A Christmas Cowboy to Keep

by Hebby Roman

  She glanced in her sister’s direction, then turned back to finish the wall. If only Laney had known how scared she was. “I was terrified. But, I guess it jump started my career. Good thing Chloe and her kittens survived.”

  “Ms. Kelly?” The booming voice of the older electrician called from down the hall.

  “I guess I’d better see what he wants.” Kristen dropped the roller into the pan, then walked to the kitchen where the father and son duo where standing.

  “This may take a few days,” Earl said, scratching his head.

  Though she expected as much, spoken out loud the wiring situation seemed far more serious than she’d first thought.

  “Meaning you won’t have any electricity.” He locked her in a wise blue stare. “You got somewhere you can stay?”

  “Oh. We can’t stay here?”

  “Going old school,” his son interjected. “I like it.”

  Confused, Kristen glanced at the younger man and then turned her attention back toward Earl.

  “No lights. All electric baseboard heating. All these old houses have them. Why you haven’t changed to gas is beyond me. It’d save you a ton of money.”

  She shook her head. The brunt of his words not quite filtering through.

  “No heat,” he explained further. “Unless you plan on feeding the fire all night.” He pointed a gnarled finger toward the wood stove. “If so, you’ll need more wood, it’s going to be another frigid night. Anyway, we should be back around the same time tomorrow.”

  Kristen nodded as they headed toward the door. She stared at the wood stove and the three logs piled next to it. Before Cole had left, he’d brought in two loads of wood and stoked the fire. Apparently, there had only been enough wood to last the day.

  Grabbing her coat, she followed them out, then headed out to the woodshed, swiftly realizing there were no logs small enough to fit into the stove and she’d have to split some. After several minutes of searching for an axe in the freezing temps, she gave up and raced back to the warmth of the house.

  Now Cole’s parting words that he’d see her at his house later made sense. At the time, she’d declined, insisting on staying put. In response, he smiled that trademark crooked grin and shrugged.

  Not so unlike her sister Laney, who was standing by the stove, smiling smugly. “No wood?”

  Kristen shook her head. “No axe to chop wood.”

  Laney’s grin widened. “Gotta love Montana winters. I’ll stay at Nick’s. You could go to Cole’s. Wear that shirt you’re so fond of—and nothing else. I’m sure he won’t turn you away.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I had a feeling you’d show up,” Cole said, answering the door in nothing but a pair of jeans and a towel draped across his shoulders. A thin rivulet of water drew her attention. She watched as it streamed down his bare chest and disappeared beneath the waistline of his beltless Levis.

  Damn. It was hard to pay attention to anything he said when he answered the door like this. On the other hand, insisting he cover such a beautifully sculpted physique would be a crime.

  She tightened her grip on the flannel shirt she was returning. Delivering the article of clothing was simply an excuse to accept his offer to stay the night. A poor excuse at that. At least she had more sense than to show up wearing the shirt and nothing else like Laney had suggested.

  Then again, what if she had? Slowly, she trailed her gaze back up his chiseled abs until she caught his amber stare. Suddenly parched, she licked at dry lips and tried to form a sentence. No words came out.

  “Cat got your tongue?” He grinned, then pulled her in, quickly closing the door.

  Shaking free of the lust-induced stupor, Kristen attempted to explain the reason for showing up unannounced. “I brought you this.” She handed the flannel over. “And…I ran out of wood and couldn’t find an—,” she stopped mid-sentence. It’d be just like Cole to take her axe. No wonder he’d been expecting her.

  Narrowing her gaze, she crossed her arms over her chest, and stared suspiciously at the half-dressed man. “Did you take my axe?”

