should have more stamina than that.”

  And, there it was. A challenge, a shot across the bow, and a possible double entendre in one sentence.

  “Libby, I—”

  “Do NOT call me Libby.”

  “Why not? I happen to think it suits you.”

  “My mother is very insistent,” she explained. “She didn’t name me that and won’t allow it.”

  He grinned again. He liked that he’d been happier these last few days than he’d been in years. “What’s she going to do come after me?”

  “You don’t know my mother. I wouldn’t put it past her.” She looked at him and shrugged. “Go ahead, I know what you’re going to say.”

  “What, that I’d like to meet the woman who made and shaped who you are today?”

  “Oh.”

  He knew she’d been expecting him to mention something about apples falling from trees, but he didn’t like clichés and tried to avoid them. Instead, he said, “I really do want to meet the woman behind the woman. She’s done a good job.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Hard to believe I’ve reduced you down to one-word sentences.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. It’s just a momentary . . . whatever.”

  “Okay, moving on.” He started gathering their dirty plates and utensils. “You said earlier, at the old house, you knew how to remove paint from tile.”

  “I said I’d seen a do-it-yourself show where the guy had done it. His tiles were loose though, and he soaked them in water for a few days. Since yours are still on the fireplace, that’s going to be difficult. There has to be another way.” She grabbed dressings and salt and pepper. “Do you have internet service and a computer?”

  “Nope, I haven’t needed either one. Doesn’t make much sense to pay for something you don’t use.”

  “Seriously? When I’m at home, my life is spent on the computer.” She closed the refrigerator door and continued, “What about your guests? Don’t they want to be connected?”

  Daniel let out a sigh. He decided to end the conversation before they went on yet another verbal sparring match. “You’re the only one that’s ever visited or spent the night, since I’ve lived here.”

  “Oh.”

  “Now can we get back to the tiles?

  “Sure.” She picked up the butter and sour cream, put them away, and said, “No problem. If necessary, I can use my hotspot to see what we can find.”

  “Good.”

  Liberty went to the kitchen door and turned when he didn’t follow. “I thought you wanted to look for information?”

  He opened the dishwasher to load their breakfast and dinner dishes. “I do, but I want this chore done, so I don’t have to come back to dirty dishes later.”

  “You’re one of those,” she said, rolling her eyes. Despite her eyeroll, she came to his side and handed him a plate and cup.

  “What’s that?”

  She narrowed her eyes, considering him for a moment. “You’re a completionist. You stay with a task until it’s done.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “Not really. I’m sure, at times, there are advantages to the trait.”

  Whether she realized it or not, she was baiting him. Her stance was open and receptive, with her hands braced on the counter’s edge, shoulders back, breasts thrust forward, her hips straight, facing frontward. Her eyes deepened in color, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her lips . . . plump and parted slightly . . . inviting.

  It had taken a lot of restraint to walk away from her last night. He ‘d never forced himself on a woman and wasn’t going to take advantage of the fact she’d been unconscious, so to speak.

  But, now, she was wide awake, testing, teasing . . . daring. He moved to stand in front of her, hip to hip, his arousal nestled next to the warmth at the juncture of her thighs. He waited briefly, and when she made no move to resist or escape, he covered her mouth with his.

  * * *

  Liberty slipped her arms around Daniel’s neck and held on for dear life. His hands slid up her back and down the backs of her thighs, holding, kneading, squeezing . . . demanding, yet not forceful. When his hands slipped under her tee shirt, she lifted her arms to aid in its removal, allowing him access to her breasts.

  He dropped soft kisses across the mounds above the lace of her bra and smiled. Looking into her eyes, he said, “I knew you were a lace lady.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah.”

  When he released the hook and eye closure between her shoulder blades, she drew in a breath and pushed her body against his.

  “Well, if you’re into exploration,” she said, just above a whisper. “There’s more.”

  Her permission seemed to be all that was holding him back. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom like she weighed no more than a sack of feathers.

  Lying down beside her, he kissed her soundly on the mouth, trailed light kisses onto her collarbone, the spot between her breasts, and then on the tips of each one with a slow swirl of his tongue. She reached for the waistband of his jeans to try and move him along to match her tempo.

  He reached for her hand and rested it above her head. He splayed his hand across her belly and said, “Not yet, darlin’. You hinted at hidden treasures, and I intend to exercise your invitation to explore.”

  “You talk more than any man I k-k-know . . .” His finger running along her waistband caused her to stammer and lose her train of thought. His lips and tongue undid her the rest of the way, causing her to get lost in the sensations he relentlessly elicited.

  She wanted to remember everything about this evening, but he kept distracting her. Finally, she gave up trying to pay attention to what he was doing and just rode the wave of desire.

  Sometime later, she awoke to the sounds of Daniel breathing steadily, quietly while he slept. Didn’t men usually snore? Eddie, the ass-hat, had sounded like a buzz saw.

  The room was dark except for a light shining from the bathroom. She tried to move but found she couldn’t. His left arm cradled her while his right draped across her middle, essentially pinning her to the bed. Somehow, she needed to get up and go to the bathroom or they were both going to wish she had.

  Amazingly, she was able to scoot out from under his arm without waking him and made it to the bathroom without embarrassing herself. She walked back to the bed, where Daniel slept undisturbed. He looked very innocent in his slumber, but he was a master of seduction and his hands were instruments of extreme pleasure. She shivered, just remembering.

  Wanting a drink of water, she slipped on her lace panties and his western snap front, plaid shirt, and padded down the hallway to the kitchen. She emptied the glass, set it beside the sink and closed her eyes. Just a few hours ago, she’d stood close to this very spot acting like a schoolgirl stealing feels with the hot guy. Heat rushed from her neck to her face at her more recent memories, and she covered her smile with her hand.

  Suddenly, movement and a scraping sound behind her interrupted her thoughts. She turned but saw nothing in the deep shadows. Stepping to the corner of the island, she listened but heard nothing else.

  “Daniel is that you?”

  Nothing. Only her own breathing and her heart doing its best to compete with a marching band’s bass drum.

  “Daniel?”

  Without warning, something or someone hit her from behind, knocking her to the floor. When she hit, her forehead bounced on the terracotta tile. She pushed up slowly, onto her hands and knees, in time to hear the back door open and slam shut.

  She staggered to the master bedroom to wake Daniel and ran into him in the doorway. He caught her before she hit the floor.

  Pulling her into his arms, he held her close and asked, “Hey, you’re trembling, what’s going on?”

  “Something or someone was in the kitchen, j-just now.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. She hated not
being in control but couldn’t seem to stop.

  “Wait here.” He set her on the foot of the bed, went into the closet, and when he came out again, he wore a pair of cargo pants and carried a hand gun.

  Grabbing his arm, she demanded, “What are you doing?”

  He pulled out of her grasp and touched her cheek with his palm. “I’m going to check things out.” He kissed her and repeated, “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

  Within a few minutes he returned. He sat beside her on the bed and put the gun behind them within reach.

  “Did you see anything?”

  “Someone was in the house, all right,” he confirmed. “I called Jack, he’s on his way.”

  Suddenly, her head started to pound, and her stomach churned. She leaned forward holding her head in her hands. Within seconds, she stumbled into the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. Daniel followed her. He set a wet washcloth and a cup of water on the marble countertop and held her hair away from her face. It was like a scene from dozens of Hollywood movies.

  She removed her hair from his fingers and sat on the floor. Looking at him, she said, “Thank you. I’m better.”

  He leaned toward her, lifted her chin and very nearly shouted, “Your forehead. What the hell happened to you?”

  She ran her fingertips across her head above her eyebrows and grimaced. “Ouch! That hurts.”

  “It should, now what the hell happened?”

  “When I fell,” she began, “When I was pushed . . . I hit . . . my head on the . . .” And, just like that, she was down for the count.

  Chapter Eight

  Daniel paced the floor of the waiting room in the emergency room at the hospital. He had stepped out to the parking lot to call Jack, when the X-ray techs had taken Liberty for a CT of her head. He’d go in to see her, after the techs had finished, to get an update.

  Luckily, she had regained consciousness after they’d arrived at the hospital and given her permission for him to sit with her. Otherwise, since he wasn’t her husband or a relative, he’d be going nuts right about now, not knowing what was going on with her. She did seem to have improved since they’d been here. The nausea had subsided. The headache, however, persisted. The doctor said as soon as he had the CT results, he could give her something for the pain.

  He knew she was better, for she was back to trying to control the situation, insisting on being released even as they were wheeling her down the hall. He, on the other hand, was hoping the doctor would keep her overnight. Head injuries, even small ones, were a scary proposition.

  He checked his phone for the hundredth time to see if he might have missed Jack’s call just as the sliding doors opened.

  Jack walked in and sat beside him. “How’s Liberty?”

  “Better, I think.” He slid his phone into his pocket and glanced at the double doors separating the waiting room from the trauma arena. “They’re doing a CT, right now.”

  “Lilah and Callie send their love.”

  “Thanks.” He stood when the doors opened but, as soon as he saw the people weren’t wearing scrubs or a doctor’s white coat, he sat back down. “What did you find at the house?”

  “Not a lot. Whoever jimmied the lock on the back door was sloppy. He tracked in mud and his fingerprints are all over the kitchen. You’ll have to tell me if anything’s missing.”

  “I’ll look when I get home. Say, in my hurry to get Liberty to the ER, I didn’t put my gun back into the safe.”

  “I didn’t see it, where did you leave it?”

  “I left it on the bed.”

  “Hold on,” Jack said, as he touched a name on his favorites list. “Tuttle’s still at your place, I’ll call and ask him.”

  A nurse in dark blue scrubs opened the doors and motioned to Daniel. He snagged Jack’s attention and pointed in the direction of the trauma arena. He followed the nurse to the area where Liberty had started out a couple of hours before. When he joined her, the nurse closed the door, leaving them alone.

  She opened her eyes and smiled. “There you are.”

  “Yeah, I stepped out to make a call.” Seeing her awake and smiling made him feel better but the bruising on her face still gave him pause. “That didn’t take too long. How’re you feeling?”