  A shocked expression altered his features. “What? No.” He shook his head. “I’d never do something like that. ‘Sides, you didn’t even need it. You have a full shed of wood already split by the garage. I figured you’d show because Earl is slow and wouldn’t finish the rewiring today. At any rate, it appears I was right. ”

  Warmth crawled up her neck and heated her cheeks. And Laney thought she had trust issues? “I’m sorry…I…ah…I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “It’s okay.” Cole shrugged. “After years of torture, I guess I deserve it. I was going to give you another hour or so and then head your way anyway. I wanted to see if you’d like to go to the Holiday toy giveaway tonight.”

  “The giveaway?” Though the sweet gesture floored her, the thought of sharing Cole with a crowd of people didn’t sit well. She’d much rather stay in for the night. She lowered her gaze, lingering over the tanned skin of his bare chest. “How about we stay here?”

  “Works for me.” He leaned in for a kiss. “I’m pretty sure I can come up with something we can do to pass the time.”

  “Does this have anything to do with losing those jeans?”

  He grinned and shook his head. “It could. Might be a little uncomfortable though. There will be sharp sticks and pointy needles involved.”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “You’ve piqued my interest.”

  “Come with me.” He grabbed her hand and led her into the living room. Once in the room, he pointed at a large pine tree in the corner. “I thought maybe we could decorate this.”

  “A Christmas tree?”

  Cole nodded. “I got the outside of the house decorated early, but I just haven’t had time to get to the tree yet and Christmas is in less than a week. Doesn’t seem right not to have one up. Except in your case, of course.”

  “My case? Oh, because I just moved in? Actually, I can count on one hand how many times we’ve even had a tree.”

  “In this town? Thompson Falls is Christmas crazy. For Pete’s sake, the week-long toy drive proves that much. And with Miranda as your boss? How can you not be in the holiday spirit? My sister prides herself on being Santa’s personal elf.”

  “Trust me. I know,” Kristen agreed. “You should’ve seen the office before we closed down. Looked like Christmas threw up in there. And don’t even get me started on the holiday music.”

  “You mean like this?” Cole walked over to the stereo and pushed play. Immediately, Silent Night sounded through the room. His arms encircled her. Flush against his hard, chiseled chest she breathed in the fresh scent of soap as his hands settled on her hips and guided her into a slow sway to the music. “Miranda’s not the only one who loves this season.”

  His confession struck her as odd. Men rarely admitted loving any holiday, especially one so ridiculously commercialized. “You do too? Why?”

  “Aside from the traditional reasons, it promises a new beginning. And, of course, presents. Speaking of which…,” he paused to point under the tree, “there may be something with your name on it.”

  She followed his direction, focusing her gaze on a brightly wrapped gift oddly shaped like a football.

  “Don’t tell me that’s what I think it is.”

  He shrugged, debuting a crooked grin which made the cowboy even more irresistible. “One hint—Team Lawson.”

  A chuckle escaped her. “Team Lawson, my foot.” She snorted, shaking her head. The man was relentless. Obviously, he would stop at nothing to needle her. “How about you spike some eggnog and we get to decorating?” Kristen poked him in the side with her index finger. “I’ll need it if you plan on continuing to play this music.”

  “I’m sensing this may not be your favorite holiday,” he scolded.

  “I’m sorry. It’s not that. I guess I’m a little bitter. Christmas is supposed to bring families together and I don’
t even know where mine is. Perhaps you can share some of your Christmas cheer.”

  “Deal. We will start with the tree. There’s a bunch of decorations in the box.” He nodded toward a large plastic container by the tree. “But, you have to promise not to give me a hard time over some of the things you find. My mom kept every decoration Miranda and I ever made. There’s some real treasures in there.”

  “Oh good,” Kristen squealed, eager to finally have something she could hold over his head as he exited to get their drinks. By the time Cole returned Kristen had discovered an arsenal of things to tease him about.

  “You said this didn’t feel like your home. I don’t get it. The house couldn’t seem any homier. For Pete’s sake, look at this little gem.” She held up a star covered with gold glitter. On the back it said Cole.

  “Yep. I warned you.” He swiped it from her hand and placed it on a limb. “I was quite the artist. Not bad for 2nd grade.”

  “And this one?” She plucked a glittery green tree from the box.

  “That’s some of Miranda’s handiwork. She obviously doesn’t share my gift.”

  Kristen giggled and hung the decoration beside his. “I think it sets off the star perfectly. As much as I’d like to continue torturing you, I was being serious. This seems extremely Norman Rockwell-ish to me. My family hardly decorated. And here you have an entire box of great memories.” She glanced over her shoulder and noted Cole’s somber expression. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to kill the mood.”

  He shook his head. “You didn’t. You’re right. My dad was tough on us. I never could please the man. But deep down, I knew he loved me. And my mom…hell, she’s a saint. As far as this place being home, it is. But after Dad died, Mom moved in with Miranda and this house is kind of lonely.”

  “Thus, the Lawson Lions.”

  A sheepish grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I was actually kidding about that. Just something else to make you squirm.” A chuckle escaped him. “However, Mom has been not so subtly dropping hints she wants more grandkids. I’m surprised you haven’t run into her yet.”

  “Oh, I have. Lauren swings by the clinic at least once a day. Your mom is persistent. She never fails to mention her handsome son.”

  Cole rolled his eyes. “Sounds about right.”

  Kristen stood. Nearing his side, she placed her palm on his chest, then raised up on the tip of her toes and graced him with a light kiss on the lips. “Maybe one day, I’ll get to meet him.”

  “Ha. Ha. You are a funny girl.” Cole pulled her in for another kiss. “Sassy too. Where did my shy little K.K. go?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You did what? You started a fight with Candy Wheeler? At the dance? Oh my, Laney. What were you thinking?” Kristen stifled the giggle threatening to erupt as an image of her sister wrestling the giant red-head came to life. “Hold on a minute. This sounds like a conversation I’ll be needing coffee for. I’ll call you right back.” As she hung up, she caught Cole’s curious stare.

  “What can I say?” She shrugged, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You know my sister. Laney’s always getting herself into some kind of trouble.”

  “Knowing Candy, I’m sure she deserved it.” Cole chuckled. “How about I give you a little privacy? I’ll go get some doughnuts and check the mail or something.”

  “With sprinkles?”

  “Absolutely,” Cole said, then brushed his lips against hers in a chaste kiss goodbye. “Anything else?”

  Kristen shook her head. Cole kissed her again, then headed toward the door. As she filled her cup, she glanced out the window to see Cole walking to his truck, pup in tow. He bent down and picked up Blue and then jumped in the vehicle. The sweet gesture pulled at her heart.

  One day, he was going to be an incredible father. The thought circled several times before settling. Never in a million years did she think she’d ever be standing in her nemeses’ kitchen, much less daydreaming about what kind of father the man would make.

  Then again, she never thought she’d fall in love with him either. Head. Over. Heels. In. Love. The weekend had been incredible. One blissful night turning into two that she never wanted to end. Unfortunately, it sounded as if Laney had other plans.

  Grabbing her mug, she positioned herself at the kitchen table, then dialed her sister’s number. “Now, what happened? And I want details.”

  “In that case, I’d better start with the night before last at the toy giveaway. I shoved Candy off of Santa’s lap. Well, Nick dressed up as Santa. Stupid Candy pulled off his beard when she fell. A bunch of kids saw the whole thing.”

  “Whoa. Wait a minute.” Kristen choked on the coffee. “Nick was Santa? And she pulled off his beard? Please tell me that’s all that happened.”

  “I didn’t stick around long enough to do anymore damage.” Laney quipped with a loud snort. “Evidently I have Santa issues. This isn’t the first time I’ve ruined Christmas.”

  “Oh my Laney. Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I’m fine. But, I haven’t even gotten to the dance-off. Hold on a minute. Let me throw a log into the fire. The electricity is on, but I think the heat is still out. I can see my breath. Damn electrician stopped by and said all was good, but they still couldn’t finish up today. This is the second day in a row he’s had some kind of emergency. If you ask me, this is a damn emergency,” Laney grumbled. “At least he turned the breaker back on.”