  “Tired and a little sleepy. We didn’t get much sleep last night. Remember?”

  He covered her hand with his. “I do. How could I forget?”

  Taking hold of his fingers, she asked, “I know you said Jack was going to the house to look around. Were you able to go and pick up first?”

  “Pick what up?”

  “My clothes and . . . those little foil packets?”

  “Oh. No, I haven’t left here.” He squeezed her hand in reassurance and, even though he knew better, he said, “Jack probably didn’t go into the rest of the house.”

  “Good. That could be so embarrassing.”

  A knock sounded on the door and Jack stuck his head through the narrow opening. “Hi, can I come in?”

  “Of course, please.” Liberty sat up and adjusted her pillow.

  “Whoa!” Jack said, as he came into the room and kissed her cheek. “What runaway train hit you?”

  She glanced over at Daniel. “Do I look bad?”

  “Well, your forehead’s a purplish blue and you’re beginning to resemble a raccoon.”

  “Scare the children bad?”

  “No.” Daniel caught Jack’s glance and tried to reassure her. “Not at all”

  “Liberty, is it all right if I ask you some questions?” Jack pulled a small tablet from his jacket pocket.

  “Yes, but I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

  “Anything you remember will be a help,” Jack encouraged.

  “Well, let’s see, I was thirsty and went into the kitchen for a glass of water . . .”

  “Did you notice anything out of place?”

  “No, I didn’t. The kitchen was completely dark. It’s not like living in the city, where there are so many lights that the night sky is continually lit up.”

  “Okay, so you got your drink and then what?”

  “I set the empty glass by the sink and that’s when I heard a noise, like a chair scraped across the floor or something.” She put a few ice chips in her mouth and then continued, “I thought when I heard the noise that Daniel was coming into the kitchen, but I called his name twice and got no response. And, then . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “Then, I was pushed from behind, and as I was getting up, the back door slammed shut.”

  “And you don’t remember anything after that?”

  “I’m sorry, Jack,” she said with a shake of her head. “I don’t.”

  “Don’t worry, you did fine.”

  Daniel spooned more ice chips for her just as the doctor came into the room. He set the cup on the tray table and asked, “What do you know, doc?”

  “After looking at the CT films, I believe you are one lucky lady. I sat with the radiologist as he read the films and didn’t see a fracture or a brain bleed. Just some pretty severe bruising from that good-sized punk knot on your forehead.”

  “Great!” she said. “I can get out of here soon, then.”

  “Not so fast. I want to keep you overnight for observation. I want to be sure there’s no internal swelling before I turn you lose.” He closed the cover on the metal chart holder. “We’ll admit you into the hospital, but, if you do okay, you can leave in the morning.”

  “But—"

  “Liberty don’t argue.” Daniel did his best to give her a stern look. “You’re staying put for the night.”

  She swelled up like a toad, reminding him of a sullen three-year-old. She had the grace, though, to let it go.

  Jack put the little notebook into his jacket pocket. “I’ll say goodnight now, and we’ll see you tomorrow. I’m sure Lilah will call you in the morning. Get some rest.”

  “Thank you, Jack, I will.�
�

  “Oh, Daniel, by the way,” he added. “I had Tuttle take another pass through the bedroom. He said he combed over everything and didn’t see your gun. Are you sure, in the heat of the moment, you left it on the bed?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  After Jack left, Daniel took a couple of breaths before he turned around to face Liberty. He was going to have to pay for his earlier statement. He just hoped she didn’t rake him over the coals too badly. The other more important thing – where the hell was his gun?

  * * *

  Liberty was mortified and plenty mad. She picked up the plastic emesis basin and threw it hitting Daniel in the middle of his back.

  “Hey!” He turned to face her, throwing his arm up as a shield.

  “Daniel Layman you lied to me!” She raised her hand to swat at him but grabbed her pounding head instead, easing back onto the pillow.

  He wet some paper towels, placed them gently on her forehead and sat on the edge of her bed.

  “Why would you tell me they wouldn’t go into the bedroom, when you knew full well they would?”

  “I was hoping it wouldn’t come up?”

  “Yeah? How’s that working out?”

  “Not very well, apparently,” he said. “I wanted to spare you any embarrassment, but when I remembered leaving my gun, I had to mention it to Jack. I’m sorry, Liberty.”

  She lowered her hand to his and said, “It’s okay. I’m responsible for myself, not you. You tried to protect my feelings.”

  Suddenly, all the starch went out of her. She’d told Daniel a half an hour ago she was tired. Relaxing against the pillow, she gripped his hand, and closed her eyes. Tomorrow would be soon enough to chastise her cowboy.

  The next morning, Liberty’s eyes popped open. It took her a few seconds to figure out where she was and finally, bits and pieces of last night and the wee hours following began to come back to her. She felt a little groggy, having been woken up every hour for vital signs and the periodic flashlight in the eye routine.

  Everyone knew you didn’t go to the hospital to rest, but yesterday and last night bordered on the ridiculous. She’d almost thought at one point to hide under the bed, but in the end, she’d been a good soldier. Light rapping drew her attention to the door where she saw Lilah peeking in.