  “I know. Earl called me. That’s why I stayed here.” Kristen heard a shuffling, followed by the opening and closing of the door on the wood stove, and the fire crackling. She took another sip out of her mug. “Wait a minute, you’re at home? Since I hadn’t heard from you, I assumed you were at Nick’s.”

  “Nope. I’m here. I had to go somewhere. And I didn’t want to bother you. Spent the past two nights on the couch to keep the fire going. By the way, we have a whole shed of split wood.”

  “Cole told me about the firewood. You still should have come here. He wouldn’t have minded. Or at least called. As far as the heat goes, turn up the thermostat. You know the round thingy on the wall.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding? I’ve been freezing to death and all I had to do was turn up the heat?”

  “Yep. Sorry about that. Earl must’ve forgot to turn it up when he switched the breaker back on. Had I known you were home, I would’ve told you.” She glanced out the window to see a truck pulling in. “Cole’s back. Give me an hour or two and I’ll be home. We can finish this conversation then, okay?”

  “That’s fine. Take your time. You don’t have to rush home. I’m okay.”

  Kristen hung up the phone and went in search of Cole. He was just walking in the door as she entered the living room.

  He handed her a large pink box. “I got a dozen in case you wanted to take Laney one. Most of them are chocolate with sprinkles.”

  A squeal escaped her. “My favorite.”

  “I also stopped and got your mail. You have a bunch of it.” He paused and kissed her lightly on the nose, then continued into the kitchen. “Is Laney okay?”

  “Yeah.” Kristen nodded. “Rough night. From what I gather, Nick may not be the perfect guy for her. Or in his defense, Laney might not be the girl for him.” She followed him back into the room and sat the box on the counter, then peeked inside.

  “You never know. Things aren’t always as they seem.” He flipped the lid back, and pulled out a colorful pastry dripping with chocolate. Placing the treat on a napkin, he handed it to her. “Take us for instance. Considering the way I teased you, no one thought we’d end up together.”

  “Especially not me,” she agreed, licking her lips. She took a bite, then returned the doughnut to the napkin and glanced at the stack of mail. She quickly shuffled through the pile, shocked by the amount of letters and bills. “Good grief. I never get this much mail. I guess the post office finally forwarded it from my old address. And for the record, you were relentless. I can’
t tell you how many sleepless nights I had because of you.” She failed to mention being unable to sleep now was more from erotic dreams than his ruthless teasing.

  “I had quite a few restless nights because of you, too. There’s something else I should come clean about,” he paused. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled loudly before continuing. “I sent the flyer.”

  Caught off guard, Kristen stared at him in shock. “You what?”

  “The foreclosure notice. About your parent’s house? I sent it.”

  Suddenly the air was stifled, squeezed from the room. Struggling to breathe, she questioned his confession. “I don’t understand. Why?” The pitch in her voice rose to an unrecognizable level.

  She stood as Cole stepped from around the table and neared her side. She placed a palm firmly on his chest to prevent him from coming any closer. “Why?”

  “To be honest, I have no excuse. I wanted you here. With me.” He stepped back, giving her space. “I ran into your mom. Literally, ran into her. We had a fender bender. She was upset. Rambling on about a fight she just had with her daughter. I’m assuming that was the argument you told me about. At the time, I thought she’d hit her head. None of it made any sense. After that, all I could think about was getting you to come back home. The thought never went away, even after they moved.”

  “So you tricked me? How did you even know my address?” Feeling as if her legs couldn’t hold her weight, she braced her hand on the corner of the table.

  “I googled you. You’d be surprised how easy it is to find someone on the internet.”

  “And why did you think that would bring me home?”

  “I took a chance. Rolled the dice.” Cole shrugged.

  “Rolled the dice? You tricked me. You could have called like a normal person,” she argued. “You could have easily gotten my number from Mom.”